A step back for Leone

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2005)

Fresh off his artistic success with C'era una volta il West, Sergio Leone began to create another "trilogy", of which Giù la testa is supposedly the middle chapter. Unfortunately for Giù la testa, it never really comes close to the dizzying heights Leone reached with C'era una volta il West. Which is a pity, because C'era una volta il West is a timeless classic that, in one ten-second shot, slaps the viewer in the face so hard their eyes will rattle for weeks after the fact. Indeed, Giù la testa marks the first Leone film I watched while doing other things where I was more engrossed by those other things. I therefore have little apprehension about labelling it as Leone's weakest work, although his weakest is still far above the strongest of some directors I might mention.
At its heart, Giù la testa is a comment about the effects revolutions have on ordinary, regular people. It depicts two men, a Mexican tribe leader of some sort, and an Irish terrorist. After demonstrating his ability with explosives to the Mexican leader, the Irishman is co-opted into serving the Mexican's political goals. It is here where Giù la testa starts to get muddy. The exact cause of the Mexicans is never fully established, and who they are fighting against is hard to figure out, too. In later sequences, we see an army that looks vaguely German, but we're never quite sure exactly why they are fighting these Mexicans. There does not seem to be enough explanation.
Another weakness of Giù la testa is the truly abominable score music. During any scene in which the Irishman has a flashback to his past in the UK, we hear repetitive vocals that we are to believe are Irish/Celtic in nature. What they really are, other than dated beyond belief, is annoying. They sound more like something one would hear in a trashy 1960s sitcom such as Gidget. That's not to say the score is all bad. There are some themes that suit the on screen action well, but this is hardly what we could call Ennio Morricone's best work. Especially not after the aforementioned C'era una volta il West. Indeed, the "keep your loving brother happy" scene haunts memories thanks in no small part to the droning guitar sound of the score. Giù la testa has no such moments, although it does have a missed opportunity in its place.
Like all Sergio Leone films, the big strength of Giù la testa is in the cinematography. There was a reason why the 2.35:1 frame was invented, and it was Sergio Leone. Some have come close to matching his sense of scene composition, but none have consistently performed photographic miracles like Leone. Leone is a stunning example of why Pan And Scan should be outlawed under penalty of death by being cut in half. Other minor strengths include a very calm, balanced performance from James Coburn, who took the role because Henry Fonda told him that Leone was the greatest director that he (Fonda) had ever worked with. High praise indeed, given that Fonda had worked on around seventy films at the time C'era una volta il West was released.
Fortunately, Leone would return to form with the third installment of his "three historical periods which toughed America" trilogy, namely Once Upon A Time In America. But lest anyone think I feel this film is all bad, let me reiterate that if every director's off-days were like Leone's, Hollywood would be facing much less derision. Giù la testa, for all its flaws, earns a solid eight out of ten from me. Three of those points are for the cinematography.