[quote=âStanton, post:80, topic:428â]Ratings:
Train to Durango 6/10
Vado lâammazzo e torno 5
I came, I saw, I shot 3
Vivi o preferibilimente morti 4
Donât turn the other Cheek 5
And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars 5[/quote]
Well, I too donât like the poor Vivi o preferibilmente morti, but the last one seems to me an ungenerous mark. 
@ Stanton
You got my message wrong: there are no fistfights in Durango. I said the film could have used some, imo. (Iâm not too fond of ⌠but these type of movies seem to need âŚ)
Like for instance Vado⌠lâammazzo e torno, Professionisti per un Massacro or Sette Winchester per un Massacro this is a transitional movie. They still use aspects from Leone, but theyâre presented tongue-in-cheek, the body count is still high, but thereâs a tendency towards comedy. The film makers still look over their shoulder, but theyâre already thinking of something else.
Vado has more stupid comedy, Durango less, but some of it is - like in Vado - particularly silly, and because the film is more serious overall, these silly things âhurtâ more. Vado has a more serious, still violence oriented first half, and a more comical second. Durango veers more between opposites, sometimes in one and the same scene (a thing I donât like)
But all in all this is a very decent SW, letâs say 6,5. It just couldâve been better (but that can of course be said about most movies)
Train to Durango 6,5/10
Vado lâammazzo e torno 6,5
I came, I saw, I shot 5+
Vivi o preferibilimente morti 4
Sette Winchester per un Massacro 5
Professionisti per un Massacro 5+
Donât turn the other Cheek 7
And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars 7+
They call me Trinity 7+
[quote=âscherpschutter, post:82, topic:428â]@ Stanton
You got my message wrong: there are no fistfights in Durango. I said the film could have used some, imo. (Iâm not too fond of ⌠but these type of movies seem to need âŚ)[/quote]
Phew, good to hear, so my memory in general is not completely hopeless.
Well, Iâm glad there are no fistfights in Train to Durango. Apart from the Trinities SW fistfights are all lousy. Even in serious films I donât like them. There might be a few exceptions, but at the moment I donât remember any.
My rating system is probably different from yours. In my eyes a 5/10 is not a bad rating, and in the poll at the top of this page I gave Durango a 4 and would give And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars a 3/5.
But all in all And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars is entertaining, but still a minor film for me. I even think that the first scene is mediocre stuff. Only the short segment which introduces Gemma is well made.
Donât remember ever watching this one, will have to put this one on the list to track. :-\
Medusa DVD clearly lacks one or two words in the Italian audio track at the beginning of the film, after the passage of the train and before the opening credits, when Steffen says ââŚ?..la tua idea di seguire la ferroviaâ.
Can someone please check if this small defect is also present in the Italian audio track of Koch Media DVD?
I liked this one, it made me ask myself of when the comedies SW really started, there was indeed some history before the Trinita movies, and if not a pure gags film thereâs a history behind, its indeed a comedy at least in my view.
With the names evolved is pure genuine Spaghetti, and like I said a comedy, but more in the sense of Corbucci movies like The Mercenary and Companeros⌠, than the above mentioned Trinita series.
Caiano directed it with great pace, its normal that the mid section dragged a bit, but nothing that a Mark Damon appearance couldnât solve, the ending was an inspiring one. The good production values are also used in a fine way, so the film looks like a quality one, and the secondary cast with some important names Sambrell, Bodalo helped to that sensation.
Mark Damon, and the Boschero are just perfect sheâs even able to turn the film into a very sensual one, great accomplish for just one actress, Salerno is also perfect giving us a good show, I do have my doubts about Steffen, he doesnât harm the film âŚmuch, but I guess he wasnât the right man for the film and part, lacked the natural acting feeling like Damon had for instance, at least in these type of films.
So quite satisfied with this one a clever plot, the jokes some times looked a bit forced or out of context with the film, but just a minor default, the acting is good, so it just lacks the geniality of a Corbucci, but hey that is a big just.
So not something for my TOP20, but a good SW nevertheless, something between 3.5 and 4 stars but more a 3.5
[quote=âEl Topo, post:87, topic:428â]I liked this one, it made me ask myself of when the comedies SW really started, there was indeed some history before the Trinita movies, and if not a pure gags film thereâs a history behind, its indeed a comedy at least in my view.
