Tag: eli wallach

So far, so good. “The Magnificent Seven” (1960)

SashLeave a comment
directed by John Sturges
© 1960 United Artists. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday I recommended you to see the classic by Akira Kurosawa, which was also the inspiration for today’s American remake. In 1960 they decided to use the idea of “Seven Samurai” and set it in their own “western reality”. So instead of a Japanese mountain village we get a Mexican village that is constantly being attacked by a gang led by Calvera (Eli Wallach). In order to protect themselves, the villagers approach a very talented gunfighter Chris Adams (Yul Brynner) and convince him to help them. And as it was in Kurosawa’s film, the leader recruits six other men and decides to fight with the bandits. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of remaking everything, especially by Americans, because despite their skills in cinema, they sometimes miss the point of the productions made in other countries. I believe some films should be left untouched, but in this case I say “bless you America!” Personally, I believe this remake is fantastic. The idea of seven brave men protecting poor villagers works very well in this western form. They chose magnificent actors for each of the roles, especially Yul Brynner – he has so much charisma and mystery in this film that I couldn’t stop watching. And if you follow my blog, you may remember that I’m not a big fan of westerns. But you know what? Thanks to this production I can say that I love westerns! If westerns were like that, please give me more! Actually, I can share a fun fact with you: I pay a lot of attention to details and this one thing that made me smile was the part where Chris is recruiting people to his team and each new member is signalised with a hand showing the right number of fingers. Perhaps you think it’s trivial, but this small element really made me enjoy the recruitment process more. Am I weird? Maybe. But you’ll get used to that. And music? Oh holy spirits, fairies and all the magical creatures! The music is fantastic. You can really feel adventurous vibes coming out of it and it completes the story very well. So to sum up my excitement in this post, I’m a big fan of the remake and I think it’s probably the best western I’ve seen in my life. Don’t you dare missing it!

My rating: 8/10
S.

When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk. “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (“Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo”, 1966)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Sergio Leone
© 1966 United Artists. All Rights Reserved.

Even if you haven’t seen today’s film, I bet you know its soundtrack. It’s funny, because long time ago, when I didn’t know about “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, I heard “Clint Eastwood” song by Gorillaz. And I really liked the beginning, that characteristic “AAAHHHHHH”. And then I learned about the western. Aaaand I understood why the song was called “Clint Eastwood”. So, as you can see, even if you have no idea about today’s film, I’m sure you’re somehow connected to it. The reason why I’m writing about it is the fact that we’ve just lost Ennio Morricone, the marvellous composer, who has created the music for many great productions. One of them is today’s film, and since I haven’t written about it, I guess the moment is perfect. “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is, as they like to call it, a “spaghetti western”. Why? Very simple. Back then, when Italians started making westerns, film critics (especially Americans), were referring to such productions as “spaghetti westerns” to point out that they were made by Italians. The funny fact is that using that term, the critics wanted to despise those film, while I think today’s spaghetti western is one of the best westerns I’ve seen. And I honestly can’t stand watching American westerns, unless I drink lots of coke and someone makes sure I don’t fall asleep. So I believe that spaghetti westerns are actually yummy, molto bene Italia! But hey, I’ve written so much and still haven’t explained you what today’s film is about. And… I guess I don’t want to. I mean, the title says it all. We have three men, the Good (Clint Eastwood), the Bad (Lee Van Cleef) and the Ugly (Eli Wallach). And all of them have one goal – get lots of money. But the problem is that they want the same money, meaning the same treasure. And I’m not telling you more, because I challenge you, especially if you haven’t seen it yet, to watch this beautiful spaghetti western (and say it proudly!) as a tribute to Maestro Morricone. And I consider this challenge accepted.

My rating: 7.5/10
S.