Guns for San Sebastian / Los cañones de San Sebastián / I cannoni di San Sebastian / San Sebastianin tykit / Kanonerna på San Sebastian / Kanonerna vid San Sebastian
FR/MX/IT/US 1968. PC: Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques (CIPRA), Producciones Enríquez, Filmes Cinematografica, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). P: Jacques Bar, Ernesto Enríquez. D: Henri Verneuil. SC: Serge Ganz, Miguel Morayta, Ennio De Concini, Elinor Karpf [nc] – English screenplay: James R. Webb – based on the novel A Wall for San Sebastian (1962) by Barby = William Barnaby Faherty. DP: Armand Thirard – Metrocolor – Franscope 2,35:1 – released on 35 mm and in a 70 mm blow-up. AD: Robert Clavel, Roberto Silva. ED: Françoise Bonnot. SFX: Lee Zavitz. VFX: J. McMillan Johnson. Cost: Yvonne Wood. Makeup: Alex Archambault, Monique Archambault. M: Ennio Morricone. S: William R. Sivel – magnetic sound on 70 mm print. Ass D: Juan Luis Buñuel, Gilberto Martinez Solares, Claude Pinoteau.
C: Anthony Quinn (León Alastray), Anjanette Comer (Quinita), Charles Bronson (Teclo), Sam Jaffe (el padre José) Silvia Pinal (Felicia), Jorge Martínez de Hoyos (Felipe Cayetano), Jaime Fernández (Lanza Dorada), Rosa Furman (Águeda), Leon Askin (el vicario general), José Chávez (Antoñito), Ivan Desny (el coronel Calleja), Fernand Gravey (el gobernador), Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. (el padre Lucas), Jorge Russek (Pedro), Aurora Clavel (Magdalena), Julio Aldama (Diego), Emilio Fernández.
Loc: Sierra de Órganos National Park (Sombretete). Also El Saltito (Durango) and San Miguel de Allende (Guanajuato). Locations shot entirely in Mexico.
Original in English.
[The Finnish and Swedish titles of the film are misleading since there is only one cannon at San Sebastian (but very many muskets)].
Helsinki premiere: 19.7.1968 Bristol (70 mm) – distributor: Filmipaja – vhs: in the 1980s Esselte Video – VET 76684 – K16 – 3065 m / 112 min
Curated by Lauri Lehtinen and Antti Suonio. Introduced by Lauri Lehtinen.
A print with Swedish subtitles by Gunnar Tannefors screened in 70 mm at Bio Rex, Helsinki (Ennio Morricone 90 / The Incredible Italy / 70 mm / The Crazy Year 1968), 10 Nov 2018
A full-blooded Ennio Morricone soundtrack with epic grandeur and wordless songs delivered by soprano Edda Dell'Orso filled the magnificent Bio Rex in our tribute to the incredibly productive and still active composer.
La Bataille de San Sebastian is a special case in the context of the European Western. It was shot on location in Mexico. It takes place as early as 1743, during the rule of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
But relevant to the Western is the antagonism between the Christian European settlers and the indigenous people, here the Yaqui. We are first led to see the Yaqui as mere marauders against the settlers. Then we learn that the colonialists have massacred the Yaqui in a genocidal purge before settlement. According to the Yaqui, first comes the missionary and then the military to crush indigenous people.
La Bataille de San Sebastian is as anti-clerical as any work of Luis Buñuel, and Father José (Sam Jaffe) is a follower of the Christ to be compared with Nazarín. (Further Buñuel connections are the presence of Silvia Pinal in the cast and the contribution of Juan Luis Buñuel as assistant director).
But the wily anti-hero Léon Alastray (Anthony Quinn) belongs rather to the tradition of Charles Chaplin as The Pilgrim (set next to the border of Mexico) or Humphrey Bogart as The Left Hand of God. Léon's desperate masquerade as a priest is taken seriously by the villagers, and he is himself moved by their faith.
The quandary of the villagers moves Léon profoundly, and he uses his wiles and his friendship with Felicia, the wife of the governor, to have Spanish guns transported to the God-forsaken village of San Sebastian.
The villagers have been harassed by the Yaqui, but the Yaqui have been provoked by Teclo (Charles Bronson), leader of a band of rogue vaqueros. In the climactic battle the villagers beat the Yaqui and the vaqueros, using their guns and their cunning.
The building of a dam has been crucial for the well-being of the village. Its demolition brings an end to the marauders.
