Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Woodyanders Impudent knife-throwing thief Cuchillo (an excellent and engaging performance by Tomas Milian) finds himself on the run across Mexico from a gang of murderous bandits, two sadistic American agents, his hot-blooded fiancé Dolores (a delightfully feisty portrayal by the ravishing Chelo Alonso), and noble ex-sheriff turned bounty hunter Nathaniel Cassidy (the always solid Donal O'Brien), all of whom are after a fortune in gold.Director Sergio Sollima, who also co-wrote the cheeky script with Pompeo De Angelis, keeps the enjoyable and eventful story moving along at a cracking pace, stages the shoot out with rip-roaring aplomb, and maintains an amiable lighthearted tone throughout. Moreover, it's acted with zest by a tip-top cast: Linda Veras provides plenty of spark as spunky Salvation Army missionary Penny Bannington, Joe Torres does well as passionate revolutionary leader Ramirez, and John Ireland has a splendid cameo as wise general Santillana. Best of all, Milan's considerable scruffy charm and vibrant presence keeps this movie humming throughout. Guglielmo Mancori's crisp cinematography makes breathtaking use of the widescreen format. The sprightly and stirring score by Bruno Nicolai and Ennio Morricone hits the rousing spot. A fun film.

Edgar Soberon Torchia 1968 was a very good year in films. For most specialists though, it is the emblematic year of a tumultuous period in world politics, and it has been mostly analyzed by historians, sociologists and philosophers. An analysis of films from this perspective is always interesting, but I know very few works dealing with this topic: it would be propitious to do it for the 50th anniversary of those events (in 2018), because during that year many major works were released, as varied as "if....", "Faces", "Memorias del subdesarrollo", "Night of the Living Dead", "Teorema", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Fando y Lis" or "Salesman"… and this is just a handful. Of course, if we consider 1968 in film from the viewpoint of denunciation, militancy, pamphlets and banners, the honor would go to the monumental Argentinean film and masterpiece of world documentary, "The Hour of the Furnaces". In the field of genre, if we had to choose a paradigmatic 1968 European western, the obvious option would be "Once Upon a Time in the West", a drama about the expansion of civilization in the United States, through uncivil methods. However, the plot of "Run, Man, Run", another European western of 1968, combined the political-activist spirit and the fun of those days (to get an idea, the pop and soul hit-parades of the year are a big help, as well as films as "Joanna", "Vixen", and the like): the film is the culmination of Sergio Sollima's trilogy, preceded by "The Big Gundown" and "Face to Face". Here the action takes place against the Mexican revolution of the 1910s, a conflict of epic proportion with diverse sides, from agrarian problems to military struggle, class conflict, religious controversy and vandalism, without forgetting American interventionism. By choosing this background, the scriptwriters were able to address all these sides, to reflect the spirit of rebellion in 1968 in a costume drama, and to insert many contemporary slogans and common phrases of the left. In the end, though, the tone is more ironic and parodic than dramatic: with a leading character as peculiar as the thieving scoundrel Manuel "Cuchillo" Sánchez; with Dolores (Chelo Alonso), Cuchillo's assertive woman and a revised version of the "soldadera" (a female follower of soldiers), opposite to the Adelita of Mexican folk; and with Cassidy (Donald O'Brien), an atypical American bounty hunter who opts to support the Mexican revolution, it is logic that the final product is an amusing ride, full of emotions, laughs and tension. As Cuchillo, formidable Tomas Milian is probably the greatest Cuban actor that I have ever seen in films, while for the first time I was able to see his fellow countrywoman Chelo Alonso in a good role that justified her characteristic fierceness beyond caricature, although in many moments there is a lot of humor, as in a demented comic book. The film also contains scenes of great splendor, as the horse persecution through the snow; confrontations with guns and knives; a wonderful score by Ennio Morricone, who, for apparent contractual reasons, had to give composing credits to his collaborator and arranger Bruno Nicolai; a multi-colored gallery of villains, including the loud-mouthed bandit Riza (Nello Pazzafini), the greedy Salvation Army official Penny (Linda Veras) and two ruthless French mercenaries (Marco Guglielmi and Luciano Rossi); and revolution leaders with marked differences: poet Ramírez (José Torres) and megalomaniac Santillana (John Ireland). An original and enjoyable European western, and a very good motion picture, still vigorous 46 years after its first release.

