1:08:01
This is a folk memory in Leone's mind
1:08:04
of what happened in the 1940s
in Rome, when the Nazis occupied,
1:08:09
when a lot of people did business with the
Nazis and some went into the Resistance.
1:08:14
This issue of, "Did you talk? Were you
tortured? Did you give away secrets?"
1:08:19
was an important part of Italian culture.
1:08:27
That's Chico out of the way,
with a barrel, full one, into his body.
1:08:36
So the stranger hasn't talked,
and his only option is to get away.
1:08:43
But there's a lot of Italian history in these
films, in particular recent Italian history,
1:08:49
of those that fought in the resistance
against the Nazis, those who collaborated.
1:08:54
Those who had some things they might
be ashamed of in the Second World War,
1:08:59
and those who were treated
as heroes after.
1:09:01
As the Italian Western matured
enough to cope with politics,
1:09:05
a lot of this comes through in the films.
1:09:08
And certainly the beatings-up,
and, "How strong are you?"
1:09:11
"Will you throw your lot in with
the fascists?" comes into Leone's films.
1:09:15
He didn't fight in the Resistance.
His mum wouldn't let him.
1:09:19
And he always regretted it.
1:09:55
These films, when they first came out,
1:09:57
were treated by most
of the critics as ersatz American films.