Hey there, cats and chicks, Mr Mouth here with the rundown on another forgotten flick showing Thursday October 2 at the Trash Palace night at the Revue.

It's time once again for my favourite genre to make it's return to the Trash Palace, and that's the spaghetti western. This time, it's a true classic of the genre which is held in quite high esteem by the legions of spaghetti fans and critics.

It's called The Mercenary, and features that spaghetti western icon Franco Nero as a Polish mercenary who has been hired by mine owner to help transport many tonnes of silver, but he eventually falls in with the Mexican revolutionaries. It also features the great Jack Palance, who also starred in many spaghetti westerns and was directed by Sergio Corbucci, who did epics like Django, Minnesota Clay, The Hellbenders which has screened at the TP before and The Great Silence.

Here's a write up from the Fist full of Pasta website, which rates the film very high, and this pretty well touches on all the great elements:

"With a story originally based on a play by Bertold Brecht, we're very much in the world of the political western here. Polish mercenary Sergei Kowalski Nero helps Mexican peasant Paco Roman Musante to become a real revolutionary; after a series of mutual experiences, they even become friends, but the water between them is too deep, so finally they go their own way. Watch out for Jack Palance as a sadistic and homosexual mercenary fighting on 'the other side' and Giovanna Ralli as the peasant girl Columba, who joins the revolution and outsmarts everybody. Humor, action and excitement in exactly the right measurements. Probably the best Zapata western, a joy from start to finish and the ultimate proof that intelligent cinema can be a lot of fun.

Morricone's score is one of the very best for a non-Leone movie, the track The Arena among his four or five best individual tracks. Nero's ultra-cool and ultra-chic look had a strong influence on those well-dressed and sophisticated heroes like Sartana and Sabata, that would soon take over from the unshaven, poncho clad anti-heroes that used to populate the genre."

And if that's not enough, here's the trailer, with guns a blazing and explosions everywhere!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?vbbvUrq72T74

The fun starts at 9 pm, the films are at 930, there's beer for sale, and the address is 400 Roncesvalles in scenic Parkdale!

We'll be meeting up for drinks right next door at the Local at 730, so stop by for a drink with us!

See you Thursday!