Sunday, August 14, 2016

My Name Is Nobody (1973)

Original title: Il Mio Nome e Nessuno

Director: Tonino Valerii

Writers: Sergio Leone, Fulvio Morsella, Ernesto Gastaldi

Composer: Ennio Morricone

Starring: Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin, R.G. Armstron, Karl Braun, Leo Gordon, Steve Kanaly, Geoffrey Lewis, Mario Brega

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Nobody, but "Nobody," knows the trouble he's in!

Plot: A young, easygoing gunman (Hill) worships and competes with an old gunfighter (Fonda) who only wants to retire.



My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Great flick.  I haven't seen it in probably twenty years.  The 70s saw the decline in the Western genre and the Spaghetti Western went along with it, puttering out by the end of the decade.  This is one of the better films of the Euro Westerns of that period.  It's funny (the slap scene in the bar is classic), genuine and smart.  The ending is just great.  The cast is fun and you couldn't ask for a better pairing of the jovial Hill and the 'ready to retire' Fonda.  Nobody (Hill) knows every move to make and Jack (Fonda) stands back and lets him with wonderment.  The location shooting is great, with most of the film shot in the USA, which was unusual for an Italian Western (they usually filmed in and around Almeria, Spain).  Ennio Morricone's score is fantastic but I cringe with his hokey orchestration when the Wagner theme plays.  It's just a super fun film all the way around.  With some familiar faces like R.G. Armstrong and Geoffrey Lewis in it, it's a shame they didn't dub their own voices.  Fonda is the only actor to do so in English.  The RLJ Blu-ray looks good but it shows enough wear to think that hopefully there'll be a restoration somewhere down the road.  It still looks great but you can tell the print isn't what it could be.  Unfortunately there isn't a single extra on the disc.  You'd think a Blu touting the "40th Anniversary Edition" would have some bonus features.  You can get it for ten bucks.  Extras or not, it's worth it.




No comments:

Post a Comment