Keoma is a 1976 movie directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
Keoma tells the story of a gunfighter who returns to his plague-ravaged hometown to battle his half-brothers and discover a meaning for his life. Franco Nero plays the title character – a half-breed former soldier attempting to find meaning in his nomadic existence.
In some respects, Keoma is a post-modern European Western – which is an oxymoron of sorts given the sub-genre’s genesis. Or at the least, Keoma represents the sunset on a wildly inventive, creatively pure era of movie making.
Either way, we get Franco Nero doing his best Jesus-esque, half-breed post-modern Hippie impersonation.
Nero plays a character very familiar to Western fans – the half-breed fighting for the respect of his family. Yet, the role feels unique given the actor’s background – particularly as Sergio Corbucci’s suave, selfish mercenary. In Keoma, Nero is an earthy, introspective fighter for the oppressed.
The Wild One is a 1953 movie directed by Laslo Benedek.
The Wild One tells the story of Johnny, the leader of a rebel motorcycle gang. The bikers invade a small town and cause havoc, before the locals fight back – leading to an unfortunate end.
It’s hard to separate this movie from both its lead actor and the cultural impression forged by its release. While nostalgia may color this view, The Wild One is emblematic of 1950’s cinema and more specifically, classic teenage angst.
Marlon Brando became a pop culture icon and a symbol of rebellion, which unfortunately overshadows what is a terrific, nuanced acting performance.
In this sense, the movie’s most memorable line can be easily disposable: “What are you rebelling against? What do you got?” Underneath this dialogue is a storm of emotions, confusion and violence that Brando delicately represses.
Brando’s intensity is unrivaled but what’s also impressive is how he locks onto his character’s insecurity and mistrust of the world. When he fails to lessen any emotional attachments to Mary Murphy’s Kathie, he immediately acts to remove himself from the situation.
A Bullet for the General is a 1967 movie directed by Damiano Damiani.
A Bullet for the General tells the story of the bandit Chucho, who tries to secure weapons for a rebel General. He is joined in his pursuit by the enigmatic Bill Tate, a Gringo whose motives are vague.
Readers of this site know my criteria for an enjoyable European Western: I’m looking for style, great music, fun bad guys and some violence. Throw in some weirdness and I’m hooked. A Bullet for the General covers all these bases and while it’s not outright strange, the movie boasts a bold, defined style.
The two leads create a fun dichotomy. Gian Maria Volonte and Lou Castel are perfect strangers – actors who can only come co-exist in a Spaghetti Western universe.
Volonte’s Chucho initially appears cartoonish. He’s the brash, sometimes oafish Mexican bandit who dominates the screen. Yet, a softness and depth emerges as the movie unfolds. The hardened bandit transforms into a man of the people, then undergoes a reckoning as returns to his previous life.
Perhaps Volonte’s graying mane and sad face contribute to the effect, but he easily absorbs the audience’s empathy. A few scenes after viciously killing a fellow bandit, he wrestles with his conscience. He implores the cynical Tate to look into the eyes of a poor farmer: “He’s a man like me and you – do you understand?”
Woyzeck is a 1979 movie directed by Werner Herzog.
Woyzeck tells the story of a disoriented soldier who is victimized by those in his life: his young wife cheats on him, his Captain mocks him and he’s the subject of demeaning experiments. He’s often bullied until the voices only he can hear lead him to madness.
This may be the leanest Herzog-Kinski offering – it almost resembles a Fassbinder movie in its efficiency and sparse setting. Yet, the hallmark Herzog traits – the crippling futility in the face of a hostile world, gorgeous, terrifying music and the scene chewing prowess of Klaus Kinski are present.
Woyzeck is Kinski’s movie. He inhabits a character who is eternally consumed with the extra-sensory phenomena occurring around him. He hears voices emerging in the ground, through the wind and rustling in leaves. Kinski’s face is plastered with a permanent thousand-yard stare – he’s searching into an unknown that begins to torment him.
Four of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Western directed by Lucio Fulci.
Four of the Apocalypse tells the story of four petty criminals who find themselves on the run in the Utah desert. They are pursued by a savage outlaw before ultimately gaining retribution.
Here’s my quick review: this movie is a glorious, bloody mess.
Not much that happens in Four of the Apocalypse makes sense. The lead actor, Fabio Testi, is completely miscast in the desert. There is little reason for a pregnant prostitute, a drunk and a man obsessed with spirits to join together – nor is it clear why the crazed Chaco is following them.
Yet, the brilliance of European Westerns is that they are sloppy, weird, violent and take ridiculous chances. Fulci delivers a post-modern Western bathed in both blood and 70’s soft rock.
There’s a melodramatic quality to Four of the Apocalypse that’s more fitting of a TV mini-series. The washed out closeups and mawkish dialogue between Testi’s Stubby and Lynne Frederick’s Bunny is both sweet and horrendous. Testi is fine as a leading man – although he’s awkward in an action role. However, Frederick is given an atrocious role and plays down to its limitations.
