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Bandido Film: A Cinematic Journey to 1916 Acapulco with Robert Mitchum and Ursula Thiess



Cult filmmaker Massimo Dallamano (What Have You Done to Solange?) directed this impressive spaghetti western -- his only foray into the genre -- under the pseudonym "Max Dillman." Enrico Maria Salerno stars as gunslinger Richard Martin, whose hands are destroyed in a battle with outlaw Billy Kane (Venantini). Years later, Martin runs a Wild West show, and harbors a fugitive named Ricky Shot (Jenkins), teaching him the art of gunfighting. The vengeful Martin and his protege eventually track down the ruthless Kane, leading to a surprising conclusion. This stirring revenge film also features a dynamic musical score by Egisto Macchi. Filmmaker Romano Migliorini collaborated on the script with Giambattista Mussetto and Juan Cobos.




bandido film




Le riprese ebbero luogo nei veri siti in cui si combatterono varie battaglie della rivoluzione messicana del 1916 narrate nel film. Molte tra le comparse messicane più anziane erano reduci della rivoluzione ed ex soldati di Pancho Villa.


The film was shot on many of the actual battle sites of the 1916 Mexican revolution, the period during which this film is set. Many of the older Mexicans hired as extras in the film were former soldiers of Pancho Villa and others were former government troops who fought them.


Many of those featured in the film were present for the screening in Pollock Theater, and contributed greatly to the powerful discussion with students and other audience members about the political climate that surrounded Gomez as a student, as well as the parallel between him and students today.


The title seems like maybe it once had an exclamation point after it (not usually a good sign, and some posters show the exclamation point), and it is not clear who the bandido of the title is. There are lots of bandidos in this movie. It does not appear to be available on DVD. Not to be confused with Bandidas (2006), starring Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz.


Like the other films in this set Bandidos looks perfectly fine. It's a sharp looking presentation that renders the film's heavy-yet-fine film grain incredibly, and delivers on the finer details in close-up and the longer shots of the landscapes. The image is smooth in motion and artifacts aren't of any concern.


The restoration work has also been pretty thorough, and this is one of the cleaner looking films in the set, though a few minor blemishes remain (bits of dirt and some scratches). I suspect the colours were maybe yellower in the original master supplied to Arrow, and Arrow has toned it down. It still has a warmer look, and blacks can look a little murky on occasion (and gamma can be questionable), but the colours otherwise look more natural, blues and whites still managing to come through.


As with the other films in this set, Arrow includes both English and Italian soundtracks, each presented in single-channel DTS-HD MA. Both tracks are clean but fairly flat and lifeless, the Italian track maybe a hair more-so. Since the film was dubbed during post-production in both languages neither track is perfect in relation to lip-synching and that, so it will come down to personal preference.


Though the supplements so far in the set are fine, nothing really sticks out all that much, and that includes the three interviews found here. A lengthier 18-minute one featuring Luigi Perelli is probably the better one here, as the assistant director talks about his earlier work, how he picked up certain shooting styles for his own work, and talks a little about the film (which he finds good, just hampered by some of the performances). Actor Gino Barbacane next pops up for 11-minutes to not only talk about his bit part in this film (where he gets killed almost immediately) but also covers his parts in the two previous films in this set, Massacre Time and My Name is Pecos. Italian film historian Fabio Melelli yet again appears to talk about the film and its background. He does so for 11-minutes, but this time it feels as though he's only reiterating the story and going over some of the actors.


The strongest feature here and one of the stronger ones in the set ends up being the sort-of out-of-left-field audio commentary by author and critic Kat Ellinger. Though she knows her genre films I admit I'm used to her showing up for tracks for films more along the lines of giallos or the gothic, so seeing her participating for this was a bit of a surprise. She clarifies immediately why she is there, though, and that's for the opportunity to push the film's director, Massimo Dallamano, who she considers a severely underrated genre filmmaker despite going on to doing a number of other genre films after this (none of them westerns), including the highly regarded giallo What Have You Done to Solange? And pushes him she does, using this film, Dallamano's first as a director, to showcase his talents as a genre filmmaker, pointing out the more cynical and nasty elements (though toned down) and how certain themes and ideas would show up in later films. She does also offer some background to his work as a director of photography, having worked on the first two films in Leone's Man with No Name trilogy (he was let go before The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), theorizes why he may have chosen this film as his first directorial effort, which she also bases on comments made by director Alex Cox, and explains why she feels he's gotten lost when compared to other Italian genre directors, blaming it a bit on the auteur theory, which does ignore "journeymen" directors. While the focus is clearly on Dallamano, she does have a lot to say specifically about the film, from story structure to the acting and camera work, and even offers some great details about some of the film's performers: instead of just going through an IMDB list as other tracks have done, she presents details from her own research, including what she could find about the film's mysterious co-star, Terry Jenkins, whose only other big credit was a role in Paint Your Wagon. I enjoyed C. Courtney Joyner's tracks on the other discs, but at times they felt to be going through the motions (particularly Massacre Time) but this one ends up being a surprisingly passionate one.


The disc then closes with an alternate end title sequence for the English-language version of the film: it simply presents a "The End" title card over the closing shot before going to credits playing over black instead of over the graphics used in the opening credits. There is also another German promotional gallery, featuring more posters, lobby cards, and photos, all featuring the "Bandidos" title. Author Howard Hughes then includes an essay on the film in the set's included booklet, going down a similar road as Ellinger, focusing on Dallamano and what he brought to the film from his previous experience.


There are no red carpets, no celebrities and no paparazzi, but the International Summer Screenings program brings a movie premiere to Chicago each week. Exposing lesser known films gives viewers a different taste of international cultures, as well as a cinematic experience that was, until now, unavailable in Chicago.


The Chicago International Film Festival and the Chicago Cultural Center partnered with 19 international consulates to present this seventh year of International Summer Screenings. The program has evolved and is larger than ever this year, showing 19 free films throughout 19 weeks, with an extra matinee screening of each film every week.


Without the involvement of the foreign consulates, the International Summer Screenings would not exist. The growth of international partners and their interest in presenting their country through film has contributed to the ongoing and growing success of the program.


Teng keeps the films at festival caliber to keep the program fitting with the mission of the Chicago International Film festival, and to keep up public interest. In order to expand the experience, film critics and academics are invited to select screenings to participate in audience discussions to not only entertain, but also educate on these cultures through film. By maintaining the high standards of film and reaching out to more international consulates, Teng hopes the festival will expand to show these films year round through public programming. 2ff7e9595c


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