A Hole in the Forehead / Un buco in fronte (Giuseppe Vari, 1968)

This seems to be one of those titles which doesnā€™t crop up much in conversation and I was, having just watched it for the first time , going to recommend it on one of the other threads - recommended/lesser known, or are these spags worth seeingā€¦ BUT, in my view, it is so deserving of praise, that I believe that it should have a thread of itā€™s own. This way any views donā€™t get too lost in obscurity - even thoā€™ apparently, the film is. (Imdb have 12 votes but no reviews and give it 4.6/10 - which frankly is bollocks.)

I hadnā€™t watched this film even tho Iā€™ve had a dvdr copied from a vid, for a couplā€™a years or more, because the overall quality - fullscreen, burnholes, (no subs thoā€™ and in English), etc. was pretty damnably poor.
But, going thruā€™ some stuff today this popped up so I stuck it on and was immediately captivated by the music (by ā€˜Forgotten Pistoleroā€™ man - Roberto Pregadio) ā€¦ this started out with a sorta organy/Procul Harem-y vibe and delved into beautiful Spanish guitar as it deemed necessary. It sounded familiar, I thought initially from another movie, but maybe more probably, from a compilation Iā€™ve recently played.

As testament to how good this film is, the music disolved into action and I was hooked. Never mind the poor quality of the print, the charismatic performance by the great Anthony Ghidra as the gunman John Blood, won me over. Just a bit of a homage to FAFDM as well, as Blood is commented on as being left-handed with a questionably damaged right-hand, which it turns out is primarily used for shooting - and very proficiently he does it as well.
And then heā€™s pitted against an equally charismatic adversary Manguja (Robert Hundar) whoā€™s gang of Mexican bandits are happiest when massacreing priests and shooting old ladies in the back.
This film has, if not all, then pretty close to it. Spaghetti-violence ā€¦ thereā€™s arm-wrestling over spikes - so not just holes in the forehead (althoā€™ thereā€™s a few of those as well), a plethora of religious imagery (oh joy), a drowning, whipping the ā€˜love-interestā€™, torture and beatings - as youā€™d expect, a gatling gun, and clues to a treasure written on 3 playing cards (3 Silver Dollars was made the same year). If it all sounds a bit cliched then maybe so ā€¦ but this film has a style and panache of itā€™s own.
The only slight let-down was the finale, which had the real potential to do more. But overall this was an enjoyable ride, not played for laughs and quite brutal at times, fabulous music and an on-screen presence.
If this ever comes out as a cleaned up version in wide-screen, itā€™ll outdo Yankee anyday!
Highly Recommended - anybody got a decent print out there?? ??? ;D


For more info visit:
Database Page: Buco in fronte, Un - The Spaghetti Western Database

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UN BUCO IN FRONTE / A HOLE IN THE FOREHEAD 1968

I have not got a decent print or DVD but after reading your enthusiastic review Reverend
I am urgently seeking a good DVD in Italian or English of this very exciting class SW. :smiley:
Anthony Ghidra and Robert Hundar are 2 SW leading men that always deliver good films.
Rosy Zichel the leading lady is not too bad either :-*

[quote=ā€œSARTANA DJANGO, post:2, topic:846ā€]UN BUCO IN FRONTE / A HOLE IN THE FOREHEAD 1968

I have not got a decent print or DVD but after reading your enthusiastic review Reverend
I am urgently seeking a good DVD in Italian or English of this very exciting class SW. :smiley:
Anthony Ghidra and Robert Hundar are 2 SW leading men that always deliver good films.
Rosy Zichel the leading lady is not too bad either :-[/quote]
Iā€™m hoping that there is a good print out there to be had ???.
Yeah, the ladies play a good supporting role in this :-
.
Iā€™m filing away, in my new leather-clad cd boxes :wink: and am putting to one side any Ghidra stuff that I ainā€™t seen. Reckon Tequila Joe (good print and widescreen) could be next!! ;D

Seems hard to get
Cine city doesnā€™t even have a DVDr

Itā€™s not well-known either, probably itā€™s too (if I may use the word) derivative to most expertsā€™ taste

Sounds OK, Ghidra really is a type, you should check out ā€˜Pistolerosā€™, if you havenā€™t done so already. Itā€™s much more indebted to For a few dollars more, even seems a remake (sort of) at first, but turns out to be a comment on it (more or less - thing were always done in an approxamative way in those days)

