Carlo Lizzani (director)
Arrow Films (studio)
Cert 15 (certificate)
106min (length)
23 November 2015 (released)
29 November 2015
This lesser known Spaghetti western from 1967 has got to rank amongst the coolest, and no doubt about it! A little gem if you will, it boasts the usual stereotypes but then takes a U-turn by peppering the whole sordid saga with left-wing Marxist ideologists, a surprise cameo by none other than Italo-director Pier Paolo Pasolini, and engaging performances by the film’s two leads Lou Castel and Mark Damon. Oh, did I also mention the killer soundtrack by Riz Ortolani?
Starting out as a straightforward revenge story, Requiescant (Latin for ‘May he/she rest in peace’) gradually becomes more complex due to its political undertones. Set in Mexico, a small boy witnesses his entire family and friends mercilessly gunned down by a bunch of nasty confederates, lead by Officer Ferguson (Mark Damon) after having been lured close enough to Fort Hernandez with false promises. Miraculously the little boy, although wounded, escapes the massacre and is rescued by a traveling preacher and his family. Some years later, the boy has grown into the Requiescant of the title (Lou Castel), bible in one hand but pistol in the other if called for. Indeed, little does he know that soon enough he will be called upon to demonstrate his considerable skills as a marksman when his beloved stepsister Princy (Barbara Frey) runs away to join a theatre troupe and he promises his worried foster parents to bring her back.
When Requiescant arrives in San Antonio he discovers that the town is seemingly run by one man. The man in question is none other than George Ferguson, the former officer responsible for the killing of his family and fellow villagers! More horror is to come when he finds out that Princy no longer works as an actress (did she ever?) but is now ‘enslaved’ as a prostitute in the local brothel, which is run by… well, you know who! Ferguson’s brutal henchmen Dean Light (Ferruccio Viotti) and Burt (Franco Citti) keep a close eye on everything, especially the girls… and if Requiescant is going to make sure that he returns Princy to her parents he has to take on and outsmart the entire gang. Of course, this is not just about Princy and lost honour but about a mass killing that took place years ago… as Requiescant slowly but surely remembers after stumbling across the remains of his butchered family and others. Now it’s an eye for an eye as Ferguson and Requiescant battle it out to the last – and mercy is the last thing either can expect!
Rich in atmosphere, the film features a particularly savage flashback scene dipped in blood-red when Requiescant remembers his family’s massacre from years ago. In this film, the baddies are really bad and enjoy playing sadistic games with our hero, for example when they challenge him to participate in a shooting contest while forcing him to drink copious amounts of whiskey. Likewise, the duel between Requiescant and Dean Light remains one of the highlights… it’s acted out while both men stand on stools with ropes around their necks, ready to pull the trigger. Mark Damon as Officer Ferguson makes for the perfect villain – with his black fur-trimmed coat, groomed hair, blue eyes and pale skin he comes across like a vampire count amongst sweaty peasants. The most outrageous appearance however is Pier Paolo Pasolini’s cameo as ‘Father Juan’ – all the more ironic considering that Pasolini himself was distinctly anti-religious. Despite a fair amount of infuriatingly sexist remarks and serious macho-attitude on display, Requiescant is one hell of a ride which deserves to be resurrected from the dusty archives and presented in a gloriously restored version!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
* Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
* Optional English and Italian soundtracks in uncompressed PCM mono audio
* Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
* An all-new interview with Lou Castel, recorded exclusively for this release
* Archive interview with director Carlo Lizzani
* Theatrical Trailer
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
* Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Pasquale Iannone