A Bullet for the General

Like the Bandit... Like the Gringo... A bullet doesn't care who it kills!
Quién sabe? (1967)
1:58 (118 min)
7.2/10
8 122
—
no scores
6.6/10
144
7/10
5600
Rate the movie:
Production
Release date
Director
Scenario
Salvatore Laurani
Author
Composer
Producer
Bianco Manini
Actors
Photo Gian Maria Volonté
Gian Maria Volonté
Chuncho Munos / 'El Chuncho'
Photo Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski
El Santo
Photo Lou Castel
Lou Castel
Bill Tate
Photo Aldo Sambrell
Aldo Sambrell
Lt. Alvaro Ferreira
Photo José Manuel Martín
José Manuel Martín
Raimundo
Photo Jaime Fernández
Jaime Fernández
General Elías
Photo Andrea Checchi
Andrea Checchi
Don Felipe
All actors and roles (10)

Short description

Set during the Mexican Revolution, A Bullet for the General follows a bandit leader named El Chuncho and his gang, who rob military trains and barracks to obtain weapons they intend to sell to the revolutionary forces of General Elías. During one such raid they encounter Bill Tate, an elegant young American who helps them and is allowed to ride with the band. Chuncho grows fond of him, but Tate's real purpose among the revolutionaries is not the one he presents.

The film was directed by Damiano Damiani, working from a screenplay by Salvatore Laurani and Franco Solinas, and produced by Bianco Manini. It was the first of the four features listed among Damiani's directing credits, ahead of A Genius, Two Friends, and an Idiot and How to Kill a Judge in 1975 and Amityville II: The Possession in 1982. Gian Maria Volonté plays Chuncho, with Lou Castel as Bill Tate, Klaus Kinski as El Santo, Martine Beswick as Adelita and Aldo Sambrell as Lieutenant Alvaro Ferreira among a credited cast of twenty. The film runs 118 minutes.

Released in January 1967, the Italian western holds a rating of 7 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 5,600 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.6 out of 10 from about 140 votes. The larger and more sustained audience sample on IMDb places it somewhat higher than the smaller TMDB group does.

What's left behind the scenes

  • Although the film's setting fully corresponds to the western genre, Damiano Damiani refused to define it as such, since the action took place not in Protestant America. He also considered this film primarily political.
  • In Soviet distribution, a dubbed but heavily cut version of the film was released under the title "The Golden Bullet." In the late 1980s, a more complete version of the film was shown on Soviet television under the title "Who Knows?," with voice-over dubbing.
  • The version shown in Soviet cinemas is fifteen minutes shorter than the original.
  • The original title translates to "Who Knows?".
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder dedicated his first feature film to both main characters of "The Bullet for the General".

Similar movies

What stayed with you from this film?

To leave a comment, please log in or sign up. Free sign up!

© ACMODASI, 2010-2026

All rights reserved.
The materials (trademarks, videos, images and text) contained on this site are the property of their respective owners. It is forbidden to use any materials from this site without prior agreement with their owner.
When copying text and graphic materials (videos, images, text, screenshots of pages) from this site, an active link to the site www.acmodasi.in must necessarily accompany such material.
We are not responsible for any information posted on this site by third parties.