COMPANEROS

Fate brought them together... Greed made them inseparable... Violence made them COMPANEROS!
Yodlaf Peterson (Franco Nero of KEOMA) is a suave Swedish arms dealer with a love for fast money. Vasco (Tomas Milian of TRAFFIC) is a trigger-happy Mexican bandit with a hate for suave Swedish arms dealers. But when the two team up to kidnap a professor who holds the key to a fortune in gold, they find themselves hunted by the American army, stalked by a marijuana-crazed sadist (Academy Award winner Jack Palance) and trapped in the middle of a revolution about to explode. Can these two enemies blast their way across Mexico together without killing each other first?

Written and directed by the legendary Sergio Corbucci (DJANGO), COMPANEROS is a once-in-a-lifetime teaming of the two greatest European stars in 'Spaghetti Western' history. Fernando Rey (THE FRENCH CONNECTION) co-stars in this action-packed comedy classic that also features a remarkable score by Ennio Morricone (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY).

There isn't anything quite like watching Jack Palance blazing joints during gun fights. Ya know? An awful lot of joints. In fact, he is given a leather wallet full of doobies as a down payment to go kill the hero's of this classic western. So, roach clip in hand, with his trusty falcon "Marcia", who once saved his life in Cuba, he hunts for Vasco and The Penguin. Confused yet? Its really not that convoluted. You see, Vasco is recruited by a revolutionary 'General' who claims to have his eyes on the presidency of Mexico. Vasco sets out as a fanatical soldado for the cause on a mission to Yuma to bust another, competing, candidate for the top spot. Along with a Swedish arms dealer, they dodge the real army, both Mexicano and Americano, the group of stoner led assassins, and often each other, AND the young idealists who follow the man they are going to get. With the help of a band of whores they are able to bust this man out of the fort where he is held captive and flee back to Mexico. Along the way Vasco realizes he's pretty much been a douche bag the whole movie and slowly changes his stripe to be a follower of the 'Professor' whom he has just busted out of jail. The Swede is just in it for the money, and he is ambivalent as to who pays, so its all good to him. Meanwhile the gorgeous Lola (Iris Berben) leads the followers of the Professor and captures Vasco's heart. Well, as you can imagine madness ensues when they return to San Bernardino, that includes a wicked machine gun scene, machetes, a wedding, a bank vault full of symbolism, and the theft of a church relic. Oh yeah. And more doobies being smoked. Cause Jack's not done yet! They never played this one on TV when i was a kid. And you gotta give props to Jack Palance for actually looking stoned during his scenes. Franco and Tomas are always superlative character & lead actors, and they nail this movie shut like the coffin they used to slip the prof past the border guards in. When the smoke all clears, pun intended, I have to say this one was pretty darn good. It's not often you see this level of creativity in a western. Certainly not these days! ADIOS!