In my never ending quest to watch movies scored by Ennio Morricone (particularly as popularised and used by Tarantino – ‘L’Arena’ from this film was used in Kill Bill Vol. 2 when she busts out of the grave), I watched The Mercenary (1968 – Il mercenario), another spaghetti western. A smooth Polish mercenary with a Spanish accent (Franco Nero, Django himself) runs across a loose Mexican revolutionary (Tony Musante, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage) and they soon form a partnership with the hired gun lending his brains and firepower to the escalating cause. Jack Palance plays the foppish villain with bizarre curly hair. Directed by Sergio Corbucci, it is marked with the same humour as Django (which Corbucci directed) with sick jokey violence and unique imagery (the rifle duel in the arena with one of our heroes dressed as a rodeo clown). It’s a comical, action-packed ride with some satirical flourishes and I enjoyed it a lot. And the Morricone score is great. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 