Campañeros (1970)

There's a certain genius at play in the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Corbucci - he has a knack for grungy edginess, characters and personalities that practically pop out of the screen, and classic dusty backdrops that are as authentic as they are mesmerizing.

Campañeros is no exception...and good grief - Jack Palance as a pot-smoking bandit with a bad Scottish accent? Franco Nero a Swedish cowboy? Tomas Milian as a fast-talking Mexican? Money, folks ...money. Hell, i'd watch a cast like that read bible passages in latin for two hours. Add to the mix a whole Mexican-Zapatista storyline and you've got a fun, campy, balls-out rootin', shootin' thrill ride. And, of course, you have to squeeze in a requisite and frankly awesome score by Ennio Morricone, who's work is instantly recognizable and practically typifies the genre in and of itself.

There's also some great chemistry between the two leads, Nero and Milian. They play well off each other, even when you hear stories of on-set egos and competition for stardom. I think it's what makes it work, as the characters are kind of competing on-screen as well...but it comes off as more playful than anything. Now that i reflect, the entire film has a playful air to it. It just begs you to have a blast with it. And damn, I sure got caught up.

Corbucci's directoral canon also includes the amazing Django (also starring nero) and The Great Silence, both landmarks in the exploitative western genre. Not only was he prolific, but Corbucci is also generally accepted to be one of the greatest directors of the Spaghetti Western, second only to perhaps Leone, and is a vastly underrated and underseen maestro.

Blue Underground's treatment as always is spot on - despite the fact that some of the English dubbing was lost and some scenes had to be subtitled over the original Italian. The switch between the two is hardly noticeable, and even the dubbing is really spot on which is a rarity for these types of films (you can find it here: Blue Underground).