Heads or Tails? (Testa o croce?)

"Heads or Tails?"

A thrilling and true tale by Buffalo Bill Cody.

With the arrival of the steam engine,

the romance of the land fades into oblivion.

In this new world,

bandits become heroes in the minds of the average boy

who longs to make his name known to the world.

You see, If a writer lends

the magic of his imagination

to the plain narrative...

...anything can transform into quite a story.

I met her at Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

The greatest show of our time.

The crowd scatters,

in a cloud of dust Buffalo Bill Cody emerges.

He fires one shot.

Our hero advances on the savage Sioux.

He fires two more shots.

- -

- -

Now upon the enemy,

he draws a knife, to finish the deed.

The brave drops...

lifeless.

He scalps him.

Shows it to his comrades and shouts,

"For Custer!"

That stupid son of a bitch.

-This ends the uprising. -

You're very kind.

What you have just seen,

is how America became a land

of opportunity.

God's brave men and women

who paved the path

for civilization with their sacrifices,

America would not be the free,

united and powerful country it is.

[Buffalo Bill continues, indistinctly]

America has possibility.

The possibility to better one's lot in life.

And the opportunity for every man and every woman

to become truly free.

Yes, friends. America is the land of freedom.

And now...

...we'd like to extend our sincere gratitude

to our generous hosts, the noble Rupè family.

Who, I'm told, are blazing a trail across this country,

much like the American settlers did.

Godspeed and thank you.

And now, my dear friends,

comes that bittersweet moment

when I must bid you, Arrivederci.

Before I do, I will leave you with this.

If you must shoot,

do not miss.

And always aim

for the heart.

Chapter 1.

Kidnapped.

Well, the taking of the scalp was revenge for Custer's death.

It was deemed an appropriate act of war at the time.

But you asked if it was true.

And I'd like to state, right here,

and right now, unequivocally,

everything in our show is absolutely true,

down to the last detail.

Ask any Indian in the show

and they'll tell you the same.

See, I've had quite a bit to do with the American

Indians, all the years.

I've tracked them, I've fought them

and I've tried to understand them.

I've also tried to be as fair to them as I could,

given the circumstances. Of course

our present circumstances find us

as a family here in this theatrical endeavor.

-Very proud of that. -

As a matter of fact,

I would like to turn things over

to a dear friend of mine who will

speak to you herself.

She is a legend of the American West.

She's, in fact, the daughter of the great Chief,

Sitting Bull.

May God rest his soul.

You won't find a better example

of the nobility of her people

than Many Horses

who will speak to you now. My dear.

Is it all true?

Was it really so violent?

Oh, you speak inglese , huh?

Well, let me ask you this, Miss.

Is everything you say always true?

Must be a terrible burden...

I do my best.

As do I.

And the truth is, the American West

was much more violent than our little circus here.

Terrible, in fact.

But terrible things must be done in the name of progress.

No great nation was ever founded without violence.

But is it glorious to win with blood?

What an interesting question.

You know, Miss...

...if you don't mind my saying...

...I think you could be a star.

- -And I know how to pick 'em.

I don't know what it is, but you've got it...

But I think you need a different costume.

You don't seem comfortable in that one.

I like it,

-it's just a little bit tight. -Mm.

Bill! You met my wife.

Oh!

French women talk too much.

Oh, I see, well...

Forgive me, sir, but I do find your wife's

curiosity very refreshing.

Enchanté, madame.

Speaking of refreshing, what say we go to the bar, shall we?

-This way. -Ah!

Very good, now, as I was saying,

ya'll people think they want the truth,

but what they really want is a good story.

And they're willing to pay good money for it,

I can tell you that.

-Whiskey doppio! -

You know, they wanna come hear a story

they want to hear about themselves.

And to see the finest cowboys

on God's green earth.

Finest horsemen in the world.

Gracias.

The best cowboys in the world are in his stable.

Hmm, well,

I'm sure your Italian cowherders are quite special, sir,

but they wouldn't stand the ghost of a chance

against my cowboys.

Sorry?

I think he's challenging you. He loves to bet.

He loves to bet?

You're gonna bet against my boys, is that right?

Boys, you won't believe what I just heard!

You're gonna regret that bet, sir.

Can you imagine the temerity of it?

This fella here wants to bet against you.

Put these cowboys here in Italy up against you.

The sheer temerity of it!

I've never heard of anything so ridiculous in my whole life.

-Hold on to that, slim. -

Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. Sorry to interrupt the party,

but I've got one hundred dollars here

for anyone who thinks they can best

my cowboys at horsemanship.

It's a big bet for a big ride. Who is in?

- -

You asked for and you got it.

Our last big, unplanned act of the day.

Alright. This is how it's going to go.

There will be two six men team.

One team of Americans, one team of Italians.

Two wild horses.

The best nag these Italians can provide

and an American Mustang.

-They must... lasso, -

subdue, saddle

and ride this wild beast

in the shortest time possible.

Alright, boys, you're ready?

- -