Yeah, could do with watching this again - mind you thatā€™s pretty much the story with most sws I ainā€™t seen for a couplā€™a years. Jusā€™ checked out the Wild East dvd ā€¦ and got excited about the Ghidra trailers ā€˜extrasā€™, no ā€™ a Hole ā€¦ā€™ trailer thoā€™. :ā€™(
[edit, seem to have got the ā€œquoteā€ and comment the wrong way round ā€¦ dā€™ya know, I think that apple - flavoured (soft :wink: drink) is going to my head ;D :P][quote=ā€œscherpschutter, post:4, topic:846ā€]ā€¦ you should check out ā€˜Pistolerosā€™, if you havenā€™t done so already. Itā€™s much more indebted to For a few dollars more, even seems a remake (sort of) at first, but turns out to be a comment on it (more or less - thing were always done in an approxamative way in those days)[/quote]

Yeah, that was Adamā€™s excuse in paradise too ā€¦

I know Atlas Visuals have a DVD-R of this one but they rate the quality as B/B- which they say is good to average. presumably that means not very good really.

Yeah, just checked the opening start to the dvd - and it has the same title/menu as some other atlas visuals dvds so it probably/almost certainly originated (in this incarnation) there. Iā€™ve compared some A-/B films from them , which are ok, but B/B- is a bit painful. I watched this on the computer at about 5"x4" screensize and it was passable. Like I said, the quality of the movie thankfully distracted me from the quality of the print. But Hell would be a lifetime of ā€˜Man from the Eastā€™ at B/B-. I wouldnā€™t wanna go there too much! :stuck_out_tongue:

Great title this one!

[quote=ā€œscherpschutter, post:4, topic:846ā€]Seems hard to get
Cine city doesnā€™t even have a DVDr[/quote]
Yes they do, as ā€œHole in the Foreheadā€ I have it. Looks as if it was taken from 3rd generation VHS copy, so donā€™t expect much. Hereā€™s what Rene has to say (taken from Cine Cityā€™s site):

ā€œas picture source a South African videotape was used.
Quality is fair but not outstanding.ā€

Very boring film in my opinion. I seem to have some problem with these ā€œatmosphericā€ SWs with very little action, since I donā€™t like Texas Adios, Forgotten Pistolero or Execution, either. If one doenā€™t catch this ā€œatmosphereā€ these films have very little to offer.

I STRONGLY DISAGREE !!

A HOLE IN THE FOREHEAD 68 TEXAS ADIOS 66
FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO 69 EXECUTION 68

These above are outstanding, beautifully paced, excitingly plotted , strong casted
TOP SW that are as good as any SW in anybodyā€™s TOP 20.
JOHN RICHARDSON FRANCO NERO LUCIANA PALUZZI LEONARD MANN
Anthony Ghidra and more. Who needs tedious ā€œactionā€ when you have such TALENT :smiley:
Plot developement , screen presence and character interaction is what makes a film
NOT any ā€œactionā€ or ā€œbar room brawlsā€ if you want action go for a war film :ā€™(

The german TV version was in widescreen and probably uncut.

And yes Rev, this is another good and atmospheric one by Giuseppe Vari, Ghidra is great like in all his SWs. Underestimated in my eyes.

Maybe Iā€™ll write something more when Iā€™ve watched it again.

[quote=ā€œstanton, post:12, topic:846ā€]The german TV version was in widescreen and probably uncut.

And yes Rev, this is another good and atmospheric one by Giuseppe Vari, Ghidra is great like in all his SWs. Underestimated in my eyes.

Maybe Iā€™ll write something more when Iā€™ve watched it again.[/quote]
Can somebody in Germany get this taped and traded this way ??? ;D please, cos this hombre would like to see this again in a better condition!
Look forward to reading your review of this Brother stanton.

Let us know what you think about the movie as soon as youā€™ve watched it !!! Iā€™m curious !

Yes, would be good to see in a nice print ;D.

Re: Tequila Joe ā€¦ Iā€™ll make some time to watch it today. For some reason I had it in my head that itā€™s a comedy-ish one, but think Iā€™d got it mixed up with Tequila with Steffen. But, I gather even this is played reasonably straight as well.
Anyway watch this space (or one nearby) for my thoughts on this matter. :wink:

;D

Only on VHS, my version, and for now Iā€™m not able to copy it on DVD-R.

But there was a DVD announced for Germany, this year I think. Iā€™ll check.

[quote=ā€œstanton, post:17, topic:846ā€]Only on VHS, my version, and for now Iā€™m not able to copy it on DVD-R.

But there was a DVD announced for Germany, this year I think. Iā€™ll check.[/quote]

I hope they use another master than the Italians
There was an Italian release last year, only available at the newspaper stands you see in every Italian city and town.
I checked: itā€™s fullscreen and has totally washed out colours (and only Italian audio) so I didnā€™t even ask if somebody overthere was willing to make me a copy.
They probably used the same master that was used for the DVDr Cine City offers

Itā€™s announced from New.

If this comes true, it will be in all probability an uncut, high quality release.

I hope it does get released :).