Ennio Morricone’s My Dear Killer OST

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 21, 2009

Categories | News, Soundtracks, Composers, Giallo, Ennio Morricone, George Hilton

George Hilton in My Dear Killer aka Mio Caro Assassino (1972)

This month Digitmovies is scheduled to release Ennio Morricone’s incredible score for the excellent giallo thriller My Dear Killer aka Mio Caro Assassino (1972). This will be the 9th volume from Italy’s Digitmovies devoted to the original soundtrack recordings of Ennio Morricone and if it’s as good as their previous releases Morricone fans are in for a real treat!

My Dear Killer happens to be one of my favorite giallo films and it was directed by Tonino Valerii who made some great Italian westerns such as My Name is Nobody (1973), but he is probably best known for his work as an assistant director to Sergio Leone during the making of A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). My Dear Killer was Tonino Valerii’s only giallo film but it’s a smart, creative and surprising thriller that offered its talented star (George Hilton) one of his best roles. In the film Hilton plays a police inspector trying to solve a gruesome series of crimes that may or may not be connected to the kidnapping and murder of a young girl that took place years earlier. Besides George Hilton’s standout performance as Inspector Luca Peretti, My Dear Killer also features one of Ennio Morricone’s most creepy and effective scores.

A few of the tracks from Morricone’s soundtrack for My Dear Killer have been released before on compilation CDs, but the upcoming Digitmovies CD will mark the first time that Morricone’s complete score for My Dear Killer has been made available in any form.

This impressive soundtrack includes haunting vocals provided by the brilliant Edda Dell’Orso who worked closely with the composer on many of his best film scores. All together the CD contains a total of 17 remastered tracks and it’s available just in time for Halloween. If you’re a Morricone fan or just enjoy genuinely eerie film soundtracks you’re definitely going to want to pick up a copy of the My Dear Killer OST.

You can currently purchase new and used copies of the soundtrack for My Dear Killer aka Mio Caro Assassino at Amazon. At the moment these CDs are a little hard to come by since they’re imported from Italy but Digitmovies is still in the process of shipping out orders so check back at Amazon often.

The film is also available on DVD from Amazon and you should be able to rent it at Netflix.com or Greencine.com

I’ve posted the trailer for My Dear Killer aka Mio Caro Assassino below since it also features samples of Ennio Morricone’s score, but if you’ve never seen the movie before you might want to avoid watching it. It’s a great clip (not exactly work safe) but it also happens to be one of the most spoiler filled trailers I’ve ever seen.

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Top 20 Soundtrack Releases of 2007

by Kimberly Lindbergs | January 19, 2008

Categories | Soundtracks, Composers, Seijun Suzuki, Steve McQueen, Ennio Morricone, Maurice Jarre

I’m still working on compiling my list of my Favorite DVDs from 2007, which I plan on sharing here before the end of the month, but in the meantime I thought I’d put together a list of my Top 20 Favorite Soundtrack CDs of 2007. Not surprisingly, Italy’s Cinedelic Records, Japan’s Hotwax Trax, Sweden’s Fin de Siècle Media and Universal Music France all have multiple releases on my list. All of these labels have put out some fantastic music collections in recent years and I expect more great things from them in 2008. Now on with my Top 20 Favorite Soundtrack CDs of 2007 . . .

1. Naozumi Yamamoto - Branded to Kill (Koroshi no Rakuin)
The great Japanese composer Naozumi Yamamoto created many terrific jazz inspired scores for Seijun Suzuki’s films in the sixties and his work on Branded to Kill (1967) is some of his best. Various pieces of music from the Branded to Kill soundtrack have previously been available on a few compilations, but this great new CD from Think Records in Japan is the first time Yamamoto’s complete score for the film has been made available.
*You can listen to sound samples and purchase the CD from Movie Grooves

2. Hajime Kaburagi - Hotwax Trax Composer Series Hajime Kaburagi
Due to language barriers this fantastic collection of soundtrack compositions by one of Japan’s greatest composers is often being referred to only as the Nora-neko rokku: Sekkusu hanta (Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) / Furyô shôjô Mako (Bad Girl Mako) Original Soundtrack and scores for both of those 1970/1971 films are featured on the CD, but this terrific collection of Hajime Kaburagi scores also contains compositions from many other great Japanese films that he scored including Bloody Territories (1969), Blackmail is My Life (1968), Velvet Hustler (1967) and Swirling Butterflies (1970). Hajime Kaburagi’s impressive soundtracks are influenced by a wide array of music including jazz, lounge and rock and I can’t recommend this wonderful collection enough.
* You can listen to sound samples and purchase the CD from Movie Grooves

