Giù la testa (1971)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Sergio Leone (story) and
Sergio Donati (story) ...

Release Date:

29 October 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | Western | Action | War

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.

Plot Keywords:

Explosive | Mexico | Mexican | Revolutionary | Mexican Revolution

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

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

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

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)

Filming Locations:

Almería Railway Station, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Juan's youngest son is shown lying dead, the actor can be seen breathing.

Quotes:

[repeated line, right before something explodes]
John H. Mallory: Duck, you sucker!

Movie Connections:

References Viva Villa! (1934)

Sergio Leone's Sad, Funny, Beautiful Epic Western

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".