Spaghetti westerns are marked above all by a monotonous emphasis on revenge, violence, and sadism perpetrated by ambiguous antiheroes and the men who hate them. The best examples inject social commentary or dress it up with a flashy style of widescreen vistas and ear-catching music. Day of Anger is among the better examples, especially when we can see it in such a clear, vibrant, properly letterboxed transfer.
After the psychedelic opening credits — heavy on colors, gunshots, and Riz Ortolani’s jangling score — the film introduces us to Scott (Giuliano Gemma), a despised and put-upon young drip whose job is to carry away the contents of people’s outhouses or privies. Was this a real job, or is it invented as a heavy-handed symbol of how he’s treated? He’s treated badly because he’s the bastard son of a dead whore and therefore might be the son of any of the respectable citizens who push him around, so perhaps they’re compensating for their unadmitted guilt.
“Respectable citizens” is a term used ironically throughout, beginning with Scott’s first exchange. It will turn out that the town’s judge, banker, and saloon owner are accomplices in an old robbery, which seems to signal writer Ernesto Gastaldi’s tendency toward proletarian sympathies and political commentary. He states in a bonus interview that he had no such conscious intent, but such alignments probably come naturally to him.
The real subtext, as pointed out in the interviews with Gastaldi and director/co-writer Tonino Valerii (whose great contribution to this genre is My Name Is Nobody), is the story of Oedipus, with even a half-blind, half-lame Tiresias figure around the edges. In this case, Scott’s father figure isn’t literal but figurative, since aging gunfighter Frank Talby (Lee Van Cleef, half-squinting and half-smiling) takes Scott under his wing in his quest to take over the town.
At first, the viewer is pleased to see someone treat Scott with any interest, aside from the broken-down ex-sheriff (Walter Rilla) who taught Scott to shoot (or at least to draw fast) and who has a history with Talby. However, as Talby reveals himself increasingly despotic and belligerent, the inevitable showdown between mentor and protégé becomes, well, inevitable. In a typical example of what this genre conceives as a highlight, Talby is dragged by horses until his chest is a bloody mess, and then seems no worse for wear — just as Scott is later shot in his right arm and apparently heals miraculously.
This Arrow Blu-ray presents the film in three versions, all showing off the smooth and sparkly photography of the great Enzo Serafin, who worked with Rossellini and Antonioni. You can choose the longer Italian version with either Italian or English soundtrack (the latter is best for hearing Van Cleef), or the shorter English version that runs under 90 minutes by shaving off lots of extra details but leaving all the action. Oddly, that shorter version has one scene (also singled out as a bonus for convenience) that’s not in the longer cut, and it also has a long list of Italian credits at the end that’s not in the longer cut either.