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1%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2
3[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fistful_of_dynamite.jpg]]
4[[caption-width-right:350:[-Let's blow up some shit.-] ]]
5
6->''"I know what I am talking about when I am talking about the revolutions. The people who read the books go to the people who can't read the books, the poor people, and say, "We have to have a change." So, the poor people make the change, ah? And then, the people who read the books, they all sit around the big polished tables, and they talk and talk and talk and eat and eat and eat, eh? But what has happened to the poor people? They're dead! That's your revolution. Shhh... So, please, don't tell me about revolutions! And what happens afterwards? [[FullCircleRevolution The same fucking thing starts all over again]]!"''
7-->-- '''Juan Miranda'''
8
9Directed by Creator/SergioLeone in 1971, the film takes place during UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution in 1913. Juan Miranda (Creator/RodSteiger), a Mexican bandit, has a chance encounter with early Irish nationalist John Mallory (Creator/JamesCoburn). Mallory also happens to be a demolitions expert with enough explosives to level a mountain.
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11Despite a rather heated, if ultimately non-fatal, first meeting, Miranda seemingly enlists the Irishman's talents in order to fulfill his life's ambition: robbing the Mesa Verde national bank. Unfortunately for Juan, the entire heist is an elaborate ruse and John is simply using him to further the revolution's aims. And so begins Juan's unwillingly entry into the revolution and of course his chaotic friendship with Mallory.
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13Despite the light-hearted moments between Juan and John, the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified romantic side of revolution]] is frequently deconstructed throughout the movie as both characters suffer [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized significant losses]]. It's arguably Creator/SergioLeone's most politically charged movie, capturing as much Leone's reaction to the chaos of Italy's [[UsefulNotes/RepublicanItaly Years of Lead]], a cycle of terrorism and political warfare between left- and right-wing extremists, as it is a Western.[[note]]Leone gave an interview shortly before the film's release which confirms this, saying he felt compelled to make ''Dynamite'' because "politics no longer makes any sense in Italy!"[[/note]] Thus the revolution setting was intended to be symbolic according to WordOfGod, incorporating elements from a variety of events and time periods, and not an accurate rendering of the Mexican Revolution. The whole thing is, as with all Leone's westerns, set to epic Music/EnnioMorricone...but ''this'' time, his SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic has a ''trippy'' side.
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15The film never had the commercial success of the director's other SpaghettiWestern classics, due in part to confusing trailers implying it was an actual comedy and poor marketing. Leone's insistence the movie be called ''Duck, You Sucker!'' in its initial U.S release, believing it to be a popular turn of phrase in the states, despite being repeatedly told this was not the case, didn't help things either. Critics reviewed it favourably (especially in Europe, where the movie's parallels to contemporary politics were perhaps better-appreciated) but certainly not to the extent of the director's other work, though it has begun to change since.
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17Creator/SergioLeone's final western epic, it's also undoubtedly his most overlooked film.
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19The movie has been released under many titles; ''Duck, You Sucker!'' was derived from the film's Italian name, ''Giu La Testa'' (literally meaning "Duck Your Head"). During a re-release it was renamed ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' for commercial reasons, to make it the [[TrilogyCreep fourth film]] in the Film/DollarsTrilogy. And finally, in some places, it was originally marketed under its working title of ''Once Upon A Time... The Revolution'' (or ''...in the Revolution''), making it a [[Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest second]] [[Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica part]] in a {{thematic|Series}} "Once Upon a Time" trilogy.
20
21!!This film provides examples of:
22* AccidentalHero: Despite Juan's best efforts to the contrary he is constantly being lauded as a hero of the revolution.
23* AllThereInTheScript: The flashbacks are silent, so the name of John's friend (Nolan) is never known.
24* AnachronismStew: When he is captured by the Governor, Mallory uses a Hi-Power handgun, which was first made around 1935. Later on, Juan uses a Nazi MG-42 (The 42 meaning 1942, when it was made) to blow away a government convoy. Both weapons are used in a film set in 1913. Then again, the film abounds in thinly-veiled allusions to Nazis (see ANaziByAnyOtherName below), so [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools at least some of anachronisms could be deliberate]].
25* ArmiesAreEvil: We don't meet a single sympathetic soldier. They're all shown or implied to be like Reza.
26** However we see a Mexican deserter dressed like a rebel being shot by firing squad.
27* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Creator/SergioLeone took many liberties with regards to the actual Mexican Revolution. This was however for the most part deliberate as it was intended to be symbolic portrayal of revolutions in general, rather than an accurate description of Mexican Revolution in particular (that's why the film refers not only to Mexican, but also to Irish and, through Mao's quote, Chinese revolutions, along with fascist imagery borrowed from World War II).
