O Preço do Poder

Out of the 600 or so Spaghetti Westerns made this has got to be in the top twenty somewhere. Can not believe this hasn't received any reviews! Gemma is excellent in this. Van Johnson is good too though his dubbed voice is a little off killter but that's the charm of the Italian style. Beautiful photography and some excellently staged action. All the supporting characters are well played. The severity of the racist streak in the bad guys is pretty tough even by todays standards which creates an emotional depth to Gemmas character in some of the situations that take place. Absolutely FANTASTIC score by Luis Bacalov. See this is in the wonderful Wide screen DVD from Japan. A spaghetti must have.

Based largely on the Kennedy Assasintion, Director Valerii's The Price of Power is quite a hard going, albeit very well made, film.

President James Garfield (Van Johnson) arrives by train in the state of Texas to debate his political reforms. His anti-slavery stance is extremely unpopular with the locals, particularly the corrupt Sheriff and the banker Pinkerton (Fernando Rey), who secretly plot his assassination, knowing that his probable successor can be bribed by incriminating evidence that they hold.

Ben Willer (Giuliano Gemma) discovers that his father has been murdered by the Sheriff, because he knew of the plan to kill the president. Despite his efforts to provide some protection, the assassination is successful, with Willer's Negro companion (a staunch believer of the President's cause) blamed and imprisoned. Willer attempts to seek justice, assisted by the President's aide Arthur Macdonald (Warren Vanders).

In truth, Valerii's film is an outstanding piece of Italian cinema, with a fine performance from Gemma, and an enjoyable Bacalov soundtrack. Despite this, I struggled to be really convinced by the movie, even though it is so highly respected in euro-western circles. I think in particular I found that some of the more typical Spaghetti Western fare (such as the rifle hidden in the crutch of the disabled newspaper employee) sat uneasy within the context of the film.

That said, there were a handful of great scenes, such as the failed initial assassination attempt as the President's train arrives, the flashback and the court sequence. But in the end, I couldn't help but find the whole thing disappointing - probably because I expected so much.

This movie uses the assassination of President Garfield as a plot device. The makers never intended to tell a historical story. It's an allegory to explore the JFK assassination and the Viet Nam war. Garfield's assassin was an erstwhile ally turned insane. He died because of incredible medical incompetence, 12 weeks later, and it happened in D.C. So, it's a plot device, not an historical movie.

And it works as a Spaghetti Western. It's among the best of the genre. I'm the kind of anorak that sits there and thinks about every detail, every shot, and I put this in the top 10 most important of the genre. The Italian version is much better than the English one, imho. I've never seen an Italian version of it with English subtitles, so good luck with that one. Bottom line, if you like to sit there and be a know-it-all and pick historical holes in what isn't a historical movie, or like something mindless, you probably won't like it. If you understand the complex cultural statements coming out of 1960's Italy about politics and violence, you will love it.

The Italians loved it. It's total revenue puts it at the 28th biggest grossing Spaghetti Western in history, 1.273 billion lire (no clue what year's lire that might be). That's about 1/3 of each of the Man With No Name trilogies receipts, which is pretty darn good for one that is virtually unknown here.

The reviewer that said it was a brain dead version of Stone's JFK has missed the point so many ways...well, the person must be a contortionist to get one's head so far up their own backside. I'm imaging some gen Y twerp that yells "Nu-uh!" to everything. And the length...those type usually love the sound of their own voice.

This is a gripping story that borrows elements from the Kennedy assassination, and uses them successfully to create an excellent western tale.

The movie has a good music score, though it relies on repeating the title theme a little too much. Giuliano Gemma and the rest of the cast are superb. This is a more cerebral than usual spaghetti western that relies more on story than action, and it succeeds because the story is excellent. This is not to say that there is no action in the movie. There is plenty, and it is very well crafted. This movie pulls you in right away, and keeps you absorbed til the end. You'll always be wondering what's in those documents everyone's after. It also has some biting commentary on American politics.

This movie shows why Valerii, in my opinion, is in a three way tie with Sollima and Corbucci for second place in the rankings of spaghetti western directors.

Tonino Valerii's "Il Prezzo Del Potere" aka. "The Price Of Power" is an excellent and enthralling Spaghetti Western that mirrors the Kennedy assassination. A great leading performance by Giuliano Gemma and an excellent score by Luis Bacalof are just two of the many reasons to watch this movie.

In 1881 Texas is divided into those who appreciate the abolition of slavery and just want to live in peace, and those who, after 16 years, still want to reinstall the confederacy. In spite of warnings, President James Garfield, who wants to establish a new policy of equality, decides to visit Dallas, where corrupt law enforcement officials are planning his assassination. Bill Willer (Giuliano Gemma) and two of his friends, a black man named Jack Donovan (Ray Shaunders), and a crippled guy named Nick (Manuel Zarzo) are determined to prevent the President's murder.

Since James Garfield was not assassinated by racists, who wanted to reinstall the confederacy in Texas, but in Washington DC by mentally unstable Charles Guiteau, the storyline of "Price Of Power" is, of course, historical nonsense. Since the movie, however, doesn't claim historical accuracy, but tries to allude to the 1963 Kennedy assassination in Dallas, the fact that the story is fictitious is legitimate.

Giuliano Gemma delivers an excellent performance as the main character Bill Willer, Benito Stefanelli is great as the villainous and corrupt Sheriff Jefferson. Some other good performances are those of Ray Shaunders as Bill's black friend Jack, Warren Vanders as Arthur McDonald, the president's adviser, and Fernando Rey as Pinkerton, a villainous rich businessman. The Score by Luis Enríquez Bacalov is great, the cinematography and locations are great and (such as in Valerii's earlier "Day Of Anger") remind a lot of Sergio Leone, for whom Valerii used to work as an assistant director for "A Fistful Of Dollars" And "For A Few Dollars More".

All said, "Il Prezzo Del Potere" is, after "Day Of Anger", another excellent Spaghetti Western that shows both the great talent of Giuliano Gemma as an actor and Tonino Valerii as a director. "The Price Of Power" is a must-see for Spaghetti Western fans, and I also highly recommend it to everybody else. 8/10