If the American Western film wasn’t completely dead in 1964, it was surely on life support. Television had saturated the market with weekly oaters to the point of overkill. John Wayne’s starring vehicles were still making money, but the rest of Hollywood’s big screen Westerns were mainly made to fill the bottom half of double feature bills, from Audie Murphy outings to the low budget, veteran laden films of producer A.C. Lyles.
Meanwhile in Italy, writer/director Sergio Leone was as tired of the sword & sandal films he was making as was his audience. He had a notion to revitalize the failing western genre by giving it a new, European perspective. Leone grew up on Hollywood westerns, and wanted to turn them on their ear by showing a more realistic, grittier version of the Old West. Searched high and low for an American name actor to star, Leone was turned down by the likes of Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Rory Calhoun…
Sergio Leone’s DUCK, YOU SUCKER is the director’s most overtly political film statement. Butchered and retitled A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE by United Artists upon its American release, the film was restored to its full glory in 2007. The print I viewed is the full 157 minute version broadcast last summer on Encore Westerns, and the result is an epic tale of revolution, the futility of war, and class struggle starring two great actors, Rod Steiger and James Coburn. Filled with violence, humor, and Leone’s signature touches, DUCK, YOU SUCKER is second only to THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY on my personal list of Leone favorites.
The film is essentially a buddy movie at heart. Juan Miranda (Steiger) is leader of a bandito family that robs from the rich and gives to the poor… namely themselves! They come across John H. Corbett (Coburn) riding on his motorcycle. John’s an ex-IRA…
The latest “Song of the Day” is dedicated to a great film composer who passed away today. Riz Ortolani is well-known in the virtual and brick-and-mortar halls of Through the Shattered Lens. In fact, I would say that his work would be a perfect soundtrack for the site if it ever decided to have one.
Ortolani was born in March 25, 1926. Music seemed to be in his blood as his musical career first began as part of an Italian jazz band before he eventually move to composing scores for Italian films. While many grindhouse and exploitation film fans got to know Ortolani through his work on Ruggero Deodato’s famous (infamous in some circles) cannibal exploitation film Cannibal Holocaust ( especially for it’s serene-like opening theme) his film scores ranged through several genres from mondo films, spaghetti westerns, eurospy flicks and Italian giallos.
For someone in elite circles would considered as beneath their notice for doing work in the so-called video nasty genre, ORtoani’s work has been hailed as genius and one of his compositions even won him an Academy Award in 1964. It’s this award-winning song that I’ve chosen to focus on.
“More” from the shockumentary Mondo Cane won Ortolani an Oscar in 1964 and even had an admirer in the Chairman of the Board himself that he would cover the song the very same year.
With each passing year the film and entertainment community loses one more of the earlier generation who were instrumental in making many at this site in falling in love with film and music. Time to appreciate what they’ve contributed to film and music and remind ourselves that sometimes just because something is old and dated doesn’t mean it’s still not better than something newer and more advanced.
R.I.P. Riz Ortolani and thanks for the music and memories.
Even the Ol’ Blue Eyes covered the song…
More (Theme From Mondo Cane)
More than the greatest love the world has known, This is the love I give to you alone, More than the simple words I try to say, I only live to love you more each day. More than you’ll ever know, my arms long to hold you so, My life will be in your keeping, waking, sleeping, laughing, weeping, Longer than always is a long long time, but far beyond forever you’re gonna be mine. I know I’ve never lived before and my heart is very sure, No one else could love you more.
[musical interlude]
More than you’ll ever know , my arms they long to hold you so, My life will be in your keeping, waking, sleeping, laughing, weeping, Longer than always is a long long time, but far beyond forever you’ll be mine, I know that I’ve never lived before and my heart is very sure, No one else could love you more, no one else could love you more.
So, over the weekend I was finally able to catch the latest from Quentin Tarantino. To say that I enjoyed Django Unchained would be an understatement. Review of the film will be coming forthwith. One thing I really loved about this film was how Tarantino continues to pay homage to the very films he has used to inspire the ones he himself makes. This is clearly evident when one hears the original title song from the original Django play out in the beginning of Django Unchained.
Simply titled “Django” this song was composed by Luis Bacalov with lyrics by Franco Migliacci and sung by Roberto Fia. For fans of the spaghetti western this song is just as iconic as those composed by Ennio Morricone for Sergio Leone’s “The Man With No Name” trilogy of spaghetti westerns. Where Ennio’s compositions were more in line with Leone’s more serious take on the Italian view of the western, Bacalov’s “Django” definitely has a much more grindhouse feel to it. It sounds like something that would be heard in a western, but also has that 60’s era folk rock sound.
For those who have been loving Tarantino’s spaghetti western should really go search out Sergio Corbucci’s original Django and also Bacalov’s score work.
Django
Chorus: django!
Django, have you always been alone?
Chorus: django!
Django, have you never loved again? Love will live on, oh oh oh… Life must go on, oh oh oh… For you cannot spend your life regreatting.
Chorus: django!
Django, you must face another day.
Chorus: django!
