Companeros

Rating:
Summary: "No, I'm swedish.."
Review: A trigger-happy swede roaming around mexico with his not-so-bright "compañero"?? Yeah, sounds about right to me.. :)
Ignoring this, Compañeros is a good eurowestern. Franco Nero is really cool in this movie, and even gets the chance to hook up with his old buddy Mr. Machinegun towards the end. Jack Palance does a good job as the sleazy crook you really want to see dead. If you haven't seen this movie already, now would be a good time.

Rating:
Summary: Swedish Bullets and Cuban Berets
Review: Although "The Great Silence" may well be Corbucci's best spaghetti western, "Companeros" is surely his most enjoyable-- and probably the closest he ever comes to vivid characterization in his films. Franco Nero's Yodlaf Peterson (aka "The Swede") is an amusing riff on the Gringo figure with "much money but not much heart" (to borrow a line from "A Bullet for the General"). And Nero clearly enjoys playing off Tomas Milian's sometimes buffoonish yet always committed "El Vasco" (meaning "beret," which Milian wears throughout the entire film, Che Guevera style, only taking it off during his marriage ceremony to Iris Berben)--the two generate a chemistry that seldom occurs in spaghetti westerns, especially the highly political ones. ("A Bullet for the General" explores the growing alienation between the Gringo and the revolutionary, for instance; "Faccia a Faccia" documents the growing horror of the bandit for the Western intellectual; and "The Big Gundown" shows grudging respect between the American sheriff and the Mexican outlaw against the forces of capital--but no real friendship.) Significantly, the film ends with the true *beginning* of friendship-- "Companeros" turns from an ironic statement by "Il Penguino" (the Swede) to one of political commitment and personal investment. Against the amoral greed of prior Gringo characters (starting with Eastwood's "Man with No Name"), Yodlaf learns by the end of the film that there is something more important than the self. By naming himself a "companeros," he effectually rejects the greed and apoliticism typical to the role.

Ennio Moriconne's music is outstanding, and, as he says in an interview in the disk's "extras," he intentionally worked to create a unique "style" for Corbucci's film, one far different from the haunting score he had just provided for Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West." Unfortunately, Corbucci's camerawork is generally undistinguished, perhaps because he was no longer working with his longtime collaborator Enzo Barboni, who had gone on to make his own films. Alejandro Ulloa's photography is far less accomplished and stylish (perhaps a reason why he worked almost entirely in low-budget, exploitative films).

Overall, a highly enjoyable movie, although the pacing (as is often the case with Corbucci's works) is at times lumbering. One particularly interesting feature of Anchor Bay's print is its inclusion of the expository "backstory" of how Milian's character receives his nickname at the film's opening (the US version cuts right from the opening gunfight back in time to Yodlaf's arrival, several weeks earlier, in San Bernadino). It's a wonderful five minute sequence, reminiscent of his "Tepepa" role-- and a shame that American viewers have been unable to appreciate it for thirty years.

Rating:
Summary: Swedish Bullets and Cuban Berets
Review: Although "The Great Silence" may well be Corbucci's best spaghetti western, "Companeros" is surely his most enjoyable-- and probably the closest he ever comes to vivid characterization in his films. Franco Nero's Yodlaf Peterson (aka "The Swede") is an amusing riff on the Gringo figure with "much money but not much heart" (to borrow a line from "A Bullet for the General"). And Nero clearly enjoys playing off Tomas Milian's sometimes buffoonish yet always committed "El Vasco" (meaning "beret," which Milian wears throughout the entire film, Che Guevera style, only taking it off during his marriage ceremony to Iris Berben)--the two generate a chemistry that seldom occurs in spaghetti westerns, especially the highly political ones. ("A Bullet for the General" explores the growing alienation between the Gringo and the revolutionary, for instance; "Faccia a Faccia" documents the growing horror of the bandit for the Western intellectual; and "The Big Gundown" shows grudging respect between the American sheriff and the Mexican outlaw against the forces of capital--but no real friendship.) Significantly, the film ends with the true *beginning* of friendship-- "Companeros" turns from an ironic statement by "Il Penguino" (the Swede) to one of political commitment and personal investment. Against the amoral greed of prior Gringo characters (starting with Eastwood's "Man with No Name"), Yodlaf learns by the end of the film that there is something more important than the self. By naming himself a "companeros," he effectually rejects the greed and apoliticism typical to the role.