3. Michel Magne - Soundtracks from the Films of Roger Vadim
I’ve loved the soundtrack from Barbarella (1968) since I first watched the film some 25 years ago, so I was thrilled to discover that the great French composer Michel Magne had written some music for Roger Vadim’s film that had never been published before and was finally released on CD from Universal Music France just last year. This terrific collection also contains music from some of Vadim’s other great films including La Ronde (1964) and Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman (1973). The CD comes with a nice booklet in French and English with background info on the release.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

4. Michel Legrand - Le Mans / The Hunter Original Soundtracks
The talented French composer Michel Legrand worked on some of Steve McQueen’s finest films, including the original Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and the excellent racing film Le Mans (1971). Le Mans features one of the composer’s best and most exciting scores, but the soundtrack hasn’t been available on CD for a long time. This new release from Universal Jazz France includes the complete soundtrack for Le Mans as well as the excellent score he composed for another Steve McQueen film, The Hunter (1980). The CD also contains a great booklet with background information about the composer’s work.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

5. Marc Wilkinson - Blood on Satan’s Claw Original Soundtrack
Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) is one of my favorite British horror films and without a doubt one of Tigon Studio’s best releases. Most critics and horror fans tend to praise The Witchfinder General as Trigon’s best horror film, but I personally find Blood on Satan’s Claw more effective and chilling. The film also has a really terrific and extremely creepy score by composer Marc Wilkinson, which was made available on CD for first time last year from Trunk Records. Unfortunately this is a limited release so grab it while you can. It also contains some interesting liner notes.
* You can listen to sound samples, download individual song MP3s and purchase the soundtrack at Amazon

6. Ennio Morricone - Morricone Giallo
I love the scores that Ennio Morricone has composed for many gialli films and this wonderful collection of music from Bella Casa brings together some of the composers best and most unusual compositions from many of my favorite Italian thrillers including The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1971), The Fifth Cord (1971) and Short Night of the Glass Dolls (1971), plus many more. This is not necessarily easy listening since much of the music included on the CD is rather experimental and unnerving, but it showcases Morricone’s great range and will make listeners immediately feel like they’ve just wandered into the set of a giallo production.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

7. Armando Trovajoli - Armando Trovajoli
Armando Trovajoli is one of Italy’s greatest composers and this fine collection from Cinedelic Records collects some of the composers best music from a wide selection of films, which he personally picked for this release. It’s a terrific introduction to his work and the CD also comes with an impressive book with lots of color photos, poster art from the films he worked on and extensive liner notes from many of the actors and directors he has worked with over the years.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

8. Various Artists - A Musical and Visual Tribute to the Cinema of Pasolini
The fascinating and controversial director Pier Paolo Pasolini worked with some of Italy’s finest composers during his lifetime, including Ennio Morricone, Carlo Rustichelli and Benedetto Ghiglia. This excellent collection from Cinedelic Records brings together some hard to find music from many of the director’s best films including Teorema (1968), Medea (1969), and Salo (1975). It also comes with a beautiful book that contains rare photos of the director at work, poster art, a filmography and detailed notes.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

9. Nora Orlandi - Il Dolce Corpo di Deborah Original Soundtrack
Nora Orlandi’s amazing score for the giallo film Il Dolce Corpo di Deborah (The Sweet Body of Deborah, 1968) was released on CD by Fin de Siècle Media for the first time last year. It’s an incredibly lush score with lots of groovy lounge and jazz influences. It’s also the only soundtrack from a film that I’ve never actually seen on my list. I love Orlandi’s film scores enough to purchase this blind and I can’t recommend it enough if you happen to enjoy Italian film scores as much as I do, but I’d also love to see Il Dolce Corpo di Deborah get an official DVD release in the U.S.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

10. Bruno Maderna - La Morte Ha Fatto L’Uovo Original Soundtrack
One of the most unusual giallo films I’ve ever had the pleasure to see is Giulio Questi’s La Morte Ha Fatto L’Uovo (Death Laid an Egg, 1968) and the film contains an impressive avant-garde score by composer Bruno Maderna. An edited version of the soundtrack had previously been available on CD, but last year Fin de Siècle Media released a wonderful new and complete version of Maderna’s quirky score for the film with 10 previously unheard bonus tracks.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

