The Big Gundown

"Mr. Ugly comes to town!"

1967 1h 51m IT

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 190

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

“Mr. Ugly comes to town!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Lee Van Cleef
Jonathan Corbett
Tomas Milian
Manuel 'Cuchillo' Sanchez
Walter Barnes
Brokston
Gérard Herter
Baron von Schulenberg
Manolita Barroso
Rosita, Cuchillo's wife
Fernando Sancho
Capt. Segura
Nieves Navarro
'The Widow'
Benito Stefanelli
Jess

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sergio Sollima
Writers: Franco Solinas, Fernando Morandi, Sergio Donati
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

59 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Italy, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Cuchillo Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sergio Sollima, shot by Carlo Carlini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gaby Peñalba shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian and Walter Barnes carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Mr. Ugly comes to town!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sergio Sollima directs. Carlo Carlini behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Gaby Peñalba cuts. Produced in Italy, Spain. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

159 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2International production across 2 countries: Italy, Spain.
3Part of the "Cuchillo Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Sergio Sollima, shot by Carlo Carlini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Gaby Peñalba shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian and Walter Barnes carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Mr. Ugly comes to town!".
9IMDB entry: tt0063501 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Carlo Carlini
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Gaby Peñalba
Costume design: Carlo Simi
Makeup / hair: Rino Carboni
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): 12
IMDB: The Big Gundown (1967)

Part of

Cuchillo Collection

Western films with Tomas Milian as Manuel 'Cuchillo' Sanchez.

Also by

Sergio Sollima

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-04-22
★ 9/10
If you don't kill me right now, it'll be the last mistake you make. La resa dei conti (The Big Gundown) is directed by Sergio Sollima and written by Sollima and Sergio Donati. It stars Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes and Gerard Herter. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Carlo Calini. Superior Spaghetti Western with shades of Zapata for good measure, The Big Gundown finds Van Cleef as bounty hunter - cum - unofficial lawman Jonathan Corbett, whose reputation for bringing in the criminals, dead or alive, has caught the attention of business baron Brockston (Barnes). With an interest in getting into politics, Corbett is sold on Brockston’s offer of political help if he will do a job for him. The job is to hunt down a Mexican rogue by the name of Cuchillo (Milian) who is alleged to have raped and murdered a 12 year old girl. Tracking Cuchillo across the land, the Mexican proves to be a slippery customer, and more importantly, Corbett begins to doubt the veracity of the charges against him. Adios Amigo. What do you need for a great Italo Western? A leading man with screen presence supreme? Check! Rogue antagonist able to overact opposite the leading man whilst still exuding charm personified? Check! Scorching vistas? Check! A musical score so in tune with the story it’s a character all by itself? Check! And violence? Check! Sollima’s movie has it all. Much of the film is about the manhunt and how the two men involved develop a relationship. Cuchillo claims he’s being set up and seems to have friends in every town featured in the play. Corbett is a dandy with a gun, but he’s not perfect, he can be outsmarted and get caught cold. There’s good thought gone into the screenplay in this respect, not putting the anti-hero up as an infallible superman. Then there’s the side-bar narrative strands that show Sollima’s political bent, even though this is hardly a heavily politico piece. From class struggles and racism, to asides on the justice system and the fat cats who operate around the system, Sollima does enjoy dangling such carrots. With zippy set pieces fuelled by brooding machismo that is in turn enhanced by the top work from Carlini and Morricone (it's one of Moricone's best scores, real dynamite), this is grade “A” Spaghetti and well worth feasting on. 9/10

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