With the names evolved is pure genuine Spaghetti, and like I said a comedy, but more in the sense of Corbucci movies like The Mercenary and Companeros⌠, than the above mentioned Trinita series.[/quote]
Iâm struggling with this problem too. However note that:
a) Several comedy westerns were made before the spaghetti western craze broke loose. I reviewed for instance Un Dollaro di Fifa, a typical comedy western, and pre-Leone
b) Comedy was one of the most popular genres when the spaghetti western was defined, so several comedy actors started making comedy westerns when the western genre became popular (for instance the infamous Franchi & Ingrassia)
c) A for the genre immensily important director like Corbucci made a lot of comedies before he discovered the western
In my opinion the pre-Leone comedy westerns, and the comedy westerns that were a result of this popularity of the comedy genre when the spaghetti western was defined, must be distinguished from the later comedy westerns, which were a reaction to the fact that the genre was over its peak.
Weird, weird, weird, this has been on my shelf for 6 weeks, I finally watch it last night and so, obviously does El Topo!!
Anyway⌠beautifully photographed, really well mounted, nice score, very well acted, well paced, good production values but I did not realise before I sat down to watch it⌠it is a comedy!
This certainly isnât a bad film, a nice jaunt, not particularly funny but not stupid slapstick either, it is more comic that comedy. Seriously, I do think it is one of the most professionally well made SWs I have ever seen. I was surprised that Steffan can actually act pretty well! Salerno was great, Damonâs charachter and car were pretty intriguing. The âduelâ at the end was one of the best in a western. So, I really donât know what to say, it is a good film whcih I enjoyed but I just am not a big fan of SW comedy.
The KOCH DVD is a beautiful transfer of a beautifully shot film. Thankfully the Mario Caiano interview was subtitled in English and he had some really interesting things to say about the genre in general if not a lot about this film in particular. I find Damon a very self-aggrandizing figure and I never know whether to believe all of his claims. In one breath he says he coached Steffan for two weeks on how to play his part and then says he was really only in the film for a cameo, so, draw your own conclusionsâŚ
Now I really have to see Bullets Donât Argue. I trust Caiano!
Watch it, but donât expect anything like this one, itâs a completely different movie
Iâm expecting it to be well made, and Iâm expecting it to have that pre-Leone added interest.
None of Caianoâs other westerns is as good as this one. He didnât liked westerns, and it shows in his other films.
I must confess I was surprise with the quality of this film, I was expecting another completely different think, for the worst (I normallly try not to research to much about the SW I going to watch for the first time, so I can go with a âcleanâ mind). Caiano lacks a Django, but this one is not far from Companeros, it doesnât have several things, but still a surprised, I only have my doubts about Steffen here, he was Ok in the non comic scenes but the rest he just seemed⌠non appropriate
Sherp explained well the comedy SW history, the Trinita series was a response to the natural decline of genre, after the Leone/Corbucci zenithâs.
Still on this film and to be honest I liked this one more than the Gemma/Adorf buddie film
Me too
But I also liked Steffen in this one. He was in fact pretty good playing a not very bright guy
Youâre problaby right, acting dumb is not that easy, Nero can say that, he really tried in that Cipolla Colt disaster
I also find that the interpretation of Steffen is ok, but despite the good production values the film is certainly not among my favorites.
I usually donât like western comedies, but gave this one a second viewing and enjoyed it much more this time around.
Steffen and Salerno are pretty good together who are after gold in this western adventure. Along for the ride is Mark Damon, who lurks in the shadows and sometimes helps the duo getting out of trouble, but only to screw them in the end, great stuff ;D. Itâs one of the better western comedies iâve seen.
Fernando di Leo about the screenplay and who wrote it:
âDucio Tessari asked me and Caminito to write a screenplay for him as he was working on another film, but needed the money. The film was Un Treno per Durango. We wrote the screenplay in less than a week. Ducio took it without even reading it, signed it and went directly to get his money. Caminito an I didnât get a penny, but that was the spirit with which we worked in these days.â
What kind of spirit was that? Kindness? Sheer pleasure of writing? Getting screwed over all the time? Owing a favor?
He worked together with Tessari on other films, and it seems he thought that Tessari deserved to do so in that case. He does not blame him for that.
He also claims that both had written the FoD script.