A Fistful of Dynamite

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Nicholas t @nicktalbert2025 Sep 20 Bad western movie ever See more C S Aug 22 Once Upon a time... the Revolution, the films actual title, is part of Leone's Once Upon a time film series. Mistakenly called a Spaghetti Western actually part of another sub-genre altogether, the Zapata Western. It is an excellent film and easily one of the best ever made. A must watch even if only for the beauty of a Leone film, the Morricone score, or its ridiculous. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 20 Success in 2 hours and 19 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Jay W Jun 15 Yes, "Duck, You Sucker!" or "Fistful of Dynamite" is Sergio Leone worst western. I know that isn't saying much considering that the “Mt. Rushmore of Best Western Directors” feature Sergio Leone and John Ford as guaranteed heads. So, despite this having some good action set pieces, suspense and fun characters, it still ends up as a disappointment compared to the director's other stellar work. The movie is overly long, and it isn't even close to Leone's longest film, it just feels that way due to its poor pacing. The movie has 4 separate climaxes, and it could have chosen any of them to be the end. Leone's great at making unlikely alliances, but here, Coburn and Steiger do not work well off each other. They could have parted ways several times, but the script keeps bringing them back together. If you are a big western fan, there is still fun action to be had here. But it falls short of Leone's better works. See more Brian P May 12 This is a classic spaghetti western. James Coburn and Rod Steiger are great together. They just don't make movies like this anymore! I first saw this at the Shasta Drive In theater in Klamath Falls. Every time I see this it immediately takes me back to my childhood. Fantastic fanfare western! See more Ola G @Ollie1972 Apr 5 In revolution-torn 1913 Mexico, outlaw Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger) leads a family of bandits, robs a coach of wealthy men, and rapes a female passenger who insulted him. Passing by on a motorcycle is John H. Mallory (James Coburn), an Irish Republican explosives expert, who works in Mexico as a silver prospector. Juan asks John (who initially states his name as "Seán") to help him rob the Mesa Verde National Bank. After John refuses, Juan frames him for the murder of his employer and several soldiers, making him a wanted criminal and offering to "protect" him in exchange for his help. John reluctantly agrees, but escapes on the way to Mesa Verde. Arriving in the city before Juan, John makes contact with revolutionaries led by physician Dr. Villega and agrees to use his explosives in their service. When Juan arrives, John inducts him into the revolutionaries' ranks. The bank is hit as part of an orchestrated attack on the Mexican army. Juan, interested only in money, is shocked to find that the bank has no funds and is instead being used by the army as a political prison. After freeing several prisoners, Juan inadvertently becomes a "glorious hero of the revolution"... "A Fistful of Dynamite" failed to gain any substantial recognition from the critics at the time of debut, especially compared to Leone's other films, though he did win the David di Donatello for Best Director. Since then, however, it has received a more favorable reception. Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reads, "Duck, You Sucker is a saucy helping of spaghetti Western, with James Coburn and Rod Steiger's chemistry igniting the screen and Sergio Leone's bravura style on full display". The Chicago Reader praised it for its "marvelous sense of detail and spectacular effects". The New York Observer argues that Leone's direction, Morricone's score, and the leads' performances "ignite an emotional explosion comparable to that of Once Upon a Time in the West". In Mexico, where the film is known as Los Héroes de Mesa Verde, it was refused classification and effectively banned until 1979, because it was considered offensive to the Mexican people and the revolution. (Via Wikipedia) I just resaw "A Fistful of Dynamite" and my opinion has not changed towards this film. I think this is one of Sergio Leone's weakest films due to two main characters that doesn't appeal to me no matter the strong performances, specifically from Rod Steiger. Hard to follow Clint Eastwood´s incredible strong performance in Leone´s other western films. The fact that Leone has also stretched the film to eternity makes me feel that he could've cut out more of less the last hour and it wouldn't really matter. However, I love the classic Leone cinematography from Giuseppe Ruzzolini and the great settings in Andalusia, southern Spain. All the political references are clear as around the same time, political riots had broken out in Europe, and the ideals of revolution and left-wing nationalism had become popular among university students and filmmakers across Europe. Leone, who had used his previous films to deconstruct the romanticization of the American Old West, decided to use "A Fistful of Dynamite" to deconstruct the romanticized nature of revolution, and to shed light on the political instability of contemporary Italy, which of course adds several layers to the film. But, this is still one of his weaker films in my book. Trivia: It is the second film of Leone's unofficial Once Upon a Time Trilogy, which includes the previous "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968) and the subsequent "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984). The last Western film directed by Leone, it is considered by some to be one of his most overlooked films. (Via Wikipedia) See more Read all reviews

A Fistful of Dynamite

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