67Dart273
Well-Known Member
This plot description barely scratches the surface of the twists and turns in this old movie. While it is a "Spaghetti Western" it has WAY better photography and sets than the typical "low budget" deal
The Forgotten Pistolero Review - The Spaghetti Western Database
The Forgotten Pistolero Review
From The Spaghetti Western Database
< Pistolero dell'Ave Maria, Il
Dir: Ferdinando Baldi - Cast: Leonard Mann, Peter Martell, Luciana Palucci, Alberto de Mendoza, Pilar Velasquez, Piero Lulli, José Suarez, Luciano Rossi, Barbara Nelli - Music: Roberto Pregadio
Il Pistolero dell'Ave Maria was made in 1969 when the spaghetti western genre was still very popular, but definitely starting to show signs of wear. The old formulas being worn out, new ones had to be found. While some directors decided to add a derisory element to the genre, others tried to create a more ˜'adult' variation by reshaping classical revenge stories. Johnny Hamlet (Quella sporca storia nel west/1968) was an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'dirty' story Hamlet, The Forgotten Pistolero is a retelling of the Greek legend of Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who avenges the murder of his father with the help of his friend and former mentor Pylades and his sister Electra.
In Ferdinando Baldi's movie, Orestes is called Sebastian, and has become a young man living on his own. One day a wounded stranger called Rafael takes shelter in his house and tells him that he is an old friend and that Sebastian is the son of the Mexican general Carrasco, who was murdered years ago by his wife Anna and her lover Thomas when he came back from a military campaign. Sebastian was able to escape with the help of a servant, while his sister Isabella was later forced to marry a man she didn't love and remained a virgin. Her true love was Rafael, who was chased and castrated (!) by the scum working for the murderous couple. Sebastian has no recollection of the massacre, but the tolling of the bells announcing the Ave Maria bring back fragmented memories, so he starts following Rafael in order to reconstruct his own past. After all these years Rafael is still persecuted by men who work for Anna and Thomas, and at several occasions Sebastian must save his life. Finally Sebastian is re-united with Isabella and together they avenge the murder of their father.
Like Johnny Hamlet, The Forgotten Pistolero wasn't very popular when first released. Today the movie has a fervent cult following and according to Tom Betts it's one of those nearly forgotten gems of the genre that every fan should check out, along with Massimo Dallamano's Bandidos (1967). At the same time the film is rejected by some for its over-complicated and melodramatic story-line. Gianfranco Casadio talks about it as una storia con molto melodramma e poco western (a story with much melodrama and few western ingredients).
Five people contributed to the script, among them director Ferdinando Baldi (a former college professor) and Vicenzo Cerami, who would later collaborate with Roberto Benigni. The legend of Orestes has inspired all three great Greek tragedians Aeschylos, Sophocles and Euripides. The most elaborated version we know, is Aeschylos' trilogy Oresteia. The movie's script more or less retells, in western form, the first two parts of the trilogy, dealing with the murder of the father and the vengeance by the son. The third part, about Orestes' penance, is left aside. However, some elements are taken from Euripides (1), while others have been changed completely, not always to good purpose (2). The biggest problem was posed by the revenge theme. In the classic Greek sense, revenge was not motivated by hate, but duty. Duty to the family, to the community, to the Gods. When Orestes is hesitating to kill his own mother, he is told by the God Apollo that it is the right thing to do. As a Greek Orestes was bound by duty to act like he did, it was up to the Gods to decide whether his action was right or wrong. The scriptwriters seem to have rendered Orestes' hesitations by making him an amnesiac, who slowly becomes aware of his mission (and fate). Clytemnestra kills her husband Agamemnon for his sacrifice of their daughter Iphgenia to the goddess Artemis; in the movie Anna acts out of pure lust, which robs her from any 'reasonable' motivation for her crime. Still she develops strong feelings of remorse and is redeemed in the final scene with the children (3).
The Forgotten Pistolero Review - The Spaghetti Western Database
The Forgotten Pistolero Review
From The Spaghetti Western Database
< Pistolero dell'Ave Maria, Il
Dir: Ferdinando Baldi - Cast: Leonard Mann, Peter Martell, Luciana Palucci, Alberto de Mendoza, Pilar Velasquez, Piero Lulli, José Suarez, Luciano Rossi, Barbara Nelli - Music: Roberto Pregadio
Il Pistolero dell'Ave Maria was made in 1969 when the spaghetti western genre was still very popular, but definitely starting to show signs of wear. The old formulas being worn out, new ones had to be found. While some directors decided to add a derisory element to the genre, others tried to create a more ˜'adult' variation by reshaping classical revenge stories. Johnny Hamlet (Quella sporca storia nel west/1968) was an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'dirty' story Hamlet, The Forgotten Pistolero is a retelling of the Greek legend of Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who avenges the murder of his father with the help of his friend and former mentor Pylades and his sister Electra.
In Ferdinando Baldi's movie, Orestes is called Sebastian, and has become a young man living on his own. One day a wounded stranger called Rafael takes shelter in his house and tells him that he is an old friend and that Sebastian is the son of the Mexican general Carrasco, who was murdered years ago by his wife Anna and her lover Thomas when he came back from a military campaign. Sebastian was able to escape with the help of a servant, while his sister Isabella was later forced to marry a man she didn't love and remained a virgin. Her true love was Rafael, who was chased and castrated (!) by the scum working for the murderous couple. Sebastian has no recollection of the massacre, but the tolling of the bells announcing the Ave Maria bring back fragmented memories, so he starts following Rafael in order to reconstruct his own past. After all these years Rafael is still persecuted by men who work for Anna and Thomas, and at several occasions Sebastian must save his life. Finally Sebastian is re-united with Isabella and together they avenge the murder of their father.
Like Johnny Hamlet, The Forgotten Pistolero wasn't very popular when first released. Today the movie has a fervent cult following and according to Tom Betts it's one of those nearly forgotten gems of the genre that every fan should check out, along with Massimo Dallamano's Bandidos (1967). At the same time the film is rejected by some for its over-complicated and melodramatic story-line. Gianfranco Casadio talks about it as una storia con molto melodramma e poco western (a story with much melodrama and few western ingredients).
Five people contributed to the script, among them director Ferdinando Baldi (a former college professor) and Vicenzo Cerami, who would later collaborate with Roberto Benigni. The legend of Orestes has inspired all three great Greek tragedians Aeschylos, Sophocles and Euripides. The most elaborated version we know, is Aeschylos' trilogy Oresteia. The movie's script more or less retells, in western form, the first two parts of the trilogy, dealing with the murder of the father and the vengeance by the son. The third part, about Orestes' penance, is left aside. However, some elements are taken from Euripides (1), while others have been changed completely, not always to good purpose (2). The biggest problem was posed by the revenge theme. In the classic Greek sense, revenge was not motivated by hate, but duty. Duty to the family, to the community, to the Gods. When Orestes is hesitating to kill his own mother, he is told by the God Apollo that it is the right thing to do. As a Greek Orestes was bound by duty to act like he did, it was up to the Gods to decide whether his action was right or wrong. The scriptwriters seem to have rendered Orestes' hesitations by making him an amnesiac, who slowly becomes aware of his mission (and fate). Clytemnestra kills her husband Agamemnon for his sacrifice of their daughter Iphgenia to the goddess Artemis; in the movie Anna acts out of pure lust, which robs her from any 'reasonable' motivation for her crime. Still she develops strong feelings of remorse and is redeemed in the final scene with the children (3).
