Duck, You Sucker (1971)

I was lucky enough to see a newly struck print of a two and a half hour version of this film just yesterday, an immaculate print, as part of a Leone film retrospective here in Austin TX. I will not give a synopsis of the plot; what's important to note is that all the Leone hallmarks are there -- brilliant production design and camera work, carefully structured narrative, epic scale -- and some of the strangest music ever created by Mr. Morricone. The leads seem miscast, particularly Rod Steiger as the accidental Mexican revolutionary, but he gives an energetic performance that the film can hang its rather large weight upon.

I saw 'Good, Bad...' and '...West' immediately before I saw this picture and it is very much from the same cloth and in the same league as those two films -- more comic, a bit flawed and crude perhaps; but really it's evidence of an artist working on a grand scale and well worth your time.

If you consider yourself a fan of Mr. Leone's, do give MGM an email and demand the DVD release of this neglected, fascinating movie

Hopefully this picture will get the home video release it deserves. The VHS version of this film is much shorter and far more confusing -- a typical case of a long movie's being shortened in hopes that it will do better business, and being ruined in the process.

Fmovies: Duck, You Sucker (1971) aka A Fistful of Dynamite is an underrated gem that undoubtedly features amongst the best works of the Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone. Anyone who has seen the "Dollars Trilogy" can easily mistake Leone for a mere showman, but those who have had the privilege of watching his more personal works like Once Upon a Time in America would know better. Leone was indeed a master showman but he knew well how to blend style with substance.

In the "Dollars Trilogy" style clearly is the real driver but deep down there is strong sense of realism that a keen eyed viewer wouldn't find hard to discern. The conspicuous levity only serves the purpose of a translucent film used to hide the naked reality so as to protect an average viewer from getting jumpy at its very sight. In Duck, You Sucker this translucent film only happens to be a fraction more transparent than usual. In other words, Leone chooses to be a bit more direct in his presentation of realism: most evident in the firing squad sequences. Duck, You Sucker thus serves to be a perfect amalgamation of style and substance.

In many ways, Duck, You Sucker happens to be Leone's darkest work. And how could it not have been? For the movie revolves around a highly unlikely union of a Mexican bandit and an Irish dynamite expert caught in the turmoil of the Mexican revolution. The only thing that unites these two completely different personalities is the fact that one is called Juan and the other, John. Juan sees this coincidence as a divine signal. That their union is meant to serve a much greater purpose: to rob the great bank of Mesa Verde. The loquacious Juan desperately tries to convince the taciturn John, but the later remains uninterested. Thus ensues a tantalizing game of cat and mouse between Juan and John as the two try their best to outwit each other only to be united by an eternal bond of friendship.

There are scenes in Duck, You Sucker that will stay with the viewer for ever. There are dialogues/monologues (spoken as well as unspoken) that will leave a lasting impact on the viewer. Juan's commentary on his own understanding of the word "revolution" is one. There's is another when a caged bird defecates on Juan's head and the bandit looks up and says: "For the rich, you sing!" Ennio Morricone's mystical music will continue to haunt the viewer much beyond the length of the movie. The movie's use of non-verbal language is probably as strong as the use of verbal one: best explained by Rod Steiger's expressions of elation, shock, disgust and self-pity. Duck, You Sucker is Sergio Leone's second best work (after Once Upon a Time in America) and features an unforgettable performance from the great Rod Steiger who is well complemented by James Coburn--in arguably his best role ever. Duck, You Sucker will serve as an elixir for any intelligent viewer and offers enough food for thought to keep him occupied until long after the film the over.

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Excellent action film with Steiger over-the-top but Coburn right on the money as bandit/revolutionaries in Mexico. More gunfire and explosions and less balmy confrontations than in other Leone pics. I'm stuck on a second viewing by how much of a "70s" film this is, and how much real cinematic value and interesting ideas Leone has put into the film despite its basic action-film plotline. Rumors say Malcolm MacDowell was the original lead -- very intriguing possibility. The look on Steiger's face after he finds out he's risked his life to rescue a bunch of dirty prisoners is priceless.

Duck, You Sucker fmovies. A Fistful of Dynamite is often seen as the black sheep of Sergio Leone's commercial releases; and there's a good reason for that, as despite the fact that it's still a spaghetti western; it's a completely different kettle of fish to both the Dollars Trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West. A Fistful of Dollars features common western themes such as bandits, guns and bank robberies - but, as he did with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; Sergio Leone has implanted war themes into the plot, and we've also got the bizarre idea of one of the major characters being an IRA bomber! All this stuff doesn't quite come together cleanly, and as the tone of the movie changes often; it seems obvious that Leone has bitten off a bit more than he can chew...but luckily enough, A Fistful of Dynamite remains a fun movie for most of its duration. The plot follows a bandit named Juan, who bumps into a dynamite-laded bomber one day in the desert. Spotting an opportunity for robbery, he manages to recruit the IRA man to his cause; but he doesn't count on being dragged into the revolution that's going on at the same time.

