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THE MERCENARY
1968
Director
Sergio Corbucci
Starring
Franco Nero
Tony Musante
Jack Palance
Runtime
110 minutes
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One of the defining entries in the politically charged “Zapata Western” cycle, Sergio Corbucci’s THE MERCENARY combines revolutionary politics, explosive action, and broad comedy into one of the genre’s most entertaining spectacles. Franco Nero stars as Sergei Kowalski, a Polish mercenary hired by ambitious peasant-turned-revolutionary Paco Roman (Tony Musante) to train a ragtag band of insurgents during the Mexican Revolution. What begins as a simple business arrangement becomes increasingly complicated as political ideals, personal loyalties, and questions of power strain the partnership between the cynical gun-for-hire and the would-be revolutionary. Jack Palance steals scenes as Curly, a flamboyant American killer determined to settle scores with Kowalski.
By the final frames the bulk of the political subtext has been packed away in mothballs so Corbucci and friends can have more fun with the characters than they would if they were trying to lecture the audience on third-world revolution and its opportunistic exploitation by first world interlopers. For instance, there’s a climactic shootout featuring a rodeo clown and at one point Franco Nero lights a match off of a woman's cleavage.
THE MORRICONE CONTRIBUTION:
Bold revolutionary fanfares, swaggering marches, and soaring vocal melodies explode from every direction. "L'Arena" in particular feels like a declaration of triumph roaring from a mountaintop.
By the final frames the bulk of the political subtext has been packed away in mothballs so Corbucci and friends can have more fun with the characters than they would if they were trying to lecture the audience on third-world revolution and its opportunistic exploitation by first world interlopers. For instance, there’s a climactic shootout featuring a rodeo clown and at one point Franco Nero lights a match off of a woman's cleavage.
THE MORRICONE CONTRIBUTION:
Bold revolutionary fanfares, swaggering marches, and soaring vocal melodies explode from every direction. "L'Arena" in particular feels like a declaration of triumph roaring from a mountaintop.