Had this one for a while, think I’m going to have to give it a viewing soon… I think when I was reading about it, it was being compared to the likes of El Topo… any truth to that?
No. El Topo? Not a bit.
Deadlock is more like Matalo without the weirdness. On the other hand a little weirdness is there though.
True… Watched the movie last night (ZDF Theater) and it kind of reminded me of Matalo. There’re some similarities but otherwise the flic is quite different…
Very interesting and Adorf is doing really well…
I just watched this one I liked it a lot. Its a crime film spaghetti western style, great fun to watch.
Just watched it, awesome movie! Feels like a SW at many parts, also a nice soundtrack.
Not my first watch on this one, I’ve bought a German VHS tape of it a long time ago, not cause of the film which I didn’t know nothing about it at the time, but mostly because of The Can Soundtrack, I couldn’t understand nothing of the dialogue in German language, but always a fan of Krautrock if its suppose to be called that way.
The initial scene of the film pick my attention, a wounded man in the desert carrying a submachine gun and a bag, some wonderful electric guitar sound; I’m bought from the start.
I must admit I was surprise to find out this was a 1970 made film, it seems more like something made at least 5 years ahead of that, a very modern film, in a time where Trinita movies were being made, this was for a spag, or at least for a SW influenced film, very ahead of its time, I only recall El Bandido Malpejo being so up front, but while the last was a political take on Spanish history, this one is a pure SW homage starting with Leone, but with lots of other references from Cemitery without crosses and The Big Silence to even Colizzi films.
I liked the way the director (and writer) twisted the GBU premise, into a perverted Triello, from where only one can escape alive, and all the others seemed condemned from start.
The lack of temporal period and place sense makes the small plot more intriguing and absorbing, also the set and locations of the film helps to the general sense of madness with the female characters adding more to that madness feeling. If you would spend so much time in such a place you would end up nuts or near that. I couldn’t help the sensation that the place per si turned everyone into lunatics.
Not sure if I’ve seen anything before from Roland Klick, but maybe I should, this kind of slow pacing films with minimal plot and a handful of characters are not for everyone hands, but Klick makes the right moves most of the time with the story.
We can not agree how the story runs its course to the end (at least if you compare it with other SW), but its different all right, and it doesn’t even have that sometimes annoying sixities hippie feeling, its timeless, Wim Wertens (but not only him) must have seen Deadlock it predicts Paris Texas.
The acting is great, Mario Adorf is an actor I’ve learn to respect over the years, Dawson is a fantastic villain, the man is perfect as Mr Sunshine, and so is the other German actor who plays The Kid, if you had this acting quality in more average SW, the genre would have been even greater.
Not a perfect film of course, lacks some definition at times (homage or not), but made as pure blooded SW, I which they had made more of the kind after 1970, comical SW weren’t the only path for the genre.
The acting is great; The Can soundtrack in a different way is Morricone level which says everything about it, the SW imaginarium is perfect, the mixing of set and plot are perfect, a very good film
I thik this topic should be moved to the Eurowesterns or Hybrids section at least that
must see material for me that’s for sure
No further comment.
I second that. It might as well have been titled For a Suitcase Full of Dollars.
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Yep. Is listed as a Eurowestern in the db aswell so hereby done.
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Jeez, tomas, it’s almost six years and you still haven’t seen it!
I’ve recently seen it as a matter of fact and it’s excellent. Give it a go, you shouldn’t be disappointed. A cool little movie.
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I made a review back in the old fórum, I liked, it’s filmed in the same tempo of a Western Spaghetti but without a time and place
The Can Soundtrack is great
In that case I need to shoehorn it into my top 50 SWDb films.
Scroll to post 26 of this thread for El Topo’s review.
Ha! 'Ve seen it. Well, it wasn’t really what I expected, but watchable piece. The ending is just as trashy as it can get, it is obvious they wanted to do something different than usual showdown, and it is obvious that they failed. 3/5. But locations are superb.
It’s literally a psychedelic heist crime movie disguised as a Eurowestern. 3/5 is just about right!
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I thought the ending was okay, but I understand why you feel that way. For me, it never got too heavy-handed in its attempt to emulate the general feel of spaghetti westerns and it doesn’t necessarily feel like one to me.
Neither to me. With the whole raggedy look of cars, buildings etc I felt like I’m in some postapocalyptic world, I wonder if George Miller had seen this.
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How about El Puro?
How is that?