La resa dei conti aka The Big Gundown (1966)

[uncknown]

Hey all.

I have an extra copy of the CINEMA RETRO issue which contained my article on the film and Mike Siegels's interview with Sergio Solima.
[You can read more about it by clicking on the link below]

I will part with it for a one year 2017 subscription to CINEMA RETRO - Currently $36 iirc.
It is a hard to find magazine and will undoubedtly appreciate in value as it becomes scarcer.

Send me a message if you are interested.
Bruce Marshall


My article on the restoration of the The Big Gundown
http://thekinskifiles.blogspot.com/2009/01/cinemaretro-13-big-gundown.html

[Spikeopath]

Adding >

If you don't kill me right now, it'll be the last mistake you make.

La resa dei conti (The Big Gundown) is directed by Sergio Sollima and written by Sollima and Sergio Donati. It stars Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes and Gerard Herter. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Carlo Calini.

Superior Spaghetti Western with shades of Zapata for good measure, The Big Gundown finds Van Cleef as bounty hunter - cum - unofficial lawman Jonathan Corbett, whose reputation for bringing in the criminals, dead or alive, has caught the attention of business baron Brockston (Barnes). With an interest in getting into politics, Corbett is sold on Brockston's offer of political help if he will do a job for him. The job is to hunt down a Mexican rogue by the name of Cuchillo (Milian) who is alleged to have raped and murdered a 12 year old girl. Tracking Cuchillo across the land, the Mexican proves to be a slippery customer, and more importantly, Corbett begins to doubt the veracity of the charges against him.

Adios Amigo.

What do you need for a great Italo Western? A leading man with screen presence supreme? Check! Rogue antagonist able to overact opposite the leading man whilst still exuding charm personified? Check! Scorching vistas? Check! A musical score so in tune with the story it's a character all by itself? Check! And violence? Check! Sollima's movie has it all.

Much of the film is about the manhunt and how the two men involved develop a relationship. Cuchillo claims he's being set up and seems to have friends in every town featured in the play. Corbett is a dandy with a gun, but he's not perfect, he can be outsmarted and get caught cold. There's good thought gone into the screenplay in this respect, not putting the anti-hero up as an infallible superman.

Then there's the side-bar narrative strands that show Sollima's political bent, even though this is hardly a heavily politico piece. From class struggles and racism, to asides on the justice system and the fat cats who operate around the system, Sollima does enjoy dangling such carrots. With zippy set pieces fuelled by brooding machismo that is in turn enhanced by the top work from Carlini and Morricone (it's one of Moricone's best scores, real dynamite), this is grade "A" Spaghetti and well worth feasting on. 9/10

[Moorman]

I got to see this film. I love Lee Van Cleef. He is probably my favorite western actor... 

[cigar joe]

I got to see this film. I love Lee Van Cleef. He is probably my favorite western actor... 

This and Death Rides a Horse are his next best two films

[Moorman]

This and Death Rides a Horse are his next best two films

I have seen Death Rides a Horse.  I have a bad copy of it that came with a westerns box set I grabbed a few months back.  I want a clear blue ray version.  I believe Amazon has one. I think it's a very underrated western.

[cigar joe]

I have seen Death Rides a Horse.  I have a bad copy of it that came with a westerns box set I grabbed a few months back.  I want a clear blue ray version.  I believe Amazon has one. I think it's a very underrated western.

I'm dating myself but I actually saw The Big Gundown and Death Rides a Horse and of course all of the Leone films on their first releases on huge Times Square Theater screens.

About 10-12 years ago I got the Japanese widescreen DVD that was in pristine condition and it was quite the improvement. I pretty much got as many of the Japanese releases that I could.

[Cusser]

I'm dating myself but I actually saw The Big Gundown and Death Rides a Horse and of course all of the Leone films on their first releases on huge Times Square Theater screens.

I also saw all the spaghetti westerns on first run at the theaters.  First (Arizona) was GBU in June 1968, I was 15.  We had heard the "Montenegro" single on the radio, my family liked westerns, and we knew Clint Eastwood from Rawhide.  So several us us kids (including my brother who could drive) went to see it, couldn't figure out why all the Italian names were in the titles....could not believe the excitement/novelty of The Ecstasy of Gold scene...so only had to wait like 35 years for almost-complete soundtrack music to be released.  A few months later the two previous Leone westerns were released as a double feature here.

By the way, Once Upon a Time in the West got way smaller release in Phoenix than did Death Rides a Horse, Big Gundown, Day of Anger.

[Moorman]

I purchased the Grindhouse Releasing version, with the extended U.S. cut.  The Blu Ray is flawless.  This set includes the DVD U.S. extended cut, the Italian version and the soundtrack.  Its a excellent set.  