11. Kunihiko Murai - Hotwax Trax Composer Series Kunihiko Murai
This terrific collection of music contains the soundtracks composer Kunihiko Murai created for two of Eizo Sugawa’s Toho crime films, which starred the great action star Hiroshi Fujioka. The first score featured on the CD is for the 1974 film Yajû Shisubeshi: Fukushû no Mekanikku (Beast Must Die: The Mechanics of Revenge) and the second one included on the disc is for the 1973 film Yajû Gari (Beast Hunting). Both scores are really terrific and should appeal to anyone who enjoys funky jazz infused soundtracks.
* You can listen to song samples and purchase the CD at Movie Grooves

12. Luis Enríquez Bacalov - Django (Expanded Version) Original Soundtrack
Along with the more recognized work of Ennio Morricone, the talented composer Luis Enríquez Bacalov has created some of the best and most memorable soundtracks for many great spaghetti westerns. His score for Django (1966) has been available on CD for years, but last year the Japanese label Verita Note released this impressive soundtrack in it’s entirety. The Django Expanded Version contains 19 previously unreleased tracks and the quality is far superior to other releases I’ve heard.
* You can purchase this CD at Amazon

13. Various Artists - A Musical and Visual Tribute to the Cinema of Dario Argento
Please see my previous post about this release.

14. Ennio Morricone - Morricone Awards
At the 79th Academy Award show last year Ennio Morricone was finally honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award celebrating his long career as one of cinema’s greatest composers. In honor of the event, Cinedelic Records released a wonderful CD and book collection simply called Morricone Awards. This superb selection of music is a terrific introduction to the composer’s work if you’re unfamiliar with it, but it also comes with an impressive 62 page book that contains a complete discography of Morricone’s work with lots of rare original record sleeve art, film poster reproductions and photos that will impress longtime Morricone fans as well.
* You can purchase this CD at Amazon

15. Ronald Stein - Mad, Mod & Macabre: The Ronald Stein Collection
If you’d like to read a little more about this release, please read the brief write-up about Mad, Mod & Macabre: The Ronald Stein Collection that I wrote in June 2007 for Cinedelica.

16. Jiri Sust & Jiri Slitr - Daisies Original Soundtrack
I’ve only seen a handful of films from the Czech New Wave, but Daises (Sedmikrasky, 1966) is one of my favorites. The film features an unusual and quirky score by Jiri Sust and Jiri Slitr, which was released on CD for the first time in 2007 by Finders Keepers Records. The original soundtrack for the film has never been made available before in any format, but the music was taken from the original reels. The CD also contains unseen archive images from the film, poster art reproductions and detailed liner notes.
* You can purchase this CD at Amazon

17. Various Artists - Attori A Mano Armata
If you’d like to read a little more about this great Cinedelic Records release, please check out the brief write-up I did for Cinedelica on Attori A Mano Armata: The main actors of the most Violent season of the Italian Cinema Collection in May 2007.

18. Various Artists - A Musical and Visual Tribute to the Cinema of Bernardo Bertolucci
Please see my previous post about this release.

19. Laurie Johnson - Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter Original Soundtrack
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) is one of Hammer’s best vampire films and it also happens to have a terrific and eerie score by British composer Laurie Johnson, but it has never been available in its entirety until last year when BUYSOUNDTRAX Records released it in association with GDI Records. Unfortunately this is a limited release, but it comes with a nice color booklet with movie stills and even features liner notes written by Hammer glamour girl Caroline Munro.
* You can purchase this collection at Amazon

20. Maurice Jarre - Film Music Masterworks Maurice Jarre
This nice collection from Film Music Masterworks features music from the film’s Jarre worked on with David Lean such as Ryan’s Daughter (1970), Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965), as well as compositions from some of the composer’s finest work from René Clément’s Is Paris Burning? (1966) and John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King (1975), mostly performed by the City Of Prague Philharmonic. It’s a great introduction to some of the composer’s best work and for the incredibly low retail price of $9.98, it’s well worth picking up.
* You can listen to sound samples, download individual song MP3s and purchase the CD at Amazon

I also recommend the other terrific Film Music Masterwork collections that were released in 2007 for Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein and Nino Rota.

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Good News for Soundtrack Enthusiasts

by Kimberly Lindbergs | November 14, 2007

Categories | Books, Soundtracks, Composers, Ennio Morricone, Maurice Jarre

Cinedelic Records has released a terrific series of Book & CD packages this year called Musical and Visual Tributes, which include collections devoted to the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini and another devoted to the films of Mario Monicelli. On November 20th soundtrack enthusiasts can look forward to two new Musical and Visual Tributes from Cinedelic Records that focus one the films of Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento.

