Starring two Oscar winners, it was made by the best Western filmmaker ever.
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Thursday, 13 February) is A Fistful of Dynamite (also known as Duck, You Sucker!), the legendary spaghetti Western from 1971.
Co-written and directed by all-time great filmmaker Sergio Leone (The Dollars Trilogy, Once Upon a Time in West), its story takes place at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1913.
“Greedy bandit Juan Miranda (Oscar-winner Rod Steiger) and idealist John H. Mallory (Oscar-winner James Coburn), an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank,” the plot synopsis reads.
“When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners, who are freed by the blast, Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.”
A Fistful of Dynamite was the last Western directed by Leone, coming after his hugely beloved and iconic Dollars trilogy (which includes The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and Once Upon a Time in West.
The 1971 epic currently holds a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics praising it for its lead performances, its stylish direction, its dark humour and its score from legendary composer Ennio Morricone.
Though now considered a bit of a cult classic, A Fistful of Dynamite was not as commercially and critically successful at the time of its release as Leone’s other Westerns. As such, it is less well-known and ripe for discovery.
The film is airing on Sky Arts tonight at 9pm. It is also available to watch via NOW Cinema and Sky Cinema.
Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:
Robin Hood: Men in Tights – Comedy Central – 9pm
Cary Elwes stars in this hit Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves spoof.
Crush – Film4 – 9pm
A 2022 coming-of-age rom-com with 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Chronicles of Riddick – ITV4 – 9pm
Vin Diesel returns as wanted criminal in the distant future Richard B. Riddick in this bloated but watchable sequel to Pitch Black.
Walking and Talking – Film4 – 10.50pm
The beloved ’90s indie comedy-drama starring Anne Heche and Catherine Keener as best friends since childhood whose lives change when one of them gets engaged.
Black Eagle / Black Water – Legend – 9pm / 11.05pm
A Jean-Claude Van Damme action double bill.
Blue Velvet / The Elephant Man – BBC Four – 9.50pm / 11.45pm
Another double bill, this time devoted to the late and great filmmaker David Lynch.
One Shot – Sky Max – 10pm
Ashley Greene, Ryan Phillippe and Scott Atkins star in this 2021 British action thriller about an elite squad of Navy SEALs under attack.
The Sorcerers – Legend Xtra – 11.05pm
A well-liked ’60s sci-fi horror starring Boris Karloff from the director of Witchfinder General.
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