800 Bullets

800 Bullets (Spanish: 800 balas) is a 2002 Spanish film directed by Álex de la Iglesia and penned by the former alongside Jorge Guerricaechevarría.[1] The cast features Sancho Gracia, Ángel de Andrés, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela, Terele Pávez and Luis Castro, among others.[2] The film, a tribute to Spanish stuntmen who worked in Spaghetti Westerns, features similarities to Spielbergian Oedipal melodramas.[3]

800 Bullets
Theatrical release poster by Oscar Mariné
Spanish800 balas
Directed byÁlex de la Iglesia
Written by
Produced byÁlex de la Iglesia
Starring
CinematographyFlavio Martínez Labiano
Edited byAlejandro Lázaro
Music byRoque Baños
Production
company
Pánico Films
Distributed byWarner Sogefilms
Release dates
  • 11 October 2002 (2002-10-11) (Sitges)
  • 18 October 2002 (2002-10-18) (Spain)
Running time
124 minutes
CountrySpain
Languages
  • Spanish
  • English
  • Italian
Budgetc. €5 million

Plot

Julián Torralba is a former film stuntman in Almeria, Spain. He and several of his colleagues, who once made a living in American Westerns shot in Spain, now are reduced to doing stunt shows for minuscule audiences on the decaying set built for those old Westerns. Julián wrestles with dark memories of the death of his son, also a stuntman, and with estrangement from his daughter-in-law Laura and her son Carlos.

Carlos, a young boy, becomes intrigued with his late father's life and runs away to join Julián and his band of has-beens. There Carlos is initiated into the rambunctious life of these hard-drinking faux cowboys. But when Laura, a powerful executive looking for a new site for a tourist resort, learns that Carlos has joined the hated Julián, she moves to destroy even this remnant of Julián's once-proud career. Julián and the cowboys decide to fight back the only way they know how.

Cast

Production

Produced by Pánico Films,[6] 800 Bullets was shot in the province of Almería. Shooting locations included the Paseo de Almería, the Calle Reina Regente (both in the provincial capital, Almería), Santa María del Águila (El Ejido), Las Salinillas (Gádor-Gérgal-Rioja- Tabernas), Garganta de Alfaro (Rioja) and the Poblado estudio Fort Bravo-Texas Hollywood (Tabernas).[7] The film had a budget of around €5 million.[8]

Release

The film had its world premiere on 11 October 2002 at the Sitges Film Festival (FICC),[9][10][11] making its domestic theatrical release a week later, on 18 October.[9][4] The film performed bad at the box office, becoming one of the economic blunders in 2002 Spanish cinema,[12] grossing less than €2 million.[13]

Awards and nominations
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
200317th Goya AwardsBest ActorSancho GraciaNominated[14]
Best Original ScoreRoque BañosNominated
Best EditingAlejandro LázaroNominated
Best Special EffectsJuan Ramón Molina, Félix Bergés, Rafael SolórzanoWon

See also

References
Citations
  1. Buse, Triana Toribio & Willis 2007, p. 185.
  2. Fernández-Santos, Ángel (18 October 2002). "Dos revólveres para un Quijote". El País.
  3. Buse, Triana Toribio & Willis 2007, pp. 8, 143.
  4. Buse, Triana Toribio & Willis 2007, p. 186.
  5. "Goya 2003". El Mundo. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  6. Peña Sevilla 2009, p. 18.
  7. "Paisajes de Cine. Almería de película" (PDF). Servicio Provincial de Turismo. Diputación de Almería. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  8. Silió, Elisa (18 January 2002). "Álex de la Iglesia rinde homenaje en '800 balas' al 'spaguetti western'". El País.
  9. Alonso García 2003, p. 179.
  10. "Dávila atrapa el alma de '800 balas'". El País. 11 October 2002.
  11. "Alex de la Iglesia dispara sus "800 balas"". El Mundo. 12 October 2002.
  12. Alonso García 2003, p. 180.
  13. "Así se ve Álex de la Iglesia". El Mundo. 17 October 2004.
  14. "800 balas". Premios Goya. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
Bibliography
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