Each of these new collections comes with a handsome 130 page hard-cover book covering the work of each director that contains rarely seen photos, reproductions of vintage poster art and publicity materials, as well as complete filmographies. Also included with each book is a terrific compilation CD with music from some of the director’s most celebrated films.

Bernardo Bertolucci: A Musical and Visual Tribute features the work of a lot of great composers such as Piero Piccioni, Ennio Morriocone, George Delerue, Augusto Martelli and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Musical selections from La Commare Secca (1962), Before the Revolution (1964), Partner (1968), The Conformist (1970), Last Tango in Paris (1972), 1900 (1976), Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981), The Last Emperor (1987), Little Buddha (1993) and The Dreamers (2003) are all included on the accompanying CD.

Dario Argento: A Musical and Visual Tribute seems a bit more complete because Cinedelic Records was able to include an interview with Argento in the book that details his working relationship with composers he has collaborated with including Ennio Morricone, Claudio Simonetti and the band Goblin. The CD that accompanies the book features music selections from many of Argento’s films including The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970), The Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971), Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971), Deep Red (1975), Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980), Tenebrae (1982), Phenomena (1985), Opera (1987), Trauma (1993), Sleepless (2001) and The Card Player (2004), as well as a new tribute track performed by Signor Wolf.

For more information visit the official Cinedelic Records site.

Soundtrack enthusiasts should also keep an eye and ear out for the outstanding new DVD/CD package Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean, which I recently reviewed for Cinedelica. This new release features Jarre’s tribute concert for David Lean shot in 1992 and an interesting interview with the composer about his creative collaborations with the director.

For more information please see my recent review of Maurice Jarre: A Tribute to David Lean.

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A Spaghetti Western Top Ten

by Kimberly Lindbergs | May 6, 2007

Categories | Italian Cinema, Westerns, Ennio Morricone, Lucio Fulci, Klaus Kinski, John Phillip Law, Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone, George Hilton

I love Spaghetti Westerns. The best ones are what I would call “gothic westerns” since they combine some of the best aspects of Italian gothic horror films and literature with classic American westerns and western novels. They are filled with high drama but laced with subtlety. They offer romantic views of the west but they’re often very dark and at times even frightening. Suspense, death, blood, dirt, graveyards, coffins and religious iconography are reoccurring aspects of Italian westerns. Silence and sound were equally valued by directors and atmosphere was as important as story. Good and evil are often irrelevant and humanism - with a misanthropic streak - is king.

Of course, it’s impossible to ignore the politics at play in many Italian westerns. Many of the directors, composers and actors who made these films were card carrying Communists. Capitalism and Imperialism were often the real bad guys and many of the best Italian westerns managed to present their Marxist ideals in an incredibly entertaining way.

Recently Keith Brown over at Giallo Fever asked his blog readers what their “Top 10 Spaghetti Westerns” were. I had a hard time putting my list together because I like a lot of Spaghetti Westerns, but I thought I’d share my current Top 10 List here.

1. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (a.k.a. Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, 1966, Sergio Leone)
This is my favorite Leone film for many reasons. It’s a thoughtful, funny and entertaining movie with an amazing Morricone score. I really love the writing and I think the script is just brilliant, plus Leone films it all beautifully. Eli Wallach gives one of the greatest performances of his career as Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and in my opinion he steals the show from Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. The scene between Wallach and his brother (the priest - Luigi Pistilli) is one of my favorite scenes from any film ever made. Wallach is not just reviving his character Calvera from The Magnificent Seven here, he’s giving him depth and making him one of the most enduring characters in the history of cinema. It’s a movie I’ve watched countless times and I never get tired of it.

Watch: Lengthy clip leading up to my favorite scene in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2. The Great Silence (a.k.a. Il Grande silenzio, 1968, Sergio Corbucci)
I’ve already written a bit about why I love The Great Silence but the movie deserves a few more words. I think it’s Corbucci’s best film and definitely one of the most violent westerns ever put on film. There is deep humanity and brutal realism at play in The Great Silence and I think the movie has a kind of surreal quality that’s hard to put into words. Klaus Kinski gets to play one of the most ruthless characters ever created and that’s reason enough why this movie is one of my personal favorites but I also love Jean-Louis Trintignant’s performance as the tragic and doomed Silence.

Watch: Great clip of Klaus’s brutality in The Great Silence

3. A Bullet for the General (1966, Damiano Damiani)
I wrote about this terrific film last month and explained why it’s one of my favorite westerns so I won’t bother with the details again. Please check out my previous review.

