a.k.a. - Shoot, Gringo, Shoot (USA); Im Staub der Sonne (GER); Tire, Django, Tire (FRA)
A solid Spaghetti Western from Bruno Corbucci, boasting strong scripting and production. German R2 Koch Media DVD.
The Film
Chad
Stark escapes from jail and sets out to kill the man who put him there,
but with his job done, Stark finds himself chased and captured. Hauled
before a local landowner, Gutierrez, he is spared execution if he will travel up to
the United States to capture and return the man's wayward son Fidel who has
fallen in with a crowd of bandits lead by "The Major". We find this
band raiding a casino in a small town and returning to their base,
Stark arrives and sweet-talks the Major with a big heist plan, but when
he rides out with Fidel to scout the locations, he instead kidnapps the
boy and they head for Mexico - however Fidel doesn't give up too
easily...
Written and directed by Bruno Corbucci (curiously credited as Frank B. Corlish), Shoot, Gringo, Shoot
boasts a strong and varied script. Although the synopsis is hardly the
most original, there are plently of surprises in store. The film is
generally slow paced with only a few key action scenes (including a
rather gratuitous bar fight), and on the plus side this gives plenty of
time for characterisation - Stark is a very interesting character,
known as Django in the French and Belgian versions of this film, but
surprisingly not in the German, he is much more of an anti-hero than
the usual Django or Ringo characters and although never a "bad guy", it
is clear that he is motivated in his good deeds purely by the $5000 on
offer. There is some noticable comic relief breaking in, including the
eccentric Major and his pet duck (!), and although fortunately it
doesn't affect the plot as badly as many of the later Spaghetti
Westerns, the general tone is much lighter than Bruno Corbucci's other
writing projects, Django (1966) and Great Silence (1969).
Corbucci's
direction is strong with some good, but sparing use of unusual camera
angles, including some nice PoV shots. Although a relatively low budget
production, the small cast and sets are hidden well and the film looks
up there with the best of the genre. Lesser known composer Sante
Maria Romitelli gives the film a rather standard soundtrack that works
well.
There
are no big Spaghetti Western or Euro-cult names on the cast - American
actor Brian Kelly takes the lead role as Stark, best known for his
television work, he would tragically become paralysed in a motorcycle
accident a few years later, and was eventually responsible for producing Blade Runner
(1982). Well travelled fellow American Keenan Wynn gives a good,
straight faced performance as the Major, while Fidel is played by
little known euro-cult star Fabrizio Moroni. Folco Lulli (best known as the star of art-house favourite Wages of Fear (1953)) and the always attractive Erika Blanc (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)), get brief but important appearances.
Well acted, written and directed, Spara, Gringo, Spara
is a perfectly adequate Spaghetti Western, although lacking the spark
of greatness that would make it a must see film. With the American
leading cast and director hiden behind an Americanised name, it is a
hark back to the early days of the genre, and although recommended to
SW
fans, it is not the best place for newcomers.
In brief:
Anyone famous in it?
A decent cast, but no-one famous.
Directed by anyone interesting?
Bruno Corbucci, brother of Sergio, he is responsible for writing a variety of Spaghetti Westerns, as well as dozens of comedy films.
Any gore/violence?
A number of deaths and a little blood.
Any sex?
No
Who is it for?
A solid film, recommended to Spaghetti Western fans but not the best of the genre.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1. Anamorphically Enhanced. Colour The picture quality is near perfect with minimal grain and almost no print damage. Slightly soft in places.
Audio
Italian and German 2.0 - sound good throughout. (Some scenes in the German track are in Italian)
Subtitles
German 1 - Translation of the Italian track. German 2 - Translation of the Italian track only for the missing scenes in the German audio, English - Translation of the Italian track.
Extras
The disc includes:
Westerns Italian Style
- a fascinating genre documentary from 1968 with extensive (and spoiler
filled) behind-the scenes footage of Run, Man, Run (1968) and The Great Silence
(1969) among others, includes interviews with directors and actors
including Enzo G. Castellari and Sergio Corbucci, as well as a look at
the influence of the Euro-Westerns on Italian culture. Narrated by
Frank Wolff. English (with English subtitles for some scenes in Italian, alternative German subtitles throughout). (36m 15s).
Original German theatrical trailer.
Photo gallery - including posters, publicity stills and lobby cards.
The DVD box includes a 4 page booklet, in German only.
Availability
DVD Title: Im Staub der Sonne
Packaging
The DVD is contained in a single disc slipcase.
Region
Region 2 - PAL
Other regions?
A Japanese DVD also exists with an English audio track.
Cuts?
Believed to be fully uncut. Print is German.
Summary
A solid Spaghetti Western with good cast and direction and a well written storyline - nothing special but enjoyable.
A very impressive looking print
of the film with good audio. Light on film specific extras, although
the documentary is worth seeing for all SW fans, and is also available
on the Blue Underground USA Run, Man, Run (1968) DVD.
