I like this movie so much I had to rip my username from it. I should probably use the image in this thread as my avatar.
Ha ha, great name, indeed.
In the Sergio Leone forum are also some great user names like Tucumcari Bound or Honest Farmer (aka Tuco in case someone does not get it).
Stork Vultureis a great name ;D and this foul abomination of ornothological mistaken identity appeared again in a double viewing with Killer Kid a coupla nights ago.
Iāve been a bit schitzoid (a bit like stork vulture) regarding this film, initially giving it only 2 stars and quoting back in 2008ā¦
āAlthoā there was lots of violence and spaghetti-stuff, it didnāt mesh for me - the main problem being that I couldnāt understand anybodyās motivation for doing what they did. Nobody - Arizona Colt, Gordo, Whisky, Jane and the townsfolk - made any sense regarding their behaviour, and the whole thing lacked credibility. I am capable of suspending belief but maybe not this much.ā
Then later in 2009, a further watching showed a turnaround of opinionā¦
āI loved the cynical an mercenary aspects of Gemmaās character whoād do dirty deeds if there was a chance of climbing in a fillyās panties at the end; I enjoyed Fernando doing what he does best as the clicheād Gordo; I laughed at the drunked but honourable antics of Whisky, and I quite fancied Jane myself and understood her changing character from sexual martyr to willing partner in light of the townspeoples cowardice.ā
But this time Iām back in Brother Stantonās camp with thinking this aināt so good after all.
Maybe it was fine viewed with cidergoggles tuned to the exact right frequency as in 2009, but it wasnāt anywhere near as good when viewed next to Killer Kid -
wherein Sir Fernando was at his absolute best (Iāve never seen him better) and the love interest was much both more smouldery-er and more tragic than in this.
Iāll compromise on 3 stars - still entertaining, but It might suit to change the spelling of the titular character slightly - Arizona C*^t :o might be a more appropriate name for this slimeball character!
Whatās up with the sound on the Wild East double feature? I think the sound was better on their previous release. I donāt remember it having all those buzzing noises. Why didnāt they just merge the audio from the previous release with the remastered stock?
Arizona Colt (1966)
Arizona starts off in jail. He is eventually freed and refuses to join a gang. Iām not going to give a synopsis but heās after money and a women , and must square of against a bandit leader. What I liked about this film is Arizona is dark and rough, ( this is no ben and charlie or A sky full of stars for a roof film) This a part gangster, almost neo nor type of western (arizona finds himself in a tough, bleak situation), Director Michele Lupo is a visionary and I think this is his masterpiece.
Lupe would team up with Gemma again in Califonia (1977).
A visionary? Why? Are you referring to Lupoās work in the Western genre? If Iām not mistaken, he made only two āseriousā Westerns, Arizona Colt and the late-comer California. Both are solid, quite well done, entertaining movies, but I would hardly call them visionary.
Michele Lupo also directed Ben and Charlie (1972) and Buddy Goes west (1981) While only making four westerns, the westerns he did make included some excellent talent. This talent includes Bud Spencer, Guilano Gemma, George Eastman, William Berger, Fernando Sancho, Joe Bugner, Giovanni Cianfriglia, just to name a few. Sadly he died at the young age of 56. Pay close attention to these three key ideas: The one liners, endings, and rising action. All I think are done extremely well, and very groundbreaking I think for its day. Lupeās wessterns are exciitng, funny, and full of adventure. Sadly, he only made 5. Each is very very enjoyable. Lupe made a total of 23 films in his career and had he not died, and made three or four more westerns, weād be talking about him instead of Sergio Solima.
Actually, he made five Westerns, among them three comedies: the two you mentioned plus Per un pugno nellāocchio, a Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia vehicle, favorably reviewed by Howard Hughes on the SWDb web site.
Thanks, i didnt know of that one. I updated my previous post. Ill have to watch it.
Justā¦ be careful, it is something entirely different and in the vast majority of Franchi & Ingrassia movies the direction is neglected.
Even so, Howard Hughesā Review is of considerable interest.
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The role that really cements the star to A class Spaghetti star. You know whats going to happen in this if you have seen to far many Spaghetti westerns, but who cares, this is one enjoyable Gemma western ! . The theme song is just superb to this.
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Raoul at his best. Almost in a league with Scott Walkerās passionate mini pop-operas.
He came out of nowhere
With no one beside him
He rode out of the sunrise all alone
A man out of nowhere
With no one to love him
His one faithful companion was his gun
No one could say just where he came from
No one could say where he was going
Was he a man without a heart
A man with a heart made of stone
The moon on the mountains
A sky full of starlight
And some wary young stranger on his way
No one could say just where he came from
No one could say where he was going
As he had come he rode away
A man with a gun all alone
A man with a gun all alone
Re watched this classic last night, and boy I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I saw it. With itās wonderful music, great mixture of violence, romance, and comedy, this film is damn good. Gordoās and his gang free some prisoners to help him rob a bank. Arizona Colt is among those prisoners, and Gordo is a bit surprised to learn that Arizona knows a lot about him and his gangās criminal activities. Eventually a murder takeās place and Arizona Colt is hired by the murdered girls father to find his daughterās killer. One of my favorite scenes has to be the poker scene ( where Arizona is cheating) and Jane realizes she canāt quite trust him. This scene has to be a precursor to the comedy films to come. One other thing to note is that Rosalba Neri is just drop dead beautiful in this, (even though she is only on screen for a short time.) I really wish this film would have played over here in the states. It is a true classic of the genre.
My only problem with this film is that I found it to be too long. Whiskey was a fun character, and Sancho had some really funny lines.
In that case: Watch the version released in cinemas. It runs a little over 90 minutes, if Iām not mistaken.
I think I will, do you know what it cuts out?
The shorter version I watched, is the version on the Thai XXX disc. It cuts out a few violent scene such as the execution of the bespeckled older man by Sancho and a few scenes with the priest crossing himself before shooting someone (profanity). Otherwise a few scenes set in town are cut. It still looks more or less the same movie, you wonāt have the idea that a lot is missing. In some scenes alternative takes are missing, for instance the final scen with Arizona shooting Sanchoās knee-caps: surprisingly the scene is more graphic in the shorter version.
The version originally released in Italian movie theaters runs 116 minutes.
In Italy maybe, but not overhere. I think the theatrical version (released in France, belgium, etc.) runs 97 minutes. Thereās also a 90 minutes version (released in Germany?)
My 1st viewing: Too fucking long.
My 2nd viewing: Damn, that was pretty good!