Thursday, November 3, 2016

Duck, You Sucker, Sergio Leone's Forgotten Film 

Most people know Sergio Leone for his "Dollars Trilogy", three films that starred Clint Eastwood, A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Fewer people are familiar with his "Once Upon A Time Trilogy": Once Upon a Time in the West, Once Upon a Time... Revolution, and Once Upon a Time in America.

Of all his films, the middle film of the Once Upon a Time series, Once Upon a Time... Revolution, released in the U.S. as A Fistful of Dynamite, before being given the title Leone preferred, Duck, You Sucker. Is perhaps the most overlooked Leone film. Set in 1913 Mexico, it tells the story of I.R.A. terrorist John Mallory and Mexican Bandito Juan Miranda, who team up to pull a bank job and become unlikely players in the Mexican Revolution.

While the narrative is far murkier than previous and subsequent Leone films, that's part of the film's charm. Whereas Leone films (and Spaghetti Westerns in general) tend to have characters whose motivations are somewhat concealed, Duck, You Sucker takes things a step further as the John and Juan's paths cross, diverge, and recross through a story where not everything is explained, making it feel much more like real history than mere popcorn theater.

If you really want to sink your teeth into a prime Spaghetti Western that doesn't star Clint Eastwood, this would be a good film to check out.

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