Les Longs Jours de la vengeance

It´s a rarely seen, unknown Spaghetti Western Classic, you might want to check out, if you are not only interested in the classics by Sergio Leone or Sergio Corbucci. This one has extraordinary camerawork and good acting by Giuliano Gemma, who is playing a character seeking for revenge in typical italian style. It´s very dark and has kind of a gothic horror atmosphere, which makes it a little bit different from other Spaghetti Westerns. So, do check it out!!

I first have to say I that I saw the Italian uncut (123 min.) version which is really not bad. This movie initially should have been directed by Duccio Tessari, director of the 2 Ringo movies, both with Gemma but he had'n the time to do it, so the producers took "Stan Vance". The plot is quite interesting even if it is a simple revenge story: you get little by little to know why the main character searches revenge and it's never obvious what is going to happen next. The photography and the make up of the movie are not so good, but it has nice desert landscapes and a good music score. So, for all the spaghetti Western fans this is highly recommended, but possibly in a uncut version: I even have a German version of this movie running just 100 min but it's not the same thing when something is missing, even if it's not strictly necessary.

Spaghetti with Chorizo Western starred by habitual actors, such as Giuliano Gemma, Conrado San Martin and Nieves Navarro. After three years of heavy physical labor in an infernal jail, the former Sheriff Ted Barnett -Giuliano Gemma- breaks out from the doomed prison. Barnett was accused by three men and wrongly convicted to thirty years hard labor for the killing of his father. So Ted sets out in pursuit the true murderers. He looks for those that had framed him, seeking a relentless vendetta. Ted (Giuliano Gemma who recently died by car accident) freeing the town from a powerful owner (Conrado San Martin, a great friend of Sergio Leone, he played a lot of films for him , usually as secondary actor) and a corrupt Sheriff Douglas (Francisco Rabal , Luis Buñuel's customary's player) married to Ted's old girlfriend (Nieves Navarro or Susan Scott), using both, gunning down and shrewdness .

This Tortilla/Spaghetti Western is filled with action, thrills, horse riding, brawls and crossfire. Another Spaghetti that worked very well at the box office and that bases its plot on the eternal theme of revenge. This is the only foray into the genre of Florestano Vancini with the pseudonym Stan Vance, who for the occasion wanted to make a free adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas novel :El Conce de Monte Cristo¨.

This is a decent Spaghetti starred by Giuliano Gemma, a hero who after years of hard labor in a hellish prison in the desert, escapes from jail to seek revenge on the three men who framed him. Giuliano steals the show as a merciless revenger, executing thespian skills, bounds and leaps, twists and shooting and throughly enjoys himself. Recently deceased Giuliano Gemma is very fine in his ordinary role as a gunfighter who seeks vengeance against his eternal enemies, Conrado San Martin, Francisco Rabal and their hoodlums. Giuliano Gemma , along with Anthony Steffen and Gianni Garco, resulted to be the three greatest stars of the Spaghetti genre. Gemma in his beginning worked as a stunt-man, practiced many sports in his life, boxing, gymnastics, such as is well proved at the movie. Then the director, Duccio Tessari, gave him the first role as protagonist in the film " The Titani" and the first spaghetti western films where he often worked under the name of Montgomery Wood, playing Westerns as ¨A pistol for Ringo¨,¨The return of Ringo¨ and others as ¨Adios Gringo¨, ¨Arizona Colt, ¨The price of power¨, ¨Day of anger¨ and later ¨California¨. However, his first big opportunity came with the important Italian director, Luchino Visconti in ¨El Gatopardo¨ this was followed by important roles in "Angelica" , ¨Tenebre¨,¨Young Lions¨ and ¨The master touch¨. Then he played his most significant roles in ¨Il Deserto Dei Tartari¨ and ¨Il Prefetto Di Ferro¨. While Conrado San Martin played in ¨Winchester Bill¨, ¨In a colt's shadow¨ and various Westerns directed by his friend Sergio Leone ; furthermore , he starred several Peplum and thrillers. They're accompanied by a classic of the Spanish scene, a Francisco Rabal who was already known on the international scene, thanks to the Bronze Lion he received in Venice for ¨La Guerra De Dios¨.

In the movie appears usual Western support actors as Spanish people : Nieves Navarro, Milo Quesada, Manuel Muñiz ¨Pajarito¨ ; as Italian players as Riccardo Pizzuti, Ivan Scratuglia. It's a co-production Spanish-Italian and shot on location in Zaragoza, Barcelona , Alfonso Balcazar studios and, of course , Almeria: Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Finca El Romeral, San José, Almería, Andalucia, Spain. There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction , excellent production design , and atmospheric cinematography by Francisco Marin , he creates a magnificent scenario on the little town and barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun. The music original by Armando Trovajoli composes an agreeable Spaghetti soundtrack in Morricone style , being well conducted and splendid leitmotif ; it's full of enjoyable sounds and emotive score .

