The Big Gundown

{{Short description|1967 film by Sergio Sollima}} {{About|the spaghetti western film|the album by John Zorn|The Big Gundown (album)}} {{Infobox film | name = The Big Gundown | image = La-resa-dei-conti-italian-movie-poster-md.jpg | alt = | caption = Italian film poster | native_name =  | director = [[Sergio Sollima]] | producer = [[Alberto Grimaldi]]{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}} | writer = | screenplay = {{plainlist|* [[Sergio Donati]] * Sergio Sollima}} | story = {{plainlist|* [[Franco Solinas]] * Fernando Morandi{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}}}} | based_on =  | starring = {{plainlist|* [[Lee Van Cleef]] * [[Tomas Milian]] * [[Walter Barnes (actor)|Walter Barnes]]}} | music = [[Ennio Morricone]]{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}} | cinematography = Carlo Carlini{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}} | editing = Gaby Penalba{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}} | production_companies = {{plainlist|*PEA * Produzioni Cinematographice Tulio Demicheli{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}}}} | distributor = [[Produzioni Europee Associati|Produzioni Europee Associate]]<br>(Italy) | released = {{Film date|1967|3||Italy|1967|9|29|Spain}} | runtime = 110 minutes | country = {{plainlist|*Italy * Spain{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=146}}}} | language = Italian | budget = | gross = 1.441 billion [[Italian lira|ITL]] (Italy)<ref>{{cite book |last=Fisher|first=Austin|date= 2014|title=Radical Frontiers in the Spaghetti Western: Politics, Violence and Popular Italian Cinema |publisher=I.B.Tauris|page= 220}}</ref> }} [[File:Angel del Pozo in The Big Gundown (1966).jpg|thumb|Angel del Pozo as Chet Miller]] '''''The Big Gundown''''' ({{langx|it|La resa dei conti|lit=The Settling of Scores}}) is a 1967 [[spaghetti Western]] film directed by [[Sergio Sollima]], and starring [[Lee Van Cleef]] and [[Tomas Milian]]. It was followed by Sollima's ''[[Run, Man, Run]]'' in 1968, with Milian reprising his role.

==Plot== Possessing a reputation for bringing criminals to justice, ready-to-retire bounty hunter Jonathan Corbett ([[Lee Van Cleef]]) is summoned to a party by a [[Texas]] railroad tycoon by the name of Brokston ([[Walter Barnes (actor)|Walter Barnes]]), whose daughter is getting married. Brokston plants the seed that Corbett should consider a run for the Senate, but not before doing one last bounty hunt.

Brokston offers Corbett his political backing in exchange for tracking down a 12-year-old girl's accused rapist and murderer, who goes by the name of Cuchillo ([[Tomas Milian]]), a Mexican who is fleeing back to his native land. Cuchillo means "knife" in Spanish, which is the rascal’s weapon of choice. Corbett expects it to be easy, even offering to do it as a wedding gift.

Corbett sets out in pursuit of Cuchillo, who is not as dumb as he acts, and who is rather crafty at vexing Corbett at every turn. Corbett pursues Cuchillo into Mexico, where he is arrested when a fight starts in a brothel. Brokston pulls strings to free Corbett from jail and intercepts him, hiring a gang of mercenaries to find Cuchillo. Corbett learns that Cuchillo is innocent and in fact the witness that Brokston's alcoholic son-in-law, Chet Miller ([[Ángel del Pozo]]), was the rapist. Corbett misleads the mercenaries to confront Cuchillo with Chet himself. In the final showdown, Corbett provides a knife to Cuchillo to kill Chet, then killing Brokston himself. The two ride together from the scene before parting ways.

==Cast== * [[Lee Van Cleef]] as Jonathan "Colorado" Corbett * [[Tomas Milian]] as Manuel "Cuchillo" Sanchez * [[Walter Barnes (actor)|Walter Barnes]] as Brokston * [[Nieves Navarro]] as the Widow * [[Gérard Herter]] as Baron von Schulenberg (as Gerard Herter) * María Granada as Rosita Sanchez * [[Robert Camardiel]] as Sheriff Jellicol (as Robert Camardiel) * [[Ángel del Pozo]] as Chet Miller (as Angel del Pozo) * [[Luisa Rivelli]] as Willow Creek Prostitute * [[Tom Felleghy]] as Father of Chet Miller (as Tom Felleghi) * Calistro Calisti as Mr. Lynch * [[Benito Stefanelli]] as Jess, Widow's Ranchero * [[Nello Pazzafini]] as Hondo, Ex-Union Outlaw * [[Antonio Casas]] as Brother Smith & Wesson * José Torres as Paco Molinas * [[Antonio Molino Rojo]] as Widow's Ranch Hand (as Molino Rojo) * Spartaco Conversi as Prison Guard Mitchell * [[Romano Puppo]] as Rocky, Widow's Ranch Hand * [[Fernando Sancho]] as Captain Segura

==Production== ''The Big Gundown'' was shot in [[Province of Almería|Almería]] in late 1966.{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=149}}

