Review this one after seeing it still in a VHS rented in the video club in the last century, shit I do must be getting old, (or wiser) really liked back then, not so much now, maybe I just wasnāt so demanding in youth
Story/Script
Another SW taking place during the Civil War. Itās a nice variation on the The Dirty dozen, which was already a take on a Corman film The Secret Invasion. The story is not well developed and itās focused in Bud Spencer character, all the other mates in the film have little space even Coburn (contrary to the Dirty dozen). It also seemed to me that the film is heavily influenced by the Wild Bunch, at least in
What concern to scenes and scenario.
I might start to sound boring with this stuff but itās stronger than me ;D, for 1862 there are a lot of Gatling Guns around, a type of weapon that Mr Gatling never sold to the Confederate side, and in case only saw action at the end of the war in a few final battles, but OK Iāve seen worst things like helicopters being dragged by trains inside tunnels.
The American civil war was mostly an East coast war, the Central and West states were largely a secondary scenario (and mostly troop suppliers, after the initial battles) but many films are focused on it like Major Dundee, Indians, isolated forts and the presence of a French Army in Mexico, sure did help the fact of making interesting scripts.
Actors
This is mostly a film a Bud Spencer film, strange to say this, there are two of the actors that I most like, not just for their acting abilities, but mostly because I really sympathize with them, Coburn and Savalas, (Coburn walking just seems the guy is in a passarelle), but in this one they both were most certainly between jobs. Savalas must have done his lines in a day, and Coburn was in auto mode, they were in it only for the pay check I guess. Spencer does have a not so normal role for him and he goes quite well, the rest were all SW regular (except Kolldehoff) that were there to die.
Director/Cinematography
Itās one of those films that itās no use to say it could have in better, not worth that discussion, Valerii was no Leone, and this was not suppose to be a super masterpiece also. In the first scene he does try to make something come out of a Leone film, but he doesnāt have great success on that. I did like the detail of having on of the guys hanged, the one most similar to Savalas character in Dirty Dozen a nice touch, and very sphagetti like. The final scene when Coburn kills his nemesis, its done in a very clumsy and unsatisfactory way, a summary to the film I suppose, also the choice of a start by the ending, does not do film any good, it works like a promise for an epic film, that it just canāt keep, also the all dead Coburn son angle, could have been more explored IMO. To be honest Iām not a great Valerri fan.
Conclusion
Average stuff for me not totally bad, but not good either, the American stars were in auto pilot, and the real stars it ends up to be Spencer, I donāt know why you have an actor like Savalas in a film, and making him do so little. There are some scenes like the one in the farm from the āMasonā family type, or the one with the spilled beans. that could be real strong but are too soft, with no soul like the all film.
But at least itās not a total bore, and itās easy to follow it to the end, the answer to spaghetti those days relied elsewhere it did have Bud Spencer all right.
Notice some atrocities in Spanish subtitles like Looters being Lutherans and others. Didnāt notice the score
Three regular stars
