Villa Rides (released in 1968) - Starring Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum and Charles Bronson

Francisco Villa or Pancho Villa was a famous Mexican Revolutionary general, who was active in the years between 1910 and 1919. Directed by Buzz Kulik, the film is a biographical montage of the life of José Doroteo Arango Arámbula - a famous figure in Mexican history and legend. In reality, Villa was treated contemptuously by the law, although the peasant folk, commoners and soldiers respected him for his Robinesque mentality - he would steal from the rich to fill the stomachs of the poor. The film is sourced from William Douglas Lansford’s biography titled ‘Pancho Villa’ (1965); Douglas even assisted in the early draft of the film in 1968.
The year is 1912, and the Mexican Revolutionaries are fighting battles on many fronts - including the moral; caught in this crossfire is American pilot and adventurer Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum) - who, in true capitalist spirit, sees no harm in supplying arms and ammunition to counter-revolutionaries like Capt. Francisco Ramirez, smuggling the contraband across the border from Texas, in his WWI pursuit plane, he is paid in gold for his aid. On one such mission, as he is awaiting the repair of the landing gear of his plane, Lee is witness to the violent attack and razing of a village by the Captain and his men (because the villagers curried favor with the insurrectionist Pancho Villa).




Yul Brynner assays the role of Villa; his famous bald pate is given a miss in the film as he sports a toupee and moustache. As in real life, Villa assists General Huerta (Herbert Lom), and has a brutal sidekick in the form of Lt. Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson). Ramirez and his men are defeated by Villa, and even Lee Arnold is taken captive by Fierro - who longs for nothing more than to kill him. He is sentenced for gun-running, to face a firing squad. In order to save his skin, Lee strikes a deal to aid the insurrectionists in their revolution - he would provide them with the guns, instead, fighting on their side. On one such revolutionary escapade, Lee provides air cover to the guerillas as they capture an enemy train carrying troops, and eventually as they make captive an entire town.
There are cracks in every revolution - General Huerta deeply dislikes Villa, believing him to be manipulative and success-seeking. He is furious when Villa captures the town despite the General’s orders not to - causing heavy casualties. Soon after, Huerta plots to send Villa on a doomed mission to capture Conejos, in a bid to ensure he is not around when the General overthrows the government and President Madero - however, Arnold’s aerial assistance saves the day, even though Villa loses many men. And to the General's delight - Villa is captured by him, and Lee crosses the border into El Paso, saving his skin in time!
Now clear about his boss’s intentions, Pancho escapes imprisonment and hunts down Lee, on whose support he has come to rely deeply. A reluctant Arnold agrees to help Villa once more - the Revolutionaries have a new cause: to do away with Huerta, now a self styled dictator after he has assassinated the Mexican president and seized power. Later Arnold also helps Villa raise an army against another enemy of the Mexican state - Emiliano Zapata.
Criticized for its cosmetic portrayal of the Revolution and for not really exploring the many perspectives there exist with regard to it, the film may at least be applauded for its precise portrayal of Villa, who was less a hero and more a man on the run, a hardened criminal known for his thirst for violence.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Sergio Leone was the king of the Spaghetti Western brand of movies, with Clint Eastwood being the star in many of those. Henry Fonda was another famous star of the era, acting as the hero in many a film. However, in this film, Henry Fonda plays one of the villains, with Charles Bronson playing the lead role in the movie. The movie 'Once Upon a time in the West' was released in 1968 in Europe and was a fairly big success, running for a long time in many cities. However, this was not be in the United States, where it was released in 1969, and was a flop. Like some other movies that were well made but did not do well commercially, Once Upon a Time in the West is now regarded as a very well made movie, and among the greatest westerns. The movie starred, besides Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, Jason Robards as the bandit Cheyenne and Claudia Cardinale as Jill (a lady who arrives at her new house to find herself a widow and her entire family killed).



The movie is about the fight for getting control of the rights for providing water (and a supply depot) to the railroad that will run past the town of Flagstone, with the farm being in the best position to supply water and other supplies to the railroad. The movie starts with a scene of a remote town in Arizona, where a train arrives, on which a stranger with a harmonica in his mouth (Bronson) gets down, hoping to find Frank (Fonda) there, but instead meets 3 men with whom he has a showdown and, he is the only survivor. At the same on a remote farm, where the McBains are waiting for a new wife Jill (Claudia Cardinale) for Brett McBain, a gang led by Frank come and kill all of them.
Soon after, Jill arrives at the station and starts to the farm. On the way, she meets the harmonica player and also the bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards). When confronted by Branson about the shoot-out, Cheyenne denies that the men killed were his men. And then Jill arrives at the farm to find that her new family is all dead, but she tells the assembled crowd that she had already married McBain a month back. On the basis of some false evidence, the crowd believe that the murders were done by Cheyenne, and form a posse to hunt him down.
And then you start to discover as to why these killing happened .. this is all related to the railroad that the tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) was building that would go upto the Pacific, and Frank works for him. The story is interesting, with the collision between these different men, all of them with their own interests, and how they all come together in the end. The movie is interesting, and with some great scenes. A must watch.