Ennio Moriconne's music is outstanding, and, as he says in an interview in the disk's "extras," he intentionally worked to create a unique "style" for Corbucci's film, one far different from the haunting score he had just provided for Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West." Unfortunately, Corbucci's camerawork is generally undistinguished, perhaps because he was no longer working with his longtime collaborator Enzo Barboni, who had gone on to make his own films. Alejandro Ulloa's photography is far less accomplished and stylish (perhaps a reason why he worked almost entirely in low-budget, exploitative films).

Overall, a highly enjoyable movie, although the pacing (as is often the case with Corbucci's works) is at times lumbering. One particularly interesting feature of Anchor Bay's print is its inclusion of the expository "backstory" of how Milian's character receives his nickname at the film's opening (the US version cuts right from the opening gunfight back in time to Yodlaf's arrival, several weeks earlier, in San Bernadino). It's a wonderful five minute sequence, reminiscent of his "Tepepa" role-- and a shame that American viewers have been unable to appreciate it for thirty years.

Rating:
Summary: I am Yodlof the Swede...but they call me "the Penguin"
Review: Another must have for any Spaghetti western as well Franco Nero fan. What happens when Yodlof the Swede(Nero)steps of the train,fresh as a daisy (spats and all) into a dirty south of the border town is one of my all time gut-busting faves of any Spaghetti Western.His rather sacreligious appropriation of the town's patron saint is another knee slapper.I'm no big fan of leftist politics and I thought the professors pacifistic message was interesting...being that it had to share such large chunks of screen time with machine gun battles and all.But Tomas Milian and Jack Palance did bang up jobs and "il pinguino" was,in my opinion,one of Nero's best roles.Mr. Morricone put out another real winner of a soundtrack as well.This movies strong points far outweigh it's one or two weaknesses.Rome on the range ...Corbucci style!

Rating:
Summary: Companeros
Review: COMPANEROS succeeds because of its excesses. Everyone but a handful of peasant students led by an ineffectual pacifist professor (Fernando Rey) is greedy and corrupt. The nominal bad guys don't simply kill the nominal good guys. Rather, in a manner that would do a James Bond film proud, they devise elaborate tortures that, as a rule, provide more opportunities for ingenious escapes than lingering deaths. If you're not convinced yet, one of the bad guys has an old-fashioned telephone mouthpiece grafted over his right ear.
Franco Nero stars as a Swedish (!?) gun trader in turn of the century, revolution torn Mexico. Tomas Milian co-stars as an accidental revolutionary and the two are thrown together when an impenetrable safe, presumably filled with great riches, is discovered. Nero and Milian travel to Fort Yuma to kidnap the imprisoned Professor Xanthos (Rey), the students' hero and possessor of the combination that will open the safe. Along the way, besides developing into a buddy film with the grungy Milian and the fastidious Nero, our heroes must conquer various groups of federales, a fort full of American soldiers and, most dangerous of all, Jack Palance's group of freelancing mercenaries.
Palance's character is one of the strangest... he's a pot-smoking wooden handed goon whose only friend is his pet falcon Marcia, who gnawed off his right hand to free him from a crucifixion death. If you find that more disturbing than absurdly humorous, COMPANEROS isn't for you, because that's pretty much of a piece with the spirit of this movie.
COMPANEROS is fast moving and quite violent, but I found its exuberant, excessive and exaggerated violence as much fun as an old Warner Brothers cartoon or a James Bond movie.
The disk also comes with 17-minutes worth of interviews with stars Nero and Milian and composer Ennio Morricone, who tells us that he conceived the choral themes for this movie as a "Gregorian chant with a reggae beat." Makes sense to me.


