The Mercenary 1968
7.1 / 10
The Mercenary
While a Mexican revolutionary lies low as a U.S. rodeo clown, the cynical Polish mercenary who tutored the idealistic peasant tells how he and a dedicated female radical fought for the soul of the guerrilla general Paco, as Mexicans threw off repressive government and all-powerful landowners in the 1910s. Tracked by the vengeful Curly, Paco liberates villages, but is tempted by social banditry's treasures, which Kowalski revels in.
While a Mexican revolutionary lies low as a U.S. rodeo clown, the cynical Polish mercenary who tutored the idealistic peasant tells how he and a dedicated female radical fought for the soul of the guerrilla general Paco, as Mexicans threw off repressive government and all-powerful landowners in the 1910s. Tracked by the vengeful Curly, Paco liberates villages, but is tempted by social banditry's treasures, which Kowalski revels in.
Videos & Photos
All 2 Videos & 12 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Sergei Kowalski, The Polish
... Paco Roman
... Ricciolo ("Curly")
... Columba
... Pepote
... Alfonso García
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
You play by the rules you lose! Il mercenario (The Mercenary) is directed by Sergio Corbucci and Corbucci co-writes the screenplay with Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Spina and Adriano Bolzoni. It stars Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Jacl Palance and Giovanna Ralli. Music is by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai, with cinematography by Alejandro Ulloa. It's the Mexican Revolution and Sergei "Polack" Kowalski (Nero) is a gun for hire. Hired by revolutionary Paco Roman (Musante), Kowalski muses on all the scrapes they got into before bringing the story to a present day resolution... A Technicolor/Techniscope production, Corbucci's Zapata Western is a barnstormer full of political bents, wry humour and searing action. With beautiful Spanish vistas prominent and a musical score that's like a spicy jumping bean, story holds court from beginning to end. Essentially at it's heart it's a buddy buddy piece, though these buddies are hardly what you would call rock solid. Into the mix comes the gorgeous Ralli to add the sauce, whilst as Paco and Kowalski take on the Government and its Army, they also have to contend with Curly (Palance), a camp sadistic dandy with revenge on his mind. Corbucci has a great eye for action, there's reams of gun fire, with machine guns, artillery and even a plane laying waste to bone and buildings, and usually the cruelty and carnage on show is done with a glint in the eye (milk and dice drink/grenade in mouth), and splendidly so. It's so deft that often a scene is being played out and on the side there is an execution going on, casually unfurled as matter of fact. There's also religious fervour cheekily in place, with Paco's army the Apostles and Polack their Jesus, so it's no surprise that religious imagery is placed within. Corbucci also likes to let his camera talk. Standard Pasta Western traits operate, such as close ups of the eyes, roving tracking shots, angled up tilts and glides. He also gets lucky with the weather for one shot, capturing a natural rainbow amid some more furious character action. Cast are doing sterling work. Nero is cool supreme, with awesome face fuzz and casually striking matches on various things, Nero proves to be a fine action hero and it's so easy to buy into his character. Musante is also excellent, giving Paco an earnestness that's beguiling, he's a lovable rogue, at times bumbling but utterly heroic within the revolutionary arc. While Palance, though not in it as much as you would think, is giving Curly a most intriguing persona, confusing sexuality and religious alibi. From a bullring circus opening featuring midget clowns, to a glorious clifftop turkey shoot finale, there is nary a dull moment in the pic. Top dollar Pasta Oater. 8.5/10
Genres:
Release Date:
Dec 20, 1968 (Italy,Spain)
Run Time:
1hr 41`
MMPA Rating:
Original Language:
Italian
Production Countries:
Italy,Spain
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Mercenary - The Mercenary