28** John being an Irish nationalist in 1913 owns an IRA flag. Problem is the Irish Republican Army didn't exist until 1919, because it was the army of the Irish Republic. He would have most likely been in the IRB ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Brotherhood Irish Republican Brotherhood]]), a secret organization, if any at all. This failing is further compounded by countless reviews and summaries of the film labelling John ex-IRA or an IRA terrorist. The later secret terrorist organization was not the same as its earlier namesake which became the [[UsefulNotes/PaddiesWithPropellerPlanes Irish Defence Forces.]] Probably justified though, as the terrorist IRA was a ''much'' more well-known (and nominally Marxist) organization and [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles active at the time of the film release]], and Leone certainly wanted the viewers to draw the necessary parallels.
29** A newspaper which designated Mallory as a terrorist (and uses his English name "John" instead of Irish "Seán"). By definition it should have been a pro-British newspaper then, but we get to see the title - and it's ''United Irishman'', [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Irishman which actually was a nationalist newspaper]] (named after the 1798 rebels) and so highly unlikely to print a "Wanted" ad of Mallory. The mistake is understandable, as after [[UsefulNotes/TheIrishRevolution Irish War of Independence]] anything Irish termed ''united'' came to be associated with pro-British ''unionists'' rather than Irish republicans.
30*** And another one related to this: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Freedom Irish Freedom]]'' nationalist newspaper didn't start to circulate until 1910, and the last issue of ''United Irishman'' (which described Mallory as a fugitive) was put out in 1906. Which means Mallory couldn't possibly have witnessed Nolan distributing ''Irish Freedom'' in Dublin.
31** The movie appears to be set in 1913-1914, during the rule of Victoriano Huerta (who's mentioned by name several times), so it's unclear which "wee fart of a revolution" John took part in. The closest in time would have been either the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curragh_incident Curragh Mutiny]], an affair of 1914 which mostly involved Ulster unionists, or the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising Easter Rising]], which occurred two years after the film's events. Of course it's possible that John and Nolan's planned "revolution" was disrupted by British authorities before it actually took place - or that he refers to something more distant in time (see "Genius Bonus" on the YMMV tab).
32* AssholeVictim: The rich people Juan robs at the beginning of the film, who discuss, in his presence, how Mexican peasants are just animals. When he kills one of them (who tried to reach for the gun in the first place), rapes the woman, and robs the rest, it's very hard to have any sympathy for them.
33** John's boss, according to Juan. An unpleasant German man who fired a woman Juan got pregnant without Juan suffering any repurcussions at all.
34* BadassBiker: John rides a motorcycle early in the film [[spoiler: until Juan ruins it by shooting it up]]. He uses another one in his BigDamnHeroes moment to rescue Juan from the firing squad.
35%%* BadassLongcoat:
36** John Mallory.
37** Colonel Reza sports a badass greatcoat.
38* BadassBoast: "When I go, they're gonna have to re-write maps" [[spoiler: [[{{Foreshadowing}} Oh boy, does he deliver]]]].
39%%* BanditClan: The Mirandas.
40%%* {{Bandito}}: Juan Miranda and his outlaws.
41* BankRobbery: Subverted. Juan relieves the bank of all its valuables but [[spoiler: unfortunately for him it's full of political prisoners, not money]].
42* BecomingTheMask: Slowly but surely, Juan starts to become the revolutionary hero he was tricked into being, and while still defiant of the revolutionary cause he grudgingly helps those who believe in it. Whether he'll proceed with it after the film's ending is unclear though.
43* BerserkButton: Shooting at Mallory's bike twice results in him retaliating with explosives.
44* {{BFG}}: The big-ass machine guns used at San Hoglay.
45* BigDamnHeroes: John [[spoiler: saves Juan's life at the last minute from a firing squad, in typical explosive fashion]].
46* BigBad: Colonel Reza.
47* BlackAndGrayMorality: The protagonists are a greedy bandito and a smug guy obsessed with dynamite. The opponents are an evil army bent on imprisoning and/or killing anyone they meet. The revolutionaries are shown as somewhat idealistic, but equally prone to mass killing and betrayal.
48* BombThrowingAnarchists: Mallory who reads anarchist literature and really loves his dynamite (and liquid nitroglycerine, and so on). Unusually for the trope, he's one of the protagonists.
49* BoomHeadshot: How one of the carriage drivers dies at the beginning, thanks to one of Juan's sons.
50* BunnyEarsLawyer: Mallory, with his obsession with explosives (and apparent belief that they solve all problems) is one. So too is Colonel Reza who starts his mornings by sucking a raw egg dry, brushes his teeth with frankly startling ferocity in front of his men (and rinses his mouth with what appears to be tequila), and almost never speaks.
51* CatchPhrase: Mallory's "Duck, You Sucker!" It's usually said right before he blows something to pieces.
52* ChekhovsGun: Short fuse.
53%%* CheshireCatGrin: Mallory has this across his face. A lot.
54* CloseOnTitle: In the end the Italian title of the film, Giù la testa ("Down with the Head") is shown. It can be seen as the answer to Juan's last words, which are "What do I do now?".
55* ClusterFBomb: Compared to the Westerns of the period, there are a lot of F-bombs.
56* ColonelBadass: Reza is an evil psycho but god''damn'' if he isn't a badass.
57* CuteAndPsycho: Chulo Miranda, one of Juan's sons, whose name [[MeaningfulName actually means "cute"]].
58* DarkerAndEdgier: Christopher Frayling notes that this movie takes the violence, tangled motives and betrayals committed by its main characters much more seriously than Leone's other Westerns. Whereas [[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly Blondie and Tuco]] can double-cross each other time and again without serious consequences, the characters in ''Duck, You Sucker!'' find their actions [[LaserGuidedKarma coming back to bite them]] - including the deaths of their family, friends and colleagues.
59* DeadHatShot: A bandito mocks an I.R.A bomber that he knows just as much explosives. After an explosion, the next — and last — we see of him is his hat floating down.
60* DeathGlare: Juan gives one to GOD [[spoiler: after finding his family dead]]. Reza has a pretty solid one as well. As does John when Don Jaime gets on the train.
61* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: Played Straight with the death of Juan's children]].
62* {{Deconstruction}}: Leone largely made this film as a response to the so-called "Zapata Westerns" like ''Film/ABulletForTheGeneral'' and ''Film/{{Companeros}}'' that glorified revolutionary politics. ''Duck, You Sucker!'' shows revolution as extremely wasteful and neither side innocent in its atrocities.
63* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: A remarkable example. Music/EnnioMorricone composed a musical theme for both John and Juan, which is played in the background when we see them, but ''never'' diegetically. Then, all of a sudden, John begins to whistle "his" musical theme; but what really takes the cake is the fact that Juan, not even seeing his buddy, ''instantly recognizes'' him by what's being whistled. A strange case of either MagicalRealism or MediumAwareness.
64* DopeSlap: Juan frequently gives them to his boys whenever one of them speaks or acts out of turn.
65* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: John is definitely dead, and Juan, having lost his whole family and his newly-made best friend, seems to be a completely broken man. At least before death John seems to have finally made peace with himself.]]
66* DramaticGunCock: John Mallory issues one of these [[spoiler: before blowing away his former friend-turned-informant Nolan with a shotgun]].
67* TheExitIsThatWay: When Juan infiltrates the rich people's carriage, he's told by one rude gentleman that he shouldn't sit on one of the chairs, but towards a door where the man is pointing. Juan ends up accidentally opening the lavatory door, when he should have opened a fold-out chair at the back of the carriage. This was likely enforced so the rich people could have a reason laugh at and ridicule him.
68* {{Expy}}: Juan is clearly modelled on Tuco, Eli Wallach 's character in ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''. This isn't particularly surprising, given that Wallach was originally slated to play the role. One could make the case that Colonel Reza is an expy of Creator/{{Lee Van Cleef}}'s [[ProfessionalKiller Angel Eyes]] (The Bad) of the same film, being an emotionally dead MysteriousMercenaryPursuer who doesn't bat an eye at the carnage around him, and is bad enough to force the two heroes to work together against him.
69* EvilOldFolks: Juan's father may in the running for "world's oldest {{bandito}}," though he's far less evil than even his son is.
70* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: Juan's gang includes his elderly father and all of his children.
71* FanDisservice: A group of rich men are stripped naked by Juan's group.
72%%* FightingIrish: John.
73%%* FireForgedFriends: Juan and Mallory.
74* {{Flashback}}: John occasionally recalls his younger days back in Ireland with his best friend Nolan and an unnamed love interest.
75* FlashbackEcho: Played straight. John witnesses [[spoiler: Dr. Villega betraying the resistance and pointing out members for the firing squad. He instantly recalls a similar event involving his friend Nolan betraying him in Dublin]].