Coventry Once upon a time in the cinematic west, more particularly during the sixties, you had to be Italian and your first name preferably had to be Sergio in order to make the greatest Spaghetti Westerns of all time. There was the greatest Sergio of them all (Sergio Leone, creator of the "Dollars"-trilogy and "Once upon a time in the West") but there was also Sergio Corbucci who made the awesomely terrific "Django" and "The Great Silence", and last but not least there was Sergio Sollima who was responsible for "The Big Gundown" and its mega-cool sequel "Run Man Run". Unfortunately I haven't seen the original yet – it's hardly my fault Blue Underground opted to include only the sequel in the fabulous Spaghetti Western Collection DVD box – but the follow up is a vastly entertaining, fast-paced, refreshing, exhilarating and effectively light-headed western adventures and promptly became one of my new personal favorites in the genre. Tomas Milian is stupendous as usual depicting the witty and hyperactive petty criminal Manuel "Cuchillo" Sanchez who is literally always on the run; whether for his demanding fiancée who insists on getting married or – due to a series of unforeseen events – from a whole lot of bounty hunters, organized criminal gangs and Mexican army officers. After helping a Mexican revolutionist to escape from jail, Cuchillo receives some valuable information regarding the whereabouts of a treasure of $3.000.000 in gold. This money is meant to finance the Mexican Revolution, but obviously several parties are more than interested in stealing it and they're all short on Cuchillo's tail as he's the only one who can lead them to the exact location. This top-class Italian western is near damn perfect from every viewpoint. The typical "Viva La Revolution" theme is always present, but never obtrusively shoved down your throat like often the case in other westerns (for example "Bullet for the General") and actually the emphasis strangely enough lies on comedy and abrupt plot twists instead of on harsh fights until death. Cuchillo spends most of his time on screen either running (duh!) or captured by one of his many opponents and subjected to ingenious methods of torture, but his narrow escapes are even greater to behold. Despite the comical atmosphere, "Run Man Man" nevertheless contains large portions of violence (Cuchillo is an expert knife thrower) and typically wild Western shootouts in desolate areas. The musical scores, courtesy of both Bruno Nicolai and Ennio Morricone, are beyond genius. The title track can be found on YouTube and I'm really addicted to it.

movieman_kev Tomas Milian returns as Cuchillo, a petty thief who after being imprisoned helps his cell-mate and himself escape. He then gets entangled in a run to get the 3 million dollars in gold that his cell-mate, whom also happens to be a Mexican Revolutionary, hid in a town across the border in Texas. He's chased by his overbearing girlfriend who wants desperately to get married, a bounty hunter (Donald O'Brien), as well as some others.I have yet to see "The Big Gundown", so I can't compare the two, but I really enjoyed this movie and found it to be humorous well still maintaining some good action. And I certainly liked it much more then the previous Thomas Milian film that I've seen "Se sei Vivo spara" (Django Kill, if you live shoot) My Grade: B+ Blue Underground DVD Extras: Part of BU's Spaghetti Western Collection. Uncut; 17 minute'Run man Run: 35 years Running' Featurette; 38 minute 'Westerns Italian Style' Featurette; Italian Main Titles; Posters & Still Gallery; Talent Bios for Sergio Sollima & Tomas Milian; Theatrical Trailer 3 Easter Eggs: Highlight the hidden knife in the Extras menu for Trailers for "Django", "Dajango Kill", and "A Man Called Blade"; Highlight the knife in the main menu for Tomas Milian telling of his run with a tax man; The hidden knife over the face in the Chapter Select menu for an unsubtitled interview of some sort