The rest of the cast includes veteran character actor Michael J. Pollard as the drunken Clem and Harry Baird as the kind, unstable Bud. Pollard is solid in what is a one-note role. He’s built to be an accessory in Westerns. Baird is given the most unique character – he’s obsessed with communicating with the dead. However, he plays Bud with the simplicity of a developmentally stunted child.
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1978 movie directed by Fred Schepisi.
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith tells the story of a half Aboriginal, half White man who endures a series of racist encounters. Eventually, he takes brutal revenge on those who wronged him and finds himself the target of a manhunt.
Jimmie Blacksmith has to rank among the most heartbreaking characters in movie history – or at least the most complex. He’s uniquely positioned as someone you both feel empathy and contempt for.
He’s the product of an aboriginal mother and white father – which gains him entry to two starkly opposing worlds. He’s taken under the wing of a Christian missionary, who bails him out of jail and provides him references for employment. Jimmie’s goal is to work hard, marry and own a piece of land. However, those series of jobs reveal the ugly realities of the white world – a place that ultimately rejects Jimmie.
Jimmie endures constant racial harrassment and is continually cheated out of money. Yet, he rationalizes this treatment as part of his dues to join the white world. Along the way, he becomes a sheriff’s deputy and brutally assaults aboriginals during a murder investigation. After he realizes the drunk sheriff rapes and kills the prime suspect, Jimmie is forced to burn the body.
Yet, Jimmie endures and eventually marries Gilda, a white woman who works for the farming Newby’s- accomplishing one of his goals. She gives birth to a fully white baby and then admits that Jimmie is not the father. However, Jimmie remains with her – despite the objections of the Newby’s, who try to convince Gilda to leave him. Finally, when the Newby’s cut off Gilda from groceries – Jimmie snaps.
He threatens Mr. Newby before visiting Mrs. Newby, along with his aboriginal Uncle. Mrs. Newby pulls a rifle on him. In either an act of rage or self-defense, Jimmie buries an axe in her chest. He then proceeds to murder all of the Newby adult children, before sparing the family toddler.
Requiem for a Gringo is a 1968 Western directed by Eugenio Martin and Jose Luis Merino.
Requiem for a Gringo tells the story of Ross Logan, a bounty hunter and astrologist, who seeks vengeance for his brother’s death. Logan relies on his gun-fighting skills and celestial intuition to defeat a band of cruel bandits.
There is something endlessly appealing about a Western that strays from convention. While Requiem for a Gringo features a formulaic blueprint, it is a wildly stylish, unique and violent movie.
Lang Jeffries has the face and manner of a nondescript Western lead. He’s stoic and at times professorial. There’s rarely a time his Logan Ross is not dominating the crew of bandits who murdered his brother. Yet, he’s an astrologist adorned in a leopard print shawl who plans his ultimate revenge based on an eclipse.
The real flavor of Requiem for a Gringo comes in the eclectic collection of hired guns working for the oafish Carranza.
The Shooting is a 1966 movie directed by Monte Hellman.
The Shooting tells the story of Willett Gashade, an ex-bounty hunter turned miner who is summoned by a mysterious woman to guide her across the desert. Along the way, they are joined by a gunslinger and the journey turns into a tracking expedition.
There is a simplicity to The Shooting that ultimately creates a unique aura of intrigue. Similar to Two Lane Blacktop, Hellman maximizes his low budget restraints to focus on the existential conditions surrounding his characters.
The result is a swirl of mystery that allows the viewers to offer their own context.
This can be both enlightening and madly frustrating.
Warren Oates plays Gashade, a miner who returns home to discover his brother has been shot dead, while the other has fled camp. He is accompanied by the young and simple Coley. Oates presents as a hardened, worn leader. He tells Coley “From now on, you’ll be dependent on me.”
Oates plays Gashade with his usual blend of enigmatic cache. He is expressive displaying both earnestness and cruelty. There are moments when you can deeply empathize with him and others where you suspect his past is filled with regretful actions.
Dirty Ho is a 1979 kung fu movie directed by Chia-Liang Liu and produced by the Shaw Brothers.
Dirty Ho tells the story of Wang, the 11th Prince of Manchuria, who finds himself under attack from his 14 brothers. He disguises himself as an antique dealer and fine wine connoisseur and enlists the help of Ho, a jewel thief. Together, Wang and Ho defeat his would be assassins.
Chia-Hua Lei (aka Gordon Liu) may be one of the most underrated actors of his generation. While I’m sure that’s hyperbole to serious movie fans, anyone would have to allow that Liu is at least one of the most charismatic actors of his time.
In Dirty Ho, Liu plays what is largely a comedic role. He has a gift for blessing scenes with an easy, carefree manner that is uniquely precise. His characters are somehow both non-threatening and lethal and evoke a rare, genuine empathy.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Liu’s performance are the varieties of tempo he displays. Liu commands slower scenes with extended dialogue and can function as either the dominant or supporting actor during brilliant fight scenes.