Rating:
Summary: Corbucci's best
Review: In my opinion this is Corbucci's best western (though some of you out there will think it was The Great Silence). It features an amazing musical score by Ennio Morricone who went beyond the usual stuff he did for the other great Sergio (Leone, the master). Franco Nero, who always wanted to shoot these films in english, but was handicapped by his heavy accent, plays a foreigner, in this case a Swede as opposed to the Polish he played on Corbucci's The Mercenary (aka A Professional Gun in the states). It also features another great actor with Tomas Milian who always went beyond his acting duties by playing the most extreme and colorful characters, in this case palying a mexican bandit that seems to have been inspired on Che Guevara (!). Let's not forget Jack Palance as the pot-smoking baddie, cruel enough to give anyone the creeps. Centered on the mexican revolution, this film is full of surprises and, akin to most spaghetti westerns of the time, twists of all sorts. Though Corbucci can't overcome the fact of adding some sort of humorous gag every now and then (after all he started as a gagman on italian films). Highly recommended, as it's chockful of action as well. The only let down is that Anchor Bay couldn't get hold of a complete dubbed version, so you'll see some bits of the film in italian with english subtitles (reason why I only give it four stars instead of the five it deserves). Other wise, the extras are great; we see interviews with both Nero and Milian. And it's also uncut and uncensored (and widescreen, of course). You won't regret buying this one, so do yourself a favor, and BUY IT!

Rating:
Summary: HOME SWEDE HOME
Review: Shot in the Spanish desert near Almeria, with an international cast of Italian, Spanish, Cuban, German and American actors, COMPANEROS describes maybe the reality of the American West of the XIXth and the early XXth century in a better way than the traditional Hollywood western. As Franco Nero points it out with accuracy during the 17 minutes interview added by Anchor Bay, the men portrayed in the westerns were European immigrants who mustn't be conversant with the English language. That's the reason the Italian actor didn't want to be dubbed in the American version of this 1970 Sergio Corbucci movie.

COMPANEROS deserves a pride of place in your DVD library, let's say between the first Leone's westerns and Damiani's A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL or THE GREAT SILENCE of Corbucci also. Nero, Milian and Palance give superb performances and the movie could have been entitled THE BAD, THE SWEDE AND THE DUMB without putting to shame Sergio Leone. The social and political pan of COMPANEROS is smartly treated by Corbucci and doesn't sound as an exposure of the American politics in Mexican affairs as it could have been. Corbucci suggests but never gives lessons.

All in all, a good job from Anchor Bay whose spaghetti westerns collection is a must-have for any movie lover.

A DVD zone last westerns.




Rating:
Summary: Spaghetti western nirvana
Review: Spaghetti westerns are, in my opinion, generally the best fictional films about the American West. You can argue that John Wayne made a bunch of great movies about life in the Old West, and you would be right to say so, but for some reason the Italians captured perfectly the specific elements of the era that made their movies seem more realistic. The frontier was a dirty, violent place full of unsavory types trying to get rich quick. Italian westerns capture this mood expertly whereas American films portray characters whose outfits look like they just came back from the dry cleaners. Hollywood films also tend to apply a black and white dichotomy onto their characters, the old "good guys wear white, bad guys wear black" philosophy that obscures the reality of the time and place. Not so in Italian films, where even the good guys often have distinctly unsavory traits. It's too bad spaghetti westerns went the way of the dinosaurs a few decades back; I never tire of watching these films even though I am not an expert on the genre. "Companeros," part of the larger Anchor Bay "Once Upon a Time in Italy" spaghetti western box set, serves as an excellent example of how powerful the genre once was.