4. Once Upon a Time in the West (a.k.a. C’era una volta il West, 1968, Sergio Leone)
This is another great Leone film with a terrific Morricone score that I love. I think Henry Fonda is wonderful as the cruel killer Frank and the infamous scene where he murders the boy and his family is one of the most brutal scenes ever captured on film but the rest of the cast (Bronson, Cardinale and Robards) also offer worthwhile performances here. In the end though Once Upon a Time in the West is really an epic about the birth of the civilized west and the landscape that gives it life. The story and the directing are the real stars. It’s a beautiful love letter from Leone to all Spaghetti Western fans.

Watch: Clip from my favorite scene with Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West

5. For a Few Dollars More (a.k.a. Per qualche dollaro in più, 1965, Sergio Leone)
This is my second favorite Leone/Eastwood film. The story is wonderfully told and the film’s really entertaining but I especially love the interplay between Klaus Kinski’s hunchback character Wild and Lee Van Cleef’s Col. Mortimer. Both actors are my favorite western bad boys and their scenes together in For a Few Dollars More are truly priceless. Kinski’s performance is full of his typical twitches and outbursts, and Lee Van Cleef gets in his usual cold hearted stares. Eastwood is really good here and he looks truly fantastic in his poncho and hat but in the end this is really Lee van Cleef and Gian Maria Volontè’s movie. Both actors are terrific in their starring roles alongside Eastwood and once again Morricone delivers a fantastic score that really compliments the action and drama.

Watch: Great Kinski vs. Cleef fan video compiling clips from For a Few Dollars More

6. Django (1966, Sergio Corbucci)
I love the Django series and I had a hard time choosing between three Django films to list here. Django Kill - If You Live, Shoot! (1967) and Strangers Gundown (1969) are also worthy of being added to my Top 10 list, even if they’re inclusion in the Django cannon is debatable. In the first film the handsome actor Franco Nero stars as the enigmatic Django and his performance as the coffin carrying gunslinger is equal to Clint Eastwood’s best performances as “the man with no name.” The story of Django is well told and beautifully directed by Corbucci. The film also boasts a great score by composer Luis Enríquez Bacalov which is comparable to some of Morricone’s best work. All three of the Django films I mentioned are well worth a look if you like your spaghetti westerns dished up bloody and a bit surreal.

Watch: The final 6 min. of Django

7. Death Rides A Horse (a.k.a. Da uomo a uomo, 1967, Giulio Petroni)
The story treads familiar ground but it’s still one of the most entertaining revenge westerns ever shot. Lee Van Cleef and the very cute John Phillip Law give two of their best performances here as Ryan and Bill, and I think they have a surprisingly good chemistry together. The movie boasts some creative camera-work and it features one of Morricone’s most unnerving scores. One of my favorite scenes involves a poker game between Bill (John Phillip Law) and bad guy Burt Cavanaugh (Anthony Dawson), but Lee van Cleef gets a lot of great scenes in Death Rides A Horse as well.

Watch: One of my favorite scenes from Death Rides a Horse

8. Massacre Time (a.k.a. The Brute and the Beast/Tempo di massacro, 1966, Lucio Fulci)
I wrote about Fulci’s Massacre Time back in March so I won’t bother going over it again but I will add that besides Fulci’s stylish directing, Massacre Time includes one of George Hilton’s best performances and it has a great score by composer Coriolano Gori (a.k.a. Lallo Gori).

9. My Name Is Nobody (a.k.a. Il Mio nome è Nessuno, 1973, Tonino Valerii & Sergio Leone)
I really enjoy the humorous westerns that feature Terence Hill and this one is my favorite of the bunch. It’s probably Sergio Leone’s most lighthearted effort but he works well here with Tonino Valerii who directed some great Italian thrillers. Henry Fonda delivers a terrrific performance as an old gunslinger and he has some wonderful scenes with Terrence Hill. Morricone’s score is really playful at times which works well with the movie’s comedy. My Name Is Nobody is a fun film but it’s also a touching farewell to the old west and it confirms that Leone offered Fonda some of his best and most interesting roles late in his career.

Watch: One of my favorite scenes from My Name Is Nobody

10. Dragon Strikes Back (a.k.a. Shanghai Joe/Il Mio nome è Shangai Joe, 1972, Mario Caiano)
When I was a kid Kung Fu was one of my favorite TV shows. The impact that the show had on me is hard to explain but the philosophy it championed definitely made an impression on me. Dragon Strikes Back is basically a drawn out movie version of Kung Fu with Chen Lee (a poor man’s Bruce Lee) playing David Carradine’s role. It’s plain silly at times and the story is thin but it also has some great moments such as the fantastic bullfight and the duel between Chen Lee and Klaus Kinski (once again playing a nasty bad guy here). The combination of Spaghetti Western and Kung Fu action flick is a strange mix that really works. The movie also has a great Bruno Nicoli score (with borrowed bits from Have a Good Funeral, My Friend) and overall the movie is just a really entertaining treat.

