Thursday 14 August 2008

July 11, A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE

A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE

“I used to believe in many things, all of it! Now, I believe only in dynamite.”


The last in our Spaghetti Western package, this film, despite its name, is not a spaghetti western. It is what is called a "Zapata Western", after the famous Mexican revolutionary. These films are characterized by the simultaneously friendly and antagonistic relationship between a local bandit, and a foreigner who is an expert at revolution.

In A Fistful of Dynamite , Juan Miranda (Ron Steiger) is a Mexican bandit who runs across Sean Mallory (James Coburn), who is an IRA terrorist on the run. After some initial hostility and a few explosions, Juan convinces Sean to rob the Bank of Mesa Verde. Sean, however, arranges things so that Juan frees hundreds of political prisoners while looking for the safe in the bank. After that, Juan slowly turns into a full- fledged revolutionary, while Sean loses his revolutionary fervor.

No comments: