"Il mio nome è Nessuno" or "My Name Is Nobody" is a co-production between Italy, France and West Germany from 1973, so this one is moving closer to its 50th anniversary. Like many other westerns from this era, it is in the Italian language. The director is the famous Tonino Valerii, but the big name here is of course the one of Sergio Leone who contributed the general idea that was then adapted by more writers than you'd expect into the final script. But also in front of the camera, the film has big names to offer, most of all the two leads. Terence Hill is probably more known now than Henry Fonda, at least outside of America. This is one of Hill's more famous works without Bud Spencer next to him. He was still in his 30s here. Fonda was in his 60s already, even if this was still from a decade before his Oscar win. Well, Hill brings all the comedy really, but it fits the story with the sped-up sequences and Hill's (intentionally) really over-the-top face expressions add a lot of hilarious moments. So do the dialogues. The Italian version with English subs I watched was pretty bizarre as there were subtitles shown on the screen for dialogues that did not exist. It was weird, but also funny because these subtitles were funny pretty often and I would have loved to hear these words too. I guess there must exist several other versions of this movie. Anyway, the most common one, also the one I saw, runs for under two hours slightly. Fonda's presence was not as memorable as Hill's but that had only to do with the characters of course. His was not energetic, he just wants to retire, still he is a very gifted gunslinger despite his age as we see during the presentation early on at the barber's shop. Fonda's character also never delivers comedy, but actually maybe keeps the film from becoming too light because even this way it is more of a western comedy than a comedy western I guess. Even that scene I just mentioned early on is funny not because of Fonda, but because of the bad guys when they stuff barber's equipment into the man's mother and also into his kid.
In order to keep this film from becoming too serious (you see they had no intention to do so also with only Hill being on the poster here on imdb), they also pretty much completely did without sequences where you see people dying or being shot. The exception is the wild bunch near the end, but they are also far, far away. It is really all about making you laugh and Morricone's playful soundtrack, especially during those sequences focusing on Hill, adds a lot to it. I could mention many other scenes really here like the three hilariously incompetent crooks who are busy carrying the roof above them for a while. And even when the film is about Beauregard's memorable legacy, it is only pseudo important at best with the voice-overs, but it never feels to take itself truly seriously. Which is good. I don't think they could have really made this work with the approach they were giving it all in all. So I was genuinely surprised they really went for the path to kill off Fonda's character eventually to really become a legend. Well, I was not too surprised that they did not of course then and it was all just a trick. It also would have gone against the idea that they are both equally gifted with the gun, even if Fonda may not have gone for it all to make sure he becomes a legend. I guess you could explain it like that if you had to. But you don't and anyway I prefer the path they took. In the end, maybe the voice-over again about nobody being somebody now was perhaps on the edge, but it was fine in the face of all the other "N/nobody shoots faster than Beauregard" moments before that were fairly funny for sure. I am not sure, maybe they slightly wanted to use the idea of Fonda being also acting-wise the mentor to Hill overall and maybe Hill could pursue a big western career as a leading man then, but it was not meant to be because the genre was close to dead then for a long time, actually until now even if we look at the quantity of new westerns being released. Still, it is okay. Hill still had a big career as one half of one of the in my opinion most amazing movie duos in history.
Oh there we are: by the way, those who know the Bud Spencer / Terence Hill movies like I do will certainly think of Buddie (may he rest in peace) when here is that sequence in which Hill uses this dummy to beat up all the guys coming near him. It looked a bit like Bud. Still, everybody who really only wants to see it for the western perspective can still have a good time here. The setting of course will satisfy this part of the audience with the saloons, the dust, the outfits, the trains, the Indians (okay they added nothing here) etc. It is a very western film in theory, even if in depth it has little to do with the serious classics. It is good this way, Hill is probably a much better comedy actor than drama actor. The one thing missing too which you usually find otherwise is the damsel in distress here. Not many females in this film, none in key roles. In general this was a film that rather lived through individual scenes than through the key plot and thing as a whole I would say, but that is also not uncommon for Hill (and Spencer). Just enjoy the fun scenes for what they are like the saloon scene early on, the one not so friendly meeting between the lead duo where nonetheless they already respected each other (actually the "three bullets one hole in the hat moment" was probably the best the film had to offer in terms of gun action), the scene in which Hill still hits everything despite all the alcohol he takes and so on and so forth. There are many more scenes that are gonna put a smile on your lips. Which ones exactly is going to depend on your personal preference and subjective humor. But it's impossible to not like many of the dialogues here. The writers did a really good job. This film is not best-of-the-year material and almost never great, but rock-solid from the very beginning and entertaining and if you like the marvellous western genre as much as I do and feel you are in the mood for something lighter, then there aren't really any better choices than the one we got here. Thumbs up!
Allow me to add a few additional thoughts after reviewing this film in January 2022. Just some brainstorming. The closure with basically the barber reference again was quite nice. Something I did not mention in the original review is how maybe the old one also saw his young self in Hill's character to some extent. In the end, he talks about how things will change for Hill's character when he will get older, but this reference about Fonda's character being young himself is one I thought about on a few occasions. The Bud Spencer dummy fight sequence came to mind again, even if it was clearly not intended by the filmmakers because Spencer was not a star at that point and also not associated with Hill really. The bird noise scene deserves a mention. Very absurd in a kinda hilarious way. Especially with how Hill is working his eyes, but also the sounds he makes. The scene in which he was drunk at the bar did not do too much for me this time I must admit. One of the weaker segments unfortunately. The main theme you hear on some occasions, especially very early on and at the very end, is so incredibly catchy. The idea of 150 (it was, wasn't it?) being as strong as a thousand is okay, but how often they mentioned this felt a bit exaggerated then to me and not as iconic as I would have liked, especially with how easily they are taken out then. The metaphorical blinking door of a whorehouse and how it helped Fonda's character deal with the bunch was nice though, also everything associated with the black locomotive. This film was set in 1899 as we find out, so not super far back in the past. Even film existed already at that point. The three bad guys at the very start felt typical for western films. At least one other comes to mind immediately. The scene with how Hill takes care of the guy humiliating the Black folks was definitely a comedic highlight. Good message nonetheless! That was real racism there, not what many people mistake it for today. Also interesting what ten dollars can mean to people as you see at the very start. And as for the women, I already said they are almost inexistent in here. The ones that stay a bit in the mind are maybe the one not happy with Nobody's burping and the one with the child that loses his apple to Nobody. Nice snooker trick too. That's all for now.
In order to keep this film from becoming too serious (you see they had no intention to do so also with only Hill being on the poster here on imdb), they also pretty much completely did without sequences where you see people dying or being shot. The exception is the wild bunch near the end, but they are also far, far away. It is really all about making you laugh and Morricone's playful soundtrack, especially during those sequences focusing on Hill, adds a lot to it. I could mention many other scenes really here like the three hilariously incompetent crooks who are busy carrying the roof above them for a while. And even when the film is about Beauregard's memorable legacy, it is only pseudo important at best with the voice-overs, but it never feels to take itself truly seriously. Which is good. I don't think they could have really made this work with the approach they were giving it all in all. So I was genuinely surprised they really went for the path to kill off Fonda's character eventually to really become a legend. Well, I was not too surprised that they did not of course then and it was all just a trick. It also would have gone against the idea that they are both equally gifted with the gun, even if Fonda may not have gone for it all to make sure he becomes a legend. I guess you could explain it like that if you had to. But you don't and anyway I prefer the path they took. In the end, maybe the voice-over again about nobody being somebody now was perhaps on the edge, but it was fine in the face of all the other "N/nobody shoots faster than Beauregard" moments before that were fairly funny for sure. I am not sure, maybe they slightly wanted to use the idea of Fonda being also acting-wise the mentor to Hill overall and maybe Hill could pursue a big western career as a leading man then, but it was not meant to be because the genre was close to dead then for a long time, actually until now even if we look at the quantity of new westerns being released. Still, it is okay. Hill still had a big career as one half of one of the in my opinion most amazing movie duos in history.
Oh there we are: by the way, those who know the Bud Spencer / Terence Hill movies like I do will certainly think of Buddie (may he rest in peace) when here is that sequence in which Hill uses this dummy to beat up all the guys coming near him. It looked a bit like Bud. Still, everybody who really only wants to see it for the western perspective can still have a good time here. The setting of course will satisfy this part of the audience with the saloons, the dust, the outfits, the trains, the Indians (okay they added nothing here) etc. It is a very western film in theory, even if in depth it has little to do with the serious classics. It is good this way, Hill is probably a much better comedy actor than drama actor. The one thing missing too which you usually find otherwise is the damsel in distress here. Not many females in this film, none in key roles. In general this was a film that rather lived through individual scenes than through the key plot and thing as a whole I would say, but that is also not uncommon for Hill (and Spencer). Just enjoy the fun scenes for what they are like the saloon scene early on, the one not so friendly meeting between the lead duo where nonetheless they already respected each other (actually the "three bullets one hole in the hat moment" was probably the best the film had to offer in terms of gun action), the scene in which Hill still hits everything despite all the alcohol he takes and so on and so forth. There are many more scenes that are gonna put a smile on your lips. Which ones exactly is going to depend on your personal preference and subjective humor. But it's impossible to not like many of the dialogues here. The writers did a really good job. This film is not best-of-the-year material and almost never great, but rock-solid from the very beginning and entertaining and if you like the marvellous western genre as much as I do and feel you are in the mood for something lighter, then there aren't really any better choices than the one we got here. Thumbs up!
Allow me to add a few additional thoughts after reviewing this film in January 2022. Just some brainstorming. The closure with basically the barber reference again was quite nice. Something I did not mention in the original review is how maybe the old one also saw his young self in Hill's character to some extent. In the end, he talks about how things will change for Hill's character when he will get older, but this reference about Fonda's character being young himself is one I thought about on a few occasions. The Bud Spencer dummy fight sequence came to mind again, even if it was clearly not intended by the filmmakers because Spencer was not a star at that point and also not associated with Hill really. The bird noise scene deserves a mention. Very absurd in a kinda hilarious way. Especially with how Hill is working his eyes, but also the sounds he makes. The scene in which he was drunk at the bar did not do too much for me this time I must admit. One of the weaker segments unfortunately. The main theme you hear on some occasions, especially very early on and at the very end, is so incredibly catchy. The idea of 150 (it was, wasn't it?) being as strong as a thousand is okay, but how often they mentioned this felt a bit exaggerated then to me and not as iconic as I would have liked, especially with how easily they are taken out then. The metaphorical blinking door of a whorehouse and how it helped Fonda's character deal with the bunch was nice though, also everything associated with the black locomotive. This film was set in 1899 as we find out, so not super far back in the past. Even film existed already at that point. The three bad guys at the very start felt typical for western films. At least one other comes to mind immediately. The scene with how Hill takes care of the guy humiliating the Black folks was definitely a comedic highlight. Good message nonetheless! That was real racism there, not what many people mistake it for today. Also interesting what ten dollars can mean to people as you see at the very start. And as for the women, I already said they are almost inexistent in here. The ones that stay a bit in the mind are maybe the one not happy with Nobody's burping and the one with the child that loses his apple to Nobody. Nice snooker trick too. That's all for now.