The first half of the movie features some very astute elements of tongue-in-cheek humour, and it seems obvious that the director isn't intending the plot to be completely serious. However, at around the halfway point; the movie turns in completely the opposite direction, and the fun and silly first half gives way to a more deep and serious finale. For me, this is the movie's main problem; I like a movie that's unpredictable, but this change in plot feels disjointed and doesn't go down well. The second half of the film isn't as enjoyable to watch either, which harms the fun. However, Sergio Leone's direction is as impressive as ever, with some lovely wide angle shots capturing the beautiful landscapes; while, of course, Leone enjoys giving full focus to his actors for some extreme close-ups. Like the movie, the cast is a mixed bag. James Coburn looks the part, but his silly put-on accent makes him feel like he's having a laugh at times; and similarly, Rod Steiger dons an arguably even sillier accent and doesn't quite get away with it. Overall, A Fistful of Dynamite is not a film to please all viewers. I found it to be enjoyable despite many niggles, but I can understand why a lot of people disagree.

It's a shame that most people will not get to see this film on the big screen. The new print makes the film look like it was shot recently. The sound has been re- mastered also and is 90% perfect. A few of the restored scenes help the film along although they add to the already long running time. It is slightly different from the LaserDIsc version that came out a few years ago especially the end scene. However, one friend (a film reviewer) told me that it's the same version that he saw when it came out in 1972 for two weeks before it was pulled, re-titled and cut.

I have to say that this film is one of Leone's best and I now rate it above "Once Upon a Time in America". It's not an easy film and there are a few "flaws" but in a strange way it is the most human film Leone made. Coburn and Steiger both come off as real people despite the occasional lapse in accents. It's amazing how much time Leone gave to searing close-ups of the two actors and how they were able to convey so much of the story in silence. The story is very subtle and very unsubtle at the same time which can make following the film hard if you are expecting the "hello stupid" storytelling we get these days. Leone did the same thing in "Once upon a Time in the West" and "America". There's a storytelling genius here that's all the more amazing if you consider that Leone was operating out of his native language.

What makes this film stand out is the outright message Leone conveys with the story. He didn't do that with any of his other films.

A few words on the restored scenes. As with other Leone films that have undergone editing by American distributors, the removed scenes are a mixed bag. Some scenes were removed for length purposes, others for content reasons and some I suspect were removed because they were perceived as not up to the quality of the rest of the film. This was certainly the case for "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly". In "Duck, You Sucker", the restored opening helps the film's message which is probably not what the American censors though it was. The stagecoach robbery rape scene, which in the American version was edited in a way to suggest that Juan is really a gentleman thief not a rapist, is problematic unless you read it as a political comment and even then it's tough to take. The churchyard sequence, which is completely absent in the American version, is one of Leone's clumsiest scenes and it's absence didn't really affect the film. Some of it is out of focus! The ending sequence was apparently reedited by Leone after the opening in Europe and exists in several different versions over there! The version we see here is very, very long but illuminates the main characters motivations better then the American version.

Hopefully this limited re-release signals the soon arrival of a DVD version.

Update, July 2007: Finally, the DVD has been released. After watching the restored, restored version I have to add that the film really holds up. This version is identical to the screened version except for one minor, yet important difference at the very end. A crucial line from the American version has been restored.

The extras deserve some mention. First of all they all have a copyright of 2005 which indicates that the release of this DVD was delayed for some reason. The interviews are very interesting but each extra is heavily inter-cut with scenes from the film, the clips are frequently

A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE aka DUCK YOU SUCKER (5 outta 5 stars)

I think this is Sergio Leone's third greatest movie... right after Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Most Leone fans rank this film a lot lower... but I think that's because they are only familiar with the shortened two hour version. Also, for the record, I absolutely loathe the re-titling... A Fistful of Dynamite... how lame! At least the original Leone title, Duck You Sucker was... distinctive. Even the French title (translation: Once Upon a Time... The Revolution) is kinda classy. But AFOD??? Gimme a break! This movie has absolutely nothing to do with A Fistful of Dollars so why even try to make the comparison?

Anyway, I loved this movie when I first saw it in the theatre in 1972 (age 12). I am pretty sure that what we saw at the time was the lengthy, uncut version... and I don't remember being bored at all. (The most common complaint about this movie is that it is slow and boring... heck, that's the most common complaint about EVERY Leone movie.) Rod Steiger and James Coburn play Sean and Juan, respectively a poor Mexican bandit and a fugitive Irish terrorist... who meet up in Mexico and become involved (against their wills) with revolutionary warfare in that struggling country. The movie is exciting, funny, dramatic, suspenseful and, well, just plain brilliant. This is Ennio Morricone's greatest film score and the way it meshes with Leone's visuals is simply amazing... particularly in my favourite scene... the bank heist. Juan and his young sons break into the Bank of Mexico, shoot it out with the guards and go from door to door, searching for gold and finding only political prisoners, until finally... oh, I can't give it away! See it for yourself. This is a movie filled with classic scenes: Coburn's arrival on the "motorsickle" and his confrontation with Steiger's gang... Steiger and Coburn with their machine guns... Steiger's final act of vengeance (which is severely chopped to bits in the short version... robbing it of its vicious power). Its been said that Steiger's comical accent is stereotypical and insulting... but I say NO! He is playing one of the richest and most complex characters of his career... with some of his greatest speeches ("And what happens to the poor people? They are DEAD!"). Not to slight James Coburn, who also does a fantastic job, but Steiger is the star of this one.