Thoroughly entertaining...

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2013)

SPOILER ALERT! The uncut 157 minute version of this Sergio Leone film is thoroughly entertaining. Petty Mexican thief Rod Steiger believes he's recruited IRA bomber James Coburn to help him rob a bank, but in fact ends up recruited by Coburn to fight in the Mexican revolution. There's a lot of comedy in this film mixed with a lot of extreme violence. There are many action scenes and perhaps one too many executions. Leone manages to offset the gruesomeness with some very big laughs, such as Coburn tricking Steiger into unwittingly freeing 1000s of Mexican rebels. Steiger & Coburn have great chemistry and they're backed by a first rate supporting cast including Romolo Valli as a duplicitous fellow revolutionary and silent Antoine Saint-John as a maniacal Colonel. Steiger's haminess is a perfect match for his over-the-top character. Though legend has it that Peter Bogdanovich and then Sam Peckinpah were signed on to direct this with Sergio Leone producing, it's a safe bet that not even one of those great directors would have made something so audacious. Ennio Morricone's score is one of his most memorable.