I am a big fan of Sergio Leone. There are no other movies quite like his. His use of wide vistas and extreme close-ups is well known along with a penchant for large scale action set pieces and sudden bursts of violence. As a silent film fan though I admire his lack of dialogue, deliberate pace, and use of music/sound effects to underscore the action and propel the story along. Nowhere is that more in evidence than in GIU LA TESTA (lower your head or keep your head down) known as DUCK, YOU SUCKER which is the middle film in his final trilogy of ONCE UPON A TIME cinematic fairy tales (Leone originally wanted to call this film ONCE UPON A TIME…THE REVOLUTION).
Released in 1972 in a variety of running times and under various titles (A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE in the U.K. and the U.S.), it disappeared quickly and has been unseen in it’s original form until the release of this DVD. At 157 minutes it’s 37 minutes longer than previous prints and the footage that was cut is of great significance as it provides the heart and soul of the picture and deepens the relationship between the Rod Steiger and James Coburn characters. It also restores the overtly political message of the film about war in general and revolution in particular. The accents employed by Steiger and Coburn are frequently criticised but that misses the point as they’re not meant to be realistic.
Everything in Leone is exaggerated deliberately to create the effect he wants. The long pauses, the flashbacks, the larger than life performances are all there to magnify the intensity of the character’s emotions and to inspire their reactions to what goes on around them. When Leone’s films are cut or rearranged (as his last four films were) it actually makes them seem longer because the grand design has been tampered with and it throws them out-of-sync. While Leone loved the look of American movies he hated their pacing which is the opposite of a storyteller’s and that’s what he was. His three last films were the prime examples of his skills in that department.
The new widescreen print of DUCK, YOU SUCKER is gorgeous and the sound has been remixed but it’s the missing footage that really turns this film from just a spectacular action picture into something far more substantial that will stay with you long after it’s over as all of Leone’s best movies tend to do. Repeated viewings will only deepen the experience as you just can’t get it all in one sitting. For it’s offbeat sense of humor, Ennio Morricone’s surreal score, the most spectacular train wreck ever filmed, and the surprising depth of Steiger’s and Coburn’s performances, DUCK, YOU SUCKER, while not his best (that’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST), remains my favorite Sergio Leone film.
The Capsule Critic 