A Bullet for the General

source: A Bullet for the General

"A Bullet For the General", exceeded my expectations, and is the best of five DVDs in the "Once Upon a Time in Italy" set. There is no mistaking that this is Gian Maria Volonte's movie. He has way more screen time than in either "A Fistful of Dollars" or "For a Few Dollars More". Klaus Kinski admirers might be disappointed as his screen time is limited in a supporting role. Lou Castel's character seems to barely be breathing in what can only be described as the lowest key performance ever. Martine Bestwick is somewhat livelier, but her appearance is flawed by a Mexican makeup job that can only be described as dreadful. The Ennio Morricone score is above average. Though not quite as good as "The Big Gundown", "A Bullet For the General" must be considered one of the better non-Leone "spaghetti westerns". - MERK

One of the most underrated spaghetti westerns of all time, easily in my top ten. Volanti and Klinski dominate this tale of greed, poverty, racism, rich vs poor, great action sequences and a genuine heart to match, volanti was only behind Eastwood, Van Cleef and Nero as the greatest spaghetti western star of all time! any die hard fan of the genre must have this movie in their collection! pure brilliance!. A great starting point for new fans as it blends all the elements of the genre, violence, redemption and revenge as well as one of the greatest performances from an Italian western actor he was taken from us too soon , long live Gian Marie Volanti!.

DON'T READ THE OTHER COMMENT! It's a spoiler. "A Bullet for the General" is a thoroughly enjoyable Western from beginning to end and does not leave you disappointed. Chuncho, played by Volonté, is a variant on the psychopathic bandit Indio from "For a Few Dollars More" and Ramón Rojo from "Fistful of Dollars", but with a pinch of ingrained revolutionary thrown in. The gringo is played superbly. He awes both Chuncho and the audience with his mystique, flawless planning, and supreme confidence ala "The Man with no Name". This plays very well into the shattering of caricatures at the end of the film. The soundtrack is also good including the very recognizable theme song. This film, with its comedy, extremes, and original situations, is in the same subgenre as the Eastwood spaghettis, rather than moodier westerns like "The Great Silence" or Eastwoods American westerns. I don't understand its low rating here. It's a lot more fun than "Compañeros" which was rated higher.

Set during the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century, a group of Mexican bandits led by El Chuncho (Gian Maria Volonté) rob a train carrying weapons for the Mexican army. They are assisted by an American passenger, Bill Tate (Lou Castel), who stops the train in exchange for him being allowed to join the group. Whilst A Bullet For The General is not as fun as say Django, it could be argued that it is a superior film - wonderful central performances under quietly confident direction attest to that. A spaghetti western that's not afraid to get its hands dirty with a dose of social commentary – highlighting the morally dubious nature that the sub-genre and its characters consistently revel in – A Bullet For The General, whilst not perfect, is a solid entry nonetheless with enough compelling characterisation (certainly more compelling than Django, save for that film's titular antihero), drama and action to tick most boxes.

Damiano Damiani's 1966 film 'A Bullet for the General' is one of the first examples of the Zapata Western, a sub-genre of the Spaghetti Western that mostly dealt with political themes during the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century. Gian Maria Volontè plays El Chucho, the leader of a Mexican bandit gang who earn their pay selling arms to revolutionaries - he meets with a suave gringo named Bill Tate (played by Lou Castel) who claims to be on the run from the law and soon finds himself inducted into the group and deep in the heart of the Mexican revolution. Despite the simple sounding premise 'A Bullet for the General' displays a great depth of character as the protagonists relationships shift with the plot before inevitably exchanging roles. The first hour or so seems like a standard western affair with lots of the usual train hi-jacks and bandit raids, but as the characters develop and their relationships become more strained we see some marvellous performances from the suspicious El Chucho, his brother El Santo (a fanatical Christian revolutionary played by Klaus Kinski) and the cool and un-flustered Bill 'Niño' Tate. The doubt displayed by El Chucho towards Tate really sets up the finale, and as the film nears the heart of the revolution Tate's motives become clear - but that doesn't stop Damiani pulling a nice twist at the end, endearing Volontè's character and providing a juxtaposition to the characters he made famous in some of Sergio Leone's classic Spaghetti Westerns. In a film dealing largely with role-reversal this is particularly apt. I didn't quite know what to expect from 'A Bullet for the General', I hadn't previously heard of the director and apparently this was his first foray into the Western genre - but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Providing a good mix of action and politics with commendable performances from Volontè, Kinski and Castel 'A Bullet for the General' is an intriguing and unique example of the Spaghetti Western and well worth your time whether you're a fan of the genre or not.

