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800 Bullets
Theatrical release poster by Oscar Mariné
Spanish	800 balas
Directed by	Álex de la Iglesia
Written by	Jorge Guerricaechevarría Álex de la Iglesia
Produced by	Álex de la Iglesia
Starring	Sancho Gracia Ángel de Andrés López Carmen Maura Eusebio Poncela Luis Castro Manuel Tafallé Enrique Martínez Eduardo Gómez Luciano Federico Terele Pávez Ramón Barea Cesáreo Estévanez Eduardo Antuña Gracia Olayo Yoima Valdés Berta Ojea Ane Gabarain
Cinematography	Flavio Martínez Labiano
Edited by	Alejandro Lázaro
Music by	Roque Baños
Production company	Pánico Films
Distributed by	Warner Sogefilms
Release dates	11 October 2002 (2002-10-11) (Sitges) 18 October 2002 (2002-10-18) (Spain)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	Spain
Languages	Spanish English Italian
Budget	c. €5 million

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

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

• Sancho Gracia as Julián.
• Ángel de Andrés López as Cheyenne.
• Carmen Maura as Laura.
• Eusebio Poncela as Scott.
• Luis Castro as Carlos.
• Terele Pávez as Rocío.
• Enrique Martínez [es] as Arrastrado.
• Luciano Federico as Enterrador.
• Ramón Barea as Don Mariano.
• Manuel Tallafé [es] as Manuel.
• Gracia Olayo as Juli.
• Cesáreo Estébanez [es] as Andrés.
• Eduardo Gómez as Ahorcado.
• Eduardo Antuña as Taxista.
• Berta Ojea [es] as Ángeles.
• Ane Gabarain as Jacinta.
• Yoima Valdés as Sonia.
• Alfonso Torregrosa as Jefe Policía.
• Juan Viadas as Monitor.
• Juanjo Legamiz as Camarero.

Production

Produced by Pánico Films, 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). The film had a budget of around €5 million.

Release

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

Awards and nominations

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2021)

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2002

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

• Alonso García, Luis (2003). "Los tropecientos agujeros del poncho" (PDF). Ikusgaiak. 6. San Sebastián: 177–236. ISSN 1137-4438.
• Peña Sevilla, Jesús de la (2009). "Klaatu, Barada, Nikto: Ha llegado Álex de la Iglesia" (PDF). Academia. Revista del Cine Español (158). Madrid: Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España: 17–19. ISSN 1136-8144.
• Buse, Peter; Triana Toribio, Núria; Willis, Andy (2007). The cinema of Álex de la Iglesia. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-7136-2.

External links

• 800 Bullets at IMDb

• 2002 films
• 2002 comedy films
• 2002 independent films
• Films about stunt performers
• Films directed by Álex de la Iglesia
• Films set in Spain
• Films shot in Almería
• Films scored by Roque Baños
• Films with screenplays by Jorge Guerricaechevarría
• 2000s Italian-language films
• Spanish adventure comedy films
• Spanish independent films
• 2000s English-language films
• 2000s Spanish films