You play by the rules you lose! Il mercenario (The Mercenary) is directed by Sergio Corbucci and Corbucci co-writes the screenplay with Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Spina and Adriano Bolzoni. It stars Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Jacl Palance and Giovanna Ralli. Music is by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai, with cinematography by Alejandro Ulloa. It's the Mexican Revolution and Sergei "Polack" Kowalski (Nero) is a gun for hire. Hired by revolutionary Paco Roman (Musante), Kowalski muses on all the scrapes they got into before bringing the story to a present day resolution... A Technicolor/Techniscope production, Corbucci's Zapata Western is a barnstormer full of political bents, wry humour and searing action. With beautiful Spanish vistas prominent and a musical score that's like a spicy jumping bean, story holds court from beginning to end. Essentially at it's heart it's a buddy buddy piece, though these buddies are hardly what you would call rock solid. Into the mix comes the gorgeous Ralli to add the sauce, whilst as Paco and Kowalski take on the Government and its Army, they also have to contend with Curly (Palance), a camp sadistic dandy with revenge on his mind. Corbucci has a great eye for action, there's reams of gun fire, with machine guns, artillery and even a plane laying waste to bone and buildings, and usually the cruelty and carnage on show is done with a glint in the eye (milk and dice drink/grenade in mouth), and splendidly so. It's so deft that often a scene is being played out and on the side there is an execution going on, casually unfurled as matter of fact. There's also religious fervour cheekily in place, with Paco's army the Apostles and Polack their Jesus, so it's no surprise that religious imagery is placed within. Corbucci also likes to let his camera talk. Standard Pasta Western traits operate, such as close ups of the eyes, roving tracking shots, angled up tilts and glides. He also gets lucky with the weather for one shot, capturing a natural rainbow amid some more furious character action. Cast are doing sterling work. Nero is cool supreme, with awesome face fuzz and casually striking matches on various things, Nero proves to be a fine action hero and it's so easy to buy into his character. Musante is also excellent, giving Paco an earnestness that's beguiling, he's a lovable rogue, at times bumbling but utterly heroic within the revolutionary arc. While Palance, though not in it as much as you would think, is giving Curly a most intriguing persona, confusing sexuality and religious alibi. From a bullring circus opening featuring midget clowns, to a glorious clifftop turkey shoot finale, there is nary a dull moment in the pic. Top dollar Pasta Oater. 8.5/10
Cast & Crew of
The Mercenary - The Mercenary
Directors & Credit Writers
... Script Supervisor
... Director
... First Assistant Director
Cast
... Sergei Kowalski, The Polish
... Paco Roman
... Ricciolo ("Curly")
... Columba
... Pepote
... Alfonso García
... Studs
... Ramon
... Mateo
JK
Joe Kamel... Sebastian
... Officer
UA
Ugo Adinolfi...
... Ramirez
... Simón
... Lerkin
... Mayor
... Hudo
... Juan
... Garcia's Cousin (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
Produced By
... Production Manager
... Producer
... Production Secretary
Videos & Photos of
The Mercenary - The Mercenary
Videos ( 2)
The Mercenary ≣ 1968 ≣ Trailer
YouTube
THE MERCENARY - TRAILER
YouTube
Photos ( 12 )
Related Movies To
The Mercenary - The Mercenary
I'll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
5.4 /10
Shane’s a man come home to settle something he’d tried to forget, but has kept eating at him. His mother, father, and little sister, had been murdered for their land. Specifically an old mine the father had been working at for years with little result, but had finally struck a vein.
Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: . Release: 16 May 1968
Director: Ettore Maria Fizzarotti
Producer: Carlo Valerio
Stars: Mike Marshall , Michèle Girardon , Valerio Bartoleschi , Dane Savours , Spartaco Conversi , Germano Longo
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
8.8 /10
While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.
Run Time: 2hr 41` . MMPA: R . Release: 22 Dec 1966
Director: Fabrizio Gianni , Sergio Leone , Serena Canevari
Producer: José Antonio Pérez Giner , Gray Frederickson , Fernando Cinquini
Stars: Clint Eastwood , Eli Wallach , Lee Van Cleef , Aldo Giuffrè , Luigi Pistilli , Rada Rassimov
Johnny Yuma (1966)
6.1 /10
Infidelity, murder, and betrayal lies at the center of this violent Spaghetti western. A scheming wife does away with her husband, causing the man's heir to seek revenge. A number of double-crosses and bloody gun battles follow, eventually driving the woman to flee into the desert.
Run Time: 1hr 40` . MMPA: . Release: 11 Aug 1966
Director: Michelangelo Panaro , Romolo Guerrieri , Bruna Malaguti
Producer: Italo Zingarelli , Roberto Palaggi
Stars: Mark Damon , Lawrence Dobkin , Rosalba Neri , Luigi Vannucchi , Fidel Gonzáles , Gustavo D'Arpe
Django Challenges Sartana (1970)
5.1 /10
Django comes to town to discover that his brother Steve, accused of robbing a bank, has been lynched. Django believes the real culprit is Sartana and challenges him to a duel. Just in time he discovers that the author of the crime is an important local figure and Django and Sartana join forces to punish him.