==Release== ''The Big Gundown'' was released in Italy in March 1967 with a running time of 105 minutes.{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=154}} It was released in Spain as ''El halcón y la presa'' (English translation, ''The Falcon and the Prey'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://infoicaa.mecd.es/CatalogoICAA/en-us/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=23350|title=Halcon y la presa, El|work=ICAA: Catalogo de Cinespanol|accessdate=February 25, 2023}}</ref> On its release in Spain, the climactic cane-field chase was shortened.{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=154}} In the United States and United Kingdom, the film was released by [[Columbia Pictures]] in 1968. Most English-dubbed prints have a runtime of 89 minutes; the cuts therein serve primarily to tighten the film's pacing and remove sequences that do not directly serve the film's plot, although Corbett's character is made to appear to more quickly resort to violence compared to his level-headed characterization in the Italian version.<ref name="Cutting">{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Big Gundown (Cutting to the Chase: The Tale of Two Gundowns |year= 2013|publisher=[[Grindhouse Releasing]] |location=Los Angeles }}</ref> Another English version of the film, which runs for 85 minutes, removes all references to the rape and murder which drives the story.{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=154}} The film was a moderate success during its US theatrical run, grossing $2 million.{{sfn|Hughes|2004|p=157}} In December 2013, [[Grindhouse Releasing]], in association with original rights holder Columbia/[[Sony]], re-released the film with two different cuts, the original 110-minute Italian version, and a 95-minute "expanded US cut", which includes three scenes (which also appear in the Italian version) that were prepared for showing on television despite not being present in the original theatrical prints.<ref name="Cutting" /><ref name="DVDTalk">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/62359/big-gundown-combo-the/|work=[[DVD Talk]]|title="The Big Gundown Blu-ray" review|first=Stuart|last=Galbraith IV|date=December 10, 2013|accessdate=September 6, 2018}}</ref>

==Critical reception== In a contemporary review, the ''[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' stated that "at least this makes for a variation on the familiar solitary superman theme, and the two protagonists are given time to create characters with some personality", noting that "the violence is on the whole less gratuitously excessive than usual; and though the plot tends to ramble, there are several impressively staged sequences to keep interest alive-in particular a manhunt with the wily Mexican pursued through cane fields by dogs and an army of trackers".<ref name="mfb">{{cite magazine|title=Resa dei Conti, La (The Big Gundown)|magazine=[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]|year=1969|volume=36|issue=420|pages=59–60}}</ref>

In a retrospective review, [[Stuart Galbraith IV]] remarked that the film was "unusually fine" noting its "taut, intelligent screenplay" and "Lee Van Cleef's marvelous screen presence" and "especially the outstanding musical score by the great [[Ennio Morricone]].“<ref name="DVDTalk"/> Daryl Loomis of DVD Verdict commented: “The story, written by [[Sergio Donati]] (''[[Duck, You Sucker]]''), is strong, with a darker framing story than one often sees, and a lot of wit and humor throughout... Great performances and some amazing music, combined with strong direction, gorgeous locations, and top-notch camera work (by Carlo Carlini, ''[[Death Rides a Horse]]'')... is among the best work of any of the participants' careers... There's no question that, had more people seen ''The Big Gundown'', it would be clearly recognized at the pinnacle of the genre. Luckily, [[Grindhouse Releasing]] has graced us with one of the best Blu-ray packages I've seen in a long time... With the extras, the commentaries, and especially the soundtrack CD, this is my pick for Blu-ray release of the year.”<ref name="DVDVerdict">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/biggundownbluray.php|website=DVD Verdict|title=Review - The Big Gundown (1966) (Blu-ray)|first=Daryl|last=Loomis|date=December 26, 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709035644/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/biggundownbluray.php|archivedate=July 9, 2014}}</ref>

== References == ===Footnotes=== {{Reflist}}

===Sources=== {{Refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Cox, Alex|author-link=Alex Cox|title=10,000 Ways to Die: A Director's Take on the Spaghetti Western|publisher=Oldcastle Books |date=2009|isbn=978-1842433041}} * {{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Howard |title=Once Upon a Time in the Italian West |publisher=[[I. B. Tauris]] |isbn=1-85043-430-1 |year=2004 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781850434306 }} *{{cite book|last=Hughes|first=Howard|title=Spaghetti Westerns|publisher=Kamera Books|year=2010|isbn=978-1-84243-303-4 |location=Harpenden}} {{Refend}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0063501|title=The Big Gundown}} * {{TCMDb title|id=68667|title=The Big Gundown}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|the_big_gundown}} {{Sergio Sollima}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Gundown, The}} [[Category:1967 films]] [[Category:1960s buddy films]] [[Category:Spaghetti Western films]] [[Category:Fiction about Mormonism]] [[Category:Films directed by Sergio Sollima]] [[Category:1967 Western (genre) films]] [[Category:Films scored by Ennio Morricone]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Sergio Donati]] [[Category:Films produced by Alberto Grimaldi]] [[Category:Italian buddy films]] [[Category:Films shot in Almería]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Tulio Demicheli]] [[Category:1967 Italian films]] [[Category:1967 Spanish films]]