GUNS FOR SAN SEBASTIAN: Blu-ray (MGM, 1968) Warner Archive

Begun with high aspirations to will the sort of grand and sprawling epic very much in vogue at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the mid-fifties, considered in its prime only a decade earlier, director, Henri Verneuil’s Guns for San Sebastian (1968) had the unwitting ‘bad timing’ to arrive at the tail end of Metro’s financial entrenchment, rife for a hostile corporate takeover to render its one-time Teflon coated movie-land paradise, the king of features, with more stars than there are in heaven, into a garage sale and worse, already slated for a date with the wrecking ball.  Based on Rev. William Barnaby Faherty’s 1962 French novel, La bataille de San Sebastian, Guns for San Sebastian emerged as a curious, if sadly depleted ‘last gasp’ of a particular style in picture-making very much on the wane by the late sixties, the establishment scrambling to assemble a fine-looking film from foreign financing (France, Italy, Mexico, and the U.S.) with commercial appeal, headlined by Anthony Quinn and Charles Bronson, and underscored by Ennio Morricone. In retrospect, the best thing about the movie is Morricone’s passionate anthems and linking passages of music, much too good for this movie, but to elevate its meager trappings considerably, as well as to augment the rather lumbering connective tissue of badly dubbed dialogue scripted by Serge Ganz, Miguel Morayta, Ennio De Concini, James R. Webb and Elinor Karpf. The worst thing about the picture is its dubbing, so woefully out of whack as to completely take one out of the story between those fiery bits when the guns fall silent and people need to emote.

A variation on the all-too familiar theme of an underdog with the proverbial redemptive quality to be found in resisting temptation, and triumphing against seemingly insurmountable adversity, to be better visualized and out-performed by virtually every great western made during the 20th century, Guns for San Sebastian is anchored in a scorching, self-satisfied performance from Anthony Quinn as wanted man, Leon Alastray. Through a gracious whim of fate, Alastray is mistaken for a Jesuit priest by local villagers under siege from marauding Yaqui Indians. It’s the sort of role the earthy Quinn was born to play, and he chews up the scenery at every opportunity. Without him, Guns for San Sebastian would indeed be a fairly abysmal affair, and, in Tony Quinn’s mesmerizing transformation from sinner to saint…with an edge, the picture also possesses a unique ‘lamb bites wolf’ quality. As his counterpoint, Charles Bronson enters as the strong and silent type villain, Telco – a half-breed, and superb contrast/foil for Quinn’s all-devouring screen presence. Interpolated with bits of darkly purposed wit, Guns for San Sebastian desperately aspires to be the sort of western-based saga a director like Sergio Leone could be proud of, but instead suffers the anemia of its too familiar bloodlines, comparatively, to be considered the lesser of its contemporaries like The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) and The Wild Bunch (1969). Its virtues, genuine heart, and also, expertly staged action to cap off an otherwise wordy, and occasionally tedious 111 minutes, keep the movie afloat, while offering nothing particularly new or extraordinary to the canon of work itself. Lastly, Guns for San Sebastian remains the only spaghetti western NOT to be filmed in Spain, at a time when it was decidedly fashionable to do so, but rather, in Mexico at Sierra de Órganos National Park near Sombrerete.

Plot wise: we are smack in the middle of civil unrest, circa, 1746. We meet the notorious rapscallion and army deserter/bandito, Leon Alastray. Wounded by the Spanish military while in full retreat, Leon takes refuge inside a local church where he is immediately granted sanctuary by the empathetic, Father Joseph (Sam Jaffe). Fearing reprisals, the church’s council sides with the army, forcing Father Joseph into the smaller parish of San Sebastian. Determined the army should not win, Father Joseph smuggles the defiantly atheistic Alastray past the garrison of soldiers awaiting his capture. Feeling shame for the sacrifices made on his behalf, Alastray begrudgingly accompanies Father Joseph to San Sebastian. The pair has scarcely arrived at this almost forgotten outpost when Father Joseph is murdered by the pillaging vaquero. As the church bell sounds the alarm, the terrorized villagers return from their secret hiding places in the nearby hills.

