Leone apart, Sergio Sollima must be by now my favourite spaguetti western director. I already enjoyed inmensely his Face to face, but this other film, shot the year before, is every bit as good as that one.
The plot is minimal, centered around the quest of a bounty hunter (Lee van Cleef) searching for Cuchillo (Tomas Milian), a young Mexican accused of raping and killing a young girl. As a plot it is minimal, but it is a great fundation to reflect on the nature of the two antagonists and their ongoing relationship, as they encounter each other several times. For a film of this genre, it pays unusual attention to the characters, and both Van Cleef and Milian excel in their roles.
Van Cleef starts the film in his trademark ice-cool demeanor, but slowly you can see how the situation -he is unable to catch Cuchillo, although he is close to several times- starts affecting him. It is a very different role than usual for Van Cleef, and he seems very pleased to flex some different acting muscles this time.
Milian, on the other hand, is flawless. Having seen Milian on other films of the genre, such as "Tepepa" or "Face to face", I've ended noticing he is one of the best actors ever to grace the genre. Not only he gets all the sides of his character right, from his survival instinct always under the skin to the anguish of the one who knows himself constantly being pursued, but he is also a very versatile player, considering he plays very different characters in these three movies. He certainly should be more remembered among aficionados than he is.
I've been watching lots of westerns lately, but this one is a keeper, a true gem.
Solid Spaghetti Western Neville. Saw it on the Western Channel a year or two ago. Two clips from THE BIG GUNDOWN
Knife vs Gun (http://youtube.com/watch?v=RbIhobzVMz4&mode=related&search=) - Tomas Milian
Lee Van Cleef (http://youtube.com/watch?v=g16xFOQB3Ec&mode=related&search=) - Lee Van Cleef Showdown
(http://www.bijoucafe.com/goods/New_BigGundown_DVD.jpg)