Leone's most profound work

Rating: 10/10 (25 September 2004)

Even compared to his most stunning classics like "The Good,The Bad and The Ugly","Once Upon a Time in the West" and "For a Few Dollars more",this film comes off like Leone's most mature and profound work. The theme is revolution.Parallels are drawn between Ireland and Mexico,two countries in violent uprising at the time.These parallels show that revolution is revolution,pretty much the same everywhere you go.It takes its casualties and destroys the lives of its survivors.
James Coburn does his best performance ever in what I see as Leone's attempt to toy with the image of his stereotypical hero like Man With No Name.Coburn's Sean Mallory is Man With No Name caught in the grip of reality,as much as Steiger's Juan Miranda is Tuco shown in the same light.
All actors do a great job and Domingo Antoine is chillingly effective as the monstrous half-German colonel Ruiz,riding a tank which makes him synonymous with the Nazi Germany and SS,adding more menace to the overall demonic image.Romolo Valli is also great as the leftist doctor who is the brain behind the revolutionary force in a small town where Juan and Sean plan to strike,both from different reasons. His betrayal of his comrades is the greatest shock in the film.
The flashbacks are among the most meaningful I have seen in a film and complement the story very well.As Mallory reaches into his difficult past,we first start to gain sympathy for him.The action scenes are overwhelming and exhaustive.The climax adds to the flow of strong emotions throughout the film as it is very dramatic.Steiger's justified and merciless revenge on the evil colonel gives compensation for Mallory's death and is maybe the most violent killing scene ever in western cinema,even beating "Bonnie and Clyde".Still,in the end,one cannot help but feel despair and pity as Juan is left on his own to ponder about it all and reflect on his own fate.Here Steiger really shows his greatness and is along with Coburn unjustly snubbed for a major award.
All said,this film still has enough comedy,fun and light moments to bring you joy.I strongly recommend this picture to lovers of true western and fans of Coburn and Steiger.From here,Leone strayed into obscurity with his gangster epic "Once Upon a Time in America",making this his final swan song.10/10.