In my view, the picture quality is better in the Kino Lorber US Blu-ray.
The two āmissing scenesā present only in the shorter cut appear early in the movie when Cord and his chum are escaping from the bounty hunters.
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Just rewatched this one. The unhappy, alternate ending of this one is absolutely brilliant and really elevates an already good movie. In fact, Iād call it one of the best endings in the entire genre. Itās nicely foreshadowed early on and feels like a true full circle moment instead of a cheap gut punch.
The cast has always been kind of fascinating to me; youāve got three American actors not really known for spags in Cord, Kennedy, & Ryan (all fantastic), but also a TON of spaghetti stalwarts such as Brega, Sambrell, Robledo, Jose Manuel Martin, Spartaco Conversiā¦not to mention the always gorgeous Nicoletta Machiavelli! Really gives the movie an interesting and unique feel.
I also like the atypical score, I think it fits the grim, somber tone of the movie better than a more standard spaghetti score would. The horror movie esque chords that play during the flashbacks are very effective. Itās not an incredibly memorable score necessarily, but it does its job very well.
Robert Ryanās first scene is one of my favorite character introductions in the genre, and I think he gives a remarkably committed performance, especially seeing as this was his only spag. The whole cast is excellent across the board.
I think the only thing keeping this from being a recognized stone cold classic is Giraldiās general lack of style, but itās still a well above average spaghetti with a lot to like.
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āA Minute to Pray, a Second to Dieā opened in the United States in Los Angeles, playing citywide on May 1 1968. Roger Ebert didnāt think much of it but Terry Kay writing in the Atlanta Journal was more positive (below)ā¦
The Brits shortened the title to āDead or Aliveā and it premiered at the Gaumont, Bristol on 24th November 1968. Distributed by Columbia Pictures it was screened all over the country and co-featured with āEasy Riderā in 1970. It was first shown on UK television on 24th October 1980 (ITV 23:30 - 01:15).
Source below: (Manchester Evening News, 29th November, 1968)
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I was not allowed to sit up that late in 1980 !
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Man, Ebert really did not care for spagsā¦were there any he actually reviewed favorably at the time?
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He gave favourable reviews to the Leone films, albeit with a few backhanded compliments thrown in. For the rest, forget it. Although he reserved his zero star rating for movies that he felt were a transgression against humanity - i.e. video nasties etc.
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That checks outā¦to be honest, Iāve always thought Ebert was a better writer than an actual reviewer. He certainly knew how to write an entertaining review, but in a lot of his strongly negative ones he makes mistakes over basic plot details and seems more focused on finding funny ways to describe how much he hated the movie. Part of his job I suppose but still. To be fair, he wasnāt alone in not giving spags and other genre pics a fair shot back thenā¦
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Spaghetti westerns aside, I always had time for Roger Ebertās reviews, particularly on āarthouseā pictures such as āAu hasard Balthazarā, which possibly may be more affecting than the film itself.
It was shown earlier than that on TV in the UK - around 1977 if memory serves, as part of ITVās The Savage West season. Past my bedtime then, but I recall the trailer vividly (āThey tried to surrenderā¦ why did you kill them?ā)
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I wondered whoād be the first to spot that @Extranjero - it did indeed first air on Monday 7th March 1977 (HTV 22:35) and clashed with āFor a Few Dollars Moreā on BBC1!
In an era before VCR a tough decision hereā¦ Iād probably have gone with āFor a Few Dollars Moreā until āDead or Aliveā starts, switching over during the commercial breaks.
EDIT: Due to the ITV regional variations youād have to wait until February or September 1978 to see this film outside of Wales or the West of England.
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I saw most of that āSavage Westā series which featured such gems as A Man Called Hanging, The McMasters and Cry Blood Apache. However, if that was the first TV screening of FAFDM then I watched that instead of Dead or Alive.
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āFor a Few Dollars Moreā had previously been aired (BBC1 30th December 1975). ITVās Savage West series also included āMinnesota Clayā, but their big western of that era was the UK television premiere of āOnce Upon a Time in the Westā, shown across the entire ITV network on 29th April 1978 (21:15 - 00:15).
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I have very vague memories of the Savage West season being advertised, and not being allowed to watch any of them - Am I dreaming, or was āTwo Mules for Sister Saraā, āSoldier Blueā and āThe Wild Bunchā included ?
I do remember some Aunts describing a film plot which turned out to be, āThere Was A Crooked Manā (1970) ā¦ again Iām not sure if these are mixed memories from the era.
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No, you werenāt dreaming @aldo - āTwo Mules for Sister Saraā was part of the āSavage Westā series and broadcast in all ITV regions on Monday 28th June 1976 (22:30 - 00:25).
āThe Wild Bunchā (similar to āOnce Upon a Time in the Westā two years later) was a big stand-alone movie, independent of the āSavage Westā, and premiered on Saturday 31st July 1976 (ITV 21:00 - 23:25): āWestern that is reckoned both tough and above-par intelligence for the genre,ā (The Guardian).
āSoldier Blueā first aired on Saturday 17th September 1977 (ITV 22:05 - 00:05).
By chance I caught the first-half of āOnce Upon a Time in the Westā in 1978 (up until Wobbles gets kicked off the train) as I was staying at my grandfatherās house, who never watched the other two channels as he resented paying the licence fee 
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Many thanks, Montero ā¦ I vaguely remember OUATW being on ITV when I was quite young and how it seemed very slowly paced and difficult to follow - It came and went without much ballyhoo ā¦ which now seems strange, as people today are obsessed with it.
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When ITV first showed Soldier Blue they had a TV print in which most of the climatic massacre had been cut out or pan and scanned off frame.
I think ITV also had an abridged print of Two Mules for Sister Sara - this was released on UK Video so might be a US TV print but the full version is now on DVD.
Iām pretty sure ITV screened the full version of OUATITW (rather than the abridged version shown in UK cinemas) as when I saw the 1981 re-release in the cinema of the full version I had seen the scenes supposedly re-instated.
The Wild Bunch TV premier was on a Saturday night and I saw it in a hotel TV room. People came into the room after dinner about 2 hours before hand to make sure the Channel was on ITV the whole evening until 9pm (watershed time) and no-one switched to BBC. It was slightly censored IIRC but not by too much.
There Was a Crooked Man (1970) was shown on ITV at some point as I saw it but not sure if part of the Savage West season. Iād like to see it again but it seems to be a relatively rare film for some reason.
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It mostly plays as a lightweight comedy, though there are some rougher scenes along the way, and a bit of nudity to upset the prudes and delight the rest of us.
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There Was a Crooked Man is surely not a lightweight comedy, it has some comedy aspects, yes, but is a quite cynical film overall with a pessimistic ending. Itās closer to the picaresque style of Little Big Man or The Mercenary than to the Trinity films or McClintock or even Cat Ballou.
An intelligent well made western. 8/10
Recommended ā¦
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āThere Was A Crooked Manā was first shown on UK television on Sunday 30th November 1975 (ITV 21:10 - 23:15). It wasnāt part of the āSavage Westā season.
I think most if not all ITV screenings of āOnce Upon a Time in the Westā were the abridged version, mainly because the listed 3 hour slot wouldnāt have given sufficient time for commercial breaks. Also when the film first aired on BBC2 (24th December 1989 (23:40 - 02:25) they made a big deal about it being the complete version.
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