I watched a Sergio Corbucci double bill last night, courtesy of 88 Films' Italian Collection.
THE MERCENARY stars Franco Nero as The Polak, the titular hired gun who becomes involved in the Mexican revolution by agreeing to help Paco Roman (Tony Musante). He hasn't banked on Curly (Jack Palance), a greedy sadist, who incurs the wrath of the Polak and is punished by being sent out to walk naked into the desert, presumably to his death. I am so pleased this has been released because the dynamics between the three men, plus the beautiful Giovanna Ralli, playing Paco's love interest is really interesting, the dialogue is funny and engaging, and the action sequences are superbly choreographed. Adding to the overall package is the superb cinematography and a wonderfully layered and very catchy score by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai.
Released two years earlier, NAVAJO JOE has Burt Reynolds in the lead role, basically with a 'primitive' haircut and a reddish die on his skin to make him look like a Native American, something which would never happen now and just 'feels' wrong. Putting that to one side, the film is a wonderfully engaging and violent tale of revenge, beginning with a raid on a Native American camp and a woman being scalped. Of course, this is going to come back to haunt the antagonist, as Joe wants to avenge the murder of his wife and friends, so he seizes the opportunity to work on behalf of a put upon town (it's like a one-man Magnificent Seven in that respect) and take out the marauding gang of murdering sadists.
Based on these two films alone (I own and have seen others), is clear why Sergio Corbucci has such a great reputation and why the music from both films has been used by Quentin Tarantino, plus Franco Nero being employed by Tarantino in a cameo role in Django Unchained. Wash the Corbucci films I have seen, I don't think I've seen The Great Silence, widely regarded as his masterpiece and released the same year as The Mercenary. I have no idea what the rights situation is with that film, but I do think it's been released in the UK in HD and seems like a logical step for 88 Films to add to their Italian Collection. I'm aware of its reputation, and for it to be Corbucci's best it has to have to be something special to be better than these two, particularly The Mercenary, which I thought was the stronger of the two with more expansive action sequences and character development.
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