The Big Gundown (1967)

Disappointment for a huge fan!

The first must-see film of the year.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Lee Van Cleef stars as John Corbett, an amateur lawman who has a reputation for being able to hunt down any fugitive. He has his eye on a senate seat, so when a wealthy railroad tycoon offers to back his election campaign in exchange for tracking down "Cuchillo" Sanchez (Tomas Milian), a Mexican peasant accused of raping and murdering a 12 year old girl, Corbett accepts. This kicks off a long series of near misses where Van Cleef gets close, only to see Milian get away. As the chase heats up and the two men get to know each other, Van Cleef starts to suspect that Milian has been set up as a fall guy. This is a top tier spaghetti western, very reminiscent of Leone in the way the character dynamics work, and accompanied by a fantastic Ennio Morricone score. It lacks Leone's operatic tone and stylistic excesses, but is a solid western ... kind ofa sleek, working man's Leone.

One of the best and possibly the greatest Spaghetti Western ever made. The Big Gundown (or La Resa Dei Conti) is a marvelous example of how not every Spaghetti Western without Sergio Leone was bad. The film has a superb cast with two great stars for westerns, and a great script. The film is a powerhouse to other films, but no one sees it.Sergio Sollima's film is a film that has been forgotten throughout the years. People only remember Spaghetti Westerns due to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly and Once Upon A Time In The West. This film though, does mix the two's most infamous part's of each film. Leone's Good, Bad, And ugly has an epic showdown that everyone will remember even if you have seen it once, and Leone's Once Upon a Time one has politics and social issues. The Big Gundown mixes an epic showdown towards the end of the film with and uses politics and social issues to bring toward the climax. One thing though stands out to this film, the music. Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western music is probably the most iconic (especially The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly). But, Morricone's music is more of his finer work. His work for Leone is considered gold, but this is a piece of lost gold. Just the opening titles really get you pumped up, and the showdown music towards the end with the Butler and Cuchillo is marvelous. But, then there is the other showdown music with the Baron from Austria and Corbert. The music for that scene mixes Beethoven with Western showdown.If you're looking for a film to watch, especially a somewhat of a Cult Film, I recommend this with open hands. It is a great film, it isn't as long as Leone's pictures, but it is intense. There is probably no other Non-Leone Spaghetti Western out there that comes close. I hope you enjoy this film.

A very entertaining although not always coherent spaghetti western. Lee Van Cleef is hired by railroad baron Walter Barnes to track down accused rapist/murder Tomas Milian. Milian proves to be far more elusive than anyone could imagine. Director Sergio Sollima makes great use of the wide open spaces as Van Cleef and Milian play an almost comical game of cat and mouse. Van Cleef is stolid, cracking only the occasional smile and Milian is just plain crazy. The supporting cast includes creepy Gérard Herter as Barnes's Austrian "bodyguard," complete with black cape & monocle. The score by Ennio Morricone is masterful and cinematography by Carlo Carlini is at times stunning. The movies definitely suffers from some sloppy editing, but it's still a lot of fun.

As a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns, two of my all-time favorite directors are Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci. Out of all Spaghetti Westerns directed by neither Leone, nor Corbucci, Segio Sollima's "La Resa Dei Conti" aka. "The Big Gundown" is my personal favorite, and doubtlessly one of the greatest films the genre has ever brought forth. An exciting and extremely stylish film with brilliantly drawn characters, "The Big Gundown" is a masterly Spaghetti Western with a political message.Jonathan Corbett (Lee Van Cleef), a famous gunman and bounty hunter, is sent to hunt down a Mexican small-time crook named Cuchillo Sanchez (Tomas Milian), who is accused of the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. Corbett is an experienced and successful lawman, but Cuchillo is very clever too. On the his long hunt Corbett gets to know Cuchillo, whose guilt he finds more and more doubtful. Although this is a very serious Spaghetti Western in most of its parts, there are some very funny characters, like the almost cartoonish aristocratic Austrian gunman Baron Von Schulenberg (Gérard Herter), a cold-blooded but extremely arrogant and almost Nazi-ish killer wearing a monocle and always looking neat as a pin.Sergio Sollima's directing is truly outstanding. The acting is also great, especially the brilliant performances of Tomas Milian and Lee Van Cleef, two of my personal favorite actors. The score by Ennio Morricone is one of a kind, outstanding, even compared to most of the other Morricone soundtracks. In one ingenious part of the movie, for example, Morricone mixes Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Für Elise" with a Mexican guitar and his typical dynamic Spaghetti Western drums. The cinematography and settings are overwhelming in a manner that is en par with Leone. In short: "The Big Gundown" is a formidable gem that even Leone would be proud of, and an Italian Western highlight that no lover of the genre could possibly afford to miss! 10/10