Iāve just bought a Spanish dvd of this, will report back with screenshots when it arrives.
No masterpiece, but quite interesting
[size=12pt]https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Awkward_Hands_Review[/size]
Database is still missing the dvd info. Thereās at least spanish release, any others?
Meant to say that the release I got is bad fullscreen quality. Fuzzy sound a picture, avoid. A shame, as this would probably do better with nice widescreen version.
I really like this one. Definitely one of my favourite Peter Lee Lawrence films. I honestly like this more than Killer Calibre 32. Seems to be more of a Spanish western than a spaghetti though.
1 Like
This belongs to PLL best westerns. I liked the first hated 30 romantic minutes more than last action 30 minutes. It built up the story and that is what interests me. The dream at the beginning was the highlight for me. I only wished they didnāt show Mendozaās face to make it more exciting.
Another highlights were the Mendoza / PLL scenes in the desert and the scenes in the plague city. The ending was also with a unexpected surprise which you wonāt forget.
After that it gets bit weird. Chinese master and silly weapon training. Memorable but in the end quite pointless because of a sudden PLLās character change.
I guess the main issue is the elapsed time between PLLās leave and his return. We never learn how much time passed (months? years?). After some time of the training by Chinese master PLL is suddenly not the likeable boy anymore but seemingly almost an emotionless killer dressed in black. He also acts against what the Chinese master teached him (āIāll teach you hate violenceā) with no given explanation. so it is very confusing. It just seems like there should be at least another 15-30 minutes for PLLās character development because it is just not him anymore.
He shows only some emotions towards Pilar and this is something the movie does very well. Their relationship is the core of the movie and though rushed in the second half it still nicely works.
So the revenge on the main bad guys was probably the least interesting routine thing for me while the ineractions between PLL/Mendoza and PLL/Pillar, Pillar/parents, the most interesting.
Despite the sudden shift, it is still very enjoyable ride, it is well directed, it has very unusual spanish dramatic tone. Recommended. 4/5
Are you sure you actually enjoy this genre ? They seem to be bugginā you more than entertaining 
Sometimes I need a complete break from SWs ā¦ but at the moment Iām re-watching a few oldies, and just accepting that theyāre not perfect, and also kind of enjoying the mistakes, continuity errors, even complete lack of coherent plotline (Sartana Series)
Why? Iād rate this still 4/5.
Something lost in translation ā¦ I have no idea what the last two comments meant.
Never mind 
Enough.
Disagreement is fine. Discussion actively welcomed. Abuse is unacceptable on these forums. Itās never been acceptable and itās not going to be tolerated.
Play the ball, not the man. Or take off.
From our site guidelines (LINK):
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. Thatās fine. But, remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
- Name-calling.
- Ad hominem attacks.
- Responding to a postās tone instead of its actual content.
- Knee-jerk contradiction.
Always Be Civil
Nothing sabotages a healthy conversation like rudeness:
- Be civil. Donāt post anything that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
- Keep it clean. Donāt post anything disturbing, insulting or offensive to others.
- Respect each other. Donāt harass or grief anyone, impersonate people, or expose their private information.
- Respect our forum. Donāt post spam or otherwise vandalize the forum.
1 Like
What donāt you understand? Iād rate this 4/5 which is probably more than most of the peopleās rating here. Critique is a way to tell what you like about the movie but at the same time what you donāt. If you read āofficialā SW critiques on this site youāll find far tougher critiques than mine.
You seem to be consistently down on the films you have reviewed ā¦ thatās why I asked the question.
2 Likes
That is totally untrue. I nearly always give positive and negative points.
Well ā¦ it comes across as mainly negative - but thatās up to you.
That might look like that because what is good does not need to be widely explained, does it? I always try to explain why I think something does not work or is not that good imo. I find it far less interesting when people just say āI did not like thisā and there is no reasoning behind that. It is a pointless post imo because there is just an opinion but no ideas to support it. For example if you read my opinion on A Pistol for Ringo, Massacre Time, Johnny Yuma, etcā¦ youāll find hardly any bad words for the movies since the movies are imo that good.
Edit:
I re-read some of my reviews and I donāt really see anything too negative in them. I might end on low note here and there but that is mainly just because I start with positive and end with negative points. I usually dont sum up things since it is a very short review and the ideas are already there and it would make the post unnecessarily long. Oh and they are intended for people who like to think a little about things and share ideas. I enjoy the most the reviews where I find some ideas. Some kids might get annoyed by that so maybe I should always put there some āparental advisorā sign not to make them angry.
