{"id":97401,"date":"2024-06-06T22:42:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T05:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=97401"},"modified":"2024-06-06T22:42:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T05:42:39","slug":"mercenary-the-1968","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=97401","title":{"rendered":"Mercenary, The (1968)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Never question a man who pays well.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Poster-197x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-97403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Poster-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Poster-177x270.png 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Poster.png 618w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn early 20th-century Mexico, an emergent revolutionary (Tony Musante) hires a Polish mercenary (Franco Nero) to help him and his female companion (Giovanna Ralli) fight against the government &#8212; all while fending off a menacing villain named Curly (Jack Palance).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jack Palance Films <\/li>\n<li>Mexico<\/li>\n<li>Revolutionaries<\/li>\n<li>Westerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary only lists one title by Italian director Sergio Corbucci &#8212; perhaps best known these days for his influence on Quentin Tarantino &#8212; in his <em>GFTFF<\/em>: this &#8220;Zapata western&#8221; set during an era of Mexican revolutionary activity. In doing a little more research, I <a href=\"https:\/\/headstuff.org\/entertainment\/film\/essential-films-sergio-corbucci\/\">found that not many consider this Corbucci&#8217;s top title<\/a>; that designation would likely go to <em>The Great Silence<\/em> (1968) &#8212; a direct inspiration for Tarantino&#8217;s <em>The Hateful Eight<\/em> (2015) &#8212; with <em>Django<\/em> (1966), given its obvious ties to Tarantino&#8217;s <em>Django Unchained<\/em> (2012), coming next. <\/p>\n<p>With that said, I was glad to be introduced to Corbucci &#8212; the &#8220;other Sergio,&#8221; who also collaborated with Ennio Morricone &#8212; through this film; he was quite skilled at crafting both ultra-violent and humorous sequences. Nero and Musante make an effective &#8220;odd couple&#8221; &#8212; at times collaborative, at other times nemeses: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre-1024x432.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"270\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-97405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre-1024x432.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre-768x324.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre-604x255.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Hombre.png 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and Palance rounds things out nicely as a curly-headed ultra-baddie. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2-1024x434.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"271\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-97406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2-1024x434.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2-768x325.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2-604x256.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Palance2.png 1289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Together, the trio are a clear variation on the &#8220;good&#8221; [Nero], the bad [Palance], and the &#8220;ugly&#8221; [Musante].) This flick remains worth a look for fans of spaghetti westerns, but I&#8217;ll have to check out a couple of Corbucci&#8217;s other titles before deciding which one is must-see. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creative direction<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell-1024x432.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"270\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-97407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell-1024x432.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell-768x324.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell-604x255.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Bell.png 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Alejandro Ulloa&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle-1024x436.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"273\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-97408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle-1024x436.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle-768x327.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle-604x257.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Mercenary-Gun-Angle.png 1291w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai&#8217;s score <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though of course it&#8217;s worth a look if you&#8217;re a fan of the genre. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0063293\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/mercenary.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Never question a man who pays well.&#8221; Synopsis: In early 20th-century Mexico, an emergent revolutionary (Tony Musante) hires a Polish mercenary (Franco Nero) to help him and his female companion (Giovanna Ralli) fight against the government &#8212; all while fending off a menacing villain named Curly (Jack Palance). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Jack Palance Films Mexico Revolutionaries Westerns Review: Peary only lists one title by Italian director Sergio Corbucci &#8212; perhaps best known these days for his influence on&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=97401\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97401"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97412,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97401\/revisions\/97412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}