Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

As Good As It Gets

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Ennio Morricone writes a letter to Don Siegel after watching Two Mules for Sister Sara:Dear Mr.Siegel,please understand that I worked very hard on the score for your movie. I consider it to be one of my best Western scores after the ones I composed for Sergio. I was very impressed by the way the title theme was used. In fact, the whole title sequence filled with the scenes from nature and its animals was wonderful. I was delighted by it and was expecting so much more.But what happened after that? I was confounded by your insistence on shooting in raw sunlight. Or did you actually use lights during the day? I thought I was on a beach in Arpino or something. There were no interesting camera angles either. Just a rigid camera recording wearisome and silly actions of these actors. I thought I would fall asleep.The rest of my score was wasted on utterly banal scenes. The use of the title theme during the final scene in the bathtub was ridiculous. I consider this to be an insult. And the beautiful "A time for miracles". What did you do with it, Mr.Seigel? It was such a melancholic tune with Christian chanting. You wasted it.You cast a beautiful woman like Shirley Mclaine in the role of a nun. And what for? I have still not understood. Why was she disguised as a nun? It was so disappointing. Were you trying to copy the wonderful Heaven Knows Mr.Allison?I was utterly disgusted by the use of the Mexican underclass as a mere embellishment in your film. The whole part where Sara and Hogan help the Mexican revolutionary so that they could rob the treasure was so fake. Why were they even required? The action scenes apart from the train bombing scene were so poorly executed.The film is an utter failure as a Western and an adventure film. Even the exchanges between atheist Hogan and Sister Sara were dull. You have wasted a wonderful setting with two great stars. And wasted my score which I worked very hard on.I think I will go home and drink some Tequila now.Ennio.(4/10)

This 1970 producion is the first "spaghetti western" made by mainstream Hollywood featuring Eastwood. The original spaghetti westerns were directed by Sergio Leone and were originally in Italian (Eastwood only added his voice when they were dubbed into English and released in the US).These Italian westerns which made Eastwood famous were filmed in Spain in the last half of the 60s.In this movie Eastwood is a mercenary who has agreed to blow up a French garrison for Mexican revolutionaries in return for half the cash stored there. On his way to this job he saves McClain from being raped and the two proceed with their aims as a duo (she too is helping the revolutionaries disguised as a nun).As an aside Siegel said later that McClain was very hard to work with-- she was tough and "it is like she has balls". She and Eastwood did not get along. Also Eastwood said he had to kill the rattlesnake because Mexican authorities did not want it released in that area. Eastwood does not believe in killing animals--he obviously is against hunting.Siegel's cinematography is flawless may I even say fantastic--watch the mountain lion and the horse stepping on the spider. The story is good up until about the last 30 minutes when it degenerates into a boring moralizing Hollywood finale with a mass assault on the garrison (I much prefer finales with Eastwood and his 6 shooter) also a dud cliché surprise denouement involving McClain.So in summary very good for the first hour but doesn't maintain it.Misc: This movie was high budget for the time (over $4 million) it was moderately successful grossing about $4.5 million in N. America. It was filmed entirely in Mexico over about 60 days.RECOMMEND

Clint Eastwood stars as a mercenary named Hogan, who rescues a nun being attacked by three cowboys. After dispatching them, Hogan finds to his consternation that he can't get rid of the grateful nun Sara(Shirley MacLaine), though he discovers that she has information regarding a French fort he is doing reconnaissance on. He also learns that this nun has secrets of her own...Reasonably entertaining film has some good action and comedy, though also some graphic violence in the climatic battle at the French fort, and an entirely predictable outcome of their romance. Marred by glaring changes of tone, but still passable.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting perhaps a spaghetti western comedy, but what I got was an exciting plot that moved right along, with good performances from the two leads, some nice scenery, good dialogue and a great buildup to a nice climax. Shirley Mcclaine was perfectly cast, and boy did she look absolutely splendid. The scene where Clint questions her morals as a nun who shuns the physical feelings is deft and wonderfully written and acted, it was my favorite scene. The action goes from entertaining to more entertaining. Clint is simply wonderful, this was one of his best movies I thought. The chemistry between them is great. I like how the romance develops replete with some twists that you may or may not see coming. Don Siegel is such a talented director, he always seems to make movies that not only movie right along but manages to get good performances from everyone involved. We need more directors like Siegel in this day and age. The music was trademark Ennio Morricone cowboy music, he is always spot on. This is the kind of movie that they just don't make anymore, perfect entertainment for a weekend on the couch. Catch it if you can.