I knew "Companeros" was a winner even before I watched it. Why? Look at the two stars. You've got Franco Nero playing a Swedish master criminal named Yodlaf Pederson and Thomas Milian in the role of the devil may care Vasco. How's that for a line up? Anyone even remotely familiar with Italian filmmaking in the 1960s and 1970s knows these two guys appeared in at least a dozen films that would later become cult classics. And both never pulled off roles better than the ones in "Companeros." The plot is simplicity itself--at least initially. Once again, the action takes place in strife torn Mexico during the revolutions of the early twentieth century. Vasco, a beret wearing, lackadaisical sort of fellow falls in with a revolutionary army led by General Mongo. What Milian's character doesn't know is that the good general sent away for a tough Swede to help crack a safe in a captured village. When Pederson arrives on the scene, he and Vasco quickly tangle before the general sorts out matters. It turns out that opening this safe requires Pederson to cross the border into the United States in order to retrieve Professor Xantos (Fernando Rey), a socialist intellectual and the leader of his own revolutionary movement. He's the only man alive with the combination, and when Pederson learns that the wealth of Mexico resides in the vault, he makes tracks for the border with Vasco along for the ride.

Hijinks aplenty ensue as Pederson and Vasco run into all sorts of trouble on their quest. A routine stop by a Mexican border patrol results in a bloody shootout when Vasco fails to understand the intricacies of photography. In order to secure Xantos, the two must break the professor out of an American Army outpost, which they do by employing the services of a bevy of local harridans. The biggest problem isn't the two men's extreme dislike for each other--Pederson takes every opportunity to leave Vasco behind but somehow always runs into him again down the road--or the border guards or American soldiers. Nope, the worst obstacle in safely returning Professor Xantos to Mexico arrives in the form of John (Jack Palance), a weed-puffing thug with a wooden hand, a falcon, and a Count Dracula visage. This goon enters the picture when Xantos refuses to allow American oil interests ownership of Mexican fields if his forces come to power south of the border. Plus, John and Pederson have a rather unpleasant history that virtually assures the falcon bearing thug will gun for the Swede any chance he gets. When all of these volatile elements come together in the end, we bear witness to one of the most frenetic shootouts in spaghetti western history. And that, my friends, says something quite wonderful about this marvelous film.

I could go on and on about the great things in "Companeros." The onscreen chemistry between Nero and Milian practically leaps into your lap. Both men infuse their characters with great humor or gravity as the situation demands. You can't help but like them. Palance has never looked or acted creepier, and that's saying something considering the man's long career playing baddies. Perhaps the most notable feature of the picture is its heavy political themes. The realities of political corruption, American imperialism, socialism as a panacea for the suffering masses, and Milian strutting around in a beret looking like a clone of Che Guevara all speak to director Sergio Corbucci's goal of instilling in his film issues that circulated widely in the 1960s and 1970s. While I don't personally agree with left wing ideologies, no one can argue that big business interests fueled revolutionary activities in Mexico and points further south back in the day. Fortunately, the political message rarely interferes with the humor or the characters' charm.

Another important note: the great Ennio Morricone wrote the theme song to "Companeros," and it's one of the best songs ever heard in a spaghetti western, right up there with the stuff this composer created for Leone's flicks. The tune sticks in your mind and refuses to leave for days. As for extras, Anchor Bay includes a trailer, biographies, and a seventeen-minute interview with Nero and Milian covering the actors' experiences with the movie. Milian admits that he is a difficult actor to work with, an assertion Nero seems to agree with in part, but you would never know it watching him work onscreen. If you watch just one Italian western--excepting Leone's stuff, obviously--make sure the one you see is "Companeros." You will not be disappointed.




Rating:
Summary: An OddBall Movie That Makes No Sense
Review: The action drifts from one scene to another, none of it making any sense. Spaghetti Western genre better left undone and unviewed.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: This is an awesome movie. What's to say? It has Jack Palance as a "very bad dude." Plus, the best musical score ever written. If you don't hum "companeros" when you have watched this - I don't know what to say. Great fun, great movie. The best spaghetti western ever. If you like westerns this is the best one to see. I can't say enough good about this film. This would be the one western I owned if I was only allowed one. A good fun time.