1 Like
For not so experienced SW-fans, like me, Diamondās reviving of several old forum threads regarding lesser known SWs is very good, since not only his well expressed opinion but also several otherās old can be easily read, and since these SWs have their own thread some fans obviously find them worth watching or at least discussing. By also reading negative points of view one gets a rather versatile picture of the SW in question.
All this is practical and in favour for newcomers searching for another SW that is very good entertainment. I guess a couple or several of my latest purchases have been partly caused by Diamondās and/or otherās reviving of such old forum threads, and at least in one case or two it has been a 7/10 SW IMO.
2 Likes
Thx buddy, Im glad someone like it. Iām after operation so I have some time to go back to some old westerns, watch new ones or think of those that stayed in my mind and write smaller reviews (or try to contribute with some ideas). I hope you liked the movies.
Oh my god, what a film!..a revenge story of a poor, pacifist boy (Peter) who are in love with his bossā daughter, an impossible love that will be forbidden by the refusal of the father, who wants to set her up with a neighbouring landowner because that neighbour owns the stream on which his land depends (take that, Shakespeare!). Peter is abandoned to his fate in the middle of the desert and a stranger appears to save his life. Then there is a CHINESE MASTER (the film cannot be more exploitation) who teaches to his AWKWARD HANDS the art of war (Kill Bill vol 2??), from here will emerge the warrior who will cry out for revenge because of his misfortune.
A little bit bizarre work by the Spanish director Rafael R. Marchent, it looks good and has good moments, but the problem is that it does not have a consistent narrative structure. There is a more āclassicā and very interesting first part, with quite a lot of drama, but once the main character is abandoned in the desert, things get out of control. A guy appears by chance and saves Peterās life and, casually that dude could be the one who killed Peterās father years ago (or not, the film plays with this absurd coincidence but it doesnāt end up clarifying it), CASUALLY this guy knows a Chinese Master who was around there. That old chinese will save the life of the protagonist and teach him to handle the revolver like nobody else. So there is a continuous sensation of Deus Ex Machina that is quite annoying and ruins the filmās credibility.
On the other hand, after that more dramatic first part, very focused on the family, Marchent completely forgets about them. In the end, Peter consummates his revenge, but the slow pace and the drama and āvisceralityā of the characters in the first part contrast with such a quick and aseptic revenge.
To round off the play, there is a kind of second climax at the end, an āepilogueā, which not only does not add much to the whole (because it raises and resolves a conflict that is practically non-existent) but also leaves you with the feeling of an abrupt and incomplete ending.
Not bad, but not good either in my opinion.
1 Like
Several complaints above about some of the music I agree upon. The first half hour is slightly boring. Garringo (weak 7/10) and Two Crosses At Danger Pass (weak 6/10), also directed by Rafael Romero Marchent, feel about the same in the mood sometimes, but this filmās first half hour I probably found to be the weakest part so far of these three SWs.
But Awkward Hands becomes more interesting the last hour and it is also free from comedy. The style or composition is more original here but still with some rather well known elements such as the shooting training.
The locations La Pedriza, sand dunes of Cabo El gata, plagued town Forto Bravo in Tabernas desierto, Hoyo de Manzanares outside of the location of the western town and the train scene Villamanta were some of the familiar locations.
Overall it feels only a little more interesting than Two Crosses At Danger Pass. Another ālove storyā Fury Of Johnny Kid/Ride For A Massacre (Gianni Puccini) (6/10) also with Peter Lee Lawrence might be more comparable, so a preliminary rating of Awkwards Hands would be a medium to weak 6/10, but I will rewatch it as usual to further refine my impression.
I want to clarify that only the music connected with the lovely Pilar Velazqeuz is unworthy of her in its slightly rediculous lighthearted mood. It should have been more serious, but otherwise the music is more suitable to the plot and the characters. The theme when the somewhat mysterious black clad character Latimore played by Alberto de Mendoza appears is a good example of appropriate mood. Interestingly that theme also follows the Petet Lee Lawrence antihero but only after he has turned into a skilled killer as well.
Overall Awqward Hands has grown for me after having watched it four times within a couple of months. The story is not boring with its different episodes of love story, desert - ghost town adventure, pastoral healing - killing school and then revenge. The exact motif for Latimoreās actions regarding the antihero may not be 100 percent clear but that doesnāt bother me.
Honestly I now like it slightly more than Garringo (weak 7/10 by the same director Rafael Romero Marchent), due to the more interesting and unusual story so I know upgrade it to 7/10 good for 37th position on my SW Top 60.