A Fistful of Dynamite (Duck, You Sucker) (Giù la testa) poster & wallpaper
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Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti, Jean Michel Antoine ... see more see more... , Rik Battaglia , Franco Graziosi , David Warbeck , Roy Bosier , Nino Casale , Antoine Domingo , John Frederick , Biacio La Rocca , Furio Meniconi , Vincenzo Norvese , Goffredo Pistoni , Jean Rougeul , Corrado Solari , Benito Stefanelli , Amato Garbini , Poldo Bendandi , Stefano Oppedisano , Franco Collace , Mike Harvey , Renato Pontecchi

Originally titled Giù la Testa, Duck, You Sucker! is a Mexican-revolution yarn, filmed in Italy by spaghetti Western maven Sergio Leone. James Coburn is top-billed as John H. Mallory, an Irish soldier... read more read more... of fortune with a penchant for explosives. Rod Steiger plays Juan Miranda, another mercenary who wants to utilize Mallory's specialty to blast into a bank. Despite his avaricious intentions, Miranda becomes a hero when the hole he blows in the bank wall frees dozens of political prisoners. Duck, You Sucker originally ran 150 minutes, with U.S. release prints heavily trimmed. Taking into consideration the previous "Man With No Name" films masterminded by Leone, the distributors of Duck, You Sucker! reissued the film as A Fistful of Dynamite. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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10,478 ratings

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20 critics

PG, 2 hr. 19 min.

Directed by: Sergio Leone

Release Date: June 1, 1972

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2007

Stats: 736 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (736)

  • fb1664868775
    March 5, 2012
    fb1664868775
    This great film gets harsh judgement after the masterpieces that Leone directed before it., but put it up against any other Italian Western or any other Western for that matter and it's still a classic. James Coburn and Rod Steiger are great and this film features one of Morricon... read moree's greatest scores.
  • axadntpron
    May 16, 2011
    axadntpron
    Another solid Leone film. Thematically it feels as though it were a companion piece to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. While the characters may not be as memorable as the ones that Eastwood, Wallach, and Cleef created, Coburn and Stieger really hold their own. (In fact, Steiger'... read mores performance is so solid that I am almost convinced that DePalma later lifted many of Stieger's mannerisms for his remake of Scarface.) Although it isn't as visually enthralling as TGTBTU, Leone still crafts some scenes that make the viewer wonder how he dreamed up such a sequence. Being Leone's last Western, fans can at least rejoice that he ended on a good note.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    October 3, 2010
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Once Upon a Time the Revolution (yeah, that's how it should be called) lives in the shadow of Leone's previous westerns. It's a shame because this is a solid fun film, with stronger character developement than any of the films in the dollars trilogy. Juan Miranda and John Mallory... read more are complex characters, and the heavily political plot shows a more ambitious Leone. Even that he didn't wanted to direct this at first you can see his touch all over the place.

    While things get a bit complicated towards the middle, with the film not showing several moments in between other key moments, the story stays strong all the way to the end. Morricone composes one of his most gorgeous and haunting scores ever, right there with Once Upon a Time in the West.
  • DrBenway
    February 18, 2010
    DrBenway
    A more complicated movie than any of the Dollars Trilogy, this film reflects Leone's style becoming more mature, dark and openly political. It's Leone's final western and his most overlooked film. The running time of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West... read more and Once Upon A Time In America is one of the things I enjoy about Leone's films. I always felt I was experiencing a "full" movie. However, with A Fistful of Dynamite (Duck, You Sucker) (Giù la testa), I felt a little tightening up in the editing room would've served this film well.

    Coburn's introduction is memorable and starts the movie off on the right note, but Rod Steiger's accent is irritating from the first moment. It's as if he was using "Learn To Speak Spanglish In A Week by Speedy Gonzales" for study material. There are some really great moments in the film; some of them my favorite Leone moments such as the fantastic scene at the bridge and the long single-take of executions at the hands of the military in the small town. The flashbacks are a distraction in a film that already seems overly long and drawn out. It's fitting that the film ends with a flashback that feels very off. Overall, still a good film but would recommend putting it behind the list of other Leone films if just discovering the director.