I believe this is one of the greatest movies I ever seen. It is centrated on personality of El Chuncho. In the past he was a revolutionar soldier, fighting with Elias soldiers for great ideas: freedom and plenty for peasants. Now times are changed and he is just an outlaw who rob trains and lordly houses for money with a clique of man without other ideals. The old general Elias is now hiding in a far and poor village, fighting a desperated guerrilla war. During one action he capture an american passenger, Bill Tate. Bill has a great influence on El Chuncho. Bill is tidy and educated, reject inutile violence, and for this El Chuncho, deep in his mind invidiates and admires him. Maybe when El Chuncho figth in revolution he dreamed a time when all the peasants look like Bill Tate. So he protected Bill. But the "boy" is in fact a killer, hired by Mexican Government and when he killed the general El Chuncho realised he was hoaxed by Bill Tate, so he want now to revenge. He find Bill Tate, but, surprising this want to share with El Chuncho the reward and together go in States and begin a new life. But in train station, looking to poor people, El Chuncho realised that his place isn't there, and in a romantical moment ( maybe not so real, but very touching ) kill Bill Tate, drop the money and run to freedom and to fight for his youthful ideas ... Particullary I remember the last sentence of the movie, addressed to a poor mexican guy who take his money : " Man! Use that money not for buying bread, but for buying dynamite !"

Always been a big spaghetti western fan and this is one of the best. Damiano Damiani's 1966 film is set against the Mexican revolution and tells the story of a bandit - the wonderful Gian Maria Volonté and his gang who terrorise the Govt troops and relieve them of their weapons that they sell to the revolutionary general. They meet up with an American (Lou Castel) who joins them but whose motives they suspect. There are spectacular train attacks , mega-massacres and piched battles along the way but the film has a strong moral sense allied with an almost Marxist viewpoint. On several occasions we see Volente wrestling with doing the right thing and doing the thing that will pay him. The script is exellent and although most is dubbed (as always with these movies)the storyline is as engrossing as the action. Klaus Kinski has fun as the mad priest/bandit and the whole thing looks terrific in a 2:35 print really utilising the huge landscapes. There is a terrific moment at the end where one character does a simple thing and the other character suddenly realises what has been going on all along. A truly terrific picture and in feel not that far away from Leones'later Fistful of Dynamite.

I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of the political spaghettis revolving around the Mexican revolution that came out during the late 60's. It was a trend that coincided with the general left-ist sentiment that prevailed in Italy at that time and gave directors like Sollima and Damiani in this case a perfect opportunity to speak their views. However I'm a sucker for a good spaghetti western. A Bullet for the General starts out fantastic with a train hold up by the Mexican bandit El Chucho (Gian Maria Volonte). The whole setting and the moral dilemma the captain of the train faces is just right on the money. For the next hour though the movie takes a sudden downturn in quality. There's plenty of shooting action, but it's uninteresting for the most part. We watch El Chucho's gang as they attack different posts to steal arms for a revolutionary general called Elias. There's a running sociopolitical commentary throughout the movie, but what really takes it down a notch is the heavy handed dialogue. The English dubbing is absolutely awful and the translations probably don't do justice to the original material. Some of them are so cringe-worthy that the ideas they're supposed to convey become caricatures. The good thing is that the second hour is better as it focuses more on character drama and conflict. The last 20 minutes in particular elevate the movie from just OK and are worth the price of admission. The cinematography by Damiani is excellent, the desolate terrain becoming another character in the movie. The performances are solid for the most part, with Volonte stealing every scene he's in as the greasy Mexican bandito with a heart of gold. His change of heart during the end is a joy to behold. Overall if it weren't for the atrocious dubbing and occasionally silly dialogue, this would be a classic. As far as political spaghettis go, Sollima's Faccia a Faccia is still the undisputed king. In the Mexican revolution-era adventure department, it doesn't top Corbucci's Companeros. However it's still very good as it is, combining bits and pieces from both worlds into an entertaining story. Recommended viewing for fans of the genre.

I agree with the other viewers how wonderful this film is. However they seem to miss the real point of the film. Made in 1967 during the Vietnam war, this film is really a comment on US policies in the world. It is a classic of the genre of euro intellectual leftist anti imperial US films of the time, beautifully done. Damiano in his films obviously likes and respects Americans, just not the imperial thing. Regardless of your politics it is important to see this film for what it is really is. For an old lefty like me I kept thinking "where was this film in the early 70's when I was in college". I would have loved it then, as much as I loved seeing it now, almost 30 years after it birth.