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Il prezzo del potere (1969)
A VERY Important "Political Spaghetti Western"
This movie uses the assassination of President Garfield as a plot device. The makers never intended to tell a historical story. It's an allegory to explore the JFK assassination and the Viet Nam war. Garfield's assassin was an erstwhile ally turned insane. He died because of incredible medical incompetence, 12 weeks later, and it happened in D.C. So, it's a plot device, not an historical movie.
And it works as a Spaghetti Western. It's among the best of the genre. I'm the kind of anorak that sits there and thinks about every detail, every shot, and I put this in the top 10 most important of the genre. The Italian version is much better than the English one, imho. I've never seen an Italian version of it with English subtitles, so good luck with that one. Bottom line, if you like to sit there and be a know-it-all and pick historical holes in what isn't a historical movie, or like something mindless, you probably won't like it. If you understand the complex cultural statements coming out of 1960's Italy about politics and violence, you will love it.
The Italians loved it. It's total revenue puts it at the 28th biggest grossing Spaghetti Western in history, 1.273 billion lire (no clue what year's lire that might be). That's about 1/3 of each of the Man With No Name trilogies receipts, which is pretty darn good for one that is virtually unknown here.
The reviewer that said it was a brain dead version of Stone's JFK has missed the point so many ways...well, the person must be a contortionist to get one's head so far up their own backside. I'm imaging some gen Y twerp that yells "Nu-uh!" to everything. And the length...those type usually love the sound of their own voice.
Vamos a matar, compañeros (1970)
The Best!
This was a great movie when I watched it and it gets better over time. I would say it is my favorite Spaghetti Western of all time, bar none, and I've seen them all. Just perfect for the genre. Sit down with some enchiladas, beans and rice and enjoy! I could never tell what all the words were to the theme music though. Are they saying, "All the people of the village yell 'Los frentes perros'; 'cause pup companeros poop in their sombreros"? :-) It's as good as any Sergio Leone ever did and it's more fun! The only one that I can think that comes as close to being a perfect SW with that kind of humor is "Duck Sucker!" (aka "A Fistful of Dynamite") THAT would be an awesome double flick...