La bataille de San Sebastian

In connection to our focus on Mexican genre films from the 40s to the 60s in this month’s program, we are showing the Western LA BATAILLE DE SAN SEBASTIAN, which was shot in Mexico at the same location as The Magnificent Seven (John Sturges, USA 1962), for the December edition of our 70mm series. In 1743, the deserter Leon Alastray (Anthony Quinn) is rescued from the Spanish government troops by Franciscan Father Joseph, who takes him with him to San Sebastian disguised as a monk. The inhabitants of San Sebastian think that the atheist Alastray is a priest and ask him to become active in their parish. He helps the population secure the irrigation of the fields and to defend the town against the bandits led by Teclo (Charles Bronson). “The only Western by Henri Verneuil and alongside Robert Hossein’s Une corde, un colt … (France/Italy 1969) France’s only contribution to the European Western. Anthony Quinn puts so much monumentalism in his acting, it is as if he wanted to make the rest of the extravagance superfluous.”  (Joe Hembus) (Hans-Joachim Fetzer)