76* FullCircleRevolution: Juan's view of revolution is that the poor die to replace those in power with other selfish rich people. Then the cycle simply repeats itself. [[AuthorTract Leone himself seems to concur.]]
77* GreaterScopeVillain: The governor, who is directly or indirectly responsible for most of the horrific things that happen in the film. However, he is completely harmless in person and is easily disposed of.
78** Victoriano Huerta, whose regime the Mexicans live under at the time, and who is never shown in the film.
79* TheHeavy: Colonel Günther Reza is the only named villain besides the governor, and his actions move the plot of the second half of the film. He's also by far the more dangerous of the two.
80* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: John is fatally wounded during the film's final battle before deciding to go out on his own terms]].
81* HeroicBSOD: Juan's reaction to [[spoiler: his children]]'s and [[spoiler: John's deaths]].
82* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Dr. Villega]] gives one, in order to make up for his betrayal.
83%%* ImplacableMan: Reza, who simply will not die.
84* IrishExplosivesExpert: John Mallory. His backstory had him use explosives against the British and he displays great skill and knowledge on a wide range of explosives.
85* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Juan Miranda, though it's buried very deep.
86* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: John Mallory acts as this to [[spoiler: Nolan, deciding his fate on the spot when he attempts to have him arrested by British forces]]. It's [[ImpliedTrope heavily implied]] John [[spoiler:feels a great deal of guilt over judging his old friend so harshly]], which becomes a plot point later in the movie.
87--> '''John''': I don't judge you, [[spoiler: Villega]]. I did that... only once in my life.
88* KnightOfCerebus: Col. Reza, whose attack at the bridge and subsequent [[spoiler:murder of Juan's children]] turns the film from a BlackComedy to a serious drama.
89* LovableRogue: John.
90* LoveTriangle: {{Implied|Trope}}. In Mallory's flashbacks of Ireland it's hinted he and his best friend Nolan loved the same woman, [[spoiler: which ''might'' have affected their judgement since [[MurderTheHypotenuse Nolan ended up ratting John to the British and John shot his friend.]]]]
91* ManlyTears: [[spoiler: Juan, discovering his six children executed among the rebels]].
92* TheMole: [[spoiler: Nolan. John's best friend and fellow Irish nationalist is revealed through flashbacks to be the reason he is on the run from the British for murder. See also LoveTriangle and TortureAlwaysWorks]].
93* MoodWhiplash: While hiding out in a cargo carriage on a train, Juan quietly cries over [[spoiler: his dead family]]. Then [[ToiletHumor a bird defecates on his head]]. Even John finds it funny, especially when Juan remarks, "But for the rich, you sing."
94* MoreDakka: The scene where John and Juan kill most of Reza's squad with machine guns, almost firing continuously. Then there is the last scene [[spoiler: where Juan empties the entire belt of his heavy machine gun into Reza]].
95* MotorMouth: Juan talks a mile a minute.
96* MultipleGunshotDeath: [[spoiler: How [[ImplacableMan Colonel Raza]] dies]].
97* MundaneMadeAwesome: Reza has two scenes--one where he sucks an egg and one where he brushes his teeth--with far more aggression and menace than are even remotely required.
98* MysteriousMercenaryPursuer: He may be a part of the Mexican army, but Reza hits all the other qualifications.
99* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Reza and his men, look and act like the fascist stormtroopers (both German and Italian) that Leone saw when he was growing up in Italy. In particular, he modeled the death of Juan's family on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardeatine_massacre Fosse Ardeatine massacre]] in 1944, which Leone's father witnessed.
100* NeverTrustATitle: ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' - a title imposed on the film in the US - alludes to [[Film/AFistfulOfDollars the earlier film by Leone]], which led many viewers to expect something akin to the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy''. In fact this one is ''completely'' different.
101** And the original title ''Duck, You Sucker!'' makes some other viewers to think of it as a low-brow film, which is true (deliberately so) only for certain scenes. Probably the least misleading title is ''Once Upon A Time... The Revolution'' (or ''...in the Revolution''), making it a [[Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest second]] [[Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica part]] in a [[ThematicSeries thematic]] "Once Upon a Time" trilogy - but then it deprives the film of a meaningful CloseOnTitle.
102* NeverTrustATrailer: Apparently originally advertised as more of a comedy, which in turn likely helped undermine its commercial success. The first half of the movie ''is'' a BlackComedy, for argument's sake. Still, a movie that opens with a bunch of racists being mugged and raped likely isn't going to have too much sunshine and rainbows.
103* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Said a few times in response to Reza. It never takes.
104* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Juan. At least in the beginning before he's dragged into the revolution anyway. He's only after money initially. And it's implied he's got literally nothing to fight for after the ending.
105%%* OddCouple: Juan and Mallory.
106* OneSteveLimit: Technically averted with John, Juan and Seán (which are English, Spanish and Irish variations of the same name). "Johnny&Johnny", the name of partnership between John and Juan proposed by the latter, [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.
107%%* OneWomanWail: It is done during the FlashBack scenes.
108* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Averted. Despite both Creator/JamesCoburn and Creator/RodSteiger being American, their Irish and Mexican accents hold up well throughout the entire film (the quality of those accents is debatable).
109* PlungerDetonator: Used at least twice by John [[spoiler:(when they attack the bank, then to blow up the bridge).]]
110* PsychoticSmirk: Reza sports one during the interrogation scene. It grows larger and more self-satisfied with every person he has shot.
111* PuttingOnTheReich: The Mexican government troops are treated as Nazi stormtroopers.
112* PreMortemOneLiner: "You mean, who ''were'' those people?"- Juan before blowing up several people who were after John, including John's German boss who was apparently working with a captain.
113* RageAgainstTheHeavens: [[spoiler: When he finds his family murdered Juan tears the cross from his neck and obviously sees God as having failed them]].
114* RapeAsComedy: The way in which Juan's punishment of the rich white woman at the beginning of the film is presented.
115* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by [[spoiler: Dr. Villega]].
116* TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified: The film acts as a deconstruction of this.
117%%* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised: Embodies this trope.
118* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Subverted. Juan attempts this [[spoiler: alone when he finds his family dead. He ends up failing and being arrested]].
119* SilentAntagonist: Reza speaks two lines of dialogue in his first appearance (both of them orders to his men) and then never speaks again.
120* SociopathicSoldier: Col. Reza and his men, who seem intent on killing or imprisoning every single person in Mexico. That they're modelled on German and Italian stormtroopers doesn't help their image. Reza in particular is a terrifying Type II.
121* SpaghettiWestern: Of "Zapata" subgenre. It transcends any genre boundaries though.
122* StuffBlowingUp: Just duck, you sucker.
123* TakingYouWithMe: During their heated first encounter, an enraged Miranda threatens to shoot Mallory, [[spoiler: who responds by opening his coat to reveal enough explosive materials to send them all into the afterlife with him.]]
124--> '''Mallory''': When I go, I'm taking half this country with me.
125* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Juan not just shooting, but [[MoreDakka machine-gunning]] the guy [[spoiler:who shot John]] for like half a minute. Though it's justified given it's [[spoiler: the seemingly deathproof [[ImplacableMan Colonel Reza]]]].
126* TitleDrop: The phrase "Duck, you sucker(s)", an original title of the film, is used multiple times, typically [[spoiler: before John blows something to hell and back]]. And the very last TitleDrop, shaped as the CloseOnTitle directly answering the protagonist's final AsideComment, alludes to one of the central messages of the film.
127%%* TookALevelInBadass: Juan takes one by the end.
128* TortureAlwaysWorks: [[spoiler: Nolan & Dr. Villega]] are both tortured into becoming informants on their respective allies. [[spoiler: In the second case at least, John]] seems to recognize it.
129* ThrowDownTheBomblet: John, aw yeah. It was called "A Fistful of Dynamite" in the US for a reason.
130* TranquilFury: John Mallory. He's almost serene at San Hoglay and barely flinches [[spoiler: as he kills two British officers and his friend in a bar.]]
131* TreacheryCoverUp: John wouldn't tell anyone about [[spoiler: Dr. Villega's]] treachery, due to the latter's [[TortureAlwaysWorks breaking only under torture]] and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath deliberate self-sacrifice to atone his deed]].
132* VehicleVanish: John uses a train to get a head start to Mesa Verde; as a train comes down the tracks he and Juan are riding along, the two of them move to either sides of the tracks, and John catches the train without Juan's knowledge.
133* VerbalTic: Juan talks this way, ah?
134%%* VillainProtagonist: Juan, [[BecomingTheMask at first]].
135* WeHardlyKnewYe: Don Jaime the governor, and revolutionary General Santerna ([[AllThereInTheManual who isn't even named]]). [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools This serves to illustrate impersonality of both oppressive state machine and revolution itself]] (see also SilentAntagonist above).
136* WouldHurtAChild: The Mexican army [[spoiler:kills all of Juan's children on Reza's orders.]]
137* YouKilledMyFather: Reza is responsible for [[spoiler:the death of Juan's father and his children. Juan doesn't take it well.]]

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