I adore MY NAME IS NOBODY, but it is an odd duck of a film. I first saw this as a kid, and being a fan of Terence Hill movies (particularly the TRINITY films he did with his buddy Bud Spencer) I naturally loved it. It's definitely a comedy - and a very funny one at that (at least to me) - but it's also permeated by a beautiful melancholy and nostalgia for the "old west" that I only picked up on when I rediscovered it as an adult. The idea for the movie came from Sergio Leone, the great Italian maestro who gave us the groundbreaking Dollar Trilogy as well as ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and as much as he spoofs those epic movies in MY NAME IS NOBODY, the film is still as much a love letter to the western as it is a parody of the genre.
It's also worth mentioning that although Tonino Valerii directed the film, Leone's fingerprints are all over it, and he even directed a couple of scenes (the rumors that he actually ghost-directed the whole film are - apparently - false), and he also served as executive producer. One of the reasons I find MY NAME IS NOBODY so fascinating is that it's a film about the legends of the old west - but it's also a film about the "western" as a genre. So it's a "meta-western" and Leone's comment on his own previous films as well as his deconstruction of the western archetype of the "gunslinger" (a point also driven home by the genius casting of Henry Fonda as the aging pistolero, an obvious nod to his iconic role in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST). It contemplates - albeit with a lot of irony - what happens to the notorious legend once all the dust has settled, the glory days are over and most people have forgotten him. And in a way it's a comment on fame too and on the importance of coming to terms with one's legacy.
Hill's character, Nobody, is almost in a modern sense a "fan" of the old pistolero played by Fonda; he's a hardcore "western nerd" who still worships his aging "idol" when nobody else even remembers the old gunslinger. And while the faded "star" is done with the violent works of his past, the youngster forces him to accept that the past is not yet done with him. Because his "legacy" - though written in blood and not something the old gunslinger still wants to identify with - is more important than his person. And the young fan not only forces him to confront that legacy and come to terms with it: he even gets him back on the path he once began and thus to ultimately embrace the epic "finale" his legend deserves.
It's a very peculiar film; and I'd say it's rather unique within the western genre, particularly considering when it was made. Also, it has stood the test of time rather well and is very re-watchable; the cast is great, the cinematography beautiful, and this being a Sergio Leone movie in all but the name it naturally also features a really cool soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. All in all, I'd say this is a gem to (re-) discover for fans of the western in general - and fans of Sergio Leone's films in particular. A true western comedy classic.
It's also worth mentioning that although Tonino Valerii directed the film, Leone's fingerprints are all over it, and he even directed a couple of scenes (the rumors that he actually ghost-directed the whole film are - apparently - false), and he also served as executive producer. One of the reasons I find MY NAME IS NOBODY so fascinating is that it's a film about the legends of the old west - but it's also a film about the "western" as a genre. So it's a "meta-western" and Leone's comment on his own previous films as well as his deconstruction of the western archetype of the "gunslinger" (a point also driven home by the genius casting of Henry Fonda as the aging pistolero, an obvious nod to his iconic role in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST). It contemplates - albeit with a lot of irony - what happens to the notorious legend once all the dust has settled, the glory days are over and most people have forgotten him. And in a way it's a comment on fame too and on the importance of coming to terms with one's legacy.
Hill's character, Nobody, is almost in a modern sense a "fan" of the old pistolero played by Fonda; he's a hardcore "western nerd" who still worships his aging "idol" when nobody else even remembers the old gunslinger. And while the faded "star" is done with the violent works of his past, the youngster forces him to accept that the past is not yet done with him. Because his "legacy" - though written in blood and not something the old gunslinger still wants to identify with - is more important than his person. And the young fan not only forces him to confront that legacy and come to terms with it: he even gets him back on the path he once began and thus to ultimately embrace the epic "finale" his legend deserves.
It's a very peculiar film; and I'd say it's rather unique within the western genre, particularly considering when it was made. Also, it has stood the test of time rather well and is very re-watchable; the cast is great, the cinematography beautiful, and this being a Sergio Leone movie in all but the name it naturally also features a really cool soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. All in all, I'd say this is a gem to (re-) discover for fans of the western in general - and fans of Sergio Leone's films in particular. A true western comedy classic.