Django, now your love has gone away. Once you loved her, whoa-oh… Now you’ve lost her, whoa-oh-oh-oh… But you’ve lost her for-ever, django.
When there are clouds in the skies, and they are grey. You may be sad but remember that love will pass away.
Oh django! After the showers is the sun. Will be shining…
[instrumental solo]
Once you loved her, whoa-oh… Now you’ve lost her, whoa-oh-oh-oh… But you’ve lost her for-ever, django.
When there are clouds in the skies, and they are grey. You may be sad but remember that love will pass away. Oh django! After the showers is the sun. Will be shining… Django! Oh oh oh django! You must go on, Oh oh oh django…
The last couple days have seen the release of a number of upcoming films that should be jockeying for all those fancy-pants end of season awards. One such film is the latest film from Quentin Tarantino. Django Unchained is his latest trip into the grindhouse world with this film being his take on the spaghetti westerns made popular by Italian maestros like Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci and Enzo G. Castellari.
It’s an ensemble cast that’s headlined by Jamie Foxx in the title role with Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio (playing against the grain as the main villain of the piece). To pay respect to the very genre that this film owes not just it’s title, but theme and tone, Tarantino has even cast the original Django in Franco Nero in the role of Amerigo Vassepi.
Django Unchainedis set for a Christmas Day 2012 release date (hopefully the world didn’t end just four days earlier).
If there’s a film arriving this year that’s bound to be hyped up by both fanboys and critics alike it would be the latest from Quentin Tarantino. Django Unchained will be his ode to the spaghetti westerns of the 60’s and 70’s. The title of the film alone owes much to Sergio Corbucci’s own spaghetti western, Django.
The trailer first premiered simultaneously over at Fandango and Movies.com and the amount of times the trailer has been reposted over the blogosphere just shows how much people have been waiting for anything about Tarantino’s western when it was first announced. I know that pretty much most everyone here at Through the Shattered Lens have been anticipating this film especially co-founder Lisa Marie Bowman.
I’d describe the trailer itself, but it’s better just to watch it. I’m sure Lisa Marie squealed a bit when two Django’s met near the end.
So, here I am. It’s May 1st, I’m suffering from a mighty terrible case of insomnia, my asthma is bothering me so much that I’d scream if I had the lung capacity, and let’s just say that whatever it is that I’m watching on LMN right now is not memorable enough to rate a What Lisa Watched Last Night post.
And yet, I’m excited. Why?
Because we have a title!
In this case, we have the title to Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Spaghetti Western (or “Spaghetti Southern” as Tarantino has suggested it should be called). The title is Django Unchained. When I first heard that title, along with the rumor the Franco Nero would have a cameo in the film, I was hopeful that maybe Tarantino was looking to restart the original Django series. Back during the heyday of the Spaghetti Western, there were a countless number of Italian-made westerns that detailed the adventures of a ruthless bounty hunter named Django. Franco Nero first played Django in a film entitled, not surprisingly, Django. However, after the success of the first Django, Django was played by everyone from Tomas Milian to Ivan Rassimov to Jeff Cameron to George Eastman.
However, it appears that the name of Tarantino’s Django is not evidence of a reboot but just of an homage. Tarantino’s Django is a former slave who, along with an older German bounty hunter (presumably to be played by Christoph Waltz, who could use another good role), returns to the South to rescue his wife from an evil plantation owner.
If you read the story over on Comingsoon.net, you can read a review of the script from someone who claims to have read a copy. I’m not going to quote from that review because, quite frankly, it’s obvious just from the tone of it that the reviewer is busier trying to come across like a film geek badass than actually reviewing the script. (Seriously, there’s nothing I hate more than people who think they’re more interesting than they actually are.)
Still, I will always look forward to anything Tarantino does. Add Franco Nero into the mix and we have got a lot to look forward to.
Having recently seen Michael Caine’s revenge film Harry Brown I got to thinking about other revenge-themed films I’ve watched through the years and I realized that there were quite a bit of them. There’s something just primal and Old Testament about revenge flicks. It doesn’t matter whether they’re high-brow art-house films or the cheapest grindhouse flicks in the end it all boils down to one individual raining down their own version of Divine Wrath on those who wronged them.
Who hasn’t fantasized or thought about going all medieval on someone who just screwed them over. Maybe it was an infraction that was minor that one didn’t need to get overly upset over or something so heinous that only violence at its most basest was the only response. Going through with such thoughts usually stayed there: in one’s thoughts and imaginings. Revenge films seems to be quite popular because they allow even the meekest and most pacifist to secretly live vicariously through the revenge-minded leads in the film.
The list below is not the best revenge films out there but they definitely are my favorites…
Oldboy – This revenge film by South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook wasn’t just a blast to watch but also happens to be one of the best films of the past decade. It takes a simple plot of a man imprisoned against his will for 15 years with no explanation whatsoever that he literally goes insane and back to sane during his captivity. Revenge being the one thing which keeps him going and revenge he gets to inflict on all those he discovers were responsible. The mind-twisting last act in the film takes the revenge-theme right on it’s head as we find out that the main lead wasn’t the only one on a revenge train of thought.