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  • ythelastman89
    January 27, 2010
    ythelastman89
    It's got nowhere near the acting talent and style of Sergio Leone's other films, but the good story and the film making make it a worthwhile film. I actually really liked James Coburn in this, but I wasn't crazy about Rod Steiger. I think that if it would've just focused on the I... read moreRA aspect, the movie would've been amazing. The flashbacks are my favorite part of the entire film.
  • harrycaul
    January 16, 2010
    harrycaul
    Far less operatic than either Once Upon a Time in the West or The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Sergio Leone's fifth and final western appears, at first glance, to be something of a backwards step. Two of its numerous alternate titles (A Fistful of Dynamite and... read more Once Upon a Time... The Revolution) would seem to suggest that the film's distributors couldn't decide how best to market it, though it is best understood as the second part of a loose political trilogy, sandwiched between Once Upon a Times ...West and ...America. Whereas both ...West and ...America feature criminals with political ambitions (Henry Fonda's Frank and James Woods' Max, respectively), Rod Steiger's Mexican bandit, Juan Miranda, is characterised by his political apathy. Oblivious to the Mexican Revolution raging around him, what he does share with Max (and Gian Maria Volonté's El Indio before him in For a Few Dollars More) is the dream of robbing a seemingly impregnable bank. It is only when Juan seeks to realise this dream by enlisting the services of an exiled I.R.A. explosives expert, played by James Coburn, that he is duped into becoming an unwitting revolutionary hero. As one might expect, the Mexican accent brings out the hammy worst in Steiger. Meanwhile, Coburn's brogue is bad enough to make me wonder why his character is hiding out in the back of beyond, when his best defence against capture by the English would appear to be the fact that he couldn't sound less like an Irishman. Nevertheless, for some reason I care more about these characters than those of any other Leone movie. I will even stick my neck out and say this is the most moving film he ever made; certainly, the rain-soaked execution, which is deliberately referenced in the opening scenes of Once Upon a Time in America, is one of the most wonderful things this director ever shot.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 20, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    What can I say? I loved it.
  • blacksheepboy
    October 22, 2009
    blacksheepboy
    A minor classic which pales if compared to other Leone films, but nevertheless a great tale about friendship in a political scenery, featuring an enchanting melancholic score by Morricone and mesmerizing performances.
  • pier007
    June 2, 2009
    pier007
    Seems futile to compare this to the other westerns made by Sergio Leone. It doesn't reach the levels of drama, lyricism and intensity of his previous work, nor the raw epic excitement of the "dollars trilogy" however it isn't exempt of his engaging and rich storytelling and it su... read morere is the most politically conscious film he ever made.
    It looks more like it was done by Sam Peckinpah (no wonder why he was in line to direct it, but declined at the last minute)
    Leone's biographer Sir Christopher Frayling very wisely puts "this one is between the twilight of the frontiere and the dark night of the city".
    Humourous but ultimately tragic story of defience, passionate struggle and camaraderie.
  • garyX
    April 14, 2009
    garyX
    One of Sergio Leone's lesser known films, A Fistful Of Dynamite stars Rod Steiger as a self centred Mexican bandit who forms an unlikely alliance with ex IRA bombmaker James Coburn and becomes caught up in the revolution. This film contains many of Leone's classic ingredients; ti... read moreght close ups on weather-worn faces, splendid panoramas and some fantastic locations. Rather lighter in tone than a lot of his other work despite the rather heavy subject matter it is also unusual in that it features a hero who is neither American nor a gunfighter, and often resembles a war film more than anything else. Coburn lacks the steely intensity of The Man With No Name but is undeniably cool, although his mangling of the Irish accent is almost painful to listen to. Better is Steiger who is a characterful anti-hero very much in the style of Tuco from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. On the down side, the flashbacks to Coburn's old life are so corny the Jolly Green Giant would gag on them, and although Morricone's score contains some lovely melodies, it does not always sit well with what's happening on screen. Not up there with Leone's classics, but an enjoyable off-beat western that is worth seeing for Steiger's performance alone.

View All A Fistful of Dynamite (Duck, You Sucker) (Giù la testa) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby
September 4, 2007
Vincent Canby, New York Times

The idiosyncrasies are there, all right, but they have never seemed less interesting. Full Review

Elvis Mitchell
November 20, 2003
Elvis Mitchell, New York Times

Features one of the most glorious and unforgettable scores by Leone's composer, Ennio Morricone. Full Review

J. Hoberman
November 18, 2003
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

The new print is good, and the 20 restored minutes are choice. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
January 17, 2003
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

The combination of Leone's obsessive close-ups, Ennio Morricone's melodious music, and the comradely chemistry of Coburn and Steiger ignite an emotional explosion comparable to that of Once Upon a Tim... Full Review

Don Druker
January 1, 2000
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

A marvelous sense of detail and spectacular effects -- good fun all the way. Full Review

Tim Brayton
September 5, 2011
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

A fascinatingly disjointed hybrid of Western and combat film. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
September 6, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Impossibly virile and caustic Full Review

Ken Hanke
April 16, 2008
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

One of Leone's best movies -- and one of his looniest, which may be exactly why it's one of the best. Full Review

September 4, 2007
Film4

Not exactly classic Leone, but enjoyable nonetheless as many of the great elements are in place: maverick heroes, action, and Ennio Morricone music. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 22, 2007
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Leone's genius is clearly on display here, and it's a near-great film. Full Review

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    • Juan Miranda: I know what I am talking about when I am talking about the revolutions. The people who read the books go to the people who can't read the books, the poor people, and say, 'We have to have a change.' So, the poor people make the change, ah? And then, the people who read the books, they all sit around the big polished tables, and they talk and talk and talk and eat and eat and eat, eh? But what has happened to the poor people? They're dead! That's your revolution. Shhh... So, please, don't tell me about revolutions! And what happens afterwards? The same fucking thing starts all over again!
    • John H. "Sean" Mallory: Duck, you suckers!
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