THE GREAT SILENCE (1968) - This is one of the very best Italian/French Westerns directed by Sergio Corbucci and stars Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski in a very mesmerising images and music by Ennio Morricone. The film is about a mute who avenges innocent peoples deaths at the hands of a band of merciless bounty hunters. The way the bounty hunters handle the bodies is really cold and with the snowy Alps as the back drop to a Western and with a horrific and tragic ending at the hands of the bounty hunters makes this film a one of a kind. The DVD also has the "Happy Ending" that doesn't have the audio to go with it. A must see film that I know you will appreciate. It's very good.
(http://www.kinskimania.com/Kinski/Filme/img/silenzio.jpg)
COMPANEROS (1970) - This excellenct revolutionary film is directed by Sergio Corbucci and stars Tomas Milian, Franco Nero, and Jack Palance in Revolutionary Mexico with executions and unforgettable music by Ennio Morricone. Tomas Milian is the star of this film and Franco Nero's character is fondly remembered at the end riding back into town with the red/black silloutte image and theme music. Jack Palance plays the bad guy who spends the whole film smoking marijuana and looking extemely high who also gets blown up with his artificial hand falling before the Swede character played by Franco Nero. The smuggling of the revolutionary leader in a coffin past the border guards was one the the more interesting scenes. Again the musical score is most memorable.
(http://www.adiosgringo.com/imagenes/Carteles/Franceses/gran/COMPANEROS.jpg)
A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1967) - Good Italian Western comparable to FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE . Story is about bandits in Mexico selling stolen arms, but an American carring a golden bullet is causing him to stray from his bandit ways only so he can get close to the revolutionary general. The ending is different than that of FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE, but the production is a quality one. The best known actor in the film is Klaus Kinski who plays a religious revolutionary who in one of the best scenes he throws 4 gernades at Mexican troops, even if his character and look are the only distracting points in the film it is overall an enjoyable film. The music was by Luis Bacalov. Did I mention there were more executions.
(http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/cover_art1/bullettforthegeneral.jpg)
Post Edited (11-09-04 07:31)
I have to see more of this stuff, but in my country these films are quite hard to find.
I can't say how much I enjoyed watching these films they are really special each one of them. The Italian Western genre is unique.
All three have been on my wish list of films to see for a while. I'll have to order them at some point. Three of the best know and most well regaded non-Leone spaghetti westerns, and I've never seen them.
Aftern seeing Tomas Milian in some spaghetti westerns and his brief scene in the American film "Winter Kills" I wish he had been able to make the jump to American films like he wanted, more people needed to see this guy act. Plus from the interview segments with him on "Django Kill!" he's an interesting guy.
And I'll watch anything with Kinski at least once for curiosity factor, he about the only watchable part of "Web of the Spider".
All three are very good Italian Westerns and I always enjoy South of the border revolutionary films like A BULLIT FOR A GENERAL and COMPENEROS
Tomas Milian was a very good actor who you can see in RUN MAN RUN and alsoTHE BIG GUNDOWN which shows alot on Encore Western Channel.