A forgotten Western gem

joshca0303

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.

score 10/10

joshca0303 1 March 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3194104/