Note: Keoma (1976), Companeros (1970), A Bullet for Sandoval (1969) and Duck, You Sucker (1971) all came close to making my list.

I’ve only seen about 25 or 30 Spaghetti Westerns and there are hundreds so my list is subject to change in the future.

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A Bullet Doesn’t Care Who It Kills

by Kimberly Lindbergs | April 4, 2007

Categories | Movie Reviews, Italian Cinema, Westerns, Ennio Morricone, Klaus Kinski

Like the Bandit… Like the Gringo… A bullet doesn’t care who it kills!

Blue Underground recently re-released the excellent spaghetti western A Bullet for the General (El Chuncho, quien sabe?, 1966) on DVD and I thought I’d take some time to write about the film since it’s one of my favorite westerns.

The movie begins as a young American “gringo” named Bill (Lou Castel) is arriving in war torn Mexico at the height of the Mexican Revolution. He watches indifferently as a group of young rebels are brutally executed in front of him. He then heads towards the railway station where he jumps the queue and pushes ahead of a long line of people to buy himself a train ticket to Durango. While he stands in line a young Mexican boy (Antonio Ruiz) asks him what he thinks of Mexico and he coldly responds, “Not very much.”

These opening minutes offer an unapologetic look at an “ugly American”, whose innocent appearance and expensive suit can not mask his arrogance and lack of empathy towards the poor Mexican peons (unskilled labors) that surround him. But underlying Bill’s behavior are much darker motivations that become clearer as the film unfolds.

As Bill rides the train towards Durango his journey is suddenly interrupted by a gang of Mexican bandidos led by El Chuncho (Gian Maria Volonté) banging a drum in time with composer Luis Bacalov’s excellent film score (supervised by Ennio Morricone). The bandits want the train’s cargo of guns so they can sell them to the revolutionary army led by the respected General Elías (Jaime Fernández).

Instead of joining the fight against the bandidos, Bill helps in the raid and tricks Chuncho into believing that he’s a wanted man so he can join his gang of bandits. This sets the stage for the rest of the film as we’re introduced to the bandits and discover that they’re not typical thieves. Chuncho and his gang have political as well as financial motivations, and much like Robin Hood and his Merry Men, they try to help the poor while stealing from the corrupt Mexican government. Of course the cold-blooded American has plans of his own and things get complicated when his personal motivations conflict with the idealistic bandidos.

This terrific spaghetti western has lots of spectacular gun battles and makes great use of the beautiful desert scenery but the radical political ideas that were taking shape in the war torn sixties are the real focus of director Damiano Damiani’s impressive western. Damiani makes an admirable case against American capitalism and imperialism in A Bullet For the General, which he obscures within a very entertaining movie.

The script is based on a story by Salvatore Laurani that was adapted for the screen by Franco Solinas. Solinas is well-known for his leftist political leanings and he was a member of the Italian Communist Party. His scripts written during the sixties and seventies for films such as The Battle of Algiers (1966), Tepepa (1968), Burn! (1969), The Assassination of Trotsky (1972) and Mr. Klein (1976) brazenly expressed his political views in thoughtful but often controversial films.

At first glance it’s easy to assume that A Bullet For the General is full of typical characters found in many westerns but the characters that populate the film are complex and have a lot of hidden depth if you’re willing to go digging for it.

The revolutionary bandits are the movie’s real heroes but they are often portrayed as drunken simpletons unaware of what they’re fighting against and the bourgeoisie land owners are often portrayed as rational and somewhat sympathetic characters. Italian westerns are notorious for the way they refuse to offer typical examples of good guys and bad guys that are so often found in American westerns. A Bullet For the General is a great example of a movie that refuses to easily define any of the characters that populate it.

Gian Maria Volonté is truly magnificent as the bandidos’ leader El Chuncho. Volonté was a respected Italian actor and he had previously acted in two of Sergio Leone’s westerns, A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), but he passed up the chance to play Tuco (a role later given to Eli Wallach) in Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) in order to play Chuncho. Volonté preferred the more blatant political leanings found in the script for A Bullet For the General to the subtle politics at play in The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Some thought it was a bad decision on his part since Leone’s popular film could have catapulted his career but his role in A Bullet For the General is much more complex and in the films final frames the actor is transformed into one of Italian cinema’s most enduring heroes.

