Btw, does anyone think that Maurizio Merli bears a passing resemblance to Chuck Norris?
I donāt agree on this one, I think Merli has plenty of charisma, and even more so in his italian crime films.
I must say that, although Iām aware that he is in many popular crime films, Iāve not seen any of them - so I canāt really comment. In fact, this is the only movie of his that Iāve seen, but I wasnāt very keen on him. Maybe itās because he reminds me of Chuck Norris!
Anyway, I meant no offence - a case of different strokes for different folksā¦
Well if you perhaps see more than one film with the actor in ā¦you may have a different opinion.
Imo Merli was the best thing in this lousy movie.
When it comes to Italian films I only really watch horror, gialli & westerns. So, itās not really an issue with me as I wonāt be coming across him againā¦ The only notable film heās in from those genres is āMannajaā & if I disliked him in this film, well, thatās my right.
The only Italian crime films I have are: āRabid Dogsā - because itās Bava, and 'Day of Violence ā AKA āOperazione Kappa: sparate a vistaā (1977) - because someone gave me a copyā¦ Neither of which Iāve watched yet as Iām not really into crime films.
Great film. Very atmospheric and violent with a few flaws: the score and the ādancing scenesā with the ladies in town which slow the pace a bit in the middle of the movie. The very first sequence where Blade captures the villain and then drags him to town is brilliant with the scenery being almost post-apocalyptic. The plot has borrowed quite a few elements from the older sw, but it;s very interesting with many unexpected twists. Merli looks a more like a caveman than a bounty hunter but in a strange way that didnāt bother me at all. 4/5 stars
With the exception of a few well put together action sequences (Opening sequence, rock slide gunfight, and the stagecoach massacre) this doesnāt get interesting until the final half hour.
[quote=āMing, post:86, topic:292ā]When it comes to Italian films I only really watch horror, gialli & westerns. So, itās not really an issue with me as I wonāt be coming across him againā¦ The only notable film heās in from those genres is āMannajaā & if I disliked him in this film, well, thatās my right.
The only Italian crime films I have are: āRabid Dogsā - because itās Bava, and 'Day of Violence ā AKA āOperazione Kappa: sparate a vistaā (1977) - because someone gave me a copyā¦ Neither of which Iāve watched yet as Iām not really into crime films.[/quote]
Ming, as you like Italian horror, Giallos etc, you might enjoy some of the crime films.
Directors such as Umberto Lenzi, Ruggero Deodato and Lucio Fulci all dabbled in the genre.
I would say Lenziās crime films are a lot better than his horror output but that is just my opinion.
If you checked out some of the Lenzi ones such as ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH (Maurizio Merli & Tomas Milian) and VIOLENT NAPLES (Merli & John Saxon) i think you may well be pleasantly surprised.
And going back to Merliās performance in A MAN CALLED BLADE, i thought he was good in it and thought it was a shame that this is his only western (Unless of course you count WHITE FANG TO THE RESCUE) 
Iāve been told he has a very small role in TWO R-R-RINGOS FOR TEXAS.
I love this one. In my top five. Love the horror feel. Love the fog. Love the Mud. Love the whole fucking movie. Great spaghetti western. Shows that although the genre was on itās last legs, could still comeup with something different. Like Keoma.
Keoma is by far my favorite spag so far. I love it!
This one is one my watch list but Im honestly not in to much of a hurry since it seems to me, a bit like a lesser imitation of Keoma. How close is that to the truth?
Not that close. Although these films are similar, the realations that might make you think it is imitation is the fact that sergiomartino is a horror director and he uses a bleak cold and violent atmosphere. I believe it to be like a coincidence. If it imitates anybody, that would be Peckinpah. This one is truly different.
Cool, Ill watch it some time soon then. I do dig the idea of a gothic/horror vibe in spags.
Well, this one has a VERY Gothic feel. Horror feel to just look at this pic.
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Nice
I donāt think thatās true.
This film has not much of a so called gothic feel, only lots of mist in a few scenes, thatās why these later Spags are often called Twilight westerns.
Mannaja was made to cash in on the success of Keoma, so there are some similarities like the overall atmosphere or the heroās straggly looks, but the greatest similarity to Keoma is simply the score with the Leonard Cohen like singing (but here without the female voice).
And Peckinpah, no, no, this film is as far from Peckinpah as a western can be, especially in itās use of slo mo combined with some spurting blood.
I think the only SW which has a āgothicā atmosphere is probably And God Said to Cain. Also to a lesser extent Vengeance, made by the same director.
Maybe also some parts of Django the Bastard.
Call me crazy but I would think they were called twilights not due to the use of mist but due to the fact that they came during the end(ātwilight hoursā) of the genre?
Maybe both. Probably you are right.
I always associated this term more with the atmosphere.
Itās a problematic term nevertheless because there is a certain type of american westerns (from Ride the High Country up to The Shootist and even beyond) which is also called Twilight Westerns.
But these are quite different from the twilight Spaghettis.
[quote=āstanton, post:99, topic:292ā]Maybe both. Probably you are right.
I always associated this term more with the atmosphere.
Itās a problematic term nevertheless because there is a certain type of american westerns (from Ride the High Country up to The Shootist and even beyond) which is also called Twilight Westerns.
But these are quite different from the twilight Spaghettis.[/quote]
I think Goodfella is right and these american ātwilightsā were so called for the same reason. It seemed that the genre and, in the case of the two films you mentioned, the themes were viewing the western and its protagonists as coming to an end. Happily, we are twenty odd years on and itās still going strong. In quality if not in the same quantity.