DUCK YOU SUCKER!

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

aka A Fistful of Dynamite, aka Once Upon a Time… the Revolution...just blew me the fuck away. Here is the description from Rotten Tomatoes:

"Originally titled Giù la Testa, Duck, You Sucker! is a Mexican-revolution yarn, filmed in Italy by spaghetti Western maven Sergio Leone. James Coburn is top-billed as John H. Mallory, an Irish soldier of fortune with a penchant for explosives. Rod Steiger plays Juan Miranda, another mercenary who wants to utilize Mallory's specialty to blast into a bank. Despite his avaricious intentions, Miranda becomes a hero when the hole he blows in the bank wall frees dozens of political prisoners. Duck, You Sucker originally ran 150 minutes, with U.S. release prints heavily trimmed. Taking into consideration the previous "Man With No Name" films masterminded by Leone, the distributors of Duck, You Sucker! reissued the film as A Fistful of Dynamite. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pretty certain the missing scenes that were spoken of above have been restored back to the original...the movie ran 157 minutes on Xfinity Cable (Comcast) at my house. A review at Rotten Tomatoes mentions the restored footage.

This film is now in my top 5 ever westerns. It is quite surreal in its feel and probably right up many a stoner's avenue. Can't believe I've never seen it before. Maybe I did and got to wasted to remember it. But, it is such a great movie with a great and weird soundtrack, and great acting. Fucking A gotta make sure to check out the other 2 in the trilogy.

It's pretty long, but well worth the time spent, it actually seems shorter than its running length of 2.5 hours. Anybody who has Comcast Cable can access it through the Xfinity part of their cable package for free.

Here's some reviews at Rotten Tomatoes:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fistful_of_dynamite/

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[mrcreosote]

Sergio is the shit.
Check out 'Once Upon a Time in America'. Epic Jewish Gangster movie.

Originally 4 1/2 hrs. long. Shortened to 3-50 in Europe. Shortened again to 2 1/2 for US.

Still want to find the original.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Thanks for the recommendation mr c. Just looked up some info on it, here is the blurb from Rotten Tomatoes:

Though some viewers might be put off by its length, graphic violence, and absence of likable characters, Sergio Leone's final film is also a cinematic masterpiece. Spanning four decades, the film tells the story of David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and his Jewish pals, chronicling their childhoods on New York's Lower East Side in the 1920s, through their gangster careers in the 1930s, and culminating in Noodles' 1968 return to New York from self-imposed exile, at which time he learns the truth about the fate of his friends and again confronts the nightmare of his past. The acting, the re-creation of the time period, the cinematography, and the music are all superb. However, even more important is Leone's ability to make the film work on so many different levels: it's both a criticism of gangster-film mythology and a continuation of the director's exploration of the issues of time and history. Strange as it may seem, the violence and gore in the first half of the film turn into a sad elegy about wasted lives and lost love. The film's strengths emerge only in its full 229-minute version -- the 139-minute and other edited versions don't make nearly the same impact.

I was under the impression that Sergio only did spaghetti westerns. Little did I know...Seems the long version is the best to watch like you said.

 

[thesloppy]

Just for the record, Duck You Sucker/Fistful of Dynamite is not part of the Dollars/Man-With-No-Name trilogy, the trilogy includes 'Fistful of Dollars', 'For a Few Dollars More', and 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly'. All are great flicks, though, and you shouldn't miss 'Once Upon a Time in the West' either, as it's a classic as well (you can see how it might be tough to confuse Leone movies, since he likes to reuse the titles).

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Thanks slop....those are actually the only Sergio movies I've seen over the years. Those movies have Clint starring in them, correct?

 

[thesloppy]

Thanks slop....those are actually the only Sergio movies I've seen over the years. Those movies have Clint starring in them, correct?

Yup, if it's got Clint in it, it's part of the Man-With-No-Name trilogy. 'Once Upon A Time in the West' is similar, as the hero is just referred to as 'Harmonica', but I don't think it's supposed to be the same character (even though Clint was initially cast in the role). 'Once Upon a Time in the West' has a truly awesome cast, with Charles Bronson as the hero, and Henry Fonda playing against type, as a ruthless cold-hearted villain, and Jason Robards is in there too. The script/concept was put together when Leone commissioned Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento (awesome, classic Italian directors in their own right) to watch westerns for almost a year, with Leone, in order to construct the 'ultimate western'.