When I happened to hear the BGM of "mackennas gold'' movie it just brought me back to the drawing room and TV which was broadcasting
Gregory peck and Omarshariff starrer. From an important job of making my first coffee of that day.
It took me back to those years of 70s in which this movie made to the theaters of Coimbatore.
though I was afflicted with the movie bug,
I could not leave the very young babies of 4,2,and 11 months old and go gallivanting anywhere, let alone movies..
So when my little brother came to CBE for his christmas
holidays, I just grabbed the opportunity
and we decided to go to a latenightshow in a theater ,(I think it was Central).
It was a western blockbuster, with a name that will attract anyone.
I can still feel the first thrill we felt
when we saw the buzzard sitting on a high rock waiting for someone to die in the desert below.
And the MUSIC!
It was spellbinding. The opening shot shows a Native American old and tired riding an equally old horse.
as book lovers and western novels' fans will know,
the rules of ambushing somebody to protect oneself is accepted.
THe scene shows the old man trudging along,and the instant he feels someone following him he becomes alert.
he slides into the rocks and aims to shoot the intruder.
Mackenna, the hero of this movie is searching and patrolling the trails for a gunman and his gang.
He hears a shot and ducks and take cover on the same second.
This scene and the following magical moments have stayed with me
from that day.
the Haunting and booming voice of Jose Feliciano singing the theme song,
Ol' Turkey Buzzard'
rings out and grips the viewers.
what follows is a saga of Hollywood Complete original mindcapturing narration of americans hunting for the lost Spanish
gold.
An Elected Marshal of law and an outlaw trying to outbeat each other.
Omar Shariff fitted the character of a complete killer ,with a little sense of humour and sarcasm.
Of Gregory Peck I cannot elaborate. Because what I write about him will be prejudiced and most of us women were crazy about him.
enough to say he portrayed the tough gentleman who has " this
map inside his head".
each and every dialogue was etched in our memory.
we went to see the movie again after sometime.
and after some years.
and after some years.
years later we bought the DVD .
THe magic still remains.
The romance, the fights between apaches and the gold group.
the river ride,
the Golden Valley,
the dialogue delivery, the beautiful scenes,
the earth quake there and finally the ride into the sunset.
Everything is the same.
Anyone willing to see MACKENNA AGAIN?
