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Giù la testa
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Giù la testa (1971) More at IMDbPro »


IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   8,398 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Sergio Leone (story) and
Sergio Donati (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Duck, You Sucker on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 October 1971 (Italy) more
Tagline:
Rod Steiger and James Coburn will blow you apart in "A Fistful of Dynamite" ("Duck You Sucker") by the master of adventure Sergio Leone
Plot:
An IRA explosives expert on the run in Mexico meets an amoral Mexican bandit; together they get drawn into the Mexican revolution. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
Probably the best unknown movie ever made. more (87 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Rod Steiger ... Juan Miranda

James Coburn ... John H. Mallory
Romolo Valli ... Dr. Villega
Maria Monti ... Adelita, woman in stagecoach
Rik Battaglia ... Santerna (as Rick Battaglia)
Franco Graziosi ... Governor Jaime
Antoine Saint-John ... Gutierez / Col. Günther Reza (as Domingo Antoine)
Giulio Battiferri ... Miguel
Poldo Bendandi ... Executed Revolutionary
Omar Bonaro
Roy Bosier ... Landowner
John Frederick ... American
Amato Garbini
Michael Harvey ... Yankee
Biagio La Rocca ... Benito
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
A Fistful of Dynamite (UK) (USA) (alternative title)
C'era una volta la rivoluzione (Italy)
Duck, You Sucker (USA)
Once Upon a Time... the Revolution
¡Agáchate, maldito! (Spain) [es]
Aguenta-te, Canalha (Portugal) [pt]
Ducka, skitstövel! (Sweden) [sv]
Duk dig, fjols (Denmark) [da]
Egy marék dinamit (Hungary) [hu]
En handfull dynamit (Sweden) (TV title) [sv]
Garsc dynamitu (Poland) [pl]
Huka dej, skitstövel (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Il était une fois la révolution (Canada: French title) [fr]
Il était une fois... la révolution (France) [fr]
Kato ta kefalia (Greece) [el]
Kourallinen dynamiittia (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Maahan, senkin hölmö! (Finland) [fi]
Quando Explode a Vingança (Brazil) [pt]
Sagni se naivcina (Serbia) [sr]
Todesmelodie (West Germany) [de]
Yabandan gelen adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Za saku dinamita (Serbia) [sr]
more
Runtime:
157 min | USA:120 min (initial US release) | USA:138 min | USA:154 min (Laserdisc version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Brazil:14 | West Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Italy:T | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 (cut) | Norway:18 (1972) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG (original rating) | USA:R (laserdisc rating) (1996)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah agreed to direct this film after Peter Bogdanovich left the set, but for financial reasons was turned down by United Artists. Leone's collaborators (especially writers Sergio Donati and Luciano Vincenzoni), noting the director's frequent embellishment of the facts concerning his films, claim that Peckinpah did not even consider it - Donati claimed Peckinpah was "too shrewd to be produced by a fellow director". more
Goofs:
Continuity: The dynamite Sean hands Juan before the bank raid is several sticks in a bundle, with a single fuse and cap in the center, but when Juan dynamites the vault door, he uses two single sticks, individually fused and capped. more
Quotes:
Dr. Villega: Not *everybody* can fight. There are those who must organize, coordinate.
Sean Mallory: Yes, yes. Of course!
more
Movie Connections:
Edited into Spaghetti Western Trailer Show (2007) (V) more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is this movie based on a book?
What is a "spaghetti western"?
more
64 out of 75 people found the following comment useful.
Probably the best unknown movie ever made., 20 July 1999
10/10
Author: SquirePM from Birmingham, Alabama

Here is a tragedy -- a great film doomed by a terrible title.

I saw this movie as "Duck, You Sucker" in the theater in 1972 or '73. I still have images and haunting music burned in my brain from it. It has, for one thing, one of the biggest real explosions ever filmed, an absolutely awesome blast using real high explosives that makes today's fiery spectacles pale. I think the whole production company was stunned by it, certainly Sergio Leone was, because he gives it the full treatment: multiple cameras and angles, wide shots, lots of screen time giving us lots of looks. And it's worth it. If you're not a war veteran, you've never seen anything like this.

But this film is much more than its fx. It's a deep, moving story told on the grand scale, with Oscar-class cinematography. It is both a major outdoor adventure and a small, intimate story. It has some of the quirkiest scenes, blackest humor and darkest betrayals, too.

Don't look for it on TV, unless Turner Classic Movies shows it "uncut." It was horribly mutilated in editing for television, and therefore unpopular and rarely shown. Get the original theatrical version, and watch it undisturbed. A party atmosphere would ruin it for you.

It's on my top-20 all time list!

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (87 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Giù la testa (1971)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Why does he have to shoot right at the mole to kill his friend c4rter
Is this worth seeing? bcherry-3
What an incredibly misinterpreted, misunderstood and overlooked film korn12788
That was really sad (SPOILERS) billybutts
Brilliant film cellery
This film would be one of Leone's greats.... Rainy_Dog
more

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