Tag: John Saxon

The Appaloosa Grande … Amigos …

3 Amigos

Don’t be fooled by their smiles …

The Appaloosa - 2 amigos
The Appaloosa – 3 amigos
John Saxon, Emilio Fernandez, Alex Montoya

… these are not your friends.

Nothing frames the face like a sombrero …
The Appaloosa - Sombero 6
The Appaloosa – Emilio Fernandez
The Appaloosa - Sombero 8
The Appaloosa – Brando

“There’s a line in the picture where he snarls, ‘Nobody tells me what to do.’ That’s exactly how I’ve felt all my life.”
– Marlon Brando
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/marlon_brando.html#5a8E93hCQ888oQ4c.99

The Appaloosa - Saxon Sombrero 1
The Appaloosa – John Saxon
The Appaloosa - Saxon Sombrero 2
The Appaloosa – John Saxon

“There certainly have been a lot of changes, although they come in such gradations that most people have either forgotten, or, if they’re too young, they never knew about them in the first place.”
– John Saxon
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_saxon.html#zdllIyCM3o8rPKck.99

The Appaloosa - Alex Montoya
The Appaloosa – Alex Montoya
The Appaloosa - Sombero 9
The Appaloosa – Alex Montoya
The Appaloosa - Emilio Fernandez
The Appaloosa – Emilio Fernandez

The Appaloosa … American Spaghetti …

Close Up and Personal 

Director Sergio Leone didn’t invent Close-Up shots, but he certainly was influential in their use. This is partly why The Appaloosa is often referred to as the “American Spaghetti Western” – as Director Sidney J. Furie uses close-ups extensively. The movie was also made during the height of Spaghetti Western popularity (1966) and has more than it’s share of Mexican banditos.

Leone’s Eyes … guess who ?

Leone's Eyes ...
Leone’s Eyes …

Eastwood, Van Cleef, Wallach, Bronson

Furie’s Eyes … In your face Amigo 

The Appaloosa - Close Ups
The Appaloosa – Screen shots – uncropped 

“The truth is, whether your film is about the great mythological character you have to do right, or it’s a little movie that nobody ever heard of, you still approach it like it’s the most important thing in the world. But failing goes with the territory. Filmmakers are like gunslingers, and you don’t win every duel.”

– Sydney J. Furie

Sydney J. Furie - Director
Sydney J. Furie – Director

The Appaloosa (1966) …

The Appaloosa (1966) 

When you do a search on Google for ‘Western Movies of 1966′ here is what you will likely find:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Professionals, Nevada Smith, El Dorado,
Alvarez Kelly, Duel at Diablo, The Shooting, Navajo Joe,
… and a few others …

A few Western Classics mixed in with a few clunkers. But, all in all, a pretty impressive year for Westerns.

Yet on most of these lists there is one glaring omission:
The Appaloosa.
Why?

The Appaloosa a a good Western. It is well directed by Sydney J. Furie and has excellent Cinematography, and it has Brando and Saxon.
It also contains one of the most famous and powerful scenes in Western Film:
The famous scorpion arm wrestling scene with the between Saxon and Brando.

The Appaloosa - 1966
The Appaloosa – 1966

I am at a loss to figure out why this movie seems to have been so overlooked? Was there a big ‘hate on’ for Brando at the time?
Or was it a case of merely being overshadowed by two of the Greatest Western Classics of All Time: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and The Professionals?
???

I hope to see it eventually take it’s rightful place.