Mistaken as a priest, Alastray bitterly attempts to set the record straight, but then, via the love of a good woman, Kinita (Anjanette Comer), to whom he is obviously attracted, takes on the ascribed role, organizing the villagers to withstand further Indian attacks. When an arrow is accidentally shot into a statue of Christ, causing it to bleed, the villagers take it as a sign they have witnessed a miracle. Teclo manipulates the villagers into believing his allegiance is with them, but actually, he is plotting to scatter them into the hills, where he will then present himself as their savior. Meanwhile, Alastray organizes the villagers to construct a dam. Alas, the Yaqui initiate another full-scale assault. Many villagers are massacred. The survivors, feeling utterly betrayed, angrily ordering Alastray to leave their town for good. He does. Only now, Kinita follows him. Determined to spare her further suffrage, Alastray confides the meaninglessness of his whole existence and suggests a better life is not to be found with him.  Mercifully, at his juncture, the couple bear witness to Teclo and the Yaqui leader, Golden Lance (Jaime Fernández) allied and plotting against the remaining inhabitants of San Sebastian. Alastray now realizes the village is in grave danger. 

Exploiting a previous romantic alliance, Alastray is able to secure the necessary weaponry - muskets, gunpowder, and even a canon – to instigate a real defense in the town’s favor.  Newly girded in their resolve, the villagers take their stand against a common enemy. As a ‘last ditch’ effort for peace, Alastray brokers a détente with Golden Lance. This is initially successful but later grotesquely sabotaged by Teclo, who is determined to make another Yaqui massacre unavoidable. On the eve of their destiny, the nervous villagers ask Alastray to lead them in prayer. Instead, he makes a full confession about his past. Nevertheless, the villagers accept him now as their protector. At dawn, the Yaqui make their move. They are, however, subdued by Alastray and the villagers, though not for long. That evening, one of the village boys sees the Yaquis amassing in the foothills, giving Alastray the idea to bomb the towering rock formations above them.  Regrettably, these charges are discovered by Telco early the next morning. Mercifully, villagers intercept and kill Telco before he can reveal their location. As the Yaqui prepare to decimate the village, Alastray sets off the dynamite, creating a violent avalanche to effectively bury the Yaqui, including Golden Lance. As is usually the case, the military arrive too late for the deluge, though just in time to arrest Alastray for his past criminal indiscretions. Instead, the villagers outwit the soldiers while ushering Alastray to freedom. He escapes on horseback with Kinita, the couple heading towards an, as yet, uncertain horizon.

Guns for San Sebastian has its moments. In totem, these prove enough to sustain our interest – if not entirely – then, mostly for prolonged periods. Tony Quinn and Chuck Bronson make for a formidable champion and challenger, with Bronson’s loss coming just a shay premature to completely satisfy the grand finale. Quinn’s is the flashier role and he plays it to the hilt. Bronson’s strengths as a character actor have always been that he seemingly does nothing, or very little, but nevertheless impresses. Something about Bronson’s beady-eyed musculature just emanates incalculable appeal as God’s isolated and brooding primal man. The supporting cast, including one-time MGM fav, Fernand Gravey (as the Governor), and Petro Armendariz Jr. (as Father Lucas), do a fine job of adding authentic flavor. And while the acting is first rate, the dub job here is decidedly not; sloppy and out of sync, with English-speaking voice ‘talents’ sounding woefully out of character with the faces on the screen. It makes for a bit of a slog when trying to get through the quiescent scenes where dialogue is king and plot is being conveyed via too much ‘tell’ and not enough ‘show’. Movies are meant to move. Yet, there are whole portions in Guns for San Sebastian that take the art of picture-making all the way back to its primitive ‘moving tableau’ early sound era.  Armand Thirard’s cinematography yields some handsomely mounted compositions. And when the action set pieces kick in, the picture attains a fairly impressive quality as an actioner with substance. Alas, virtually all of these thrills are left to the last act of the movie. So, in the end, Guns for San Sebastian emerges as a somewhat lopsided, though adequate, but unremarkable wannabe epic, with virtues that barely outweigh its vices.  

Warner Archive’s Blu-ray has resurrected this deep catalog release from the faded beige/brown mess that was the DVD and has remained a relatively unattractive home video presentation ever since this movie left theaters in 1968. Colors in this 1080p transfer, derived from a new 4K scan of original surviving elements, are robust as well as refined. As with everything WAC touches, this is a quality affair. The image is crisp and free of age-related artifacts. Contrast is excellent with no black crush. Film grain, leaning on the thick side, has been accurately reproduced. The 1.0 DTS mono replicates the original mono mix and is adequate for this presentation. Extras include a vintage featurette and original theatrical trailer. If you want to see how awful this one looked before, just take a gander at that trailer. Bottom line: a movie beloved by some gets a quality release in hi-def. For fans of Tony Quinn and Chuck Bronson, definitely one to add to your ever-growing collection.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

5

EXTRAS

1