Face to Face (1976)

Wonderful character development!

Absolutely Fantastic

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

A history professor (Gian Maria Volontè) has a chance meeting with an infamous outlaw and eventually assumes leadership of his gang.Although in no way historically accurate, I have to appreciate that the writers included the personage of Charlie Siringo (1855-1928). Frankly, I was not aware of his existence, and I am somewhat surprised that anyone in 1967 really knew, either. Though I suppose at that time westerns were still in fashion, so even second-tier outlaws were probably lionized.Even more interesting, how many Italian-Americans were there in the 1850s? I suspect not many more than a handful, which might explain how he would be known to Italian filmmakers. And, heck, a book called "Charles A. Siringo: A Texas Picaro" was published in 1967...

Most Spaghetti westerns concern themselves with rituals, like elaborate showdowns, but "Big Gundown" director Sergio Sollima has written an above-average, rather intelligent Italian oater with Sergio Donati that relies as much on characterization as it does violence to make its points. Intellectual Boston history professor Brad Fletcher (Gian Maria Volonte of "Fistful of Dollars")quits teaching and heads out west for the salubrious climate. No sooner has he crossed the Mississippi than he runs afoul of a lawman escorting the notorious outlaw, Solomon "Beauregard" Bennet(Tomas Milian of "Companeros"), and he intervenes out of mercy to give the poor wretch a drink. This entire scene reminded me of "Ben-Hur" with one man providing water to another less fortunate. Bennett catches his escort off-guard, smashes the water jug over his head, snatches his six-gun and escapes. Bennett takes Fletcher hostage, but Bennett is wounded. They seize a stagecoach and clear out until the vehicle crashes on the trail, throwing the driver, and allowing the horses to escape, too. Later, Fletcher helps the outlaw recover from his wound. Initially, Bennett qualifies as the villain, but he whistles a different tune by fade-out. Meanwhile, a tenacious Pinkerton agent, Charlie Siringo (William Berger of "Sabata"),infiltrates Bennett's gang. The hopeless history professor persuades Bennett not to kill him, and Fletcher joins Bennett's gang. He learns how to handle a six-shooter. Along the way, the two men appear to swap attitudes. Moreover, after a bank robbery gone awry, Fletcher assumes leadership of Bennett's gang. Bennett is captured and confined in jail, while Fletcher rides away with the loot. Essentially, the timid, mild-mannered Fletcher becomes as deadly, if not deadlier than Bennett, and prefers not to buckle under pressure. Fletcher orchestrates an afternoon bank robbery down to the last detail and boasts that they won't have to fire a shot to clean out the bank. Siringo slips a warning note into a woman's handbag as she is crossing the street. Ironically, when she tries to give the note to the local sheriff, he dismisses her efforts. Eventually, the note winds up in a Mexican boy's hands and he spills the beans. A shoot-out erupts, several people die, but Fletcher gets away with a bag filled with loot.Beautifully lensed by Rafeal Pacheco of "For A Few Extra Dollars," this western benefits from fantastic camera movements. "Fistful of Dollars" composer Ennio Morricone provides a memorable orchestral soundtrack to the film.

This is a nice little spaghetti western, but the acting is sub-par. I have seen approximately 4 Thomas Milian spaghetti westerns and generally find that he tends to over-act. Gian Maria Volonte apparently fel the need to measure up to Milians over-acting as well. Volonte looks rather pasty in this film to as if he was freshly dusted with talcum powder before every scene.For classic Gian Maria Volonte see The Sergio Leone movies. To see Thomas Milian in a better performance, well, there really isn't one, because he just isn't that good of an actor.I like the story but found it unbelievable due to poor dialogue and dubbing.Overall a lesser Spaghetti in my opinion.

This is a great western, one of the finest of the spaghetti-genre which has some political overtones. Everyone knows about the Eastwood/Leone movies but this is just the tip of the iceberg, there were hundreds of spaghetti westerns made & this is one of the best. Through a combination of illness & circumstance a mild mannered teacher is introduced to the world of bandit Solomon Beauregard Bennet. Gradually the two men begin to influence each other - for better & for worse - with the teacher becoming more vicious an outlaw than Solomon ever was. Solomon on the other hand begins to see another way of life & the folly of his criminal past.The transformation between the two characters is really interesting & believable, this coupled with some great western scenes, a score by Ennio Morricone, some familiar spaghetti western actors (including the excellent Tomas Milian) & an explosive finale make this a western to rival anything that the more well known Leone offered.