A Bullet For the General chronicles the birthing pains of a new nation. And the personal trials that Volonté’s character Chuncho must endure on his troubled journey to self-discovery brilliantly mirror what’s historically happening all around him. Mexico’s revolution is Chuncho’s revolution and we celebrate the country’s victories as we celebrate Chuncho’s final choices.

Klaus Kinski also has one of his best minor roles in the film as Chuncho’s half-brother Santo but unfortunately he doesn’t get enough screen time. Kinski’s Santo is a religious zealot who dresses in dirty monks robes and shouts political slogans while brutally killing his enemies. He seems driven a bit mad by the government made horrors he has seen the Mexican people suffer and he uses his rage to help the people fight back against their oppressors.

Lou Castel is perfectly cast as the heartless young “gringo” Bill. Castel had previously starred in the complex and dark Italian drama Fists in the Pocket (1965) where he played a deeply disturbed young man who wants to murder his family. He was only 23 when he made A Bullet For the General and his innocent appearance and youth easily mislead the audience into believing that he may not be the cold-hearted killer that he really is.

Like most westerns, there aren’t many women to be found in the film but the two actresses that do get to share the spotlight with the men are exceptional and breathe a lot of life into their roles. Spaghetti westerns are often accused of having badly written female characters but critics would have a tough time trying to find any poorly defined female roles in A Bullet For the General.

Martine Beswick plays the beautiful Adelita, a tough señorita who’s deeply scarred from being raped by a rich land owner when she was only fifteen years old. She’s desperately trying to forge some kind of loving relationship with one of the bandits but their life on the run offers them very few intimate moments together. Stolen kisses and a few hours of passion don’t hold much weight in the violent world they inhabit and Adelita longs for a stable home.

When the American arrives she seems attracted to his stoic silence and independence, which often mirrors her own demeanor. She’s pleased when he finally starts paying attention to her but the pleasure she gains from his attention is short lived after he suggests that she should return with him to the United States. Adelita is smart enough to know that a relationship with the gringo would never work in his country. She’s fought hard to be treated as an equal among the men that she rides with and she would loose her hard earned pride and independence if she went to America. Adelita quickly refuses his offer and she stays with her Mexican bandit until his bitter demise.

The name “Adelita” is associated with one of the most famous folks songs of the Mexican revolution and there’s no doubt that the writers purposefully selected the name for Beswick’s character. The “Adelita” song tells the story of a brave woman known as a soldadera (a female soldier) who cares and cooks for the troops but also bravely fights alongside them. Soldaderas became a vital part of the Mexican revolution and were idolized for being beautiful, strong and courageous women, just like the character of Adelita in A Bullet For the General.

Carla Gravina also has a small but memorable role as Rosario, the wife of a rich land owner named Don Feliciano (Andrea Checchi). When the bandidos arrive at Don Feliciano’s home and demand justice for the crimes he’s committed against the Mexican people, he crumbles and feigns heart troubles so he can hide in his bedroom. Rosario is unfazed and she confronts the unruly bandits alone. The audience is not asked to sympathize with her politics but it’s hard not be impressed with her grace under pressure. Rosario is unwilling to easily succumb to the bandit’s threats and she verbally assaults them while trying to diplomatically resolve the highly volatile situation she’s found herself in. All does not go well and Rosario is almost raped but she retains her dignity throughout the ordeal.

A Bullet For the General is undoubtedly one of the greatest spaghetti westerns made during the sixties and I’m thrilled to see DVD companies like Blue Underground keeping the film available for new audiences to discover.

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The Music of Ennio Morricone

by Kimberly Lindbergs | February 25, 2007

Categories | News, Soundtracks, Composers, Giallo, Westerns, Oscars, Ennio Morricone, Klaus Kinski, Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone

On Sunday (Feb. 25th) Ennio Morricone will receiving an Honorary “Lifetime Achievement” Oscar at this years’ Academy Awards ceremony to celebrate his contribution to the art of film music. It’s unbelievable that it’s taken the Academy so long to recognize Morricone’s incredible contribution to cinema, but thankfully they’re going to try and make up for past mistakes on Sunday night.

Unfortunately it seems that during the Oscar show Celine Dion will be performing a tribute to Morricone, which I can’t understand. The talented Edda Dell’Orso, who has contributed amazing vocals to countless Morricone tunes is still alive and performing, so it seems really strange to me that Dion will be performing at the Oscars to honor Morricone instead of Dell’Orso. I also think Celine Dion’s vocal abilities pale in comparison to Edda Dell’Orso’s.

