Today would have been Lee Van Cleef’s 99th birthday.
Last year, I reviewed one of Van Cleef’s final projects, a television series called The Master. On the show, Van Cleef played John Peter McAllister, an American ninja. However, Van Cleef was best known for appearing in several Italian spaghetti westerns, where his icy stare and ruthless intelligence were put to good use.
Today’s scene that I love features Van Cleef as the title character in 1969’s Sabata. In this scene, he faces off in a duel with William Berger’s Banjo. Even when he’s playing the good guy, like in this film, Lee Van Cleef leaves no doubt that he’s not someone you want to mess with.
Since this week started with Sergio Leone’s birthday, it only seems appropriate that today’s edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse Trailers should be dedicated to the Western. Here are 6 classic Spaghetti western trailers!
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
It only makes sense that we should start things off with a trailer from a Leone film and it makes further sense that film should be The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. It’s all here, from the classic Ennio Morricone score to the unforgettable staring contest between Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach.
2. Sabata (1969)
While Clint Eastwood was able to use his appearances in Leone’s westerns to restart his American film career, Lee Van Cleef remained in Italy. After playing the villainous Angel Eyes, Van Cleef played the hero Sabata. This trailer is very, very 60s.
3. Django (1966)
Franco Nero never appeared in a Sergio Leone film but he was a favorite of the famous “other Sergio,” Sergio Corbucci. In Corbucci’s Django, Nero played the haunted title character, making his way across the west with a deadly coffin.
4. Django Kill (1967)
Django was such a hit that a number of other films were made about other haunted, amoral gunslingers named Django. Whether or not they were all the same Django was left to the audience to decide. In Django Kill, Tomas Milian played the title character and found himself in a surreal hellscape, surrounded by people who were obsessed with gold.
5. The Great Silence (1968)
The Great Silence was one of the greatest of the spaghetti westerns, featuring Klaus Kinski in one of his best and most villainous roles. Unfortunately, like many of the better spaghetti westerns, it initially did not get a proper release in the States. Fortunately, it has since been rediscovered.
6. Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
And finally, to close things out, here’s one last Sergio Leone trailer. Sadly underappreciated when first released, Once Upon A Time In The West has since come to be recognized as a masterpiece.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Today is the 95th birthday of the great, late Lee Van Cleef! Van Cleef got his start playing western outlaws in Hollywood westerns like High Noon and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. In the 1960s, Van Cleef did what many American actors of the time. He went overseas to find better roles and bigger paychecks. A series of roles in Spaghetti westerns made Van Cleeef one of the biggest stars in Europe and it also made him a timeless film icon.
In honor of the career and legacy of Lee Van Cleef, here are 4 shots from 4 films.
4 Shots From 4 Lee Van Cleef Films
High Noon (1952, directed by Fred Zinnemann)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, directed by John Ford)
For A Few Dollars More (1965, directed by Sergio Leone)
Let’s face it, Lee Van Cleef was one cool hombre, and he’s at his coolest in SABATA, the first film of a trilogy written and directed by Gianfranco Parolini (aka Frank Kramer). The beady-eyed Van Cleef is obviously enjoying himself as Sabata, a trickster with a sinister chuckle and an array of tricked-out weapons who always manages to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.
The movie begins traditionally enough, as $100,000 in Army payroll is deposited for safe keeping in the town of Daughtrey’s bank. A daring robbery finds the guards murdered and the safe heisted. It’s all a plot by banker Ferguson, Judge O’Hara, and ex-Confederate Colonel Stengel to buy up land needed for the railroad to come through. What they didn’t count on is the presence of the mysterious Sabata, who stops the bandits with his extra-long range Winchester, carting their carcasses back to town with…
Through the Shattered Lens 