Faccia a faccia

Spaghetti with Chorizo Western co-produced by Italy (Alberto Grimaldi , P.E.A Productions , which financed ¨¨The Dollars trilogy) and Spain (Arturo Gonzalez who co-produced ¨For a few dollars more) . This is the original second installment from Cuchillo trilogy and again an awesome Tomas Milian accompanied by an extraordinary Gian Maria Volonte . Very good S.W. about a relentless and exciting confrontation set against spectacular scenery of Almeria . History teacher named Brad Fletcher (Gian Maria Volonte) heads Texas for his health, but falls in with Soloman Bennett's (Tomas Milian) bandit group . Fascinated by their way of life , Fletcher finally takes over the band , leading a sad event and cruel happenings . Turned into a ruthless outlaw Fletcher makes rush deeds , showing that not always a good action produces good results . Solomon 'Beauregard' Bennet is a roguish thief and being pursued by Charlie Siringo (William Berger) . Charlie chases the band called ¨Manada Salvaje¨ ; as the solitary , self-reliant Siringo tracks down Solomon . It will be a long and dangerous pursuit with continuous escapes and double-crosses . The relentless chase is set against strong environment, risked mountains and hazardous trails .

This is the second part from Sergio Sollima trilogy , starred by Tomas Milian as the roguish ¨Cuchillo¨ and formed by ¨La Resa Dei Conti¨, or ¨The big Gundown¨ or ¨ The hawk and the prey¨ with Lee Van Cleef and ¨Run Cuchillo run ¨ with Donald O'Brien and this one , all of them belong among the best Spaghetti . It deals with Solomon , splendidly performed by Tomas Milian , he is fine as the hero/villain of the story . Tomas Milian is very nice , he ravages the screen, he jumps, bounds and leaps, hit and run , besides receives violent punches, kicks and wounds . His performance is astonishing , above average to level of these films . The story is wrapped in an aura of sadness , a tragic event on the metamorphosis of Fletcher , a good man turned into a crazed psychopath , being magnificently interpreted by Gian Maria Volonte . Worthwhile watching for a demonstration of the strange relationship between Tomas Milian and Gian Maria Volonte with some looks that say it all . William Berger is the tough but upright law-man and although he doesn't reaches the level of Milian , is also quite restrained . Charlie Siringo was an actual personage who really existed and did what the character in the film does , as he worked as an agent for Pinkerton , being well played by William Berger . This Western is superior than subsequent entry because it packs stirring adventures , shootouts, riding pursuits , treason and is pretty amusing . It's an exciting SW with breathtaking showdown between the protagonists Tomas Milian , Gian Maria Volonte , William Berger and the hoodlums enemies as Rick Boyd , Goffredo Unger , Ivan Scratuglia , Alfonso Rojas , Aldo Sambrell , among others . Aldo Sambrell plays a cruelly baddie role as a traitor killer is terrific , subsequently the would play similar role in other Spaghettis . Furthermore, there appears usual secondaries of Italian/Spanish Western as Italian actors as the femme fatal Jolanda Modio as Maria , Gianni Rizzo as Williams , Rick Boyd as nasty Sheriff , Nello Pazzafini ; as well as Spanish players : Angel Del Pozo as Maximiliam , Jose Torres as Aaron , Antonio Casas , Lorenzo Robledo , Francisco Sanz , Alfonso Rojas and of course Frank Braña in his ordinary role as a bandit . The film blends violence, blood, tension, high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts or stunts every few minutes . There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction and excellent production design by Carlo Simi , Sergio Leone's usual , he creates a magnificent scenario with barren outdoors, dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on the final scenes . Being spectacularly filmed on location in Almería, Andalucía, Spain ,Alto de la Morcuera, Madrid, Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, Hoyo de Manzanares, La Cabrera, Madrid, La Pedriza, Manzanares el Real, Madrid, Spain and interiors in Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy(studio). As always , the musician Ennio Morricone, supported by Bruno Nicolai , compose a nice Spaghetti soundtrack and well conducted ; it's full of guttural sounds and emotive score .

Sergio Sollima's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and too much action. Colorful and evocative cinematography by Emilio Foriscot and Rafael Pacheco , reflecting marvelously the habitual Almeria outdoors . Director Sergio Sollima achieved in "Face to face" possibly one of his bests works of a modest career , with some memorable scenes and good camera movement such as the bank hold-up and the ending duels ; all of them make only can say that this movie seemed to be a true surprise . The picture was well directed by Sollima and following directing successes as Pirate films such as ¨ Sandokan ¨ and ¨ Black Corsario ¨ . Rating : Better than average Western . Essential and indispensable watching .