Sergio Leone's GENIUS, TWO PARTNERS AND DUPE ('75) Klaus Kinski
1786DVD
The
Missing Link in Sergio Leone's Filmography
Original
Italian Title: UN GENIO, DUE COMPARI, UN POLLO
director:
Sergio Leone with Damiano Damiani
starring: Terence Hill · Patrick McGoohan · Klaus Kinski · Miou-Miou ·
Robert Charlebois · Raimund Harmstorf
This
one tells the whimsical saga of a likable rogue gang of petty thieves.
They are usually involved with relatively insignificant robberies until
they stumble upon a wrecked Cavalry stagecoach. They repair the wagon
and then - disguised as a Union detachment - the three rapscallions try
to scam Major Harris at Fort Smith. He sees through the ruse (or has he?)
but manages to inadvertently fall prey to the grand scheme.
Sergio
Leone, one of the world's greatest directors, was remarkably skittish
when it came to directing. Every film - he would insist - was his
final project. After ONCE
UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1969), he announced that he would continue
as a "producer only." For his next film, "Duck You Sucker
(1971)," Leone hired American filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich to
hold the reigns but then - at the last minute - fired him and assigned
the project to Italian Giancarlo Santi (BIG
GUNDOWN); however, after the production began, Sergio took over as director.
The same thing happened again [with slight variations] for the next project
"My Name Is Nobody (1974)" when Leone hired Tonino Valerii
to direct but then secretly began shooting scenes himself. Valerii refused
to continue working without control of the production. Leone granted the
wish, but then - during the down time - he took star Terence Hill and
started shooting scenes for a different film. That footage was shaped
into the foundation for GENIUS. In the beginning,
Leone had every intention of completing this production. Much of the principal
work was finished when Warner Bros contacted him to come to the States
to begin work on his dream project ("Once Upon A Time In America").
Leone handed GENIUS over to his friend filmmaker
Damiano Daniani (of BULLET
FOR A GENERAL fame) and agreed to remain uncredited. So, without
a doubt, this is the missing link in Sergio Leone's filmography. And,
as such, a must for Spaghetti Western fans.
An
Italian film in English language; widescreen format, uncut version at
117 minutes, DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT. Extras include
star bios and more.
