It's practically criminal how little experience I have watching Spaghetti Westerns. The younger version of me would have rolled my eyes in derision at the thought of them, as I considered the Western genre to be my least favorite growing up and adding an over-the-top silly tone to them wouldn't have helped a bit.
So when a buddy of mine at work let me borrow a copy of Duck, You Sucker, I wasn't sure what to expect. Knowing it came from the legendary Sergio Leone gave me a ton of confidence, but the title just felt like a piece of cinema that was never intended to be taken seriously. Still, I gave the disc a spin with an open and optimistic mind.
My positive disposition was rewarded with a damn good time. Duck, You Sucker is a blast, often times literally, and while not even remotely close to being the masterpiece that other Leone efforts are, that doesn't mean I couldn't find the joy in how well crafted and yes, absurd the entire experience is.
Yet despite the absurdity that cannot be denied, the film isn't without its thematic relevance and meaningful character development. Rod Steiger plays Juan Miranda, an impoverished Mexican man who finds himself getting wrapped up in a revolution, and Duck, You Sucker focuses on fleshing out the relationship between him and a man named John H. Mallory (James Coburn). Their fantastic chemistry is crucial to the success of the film.
I cannot forget to mention the musical score by Ennio Morricone. Honestly, even if the rest of the film proved to be a turd, I would still probably give it a mild recommendation based on this factor alone.
The good news is, there are plenty of reasons to recommend this one.
Duck, you sucker!
4/5
Released in Australia as Suck, You Ducker and that is a joke just in case ;)
ReplyDeletehaha well done. I may have fallen for it if you didn't clarify though.
Deleteactually I think it was released by the title A Fistful of Dynamite as that sounds familiar
ReplyDelete