The film started slow for me, but got better as it went along.  Van Cleef, my favorite western actor,  was very good in this. His presence rivals, if not betters Eastwood's presence in the Sphagetti Western genre.  The cinematography was great.  The musical score is off the charts.  The plot was tight.  The only thing i don't like about this film, and pretty much sphagetti westerns in general, is the "slapstick" tone of some of the characters. ( Tuco in GBU, and Tomas's character in this film.)  I like a more serious tone. Tomas would cool it down when necessary though.  He gave a very good performance.  The tone of the film reminded me of GBU.

There is a excellent interview with Tomas Milan as part of this set.   This is a must have set from Grindhouse Releasing.

Cinematography- 1.5 points.  The Blu Ray is flawless...

Musical Score-2 points.  Morricone always delivers...

Plot-  1.5 points.  A very tight script.  The writers kept it simple...

Directing- 1.5 points.  Leone like in its presentation. IT was pretty good...

Acting- 1.5 points.   Van Cleef was excellent.  Tomas was great. I was let down by a few of the others.

Overall- 8 out of 10 points...

[cigar joe]

There is a excellent interview with Tomas Milan as part of this set.   This is a must have set from Grindhouse Releasing.

Tomas Milian reprises his roll of Cuchio in Run Man Run also by Sergio Sollima it doesn't have Lee Van Cleef though, it's sort of Sollima's GBU/OUTITW each character has a leitmotif.

Milian is also good in Face To Face, Tepepa, The Four of the Apocalypse... and I've heard good things about Sonny and Jed sort of a Western Bonnie & Clyde but never seen it.

You'll also have to check out Milian and Nero in Companeros, and of course Nero in his best The Mercenary.

[stanton]

and I've heard good things about Sonny and Jed sort of a Western Bonnie & Clyde but never seen it.

Hearing good things about the scatterbrained Sonny and Jed ain't that easy ...

[Cusser]

I purchased the Grindhouse Releasing version, with the extended U.S. cut.  The Blu Ray is flawless.  This set includes the DVD U.S. extended cut, the Italian version and the soundtrack.  Its a excellent set.  

So is the US Extended cut of 110 minutes is in English, or just English subtitles?  Or is it English subtitles for just the added parts?


I saw this film at first release in theater, and bought this album (was a demo one, new were no longer available then even to order)

[Moorman]

Tomas Milian reprises his roll of Cuchio in Run Man Run also by Sergio Sollima it doesn't have Lee Van Cleef though, it's sort of Sollima's GBU/OUTITW each character has a leitmotif.

Milian is also good in Face To Face, Tepepa, The Four of the Apocalypse... and I've heard good things about Sonny and Jed sort of a Western Bonnie & Clyde but never seen it.

You'll also have to check out Milian and Nero in Companeros, and of course Nero in his best The Mercenary.

Thanx for the " Run Man Run' suggestion.  I'm gonna check it out.  I already had Companeros, The Mercenary and Face to Face in my list of movies to get.  You listed some others i will check out also...

[Moorman]

So is the US Extended cut of 110 minutes is in English, or just English subtitles?  Or is it English subtitles for just the added parts?


I saw this film at first release in theater, and bought this album (was a demo one, new were no longer available then even to order)

The U.S. version is 95 minutes in English.  The Italian version is the full 110 minutes directors cut. I haven't looked at the Italian version yet to see if it has English subtitles.  (udpdate, i read that the Italian version has English subtitles).  I also read earlier in this thread about the "cane field" scenes not being included in some previous versions. Its in the U.S. version i saw. The set also includes the complete soundtrack for the film. Its a excellent package that Grindhouse put together.  Its full of goodies. I got mine from Amazon...

[Novecento]

I also read earlier in this thread about the "cane field" scenes not being included in some previous versions. Its in the U.S. version i saw.

It's not that the "cane fields" sequence isn't included, it's that it is cut in the US version and at one point quite egregiously at that (where you see the camera rise out of the close-up of Milian to see the pursuers in the fields behind him)

Its full of goodies. I got mine from Amazon...

I opted for the German BD because I wanted to watch the Italian cut with English audio (reverting to Italian where no English dub was made) to hear Lee Van Cleef's voice. Tomas Milian is dubbed in both Italian and English.

I did miss some of the goodies in the US BD, although the Sollima interview on the German one is nice. Is the info about the cuts made by Columbia on the US release informative? I've always wanted to read that.

[Moorman]

It's not that the "cane fields" sequence isn't included, it's that it is cut in the US version and at one point quite egregiously at that (where you see the camera rise out of the close-up of Milian to see the pursuers in the fields behind him)

I opted for the German BD because I wanted to watch the Italian cut with English audio (reverting to Italian where no English dub was made) to hear Lee Van Cleef's voice. Tomas Milian is dubbed in both Italian and English.

I did miss some of the goodies in the US BD, although the Sollima interview on the German one is nice. Is the info about the cuts made by Columbia on the US release informative? I've always wanted to read that.

I'll try and get some information on the cuts you said that Columbia made on the U.S. version and post them for you...