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Giù la testa
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Giù la testa (1971) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   7,747 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Sergio Leone
Writers:
Sergio Leone (story) and
Sergio Donati (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Duck, You Sucker on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 October 1971 (Italy) more
Tagline:
Rod Steiger and James Coburn will blow you apart in "A Fistful of Dynamite" ("Duck You Sucker") by the master of adventure Sergio Leone
Plot:
An IRA explosives expert on the run in Mexico meets an amoral Mexican bandit; together they get drawn into the Mexican revolution. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
Sergio Leone's Sad, Funny, Beautiful Epic Western more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

James Coburn ... John H. Mallory

Rod Steiger ... Juan Miranda
Romolo Valli ... Dr. Villega
Maria Monti ... Adelita, woman in stagecoach
Rik Battaglia ... Santerna (as Rick Battaglia)
Franco Graziosi ... Governor Jaime
Antoine Saint-John ... Gutierez / Col. Günther Reza (as Jean-Michel Antoine)
Vivienne Chandler ... John's girlfriend (flashback)
David Warbeck ... John's friend Sean Nolan (flashback)
Giulio Battiferri ... Miguel
Poldo Bendandi ... Executed Revolutionary
Omar Bonaro
Roy Bosier ... Landowner
John Frederick ... American
Amato Garbini
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
A Fistful of Dynamite (UK) (USA) (alternative title)
C'era una volta la rivoluzione (Italy)
Duck, You Sucker (USA)
Once Upon a Time... the Revolution
more
Runtime:
157 min | USA:120 min (initial US release) | USA:138 min | USA:154 min (Laserdisc version)
Country:
Italy
Language:
Italian | Spanish
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Brazil:14 | West Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 (cut) | Norway:18 (1972) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG (original rating) | USA:R (laserdisc rating) (1996)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The film was initially planned to have been directed by Peter Bogdanovich, but both Rod Steiger and James Coburn demanded that Sergio Leone direct the picture, so Bogdanovich was out. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Juan's youngest son is shown lying dead, the actor can be seen breathing. more
Quotes:
[repeated line, right before something explodes]
John H. Mallory: Duck, you sucker!
more
Movie Connections:
References Viva Villa! (1934) more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is this movie based on a book?
What is a "spaghetti western"?
more
48 out of 58 people found the following comment useful:-
Sergio Leone's Sad, Funny, Beautiful Epic Western, 8 October 2004
9/10
Author: Bob-45 from Savannah, GA

Coming off the triumphs of his "Man With No Name" series and his frustrations with the cutting of "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West," Sergio Leone directed the big budget, epic western, originally titled, "Once Upon a Time in the Revolution". Since "...West" had been released by Paramount and United Artists was releasing "...Revolution," some executive decide the rename the movie "Duck! You Sucker!" after the phrase Sean (James Coburn) uses repeatedly before blowing someone or something up with dynamite. Likely the same executive choose an advertising campaign reminiscent of "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly," creating caricatures of Sean and Juan (Rod Steiger) adding the caption "...the master of adventure, Sergio Leone". Well, I doubt many theater audiences knew who Sergio Leone was, since he was yet to be recognized as a directoral genius the equal of John Ford or Howard Hawks. Worse, the advertising implied "Duck! You Sucker! was a laugh romp, a parody of Leone's early masterpieces. This impression was made even worse when the film failed to perform. In any event, "A Fistfull of Dyanmite" was a dismal failure at the box office and Leone never made another big budget western drama.It's too bad, because "A Fistfull of Dynamite" is Leone's trueist work, his most accurate vision of life, politics and revolution. Neither Rod Steiger nor James Coburn were strongly associated with westerns, even though both played strong roles in earlier films (Steiger in "Run of the Arrow" and "Jubal," Coburn in "The Magnificent Seven" and "Ride Lonesome". Worse, Steiger's Juan looked like something of a buffoon and the movies villains were bland and underdeveloped. However, I believe this was Leone's intention: corrupt politicians and Prussian officers are pretty well interchangeable. Kill one and another pops up. This isn't a very satisfying truth, but it is truth, nonetheless. Juan is a peasant, a bandit with a large family of bandits. Sean is a Irish Republican Army terrorist, an explosives expert. In Leone's world, or at least in all his films, there are only two types of people: predators and victims. His major characters are all predators. The only thing that distinguishes his protagonists from his antagonists is that his antagonists start with a large body count and his protagonists usually spare the innocent. That works with a taut enough storyline, but "...Dynamite" covers large areas of real estate and the goal is never clear. Juan didn't plan to become a hero of the revolution, and that is small payment for his losses. When one looks at history, the rewards of revolution and warfare are never worth the sacrifices, for just as we kill one bastard, another takes his place.

I think "A Fistfull of Dynamite" largely reflects Leone's fate as well. Leone proved he was the greatest western director in less than four years with only four major films. Yet, he was hardly appreciated during his short life and only a few films after his magnificent achievement. "A Fistfull of Dynamite" is also Leone's saddest movie. A beautiful, big budget metaphor for a man's talent wasted by underappreciate film executive and smug, self-serving critics.

Coburn should have won an "Oscar" for "Dynamite." With the exception of some tabletop model trains, the effects are convincing and exciting. The color cinematography is phenomenal, clearly the equal of "Once Upon a Time in the West. The sound and music (by Ennio Morricone) is phenomenal, as usual. While not as satisfying as Leone's best films, "A Fistfull of Dynamite" is an exemplary film. I give it a "9".

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Giù la testa (1971)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Why is my copy rated PG ? KingFritzLang
This film would be one of Leone's greats.... Rainy_Dog
What an incredibly misinterpreted, misunderstood and overlooked film korn12788
Was Rod Stiegers accent the inspiration for Pacino's Tony Montana drexlermcstyles
Juan's idea of a revolution yaseenk13
Great Explosions tblock-1
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