This Western was inspired by the known classic novel titled ¨The count of Montecristo¨ written by Alexandre Dumas . Other Spaghetti loosely based on famous novels and plays are the following ones: ¨The Fury of Johnny Kid¨ based on Shakespeare , being directed by Gianni Puccini with Peter Lee Lawrence and Cristina Galbo from ¨Romeo and Giuletta¨. Furthermore : ¨Johnny Hamlet¨(1968) by Enzo G Castellari ; ¨The return of Ringo¨ by Duccio Tessari also with Giuliano Gemma and inspired on the ¨Odyssey¨, ¨John Il Bastardo¨(1967) with John Richardson, based on books from Zorrilla and Moliere ; ¨Anche Nel West Céra Una Volta Dio ¨ (1968) by Marino Girolami based on ¨Island of treasure¨ written by Robert Stevenson and ¨Apocalypse Joe¨ with Anthony Steffen based on Macbeth and Hamlet.

The flick also titled ¨Days of Vengeance" or "Long Days of Vengeance" or "The Deadliest Gunfight" or "Vendetta" was professionally directed by Stan Vance or Florestano Vancini. This Italian writer/filmmaker so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . His best films dealt with political events such as ¨The case Matteotti¨, ¨The long night in 43¨ and ¨Sicilian Jaque Mate ¨. He usually worked with Giulianno Gemma, his fetish actor , such as : ¨La Baraonda¨ , ¨Violenza Al sole¨and this ¨Long days of vengeance¨. Rating: 6.5/10. Good Spaghetti Western , it will appeal to Giuliano Gemma fans .

My personal favorite among the many westerns Giuliano Gemma appeared in! Gemma portrays a prisoner with a ridiculously long beard (obviously inspired by the Count of Monte Christo here) who escapes after 3 years. Nonetheless, he quickly begins to hunt the 3 villains who got him sentenced although he was innocent: the killer Gomez (who is forced with a gun to shave off Gemma's beard first!), the corrupt sheriff Douglas (who has married the prisoner's girlfriend in the meantime) and the boss of the gang, Cobb, an honorable citizen it seems... It's a straight revenge story with a great cast of supporting actors: the 4 Mexican killers sent by Gomez, the doctor (Pajarito), the funny hangman, the two beautiful ladies (Nieves Navarro and Gabriella Giorgelli)... everybody is just perfect for the part they play! The terrific musical score by Armando Trovaioli with its trumpet theme sticks to the memory, too.

Long Days of Vengeance is remarkably gripping for a movie whose story makes little sense - and carrying a 'comic' subplot that makes sense even less. Although it's the only western by the evidently accomplished and serious-minded director Florestano Vancini, he clearly understands the genre as it has developed in Italy by 1967. His job is to animate the often illogical action with a vibrant mise-en-scene, featuring often eye-popping visuals that facilitate the razor-sharp editing. It is visually exceptionally powerful, counterpointing its dynamic framing and movement with a brilliant Morricone-esque score by Armando Trovajoli. Vancini has a decisive visual approach; scenes and sequences are blocked and framed in a highly explicit way, announcing to the viewer just how this particular event will be explored, while maintaining tremendous flexibility in moving between different characters' point-of-view within scenes.

The writers (including the inventive Fernando di Leo) have already grasped the obligatory scenes of the Italian western: the prison escape; the barber shop stand-off; the extended barroom battle; pitting two gangs against each other; the hero suffering a debilitating, scarring beating; the interrupted hanging, and here each is staged as a standout set-piece. (The barber shop stand-off is especially effective as a suspense sequence, while using its excruciatingly extended timescale to unpack the hero's backstory.) Yet the story is constantly pushed forward, leaving the viewer little time to reflect on how unlikely the hero's actions usually are.

Giuliano Gemma is the Count of Monte Cristo here, out for revenge (two years after portraying Odysseus' return home in Tessari's magnificent Return of Ringo). Vancini lets Gemma's beauty speak for itself, and he observes the former stuntman's dangerous physical moves, swinging up buildings, between roofs and under trains, without nudging us. The topline cast acquit themselves very well, particularly Nieves Navarro and Francisco Rabal as a poisoned couple with a dark backstory. The patrician Navarro is especially powerful, constantly switching affiliation, yet seeming haunted by her own betrayals. Special mention also to Conrado San Martin as chief villain Cobb, playing a deranged lookalike of Sir Christopher Frayling, author of the definitive book 'Spaghetti Westerns'. (It's a remarkably prescient homage, considering that Long Days was released in 1967, and Frayling's book wasn't published until 1981.)

However the film's comedic/romantic sub-plot featuring Manuel Muniz and Gabriella Giorgelli is thin, contributing almost nothing to the story, and detracts from its dramatic development. It seems likely that this comic strand was seen as an essential feature of a Gemma movie, but it causes often jarring tonal shifts as it collides with the dark and violent central narrative. If it weren't for this unnecessary element, Long Days of Violence would have a much higher critical reputation. Yet even with this strand, it remains an outstanding example of the genre, deserving a much more prominent place in the canon.