I giorni dell'ira

A scruffy garbage boy becomes the pupil of a famed gunfighter, and the stage for confrontation is set when the gunman becomes unhinged and overruns the boy's town through violence and corruption.

The film credits the novel "Death Rode on Tuesdays" by Rolf O. Becker as its basis, although director Valerii and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi have attested that this credit was primarily included to appease the West German co-producers, and that although some scenes are partially borrowed from it, the film is not an adaptation of Becker's novel.

This is an interesting western, not just because it has a young man going from janitor to gunfighter, but it has the audience questioning whom to trust. There is sort of the classic theme of a hero being mentored by a villain, and how that can complicate alliances.

This clever and successful Spaghetti Western that owes a considerable debt to Leone deals with a miserable young named Scott (Giuliano Gemma) who runs errands and works menial jobs in a little town ; as he's harassed , pushed and kicked by ruthless villagers . Then , there arrives an occasional mysterious visitor , a too smart bad guy , he's a two-fisted gunslinger named Frank (Lee Van Cleef) . He befriends Scott and acts as protector of the humiliated young who receives advice from the gunslinger and he becomes tough , surpassing his teacher . The gunfighter teams up with the hapless young man against the nasty townspeople mistreated him and then Scott carries out a personal vendetta . Later on , fateful happenings takes place , as they never thought it could happen in their town .

The film displays psychological characters-in deep , shootouts , Western action and being entertaining enough . The movie contains typical particularities Spaghetti , as it is filled with fury , sadism , bloodbaths , and portentous close-ups of grime-encrusted faces . Gulianno Gemma is good as unfortunate guy working in worst and dirtiest labors , and Lee van Cleef is cool as cruel gunslinger . As secondaries appear Jose Calvo (Silvanito in ' A fistful of dollars') and Spaghetti regulars as Benito Stefanelli (habitual master of arms) , Andrea Bosic and Ricardo Palacios . Furthermore , Ivonne Sanson as brothel Madame , she was a known actress in Italian melodramas and an uncredited Al Mulock (he was one of the mythic trio at the beginning of 'One upon a time in the West' along with Jack Elam and Woody Strode) . The producers Alfonso Sansone and Chroscicki produced 'Day of Anger' with quite a few budget . The picture is full of nice sound by composer Riz Ortalani and colorfully photographed by cameraman Enzo Sarafian . The motion picture was well directed by Tonino Valeri who was Sergio Leone's assistant . Valeri managed to make a fluid , witty and agreeable SW . He proved his experience in Western , such as : ¨Bounty hunter¨ , ¨Death a President¨ , ¨A reason to live a reason to die¨ and his biggest hit : ¨My name is nobody¨ with Henry Fonda and Terence Hill .

This Spaghetti Western I giorni dell'ira (1967) along with 'Da Uomo a Uomo (Giulio Petroni with Lee Van Cleef-John Philip Law)' led to recovery in the popularity of 'horse opera' after Leone hits . Both of them are masterpieces about gunslinger/disciple theme , and developing a paternal-filial relationship . Other films about this matter is as follows : 'All'ombra di un colt (65)' by Gianni Grimaldi with Conrado San Martin and Stephen Forsyth , 'Bandits (1967)' by Massimo Dallamano with Enrico Maria Salerno and Venantino Venantini and 'Beyond the Law (68)' by Giorgio Stegani with Lee Van Cleef and Alfonso Sabato.

Day of Anger (1967) is considered a top 20 by most fans and critics. I definitely agree this is a great SW movie with good music and acting by Lee Van Cleef, and Gemma. The story is great about a simple man with dreams to have respect and to own his own colt, but unfortunately Scott Mary (Gemma) is treated like dirt by the townspeople of Clifton and verbally and physically abused and it is a revenge style theme about a man name Talby (Van Cleef), who gets out of jail and goes to collect 50,000 from Wild Jack, who in return was lied and double crossed by some of the good old folks of Clifton so Talby goes to collect and helps mentor Scott, who becomes a side kick. It all changes when Talby kills someone close to Scott and then he gets a reality check and faces off with his mentor. Movie is overall fast paced with good action and story.

Nothing here you haven't seen before if you're a fan of Italian westerns, but DAY OF ANGER develops its plot and characters carefully, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout. Van Cleef is terrific--this is surely one of his finest moments--yet he's matched stride-for-stride by Giuliano Gemma and the rest of the cast, with solid performances from many bit players. The direction and camera work are first rate, also. It may fall just short of Leone and the first Django movie, but it's still a first-rate spaghetti western.

Lee Van Cleef has always been an unsung hero. Although an instantly recognisable face with those cat-like eyes and chiselled cheekbones, there will be few casual film-goers who will be able to name many films of his outside of For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966). In Day of Anger, he may not take the lead role, but his Frank Talby, the dangerous yet charismatic gunfighter who wanders into town one day, steals the screen and your attention thanks to Van Cleef's formidable presence, proving that he was one of cinema's greatest character actors.

In the small town of Clifton, bastard-born street sweeper Scott Mary (Euro-western legend Giuliano Gemma) is ridiculed and bullied due to his social status. When Frank Talby strolls into Clifton on the back of his horse, he sides with Scott, and ends up shooting a man in his defence. When Frank leaves, Scott follows in the hope of being taught how to be a great gunfighter. Frank agrees, but has some brutal lessons to teach him. But they find themselves returning to Clifton in the search of money owed to Frank by Wild Jack (Once Upon a Time in the West's (1968) Al Mulock), where Frank hopes to deal some swift justice and make a mark of his own.

A protégé of Sergio Leone, this was director Tonino Valerri's second movie in the chair, and he certainly knows how to shoot a western. It doesn't share the extreme close-up's of Leone's work, but builds it's fair share of tension, climaxing in an inevitable yet thrilling climax between teacher and student. The film is superbly filmed, backed by a ridiculously catchy score by Riz Ortolani from which the title song was used in Django Unchained (2012). But the film's biggest boast is in the performances of Van Cleef and Gemma, the former proving he can play as good an anti-hero as any of his peers, and the latter convincing throughout his massive character shift. Highly recommended.

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