I Spit On Your Grave aka Day of the Woman – This grindhouse classic from Meir Zarchi is the epitome of the rape victim turned revenge valkyrie. The film is not very easy to sit through since there’s nothing subtle about how filmmaker Meir Zarchi filmed every exploitative scene. From the prolonged gang rape sequence to each subsequent revenge act by Camille Keaton’s Jennifer character. Some critics have blasted the film as pandering to the lowest common denominator while others have hailed it as a post-modern feminist film. I like to think that both sides are correct and that the film lies somewhere in the middle. It definitely will put a scare on any group of men who are having thoughts of shenanigans.
Death Wish – When people hear revenge flick they almost always say this iconic film by Charles Bronson from the 70’s. The film was adapted from Brian Garfield’s 1072 novel of the same name and directed by Michael Winner. While critics had mixed reactions to the film with some calling it irresponsible filmmaking, the nation as a whole embraced the film. Here was a film which screamed to the nation that the rising crime-rate in the U.S. during the 1970’s wasn’t going to go unanswered. While some people may have seen the film as a blank check to actually commit vigilantism in the end it just helped a country sick and tired of the crime they see day in and day out. Again here was art becoming a driving force in changing a nation’s collective malaise into something more positive. It didn’t hurt that Bronson was badass as Paul Kersey.
Kill Bill: Volume 1-2 – Who else but the video clerk made good would make what I would consider the greatest genre mash-up film ever made. Quentin Tarantino’s ode to kung fu, spaghetti westerns and revenge flicks became so massive that he had to split the film into two volumes. I am talking about Kill Bill. Not his greatest film ever but I definitely consider it his most geek-friendly and most entertaining. Uma Thurman as The Bride tearing a bloody and witty path of revenge on those who failed to kill her created some of the most iconic fight sequences of the generation this film came out in. Every scene almost seemed to be inspired by other films of a similar theme and genre that film geeks everywhere must’ve exploded in their pants from all the awesomeness they were witnessing. Each volume had two great action sequences that were both fantastical and brutal.
Straw Dogs – One of the most controversial films in Sam Peckinpah’s controversy-filled directing career. Released in 1971 it told the story of how even the meekest person could be pushed into dealing out extreme violent justice on those who have wrong them and those they love. Seen by critics as quite misogynistic due to the nature of the rape scene of Susan George’s Amy character the film was banned for two decades in the UK for it’s unflinching look at violence. Being a huge fan of Sam Peckinpah I had to see it and when I did it automatically became one of my favorite films ever and not just a favorite revenge film. If there was ever a modern retelling of a Biblical-level fable it is this classic from Sam Peckinpah. Every revenge-fueled act by Dustin Hoffman literally oozes Old Testament justice. Just the way I like my revenge. 🙂
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Speaking of Biblical this first sequel in the Star Trek film franchise still considered by fans and non-fans alike as the best in the series. Hard to argue with them since it’s also an opinion I share. The sequel takes a popular episode from the original series and follows it up with all the cast of characters older and more seasoned. In the case of Ricardo Montalban’s Khan Noonian Singh quite seasoned and classy as smooth Corinthian leather. It’s a film with Shatner’s Kirk and Montalban’s Khan in an everending cycle of revenge which would culminate in what would be one of film’s most heartbreaking scenes. One could taste the revenge emanating from the two characters as age-won wisdom and genetically-engineered intellect fell by the wayside to feed the vengeance sought by Kirk and Khan. This revenge flick also has one of the most awesome death speeches by a character on film.
Carrie – Brian De Palma’s film adaptation of one of Stephen King’s better horror novels still seen by many as the best film adapt of a King novel. It combines the existential horror of being a girl and her body maturing in the dog-eat-dog world of high school and the horror said girl can inflict on those tormenting her. It’s high school bullying and revenge with a healthy dose of Stephen King shenanigans mixed in. Sissy Spacek was great as the titular character. One doesn’t have to be a high school girl to feel for Carrie and what she goes through. Her snapping in the last act and inflicting her psychokinetic-brand of revenge on her tormentors must’ve gotten more than a few “Hell yeah!” from some of the teens and adults who went through high school hell. It also has a classic line uttered by Carrie’s mother played by Piper Laurie: “I can see your dirty pillows. Everyone will.”
Orca – This film was to be producer Dino De Laurentiis’ attempt to capitalize on the success of Steven Spielberg’s classic man-versus-nature thriller, Jaws. Starring Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling and Bo Derek the film wasn’t a success when it first came out. While Spielberg’s film was a modern retelling of Moby Dick this killer whale version by director Michael Anderson was Death Wish on water with Paul Kersey as the killer whale. This was one of the first films where I realized none of the people on the screen were worth rooting for to survive. I was all for the killer whale who was on a warpath to avenge his mate and unborn wee killer whale who were killed by Harris and his crew. Shamu this killer whale was not and it always brought a smile to my face whenever the killer whale outsmarted the humans and killed each and everyone in inventive ways. I’m wondering if all the killer whales in all the aquatic parks are just biding their time before they too go all Orca on their handlers and the audience. I’d pay to see that!
Treevenge – Last but not least the greatest film ever made!
