The Return of Ringo
Like the thrilling genre it identifies, the term "spaghetti western" has steadily gained in esteem and sympathy. Born in the mid-1960s, the Italian Western is a universe in its own right, whose cinematic language, anarchic tone and spectacular iconography have had a considerable impact. Presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal, this cycle brings together the must-see films of the "three Sergios" (Leone, Corbucci, Sollima) and a diverse selection of films by the main directors of the period. It's an opportunity to grasp the richness of a genre whose stylistic beauty is matched only by the dirtiness of its protagonists, and which has managed to be alternately irreverent and lyrical, funny and violent, bon-vivant and political, dark and luminous. The versions presented have been chosen on the basis of elements such as language (all these films were dubbed, so there is no single "original" version), complete editing and recent restorations.
Returning from the Civil War, Captain Ringo disguises himself as a peasant to free his town from bandits. Loosely inspired by Homer's The Odyssey (after all, Duccio Tessari began his career in the peplum), The Return of Ringo is one of Tarantino's favorite westerns. The film propelled the career of actor Giuliano Gemma, who would go on to star in several Italian westerns, including Tonino Valerii's formidable Day of Anger.
Duccio Tessari
Duccio Tessari was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns.Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of peplum films. In 1964 he co-wrote Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, one year later he gained an impressive commercial success and launched the Giuliano Gemma's career with A Pistol for Ringo and its immediate sequel, The Return of Ringo. He later touched different genres and worked in some successful TV-series.
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