In a year that was probably for spaghetti western standards the greatest year ever in cinematic terms ( due to the fact that the greatest one of them all was released the same year ), it is easy to overlook hidden gems in the shadow of Leone's success with The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. The Big Gundown is certainly one of these gems.
The narrative in 'The Big Gundown' seems a bit overly simplistic at first, as Corbett is tasked with hunting down a Mexican that has been accused of the rape and murder of a 12 year old girl, but this narrative will slowly expand itself down the line and reveal a deeper and uglier truth than the one the audience's were supposed to buy in from the start. While the screenplay of The Big Gundown is not quite on par with some of Leone's work such as The Good, the Bad & the Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West due to some out of character events. Examples for this are the Widow sequence which basically has no place in the larger picture other than showing that Cuchillo is able to turn a bunch of idiot tough guys on his side, or the sometimes kind of pushy van Cleef dialogue towards him, such as the one where he convinces Cuchillo he'll kill him in the jail. The latter isn't very subtle as you can tell this forced dialogue is a kind of foreshadowing of the fact that Cuchillo isn't such a bad guy after all. Still, the political corruption involved in the later stages are the result of a very good screenplay.
The acting, by most actors, is on point. Lee van Cleef is as usual the perfect fit for John Corbett. He embodies his characters desire to hunt down Cuchillo perfectly, and while as stated before the dialogue in the jail isn't a very subtle way of foreshadowing, van Cleef does definitely manage to make it work due to the fact that his facial acting here tells you his absolute devotion and desperation in catching this 'killer'. Tomas Milian is very good as Cuchillo, and manages to create an absorbing eccentric performance. Even when we believe his character is this murderer and rapist he manages to make his character likeable with his antics and apparent resourcefulness. Walter Barnes as the Railroad boss & Gerard Herter as the elegant Austrian duellist are other standouts in the cast.
The cinematography and art design is top notch, and the direction is almost Leone-esque in its superb flow and movement. The original score, however, is obviously the true star of the film. From the staggering intro sequence with the cartoonish shots of Cuchillo & Corbett's faces while Morricone's fantastic score plays to two absolutely stunning duels near its end, the soundtrack is vintage Morricone in his absolute prime.
This is truly a 'good' movie, but what makes a difference is the absolutely fantastic final ten minutes. From the grand scale shot of the hunting party moving closer in the background with camera panning out and showing Cuchillo on the right side to the superb iconic images of the two duels, these ten minutes are an absolutely feast to eyes and ears. It barely gets any better than the duel between Cuchillo & Chet. In about a two minute sequence here we get to witness Morricone's impeccable score combined with the slow preparation and constantly building tension for the outcome of this fight. We are invested in this fight because we as the audience have started to like Cuchillo and want him to succeed in this quest for justice as he can get the actual killer. It is one of the most tense and epic duels ever filmed. This is followed by yet another stroke of genius as Corbett faces off against the Austrian, which is accompanied by an outstanding mix of Beethoven's 'Fur Elise' and Morricone's own. What more can go wrong in such a scene when you have Beethoven & Morricone in one theme? It was basically doomed to succeed whichever way it went, and this was definitely the case here. Earlier in the film there is a scene in which the Austrian is playing Fur Elise on the piano, so this in many ways symbolizes his theme. The Morricone part of this theme in many ways symbolizes Corbett because it has been playing all the while in scenes involving him since he is the main character. The combining of these two themes in the last duel truly make it seem like both are trying to get on top, and you can tell this just by listening to Morricone's superb score.
The Big Gundown doesn't have the scale of something like The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and doesn't nearly tackle as many morality issues, but it is still an outstanding spaghetti western that in many times does seem to be the equal of Leone's talents.
The narrative in 'The Big Gundown' seems a bit overly simplistic at first, as Corbett is tasked with hunting down a Mexican that has been accused of the rape and murder of a 12 year old girl, but this narrative will slowly expand itself down the line and reveal a deeper and uglier truth than the one the audience's were supposed to buy in from the start. While the screenplay of The Big Gundown is not quite on par with some of Leone's work such as The Good, the Bad & the Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West due to some out of character events. Examples for this are the Widow sequence which basically has no place in the larger picture other than showing that Cuchillo is able to turn a bunch of idiot tough guys on his side, or the sometimes kind of pushy van Cleef dialogue towards him, such as the one where he convinces Cuchillo he'll kill him in the jail. The latter isn't very subtle as you can tell this forced dialogue is a kind of foreshadowing of the fact that Cuchillo isn't such a bad guy after all. Still, the political corruption involved in the later stages are the result of a very good screenplay.
The acting, by most actors, is on point. Lee van Cleef is as usual the perfect fit for John Corbett. He embodies his characters desire to hunt down Cuchillo perfectly, and while as stated before the dialogue in the jail isn't a very subtle way of foreshadowing, van Cleef does definitely manage to make it work due to the fact that his facial acting here tells you his absolute devotion and desperation in catching this 'killer'. Tomas Milian is very good as Cuchillo, and manages to create an absorbing eccentric performance. Even when we believe his character is this murderer and rapist he manages to make his character likeable with his antics and apparent resourcefulness. Walter Barnes as the Railroad boss & Gerard Herter as the elegant Austrian duellist are other standouts in the cast.
The cinematography and art design is top notch, and the direction is almost Leone-esque in its superb flow and movement. The original score, however, is obviously the true star of the film. From the staggering intro sequence with the cartoonish shots of Cuchillo & Corbett's faces while Morricone's fantastic score plays to two absolutely stunning duels near its end, the soundtrack is vintage Morricone in his absolute prime.
This is truly a 'good' movie, but what makes a difference is the absolutely fantastic final ten minutes. From the grand scale shot of the hunting party moving closer in the background with camera panning out and showing Cuchillo on the right side to the superb iconic images of the two duels, these ten minutes are an absolutely feast to eyes and ears. It barely gets any better than the duel between Cuchillo & Chet. In about a two minute sequence here we get to witness Morricone's impeccable score combined with the slow preparation and constantly building tension for the outcome of this fight. We are invested in this fight because we as the audience have started to like Cuchillo and want him to succeed in this quest for justice as he can get the actual killer. It is one of the most tense and epic duels ever filmed. This is followed by yet another stroke of genius as Corbett faces off against the Austrian, which is accompanied by an outstanding mix of Beethoven's 'Fur Elise' and Morricone's own. What more can go wrong in such a scene when you have Beethoven & Morricone in one theme? It was basically doomed to succeed whichever way it went, and this was definitely the case here. Earlier in the film there is a scene in which the Austrian is playing Fur Elise on the piano, so this in many ways symbolizes his theme. The Morricone part of this theme in many ways symbolizes Corbett because it has been playing all the while in scenes involving him since he is the main character. The combining of these two themes in the last duel truly make it seem like both are trying to get on top, and you can tell this just by listening to Morricone's superb score.
The Big Gundown doesn't have the scale of something like The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and doesn't nearly tackle as many morality issues, but it is still an outstanding spaghetti western that in many times does seem to be the equal of Leone's talents.