The Big Gundown

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Taylor L Even when Lee Van Cleef is good, he's bad. Save him from dying of thirst in the desert, and he'll steal your horse. An interesting Spaghetti Western that starts in a safe harbor - Van Cleef as the crack-shot bounty hunter Corbett going after a wanted man - before flipping the script as Corbett comes to realize there's more to the story than what he was led to believe. The antagonists are relatively simplistic but many of the other secondary characters really show a surprising bit of depth, with their own unique features and subplots that follow a twisting cat-and-mouse chase across the desert. Tomas Milian's Cuchillo, the rapist that Corbett is tracking down, treads this fine line between mischievous trickster and stone-cold knife thrower, and the dynamic between hunter and hunted gets more interesting with each encounter. Corbett himself has to weigh his irrepressible relentlessness against a bit of morality that doesn't do him much good. Though they really only serve as atmosphere, both the opening score and the initial scene establishing Corbett's skill (where he hangs a thief and impersonates him to get the drop on the rest of the gang) are absolutely gold. There are mutliple versions out there; the full Italian cut is the one to see if you can locate it with appropriate subtitles. Though it's very awkward to watch at times when the spoken language shifts so awkwardly, it gives additional pieces to the story that go a long way. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member (110 minute Italian cut), oh and fuck Tarantino for taking the music. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member There were three directors with the first name Sergio who directed Italian Westerns (or Spaghetti Westerns if you prefer). Sergio Leone made the best films in the genre and actually made two of the best Western pictures, Italian or Hollywood, ever made. Sergio Corbucci made several very interesting Westerns and often dealt with themes of outsiders and racism. Sergio Sollima took Corbucci's also dealt with those themes but was more overtly political. One of the best in the genre, it has Lee Van Cleef as a bounty hunter hired by a power broker to hunt down Thomas Millian's character who is accused of raping and murdering a 12-year old girl. Chuchillo Sanchez (Millian) keeps getting the better of Jonathan Corbett (Van Cleef) who doggedly and professionally pursues his prey south from Colorado into Mexico. Along the way, Corbett begins to question Sanchez's guilt and the true motivations of his power-broker patron, Brockston (walter Barnes) as well as his own motivations. Van Cleef and Millian were two of the best actors working in Italian Westerns, watching the cat-and-mouse game between these two is lots of fun. And the soundtrack is by Ennio Morricone and is one of his best in this genre, a definite plus. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Solid Spaghetti Western with a rare lead role for the legendary Lee Van Cleef. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best of the spaghetti westerns. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member There are such jarring edits in this movie that I honestly felt like I had fallen asleep for a split second several times during it. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Big Gundown

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