A typical dark European 1960s edge to the story is in the realization that both the villagers and the Yaqui are victims of colonialism. When the battle has been fought, the Spanish administration reigns victorious. But a new father comes into the village, and he seems not to be of the conformist kind.
There is a complexity in the movie's religious stance. The last lines of dialogue:
Quinita: Where will you go?
Léon: This time only God knows.
Henri Verneuil keeps the big production powerfully moving. The mise-en-scène is to its advantage on the 70 mm screen. The handling of the deep focus epic scenes and massive battles is exciting.
The direction of the actors leaves a lot to be desired. Anthony Quinn and Charles Bronson are not compelling in their performances, and neither is lovely Anjanette Comer in the female lead. Silvia Pinal is good in her supporting role as the governor's wife. Sam Jaffe at 77 (but still about to continue for 16 years in films) is memorable as the genuinely Christian Father José.
The 70 mm image looks so good that it is hard to believe that it is a blow-up. There is a lot of fine detail visible in the epic long shots. It is truly rewarding to see this film on a big screen. The colour of the vintage print has survived remarkably well.
BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: OUR PROGRAM NOTE BY LAURI LEHTINEN:
BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: OUR PROGRAM NOTE BY LAURI LEHTINEN:
1700-luvun espanjalaisten hallitsemaan Meksikoon sijoittuva San Sebastianin tykit on kirjailija-jesuiittapappi William Bar(na)by Fahertyn (1914–2011) tiettävästi tosipohjaisen romaanin A Wall for San Sebastian vapaa sovitus, joka kallistuu alkuteosta maallisempaan, ”antisankarilliseen” suuntaan. Papinkaapuinen päähenkilö ei elokuvaversiossa ole oikea hengenmies vaan pappina esiintyvä lainsuojaton ja ateisti. Armeijakarkuri Leon Alastray pakenee lain kouraa ja löytää väliaikaisen turvapaikan kirkosta. Suojelusta tarjonnut isä Joseph saa surmansa matkalla syrjäiseen San Sebastianin kylään, jonka väki erehtyy luulemaan Leon Alastrayta lähetyssaarnaajaksi. Alastray päätyy organisoimaan yaqui-intiaaniheimon uhkaamat kyläläiset puolustuskannalle. Kun muurin pystyttäminen ei riitä, tarvitaan myös tykkitulta.
Ranskalais-amerikkalais-italialais-meksikolainen San Sebastianin tykit on hyvin kansainvälinen hanke sekä tuotantorahan että työryhmän osalta. Pääosissa nähdään 1960-luvun eurooppalaiselokuvissa kunnostautuneet Hollywood-tähdet Anthony Quinn ja Charles Bronson. Useat keskeiset tekijät ovat eurooppalaisia, jotka Yhdysvaltain elokuvateollisuus oli noteerannut. Käsikirjoittajien joukkoon kuulunut Ennio De Concini oli palkittu Oscarilla elokuvasta Avioero italialaiseen tapaan ja ohjaaja Henri Verneuil oli ollut Oscar-ehdokkaana Fernandel-komedian Lampaalla on neljä jalkaa käsikirjoituksesta. Seikkailu ei historiallisen tapahtuma-aikansa puolesta kuulu lännenelokuvan perinteisiin raameihin, mutta genresukulaisuus ja etenkin Seitsemän rohkean miehen vaikutus on ilmeistä. Meksikon aidot maisemat erottavat San Sebastianin tykit tyypillisistä eurooppalaisista westerneistä.
Kantaviin voimiin kuuluu Ennio Morriconen tuotteliaimmmalla luomiskaudellaan säveltämä musiikki, ensimmäinen Morriconen ja Henri Verneuilin lukuisista yhteistöistä, joista tunnetuin lienee Sisilialaisklaani. Kirkkomusiikin elementtejä toiminnallisiin rytmeihin ja Edda Dell’Orson sopraanoääneen yhdistävä kokonaisuus tuo mieleen Roland Joffén Linnakkeen, jonka soundtrack on Morriconen myöhäistuotannon mestariteoksen maineessa. San Sebastianin tykit on ainoa Morriconen sävellyskrediitillä varustettu elokuva, jota on levitetty Suomessa hienosta äänentoistosta tunnetussa 70 mm -formaatissa.
– Lauri Lehtinen 10.11.2018
No comments:
Post a Comment