Ennio Morricone has long been one of my favorite film composers. I grew up in a household where Hugo Montenegro’s Music From ‘The Good, The Bad And The Ugly’ & ‘A Fistful Of Dollars’ & ‘For A Few Dollars More’ got a lot of play and even though it wasn’t exactly Morricone’s original score, that record definitely made a huge impression on me and helped shape my deep appreciation of film scores. When I started collecting soundtracks in the 1980s, Morricone’s original score for The Good, The Bad And The Ugly was one of the first ones I bought and it’s still my favorite Morricone-Leone score.

Trailer for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (music by Ennio Morricone)

When I think about my favorite westerns, Ennio Morricone’s music immediately comes to mind. It’s hard not to be moved by the somber sounds of wailing harmonicas, Spanish horns, echoing whistles and Edda Dell’Orso’s haunting vocals that manage to perfectly bring to life the dirty, dusty and violent west that lives in my imagination. It’s tough to pick a favorite when it comes to Morricone’s soundtracks for spaghetti westerns because he composed so many great ones, including the scores for A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Death Rides A Horse (1967), My Name Is Nobody (1973), and A Bullet for the General (1966). Besides his amazing score for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), I’m also really fond of Morricone’s score for The Great Silence (aka Il Grande silenzio) which he recorded in 1968.

The Great Silence is one of my favorite westerns directed by Sergio Corbucci and it stars Klaus Kinski in one of his most memorable roles as a vicious bounty hunter who’s being tracked down by a gunman out for revenge called Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant). Morricone’s score for The Great Silence perfectly captures the mood of Corbucci’s film, which is set in a small dirty town as well as the snow-covered mountains of Utah. The main character of the film is called Silence because he can not speak due to having his tongue violently cut out when he was a young boy, so the film has very little dialogue compared to some other westerns. The “silence” in the film gives Morricone’s score room to really breath and come alive in ways that are extremely powerful and often very moving. It’s an incredible score for a really exceptional western that is filled with many beautiful as well as brutal moments.

Trailer for The Great Silence (music by Ennio Morricone)

Besides Italian westerns, Ennio Morricone has created some incredible scores for some of my favorite Italian horror films and thrillers including Nightmare Castle (1965),The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970), The Fifth Cord (1971), My Dear Killer (1972), Who Saw Her Die? (1972), Bluebeard (1972) A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (1971) and Mario Bava’s action-packed Danger: Diabolik (1968).

I think Morricone’s giallo scores are among the best film scores he ever recorded and I find myself listening to them more then any other soundtracks that I own. These scores really show off his diversity as a composer since they often include a wide variety of musical styles. From jazzy beats to haunting melodies, Morricone’s giallo soundtracks are filled with memorable music that is often complemented by the vocal stylings of the great Edda Dell’Orso.

One of Morricone’s best giallo scores was composed for Massimo Dallamano’s film What Have They Done to Solange? (aka Cosa Avete Fatto a Solange?) recorded in 1972. This complex soundtrack features moody instrumentals, unusual rhythms and sharp horns. It also includes some surprisingly playful pieces of music as well. His score for What Have They Done to Solange? is one of Morricone’s most experimental and it’s also one of his darkest, which makes it extremely complimentary to Dallamano’s disturbing giallo.

Trailer for What Have They Done to Solange? (music by Ennio Morricone)

Another one of Ennio Morricone’s best giallo scores was created for Luciano Ercoli’s Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (aka Le Foto proibite di una signora per bene) recorded in 1970. Ercoli’s fascinating film is more mystery then horror and has lots of bare skin and very little bloodshed. Morricone’s score for the film is fantastic and includes lots of Bossa influences and pop beats. The music highlights the sexier aspects of Ercoli’s giallo, but still manages to be extremely suspenseful at all the right moments.

Trailer for Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (music by Ennio Morricone)

I have a lot of favorite Morricone scores and this post only highlights a few of them. Hopefully it has introduced a couple of people to scores they haven’t heard or at least encouraged someone to seek out Morricone’s more obscure soundtracks. He’s composed hundreds of amazing scores for films and I’ve only heard about 30 or 40 myself, so I’m looking forward to discovering a lot more gems hidden away in Ennio Morricone’s incredible discography. I’m also looking forward to seeing Clint Eastwood (I hope!) present Morricone with his long overdue Oscar on Sunday night.

Ennio Morricone’s Offical Website - EnnioMorricone.com

Fan Run Music Blog - Morricone Lover

For lots more Oscar talk and links to more Morricone related articles stop by Dennis Cozzalio’s great film blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule

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