Garner is an actor I do appreciate, one more with a natural talent, and similar back rounds to McQueen or Hackman.
The filmās cast is pretty awesome in my view, with some solid character actors like Weaver, Akins, and horse head on the bed John Marley, plus the beauty of Antonelli (so little screen time), she was really a stunning beauty.
The story pretty straightforward, but well directed with some cool and well made scenes, and lots of action, and who ever directed the film, and it does not hurt that Morrow receives the credits for with is long experience in war and westerns pictures, did a good job, on creating the pace and the style, was also have a true western connoisseur, Iāve notice several homageās to other westerns My darling valentine, True grit, Sabata (or was it normal to have guys with banjos around), and the detail of the crucifix in the arm, was really the cherry on top of the cake.
Also the main character Sledge is not a common one, in a world full of antiheros, menās with no name, or revenge seekers for their parents, wifeās sons or friends violent deaths, we have a real mean bandit, a bank robber with few scruples, who does not care if he kills the sheriff or a prison guard, even if with is own sense of justice.
Anyone who likes SW must have liked this one, maybe an even better soundtrack although the main theme sounded nice.
Of course not a perfect film, but Iām a SW aficionado, so Four stars out of Five, one of the not so many films with the right mix of classical and SW feeling, a perfect combination here, even in itās faults.
I noticed the guy with the banjo and thought of it as an homage to āSabataā as he was dressed in the same way and with the same hair-cut (albeit not as red) as William Berger in the role.
I liked this film, it had some āAmericanismsā but no more than many other Spags. I also liked Garner as the brutal hero, he reminded me of Edge the Loner!
First time i,ve ever seen this film and thought it was ok although i would not say its the best SW investment ever madeā¦all actin average to good,but the only thing that i,ve got a gripe about is the waste of good film time with that card sequence towards the end of the filmā¦if this had more of an explosive ending with better shoot outs and maybe more time with a priest celebrating gold from heaven !! for the restoration of his church this film could easily have been up with the top 20 spaghetti westerns of all timeā¦also does anyone know the name of the village used in the end of the filmā¦ This is very similar to the village used in the end of āJohnny Yumaāā¦I live close to a lot of villages and rail track used in numerous spaghetti westerns but dont recognise this villageā¦maybe we have a spanish member to the forum who may knowā¦
ĀæHay algunos miembros aquĆ con informaciĆ³n sobre este pueblo? Gracias
" but the only thing that i,ve got a gripe about is the waste of good film time with that card sequence towards the end of the filmā¦
ā¦ this film could easily have been up with the top 20 spaghetti westerns of all timeā¦ "
I think this is quite marvellous (as well as Vengeance Trail - as just mentioned on its thread). This film IS in my Top 20 and has remained there consistently.
I love the card game - before this thereās some sympathy for the olā scrote - afterwards you realise what a nasty little piece of weasle shit he really is. I love these perceived character changes as one of the best bits of a good spaghetti - as with any of the major characters in Face to Face (including Siringo), or as with Guy Madisonās character at the end of 5 Giants from Texas - or indeed with Mannās character in the aforementioned Vengeance Trail.
There must be more.
For some reason I had never actually got around to seeing this one until today. Had a feeling I would like it and this proved to be so. Iāve always had a lot of time for Garner and he shows here he can be a mean guy as well as he can the affable type and Claude Akins is always good value. The film also benefits from some really nice āItalianā touches like the crucifix on the arm and so on and the final shoot out in the little village and church is very satisfying.
As said by the Rev, I liked the twist of the old manās character being revealed but, unlike the Rev, Iām not convinced the card game montage was the most effective way of revealing that and showing the disintegration of the gang. Just not strong enough for such a key moment in my opinion. That aside, (along with a particularly soppy romantic scene between Sledge and Ria of the āIāll always love youā variety) this was an enjoyable ride and rates a high 3 out of 5 from me. Or perhaps, looking back at some of the other comments in the thread, I should say 17.5 / 20. Then again, perhaps not.
Footnote: Someone above asked about the location of the village in the final scene and I note that Tom B says he has visited it. Where is it Tom? It certainly looks like a pueblo I would like to include in any itinerary I have on my next visit to Almeria. Whenever that turns out to be.
Iām still waiting for Tom to tell us all about the village
Iāll add the info to the review
By the way @ Phil : Thereās something wrong with your maths, 3 out of 5 is less than 17,5 out of 20 (or is this the effect of standing on the shoulders of the giant youāre referring to?)
No, Iām afraid Phil is right.
Thatās higher mathematics, a new but soon accepted way of calculating. The answer lies in the thread itself and can change the world ā¦
Or at least those who WATCH, RESEARCH, THINK, ANALYSE, DISCUSS and donāt listen to losers
@Scherp
Stan is right. Higher maths is involved. 3 out of five on my system would equate to anything from 12 to 15 out of 20 but when adding in the SD over appreciation factor this comes out at 17.5. I should probably post a graph to explain it better. :
[quote=āPhil H, post:72, topic:353ā]@Scherp
Stan is right. Higher maths is involved. 3 out of five on my system would equate to anything from 12 to 15 out of 20 but when adding in the SD over appreciation factor this comes out at 17.5. I should probably post a graph to explain it better. ::)[/quote]
I thought something like this was behind it, that you were, like I said, standing on the shoulders of the giant called SD
When Iām rereading a thread like this one, I realize I miss the guy, in a special way ā¦
Just watched this again - apparently in 2007 I gave it 18.95 SD-stylee so almost certainly hit the 5 hole for the vote back in the day. This viewing and I wouldnāt be quite as generous as I was thenā¦ but itās still worth at least a 4. Then I noticed I hadnāt voted - confused :-\ I am, and Iām wondering why I aināt votedā¦ as I hit the 4 hole?
Ahhh, but then Iāve noticed that Iām down as a guest - after I had committed forum-icideā¦ so now Iāve realised that Iāve voted twice in the same poll.
As this was summat SD got kicked off for, Iām expecting a knock at the door any time nowā¦
Still, a 5 and a 4 - means itās probably ended up with the correct mathematical mean score of 4 and a half - I always thought there must be a way. (Now thatās higher math).
The review I posted the other day is in German, so here the gist in English: A very entertaining movie with lots of ambition (never seen it before), just some script weaknesses. Great camerawork and music, and the BluRay offers an amazing transfer. It really looks great! The audio is alright, too. In terms of extras, not much there but alternate credits sequences, but if youāve ever looked for a great way to (re)discover this movie, now is the time. Highly recommended.
I think itās really just that one moment at the beginning when he gets out of bed. I think this still image shows more than you can catch in the movie.
(Now thatās higher math).