Run Time: 1hr 28` . MMPA: . Release: 03 Apr 1970
Director: Pasquale Squitieri
Producer:
Stars: Tony Kendall , George Ardisson , José Torres , Mirella Pamphili , Tania Alvarado , Ugo Ballester
Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
6.3 /10
Four petty criminals, three men and a woman, wander through the trackless terrain of the Wild West Utah and are hounded by a sadistic bandit.
Run Time: 1hr 44` . MMPA: . Release: 12 Aug 1975
Director: Lucio Fulci
Producer: Edmondo Amati
Stars: Fabio Testi , Lynne Frederick , Michael J. Pollard , Harry Baird , Tomas Milian , Adolfo Lastretti
Blood for a Silver Dollar (1965)
6.4 /10
Two brothers part company only to be reunited when one is hired to stop a thief who turns out to be his sibling.
Run Time: 1hr 39` . MMPA: . Release: 08 Aug 1965
Director: Giorgio Ferroni , Giorgio Stegani
Producer: Bruno Turchetto
Stars: Giuliano Gemma , Ida Galli , Pierre Cressoy , Giuseppe Addobbati , Franco Fantasia , Massimo Righi
Navajo Joe (1966)
6.3 /10
The sole survivor of a bloody massacre vows revenge on his attackers and on the men who killed his wife.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: . Release: 25 Nov 1966
Director: Ruggero Deodato , Sergio Corbucci , Mario Berriatúa
Producer: Ermanno Donati , Dino De Laurentiis , Luigi Carpentieri
Stars: Burt Reynolds , Aldo Sambrell , Nicoletta Machiavelli , Fernando Rey , Tanya Lopert , Franca Polesello
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
8.5 /10
As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.
Run Time: 2hr 46` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 21 Dec 1968
Director: Sergio Leone , Giancarlo Santi
Producer: Bino Cicogna , Claudio Mancini , Ugo Tucci
Stars: Claudia Cardinale , Henry Fonda , Jason Robards , Charles Bronson , Gabriele Ferzetti , Paolo Stoppa
My Body Will Bury You (2021)
0 /10
1860, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. While Garibaldi's troops are invading this lawless territory, four female bandits nicknamed the "Drudes" are looking for their own personal revenge.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: . Release: 14 Dec 2021
Director: Flavia Carimini , Giovanni La Pàrola , Simone Rosso
Producer: Paolo Fragomeni , Giacomo Spalluto , Laurent Soregaroli
Stars: Guido Caprino , Margareth Madè , Miriam Dalmazio , Filippo Pucillo , Giuseppe Schillaci , Giovanni Calcagno
Sabata (1969)
6.7 /10
Several pillars of society have robbed an Army safe containing $100,000 so they can buy the land upon which the coming railroad will be built. But they haven't reckoned on the presence of the master gunslinger, Sabata.
Run Time: 1hr 46` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 16 Sep 1969
Director: Gianni Siragusa , Ignazio Dolce , Gianfranco Parolini
Producer: Arrigo Peri , Alberto Grimaldi , Luciano Balducci
Stars: Lee Van Cleef , William Berger , Ignazio Spalla , Aldo Canti , Franco Ressel , Antonio Gradoli
And God Said to Cain (1970)
6.6 /10
An innocent man sentenced to ten years in prison for a crime he did not commit, is released from jail, promising to seek revenge on the guilty.
Run Time: 1hr 41` . MMPA: . Release: 05 Feb 1970
Director: Antonio Margheriti , Eva Koltay
Producer: Giovanni Addessi
Stars: Klaus Kinski , Peter Carsten , Marcella Michelangeli , Guido Lollobrigida , Antonio Cantafora , Giuliano Raffaelli
God Made Them... I Kill Them (1968)
5.6 /10
A bounty-hunter is hired by the residents of a small town on the Mexican border to stop a series of gold robberies by marauding outlaws who are coordinated by the town's corrupt banker.
Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: . Release: 29 Apr 1968
Director: Paolo Bianchini
Producer: Gabriele Crisanti , Giorgio Postiglione , Camillo Fantacci
Stars: Dean Reed , Pietro Martellanza , Piero Lulli , Agnès Spaak , Linda Veras , Ivano Staccioli