La bataille de San Sebastian (1968)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

William Barby Faherty (novel)
Serge Gance (writer) ...

Release Date:

1968 (UK)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

The epic of a town that became an army [UK]

Plot:

Leon Alastray is an outlaw who has been given sanctuary by Father John, whom he then escorts to the village of San Sebastian...

Plot Keywords:

Spaghetti Western | Based On Novel

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Leon Alastray
Anjanette Comer	...	Kinita
Charles Bronson	...	Teclo
Sam Jaffe	...	Father Joseph
Silvia Pinal	...	Felicia
Jorge Martínez de Hoyos	...	Felipe Cayetano
Jaime Fernández	...	'Golden Lance'
Rosa Furman	...	Agueda
Leon Askin	...	Vicar General
José Chávez	...	Antonito
Ivan Desny	...	Col. Calleja
Fernand Gravey	...	Governor
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Father Lucas
Jorge Russek	...	Pedro
Aurora Clavel	...	Magdalena

Also Known As:

Guns for San Sebastian (USA)
I cannoni di San Sebastian (Italy)
Los cañones de San Sebastián (Mexico)
The Guns of San Sebastian (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:111 min | Germany:115 min (theatrical version) | Germany:105 min (cut)

Country:

France | Italy | Mexico

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 70 mm 6-Track (Australia)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques (CIPRA)

Quotes:

Father Joseph: My son, here. Put this on - it will protect you from the sun.
[Father hands Leon a cowl with a cross on the back]
Leon Alastray: Ha? Thank you.
Father Joseph: ...and who knows? Perhaps it will bring you a little faith!
Leon Alastray: Faith? Oh, I had plenty of faith the other night. Hey, priest - you wanna hear my confession?
[clasps hands in mock prayer]
Father Joseph: No, thank you!
Leon Alastray: Come on - it'll make you feel 10 years younger!
[laughs lewdly]
Father Joseph: ...or perhaps older!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lionpower from MGM (1967)

Dances With Irony

The European Western takes a couple steps back in time with the rascal-mistaken-for-clergy theme, a proved device that worked for Bogie in "The Left Hand of God" & Whoopi in "Sister Act." In colonial Mexico, bandit Leon (Quinn) takes refuge with dedicated Father Joseph (Jaffe) & escapes when the priest is transferred to a forsaken northern village. The villagers, terrified of marauding Yaquis & exploited by a frontier protection racket led by embittered half-Yaqui Teclo (Bronson), mistake Leon for the priest & implore him for miracles. Unable to escape back into colonial settlement & tempted by naive, spirited village girl Kinita (Comer), he teaches the villagers to fight back & believe in themselves rather than praying for miracles. Quinn is colorful as ever but not quite believable making the transition from Leon the selfish, godless rascal to Leon the selfless, principled hero, though he is properly scruffy all the way through. Comer is fetching but Bronson is only bulky & menacing. Two extraordinary talents--Gravet as a stuffy bishop & the legendary Silvia Pinal as Leon's conniving girlfriend--are relegated to minor, superficial roles. The time period is wrong for the film's big gunfights, since firearms were clumsy & rare in the 18th century. But the tongue-in-cheek flavor of the spaghetti Western, with a scruffy rascal confounded, puzzled & frustrated on the way to his selfish goal, holds true all the way through. The Yaquis are represented--up to a point--with the sympathy typical of Westerns of circa 1970. A subplot, Leon's pursuit of a wild white horse, is an effective, slightly surreal device. A contribution by Bunuel, Jr., the 2nd unit director? Oh, my God, this movie has Silvia Pinal & Juan Luis Bunuel! It's the closest thing to a surrealist Western!