I can appreciate your perspective lol buttttt the quality spags are great films no matter how you approach them. I can watch and enjoy a quality spag like fistful of dollars, the big gundown, 10,000 dollars for a massacre etc. no matter what mood im in. Sad, Happy, somewhere in the middle. Spaghetti westerns always put a smile on my face and I can rewatch the good ones basically endlessly.
Hammerfist isnāt over-analyzing, what are you talking about? Or should we be like the kind of person who canāt distinguish one film from the other. Youāve seen one SW youāve seen them all. 
I havenāt seen this film in a long time, but I remember it as relatively bland, and I too have wondered why it is so high up on many fans lists. Itās not bad but not great either.
SWs are supposed to evoke strong feelings with their drama, music, colorful characters, etc. They are western operas. And the best SWs do this indeed.
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Analyzing films means for me to think about why I enjoy a film or why not. I need not to do that, for some films I do that, for some films not, and that has nothing to do with a filmās quality.
Analyzing films can be an academic thing, but it must not be such. Thinking about films is for me sometimes as fun as watching them. Actually if itās not fun I donāt do it anymore.
The most important thing to know about a film is actually how much it entertains me.
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I like this one a lot. Starts gritty and during the film the mood changes, as the relation between Law and Van Cleef changes as well. This time the younger man is the revenger and van Cleef acts like a father figure. A roll that he also very well played in other movies as well.
Maybe it is a Leone copy, but then it is a good one with a solid storytelling.
So, the film being in the essential top 20 does not surprise me.
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This is my #3 spaghetti western. I really love this revenge story. For me it doesnāt have to be a genius plot or script. Sometimes simple is better. There are interesting themes. About forgiveness, friendship, making the right choices. The bullying and hunting between Cleef and Law is funny and very entertaining. The style, the music and the acting is also great! Like the scene when he throws away the chairs before the duel, I love it! And there are many other great scenes. This film definitely belongs in the Top 20.
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Iām surprised it never made my top 20 in the past. After revisiting the film, I realised just how good it is. Iāve watched it many times before but it always struck me as too simplistic. Now I see thatās what makes it work so well. Brilliant direction and music! The acting is very good, too. JPL is much better than I remember - I love the little nod he gives to Van Cleef at the end.
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I take back what I said about this film. I will admit - I was talking out of my ass. I had watched it back to back with For a Few Dollars More which was a terrible idea since they are very similar in basically every way and when comparing any non-leone western to For a Few Dollars More its bound to look like shit in comparison, and since they are similar movies the comparison came naturally, which made me not enjoy the film and resulted in me being overly criticalā¦ but in reality itās a very good movie, John Phillip Lawās acting aside.
ā¦anyway I picked up the Kino Lorber bluray, itās not great, but also not terrible. I really hope for a new negative scan though, assuming they arenāt damaged themselves. I donāt know anything about remastering films but I hope we get a better version of the film sometime, if thatās even possible, as the current bluray is decent at best.
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Why did you delete the original posts?
Thatās odd ā¦ people change their mind about films, thatās normal, itās still interesting what one once wrote.
I know, I know, but theyāre still available if you view the history. I wouldnāt have removed them if that wasnāt the case.
Yeah, I have changed my mind about so many films. This is definitely one of them.
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I think having an uncompressed Blu-ray version of this film changes everything, too. Thereās a lot of little details that get lost or watered down with compression and/or sub-1080p resolutions when it comes to this film. The intro is 10 times stronger in uncompressed 1080p, for example. So glad I picked up the KL bluray, it went from not being in my top 20 to being in my top 5ā¦ I donāt think I have ever changed my opinion on a film this much.
To what extent has the german bluray been repaired? It is a noticeable upgrade?
Yes. The difference is not major, but among other things they stabilized the picture in some moments etc. We had a more extensive information somewhere, not sure if it was in this thread or somewhere else. But, if you own a different Bluray, say the US disc, a switch to the German disc will not be worth it just because of the picture, for that itās to minor a difference
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Thanks for the info Seb, guess Iāll stick to my KL bluray for nowā¦ hope we get a rescan of this one one day. However, the negative may be damaged itself, so not sure its even possible to ever get a better version of this one. I find it odd how no one has ever thought to rescan it yet, perhaps its for this reason?
Western Allāarrabbiata re-watch # 5
Ok, I tried again due to the beautiful new box, but still donāt get it, why so many SW fans like this film so much. Why it is even in the forumās top 10.
Itās obviously a variation of FaFDM, with many direct similarities, but only shows me how FaFDM could have become if a much lesser director than Leone had directed the same screenplay (ignoring that of course Leone had influence on the screenplay).
In the first half of DRaH I always think it may get better than remembered, but after the 2nd half it ends as usual with a solid 6/10
Actually, when I first watched it in the 90s it was a just another mediocre SW for me, so at least it climbed in the last 20 years.
Well, I try it again in about 2035 ā¦
I get what you mean as I also didnāt like it for a while, but what makes the film special is mostly itās execution and itās fun dialogue. The cinematography, the filming locations, the pacing, the action are all top tier. The concept is a FFDM clone but there arenāt many films that are similar to FFDM, so its not inherently a bad thing and makes it stand out. Itās also very well made and has a lot of itās own style in the execution. The final action sequence is one of the best action sequences in any spaghetti western. Not to mention LVC is amazing, in one of his best roles.
The only issue with it is the BD is very poor, has a lot of cigarette burns and eye catching scratches. It needs a new scan from a better source, if thatās even possible.
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And again we have very different views.
- FaFDM is the much, much better film in every respect
- LvC is good here, but far from amazing
- The final action is not bad, but not good either, it is just mediocre, SW business as usual
- Iām happy with the Plaion Blu, nothing to complain
- There is nothing in the film which is really outstanding, only several well made scenes next to some lazy stuff
Well if there was top tier stuff, the film would have been much more fun to watch.
A great action scene at the end would easily gather another point on the 10er scale. But there is nothing in DRaH which can compare with the top shoot-outs of Leone and Corbucci. Nothing.
I think the screenplay of DRaH has generally more flaws than FaFDM, actually the 2nd half of FaFDM also has some considerable story telling flaws, but with the final duel Leone saves the day, while DRaH gets down further.
Actually it is mainly the directing quality of Leone which makes FaFDM such a good film, and Petroni is only solid director. Even his imo best western Tepepa shows this. Colizzi and Sollima were much more talented, and made the better films for me.
Hmm, this all sounds now more negative than it should be ā¦ in the end it is still an entertaining film.
But donāt worry Hammerfist, even if we often disagree, I like what you write, itās interesting to read and think about.
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Iām happy with the Plaion Blu, nothing to complain
I have the KL BD but from what I understand, its about the same as the Plaion one.
But donāt worry Hammerfist, even if we often disagree, I like what you write, itās interesting to read and think about.
Same here man 