Taste of Killing / Per il gusto di uccidere (Tonino Valerii, 1966)

Just viewed this one again via the Koch disc. My favourite western by the director, as it just captures that Spaghetti feel so well when the genre was at a high. Nice role for Hill, and like it when he is more concerned about the breakage of his telescopic site near the end of the film :D. Fidenco the composer is defining his style more in this one, and yes I will have the theme song in my head for a few days now.

I never thought this got a soundtrack release for years, then I found a copy on Italian ebay for 7 euros and 5 euros shipping years ago.

I think this one is very underrated. I agree with Ennioo about the spaghetti feel. It will probably gain either 3rd or 4th place on my alternative top 20 list. I especially like the character of Kennebeck. The writers could have made him into the typical bandit who terrorises others solely for the purpose of making money or for his own sadistic pleasure but instead he is presented as a man who cares deeply about his family and justifies his crimes as a means to make a better life for them. Perhaps that is why we needed the subplot of Hank Fellows getting revenge for the death of his brother in order to avoid feeling too sympathetic towards the villain. Itā€™s all a matter of personal taste but I like pretty much everything, including those ā€œsenseless shotsā€ with the ā€œcheesy song,ā€ as Stanton puts it. They really help to put me in the mood for the rest of the movie. The locations are very good and I like the choice of actors, too. Craig Hill has probably never looked as cool as he did playing Hank Fellows.

Yes agree looks very cool !

I love that ā€œcheesy song.ā€ Two versions of it were recorded: one with vocals by the great late Wilder Brothers (as heard in the movie), another one interpreted by the composer himself, Nico Fidenco.

One of my favourite spaghetti western songs!

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Itā€™s on movies4men today if anyone is interested.

I saw this a while back, and wasnā€™t impressed at all. About a month ago I bought the wild east version and just got around to watching it. A while back, I viewed some copy/ version of this before thought it looked like a copy and paste version of fistful of dollars, meets Django, meets an episode of Gun smoke, with a poorly done lead role, no good, violent, nasty, villain, a mediocre score, and rehashed plot. I couldnā€™t recall the ending. Then, this morning I opened my wild east copy up and gave it a proper viewing. I have to say it is not worth being in the bottom 20. Valerii is a genius for making a simple, ultra wicked to the point western, with a great ending, a great opening scene ( the scene before the credits). Craig hill as the lead is agood but not great choice. Hill does not display the personality of Nero ( Django, Keoma) or Eastwood, ( Dollars trilogy) and Hill is not quite as funny ( as say Terrence Hill in the Trinity films) but his personality lies somewhere in between. The action sequences are shot well, but the build ups are nowhere as intense as oneā€™s displayed by Leone. The rest of the film speaks for itself. Overall I really enjoyed this, much more the second time around. 8/10.

Glad you liked it. Personally I thought Craig Hill was an excellent choice. I think this is his best western. Heā€™s never looked as cool as he does here. I had to watch I Want Him Dead a few more times to be sure but Taste of Killing is definitely the one I prefer. Itā€™s been in my top 20 for a while. Iā€™d taken a break from spaghetti westerns for a while and this film reminded me why I love the genre so much.

Did this ever get an English language VHS release?

I thought that most of it was forgettable, except for the terrific beginning where Fellows ominously hunts down the gang members.

Today for the first time I watched Taste Of Killing which is one of 4 SW on a Koch Media release.
It was rather entertaining, not boring, with lots of Tabernas area scenes and a tiny bit from Cabo del Gata. The story was OK with a (very) slight feeling of For A Few Dollars More (10 out of 10 IMO) in a few details (Skilled bounty hunter and Bank robbery set in the same Mini Hollywood),

Familiar faces playing quite new rather tame and honest Piero Lulli and Franco Ressel characters.
The voice of the antihero Hill was not so good and it was probably the same voice for the antihero in Ramon The Mexican. Also Fernando Sancho had an unfamiliar voice. In several of the second rated SW I have bought lately the dub can irritate a bit when the voice earlier has been connected with another main actor.

The music was fairly OK but used seldom and little or no ā€œrealā€ SW music with trumpets or latin guitar which is a minus for me. Therefore the mood was not emphasized.
Overall the film looked good but I am not sure know if this is a strong 6 or weak 7/10.
It did not engage me emotionally so much the first time, but I will as usual watch it within a month or so once more. Maybe it compares in entertainment value with No Room To Die and Garringo which both are weak 7/10 IMO, or is it more like the strong 6/10 Django The Bastard and The Brute And The Beast ?
Judgement day will come :slightly_smiling_face:

This is actually his usual voice in spaghetti westerns. Not sure who the voice actor is. From memory, Richard Harrison said that Fernando Sancho could speak English, so I have often wondered whether he dubbed himself. Someone might be able to confirm who the voice actor is. I really like Taste of Killing. Itā€™s the film that got me back into spaghetti westerns and inspired me to start collecting again after taking a long break from the genre.

Hereā€™s some pictures of my Japanese tape for VHS enthusiasts:

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Aha you are probably right, I just couldnā€™t hear his usual distorted voice sounding like a ā€œcrowā€. It is a bit strange since he was a so typical crow-like already in A Pistol For Ringo from a year earlier, but on the other hand in Taste Of Killing his part is so small since the character gets killed early in the movie.

I just watched Taste Of Killing for the second time and noticed at least 2 buildings in the Mini Hollowood set that had signs reading ā€œEl Pasoā€ + some words but the town was named otherwise in the movie if I am not mistaken. Was it signs from the For A Few Dollars More ā€œeraā€ ?

I was not sure of how I should rate it before but I know think a solid or strong 6/10 is motivated, but hardly more. The title song is pretty good but no typical SW music in this movie but another repeating theme which is acceptable.

Do you ever rate this average-to-above-average movies higher for some particular scenes that might stand out in an exceptional way, or do you look at them as a whole?

When I dig around for these obscure titles Iā€™m always pretty much sure that Iā€™m not in for a masterpiece but Iā€™m always hoping to get some of those stand-alone masterpiece scenes, like the ending of Full House for the Devil for example.

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As still a relative SW beginner I emphasize my overall impression and I havenĀ“t actually thought much about your angle at least not so much consciously in the positive meaning, but surely there ought to be examples I like more than others.

But I donā€™t like long lasting fighting or long ā€œwildā€ shooting scenes which I find boring so in a negative aspect I definitely DO notice stand out scenes :wink:
Taste of killing for the better IMO lacks such scenes I think, but it also lacks in stirring my emotions.

Generally I like the Almeria, Granada train scenes, Colmenar Viejo, scenes since they are shot in familiar landscapes which is exciting as I am living in southern Spain several months a year.

In the better to top SW I probably do remember the film for special scenes which I like for some reason or reasons. The Leone-like scenes in My Name Is Nobody for instance (2 barber shop climaxes, The Wild Bunch scenes etc etc) . Often the scenes I like are connected to music I like. So it is for me probably many times also important to get a certain feeling of a scene .
Cemetery Without Crosses I associate with a steady ā€œflowā€ of tight perfect scenes which appeal to me and so does the music.

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Absolutely love that film! Alternative top 20 material for me

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Only if I like the movie.[quote=ā€œElDavido, post:40, topic:589ā€]
When I dig around for these obscure titles Iā€™m always pretty much sure that Iā€™m not in for a masterpiece but Iā€™m always hoping to get some of those stand-alone masterpiece scenes, like the ending of Full House for the Devil for example.
[/quote]

I remember the sniping scenes and cool casting and the prison scene. I canā€™t recall of the ending at all. :frowning:

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I love the sniping scenes in this one! The bank robbery is well made aswell