Actually A Good Movie - With A Few Continuity Issues

Rating: 8/10 (14 March 2020)

I have always been a big fan of both James Coburn and Rod Steiger- and this movie (overall) is really well done for a 1971 production and would not disappoint any Coburn/Steiger or Sergio Leone fan (especially lovers of Leone's highly popular Eastwood spaghetti westerns - which I have loved since childhood!).
Obviously I am sure (to no one's surprise) that these low budget style movies were forced on most occasions to take a few 'short cut' liberties on expenses and logistics to keep them on track with filming and time constraints. However, I am, admittedly, one of those, at least, 'semi-purist' movie fans that does not mind a smattering of directorial creative flexibility and freedom - as long as it is well placed and sparingly portioned. However, I can get a slight itch of irritability with scenes, logistics, or continuity that are obviously out of place... especially with storylines that are framed around historical events - such as The Mexican Revolution of 1910. I completely understand financial restraints, but I find it hard to swallow whole that such an epic scale motion picture would allow utilizing such a noticeable number of historical inaccuracies in their props. At least four or more of the firearms, including the MG-42 machine gun (German, WW II, designed 1938, mass-produced 1942), and several pistols (Astra 400 (1921), Browning HP (1935), etc. were all manufactured well after the 1913 revolution timeframe - not to mention Coburn's MC being at least (what appears to be anyway) a mid-1930's Harley flathead with wide tires (??) fitted with J-frame handlebars and tanks to make it look older (far from an expert admittedly - just a guess). And how is it even remotely possible to ride around on a bumpy, rut-filled gravel desert road with unsecured glass vials of extremely volatile liquid nitro-glycerin? (HA!) Yeah, I know... I am not looking at the big picture and entertainment value alone - its just a movie anyway, right? But, really Sergio, baby? Some notice man... just sayin' brah... ðŸ˜„