Original
title “I giorni dell'ira”
“Lee Van Cleef has been dirty, "ugly" and downright mean... now watch him get violent.”
Poor Scott Mary (Giuliano Gemma, The Leopard) just can't seem to catch a break. If he's not carrying out back breaking and menial work, he's constantly being treated appallingly by the townsfolk. Well, except for a local prostitute named Gwen (Christa Linder, Alien Terror). Things begin to change for the better when a mysterious stranger by the name of Frank Talby (Lee Van Cleef, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly) passes through the town on his horse. After hearing about Scott's mistreatment, Frank takes pity on him and invites him to the local saloon for a drink. Whilst ordering drinks, Frank witnesses first hand just how abhorrent the townsfolk really are towards Scott and in a moment of self defence, guns down a local thug. Naturally, Frank is pardoned on the basis of self defence and Scott feels the repercussions of the event. With nowhere else to turn, Scott pursues Frank and as a result Frank decides to take him under his wing and teaches him the way of the gunslinger. What starts out as an invaluable education in both skill and self-confidence soon turns to be a detriment to Scott's already soured reputation. Things become even more complicated when it turns out that Frank was more than just a mysterious stranger passing through...
“Lee Van Cleef has been dirty, "ugly" and downright mean... now watch him get violent.”
Poor Scott Mary (Giuliano Gemma, The Leopard) just can't seem to catch a break. If he's not carrying out back breaking and menial work, he's constantly being treated appallingly by the townsfolk. Well, except for a local prostitute named Gwen (Christa Linder, Alien Terror). Things begin to change for the better when a mysterious stranger by the name of Frank Talby (Lee Van Cleef, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly) passes through the town on his horse. After hearing about Scott's mistreatment, Frank takes pity on him and invites him to the local saloon for a drink. Whilst ordering drinks, Frank witnesses first hand just how abhorrent the townsfolk really are towards Scott and in a moment of self defence, guns down a local thug. Naturally, Frank is pardoned on the basis of self defence and Scott feels the repercussions of the event. With nowhere else to turn, Scott pursues Frank and as a result Frank decides to take him under his wing and teaches him the way of the gunslinger. What starts out as an invaluable education in both skill and self-confidence soon turns to be a detriment to Scott's already soured reputation. Things become even more complicated when it turns out that Frank was more than just a mysterious stranger passing through...
Day
of Anger is
a standout entry in to what is an overly-saturated genre. There are
many reasons why it is so highly regarded as it is with cult cinema
fans. One of the main reasons is down to a solidly written script
from Valerni himself and Ernesto Gastaldi (My
Name is Nobody)
based on an initial idea by a young Renzo Genta (Jungle
Holocaust).
Although credited as an adaptation of Rolf Becker's Der
tod Ritt Dienstags (Death Rode on Tuesdays),
the film only uses a handful of scenes from the book, it was at the
request of the German producers that the book be credited. Although
the story is simple and somewhat familiar, it's handled well and
contributes to a film that flows smoothly even with a runtime of
around 114 minutes in its original theatrical form. Within that
script are solidly forged and believable characters. Again, theses
characters are familiar, but you don't care. Van Cleef's portrayal of
Talby is not too dissimilar to Eastwood's portrayal of “The
man with no name”.
He's a mysterious rogue that stands up with the greatest of
anti-heroes. To compliment him, we have the down on his
luck-cum-confident hero character of Gemma's Scott Mary. The
relationship of mentor and student plays out nicely and is again,
believable. Both Gemma and Van Cleef handle the material nicely and
put in great performances. Even minor characters such as the corrupt
Judge Cutcher (Lukas Ammann, Mark
of the Devil Part 2)
and local bum Blind Bill (José
Calvo, A
Fistful of Dollars)
are well acted. Everyone puts in a good performance.
When
it comes to violence, the film has some good shoot-outs and set
pieces. It's not the most graphic of the genre, but it doesn't matter
because the film is more of a character study. The scenes involving
shoot-outs and blood work well within the context of the complete
film. Naturally, these scenes, as well the film as a whole are shot
beautifully. Director of photography for this outing is Enzo Serafin
(Chronicle
of a Love)
with Silvio Fraschetti (Star
Odyssey)
operating the camera. This collaboration captures the action and the
beautiful natural landscape of Almeria wonderfully. To compliment the
beautiful aesthetics, there is the score from the ever-dependable Riz
Ortolani (Cannibal
Holocaust).
Once again, Ortolani provides one of his best scores. For me, this in
fact one of the genres best scores. It has those typical western
guitar vibes, but has a somewhat jazzy edge. It's one of those scores
you can listen to on its own. Those who may have not seen the actual
film or heard the score itself may recognise Tarantino's use of the
film's title track in Django:
Unchained.
All in all, Day of Anger is one of the best entries in to the genre.
Thankfully, Arrow
Films
have done a great job with their release.
First
of all, there are two versions of the film included; the longer
Italian theatrical version and the shorter international version. Out
of the two, I prefer the longer cut. Both versions look and sound
wonderful and the Italian version can be watched in either the
English or Italian soundtrack. The subtitle track is also
newly-translated. In terms of extras there are interviews with Tonino
Valerii, Ernesto Gastaldi and the always insightful Roberto Curti
(Italian
Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969).
There's a deleted scene that appears in the international cut, bit
the Italian cut, a selection of trailers and a booklet with new
writings from Howard Hughes (Once
Upon A Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide to Spaghetti
Westerns).
Of course, there's also some newly commissioned artwork, this time
from Reinhard Kleist and reversible artwork. It's a great package for
new and old fans a like. I can't see a better release of this film
any time soon. The only thing I will say is that even though the
previous Wild
East
release presented the film in the wrong format with an inferior
transfer, there are some extras that are on that disc that would have
been nice here, but that's not a detriment to Arrow
themselves. Do yourself a favour and pick up this wonderful release.
Day
of Anger is available as a DVD & Blu-Ray combo from Arrow Films.PDx
