O Dia da Ira

Really good, from the languorous, elegiac opening to the full throttle finish, I enjoyed it all. I note that IMDb shows a running time of 95 minutes whilst my new Arrow DVD runs nearer 115. Can that be so, 20 minutes cut from the previous print? It is just possible for there is a surprisingly large amount of time given to introduction of the characters and the town so that we might become totally involved. Goodness knows what anyone would make of much of this film without the precious opening ten minutes where Giuliano Gemma is introduced to us, literally as a sh*t shoveler before coming under the wing of the majestic Lee van Cleef. The famous Almeria set and surrounds plays its part well too and whilst the tale is fairly simple (revenge!) it is so well told and whilst the opening scenes seem to show a ghost town by the end we have seen it teeming with folks from all around. A fine film with much violence.

"Day of Anger" is an incredible western. Not only is it one of the 3 or 4 best non-Leone spaghetti westerns, It also has just about the best non-Morricone music score I have heard.

Lee Van Cleef is at his very best in this movie as Talby, the slick, intelligent, and ruthless gunfighter. As is the case with many spaghetti westerns, this movie draws a very thin line between "good" and "evil." Talby is a killing machine who is out for his own personal gain, yet he is also very likable in many ways. When he takes Scott under his wing and teaches him not to put up with being treated with disrespect from the "good" citizens of Clifton, Talby actually becomes the only person who represents any real sort of "justice" in the whole town. Then we find out that the pillars of the community have something to hide, and Talby delivers his own brand of justice to them also.

Giuliano Gemma always delivers a great spaghetti western performance, and he is at the top of his game here as well. In the role of Scott Mary he has to play a character who goes through a lot of different emotions, and a couple of life-changing events. When Scott becomes a gunfighter like Talby, we relate to him and like him even more as he demands and gets respect from the people who used to spit on him. Talby's comment to the townsfolk of Clifton sums up why: "He was born a wolf, but you made him rabid." What a great line! The final showdown at the end is one of the classics. It is wonderfully choreographed with the film's music, and has that artistic, operatic quality that the very best spaghetti westerns possess. There's lots of emotion going on in this one, as it is plain to see that the two men squaring off still have respect and admiration for each other. On some level, it even still seems like they are friends, but this moment was inevitable, like an uncontrollable force of nature. As Talby says, "once you start killing, you can't stop." Talby's killing finally draws that thin line, Scott ends up on the other side of it, and the final showdown begins. I will say no more.

Riz Ortolani's score is awesome. I love the opening theme, and the pictures and movements on the screen that accompany it. It pulls you right into this film before the story even begins. Not only is the music great, it is very original as well. It is not a Morricone rip-off at all. Ortolani's style here is all his own. It is much more of a swinging 60's sound that retains just enough western flavor to make it appropriate for this type of film. This is a soundtrack I would like to have on CD.

This is one of those movies that I just can't say enough about. I would recommend it to anyone, and if you like spaghetti westerns you really need to own it.

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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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.