Il mio West

"You got a nice little town here... GREAT PLACE TO DIE!" Spoken with what could be the worst British/Southern/Western accent ever recorded, psychopath gunfighter Jack Sikora (Bowie) tries to draw out retired gunfighter Johnny Lowen (Keitel). This is not a comedy, though I understand why someone would try to pass it off as one- it IS funny to see Bowie try to act 'old west'. But, as with the 'fair catch' call in football, you have to indicate you are a comedy before the movie is released and then make moves to indicate you are a comedy. That didn't happen here, though I suspect audience response (in the US, anyway) caused those responsible for the movie to re-think their strategy and throw the comedy label on it. Oh, it is a comedy, in fact I've gotten hours of comedic enjoyment out of it already. Making sound bites from Bowie's western phrases has been a hoot (or as he might say, 'a hut'). But once you see it, you'll know that it's more of a train-wreck than an attempt at humor. "This ain't a bad dream, Johnny, it's really me", says Jack/Bowie. Indeed.

Several of the comments here show negative response to what I feel is really a kind of tribute film to the great Sergio Leone. This film could easily have been Parmesan cheese atop the fabulous westerns Leone and Clint Eastwood created, but I think it keeps a good blend with the genre. Yes, the main character, Doc, is speaking in Italian and English is dubbed in. But that's a big part of the charm of all "foreign" films, especially the spaghetti westerns. And having spent my childhood in Oklahoma, I thought Bowie's psychotic bad man accent was surprisingly good (although I think Dwight Yoakam would have made a better casting choice). The soundtrack, likewise, could have come off as a pale substitute for Morricone's memorable scores. I thought the choice of the Marley's reggaeesque tune was more than suitable, especially since one of the "bad guy" characters was Rastafarian - one of many colorful additions that, in my view, bring nice flavors to the genre.

My only complaint after seeing the film once is that it's too short. If it were expanded to include more about Keitel's character and his earlier relationship with Bowie's, the climactic scene could have carried more punch - maybe not along the lines of the Bronson/Fonda gunfight in Once Upon a Time in the West, but richer character development would definitely have added more suspense and contributed to bringing a well-worn genre into the 21st century.

I don't think anyone who is a true fan of spaghetti westerns would be disappointed in spending 95 minutes with a tastefully created, colorful, quirky film like this.

Beginning with his first line of dialogue, one hopes that the main character (Leonardo Pieraccioni) will get shot. The kid is tedious. Keitel can't do anything with the script (and you can't blame him for not really trying). I don't understand the complaints about Bowie ... he's cliché, and the accent is horrid, but his scenes are the only ones offering any semblance of entertainment.

But it's the dialogue, story, and main actor that kill the film. The main characted give his lines in English, but has clearly been dubbed by a native speaker (unfortunately, not an actor). To call the result "wooden" would give ply-wood a bad name. Attempts to reclassify it as a some sort of intentionally pastiche cult comedy are wishful thinking. Not that the film doesn't inspire a degree of laughter ...

Shot in the Apennines mountains in central Italy, by Italian Box Office breaker Piraccioni and his friend Veronesi, this 'comedy'- of- sorts makes us crave for the days of REAL spaghetti-westerns... Apparently Bowie wanted to 'have fun' and "work with Harvey Keitel, an actor I very much admire...". Unfortunately he/they chose a bummer. This is no "Once upon a time in the West" by 'maestro' Sergio Leone. Egos clashed a few times, and , worst of all, the outcome of this Eurotrash venture is soggy stuff. Such good taste as a musician (Bowie) doesn't guarantee the same when it comes to choosing a script. I hope he enjoyed the Italian cuisine, at least! p.s. Mr Keitel, on the other hand, has a shoddy 'track record' too, with the exception of a handful of 'stand out' films and roles... thank God he hasn't learned to sing!

It isn't a Pieraccioni's movie. Yes, he play in that movie and he write something about that movie but he is not the director, and so it is different from the other Pieraccioni's movies, but it is funny , not like the other, but it has got a nice story too. It is not a classical italian movie but it is a mix between italian and "holliwoodian" movie!!