I remember liking BHFT, but strangely I don’t remember anything about it… hmmmmm…
Comes to us all when we view quite a few westerns.
I really liked this one. I thought Robert woods was very good and I almost felt like I was watching George Hilton. I like the atmosphere. Very darl and emotional. I like the Barcelona locations. A part of Spain not often filmed but seems to hold more resemblence to America than Almeria. I loved the style. In depth, good character developement and delibertely paced. I love the score. Very catchy. But most of all, I found the story very intriging. I love how the outlaws, instead of engaging in normal outlaw activites like robbing a bank, decide to go boutny hunting, but are still criinals. And I love the leader’s alterior motives for killing El Puro. I thought the plot did a great job of illustrating the central conflict.
I really liked it.
I pretty much agree with those who found this little gem to their liking. This film contains some brutal scenes, especially the beating of the girl, but overall was slower than I expected. Plenty of time was devoted to Woods’ struggles to recover his sobriety and his shooting touch, made all the more difficult because of a Hitchcokian Bird’s eye vision problem. For me a dub can greatly enhance my enjoyment of a movie. Here the English dub is outstanding. All the voices seem to fit the characters, which for me is a big plus as a ‘wrong’ dub can take me right out of a movie. The opening of the duel was a little bit weak as the henchmen were disposed of rather easily by El Puro and his ‘partner’ (who was a really cool character). The ending was rather off putting, but after reflection I think it fits where events were leading. A fascinating watch and great music. 3/4
I’ve seen El Puro twice now, and I think it was even better the second time
The slow pace was not a problem, it suits this melancholic little film
Great miserable environments and atmosphere, and a great cast
A film that deserves a cult following
Several great things about this film. I love the ending. And I like that Gipsy’s gang is depicted like a real western gang, which just like any criminal gang is a group of obnoxious, unlikeable, amoral jerks.
On the flip side what SW (or any western for that matter) don’t do well is portray reality. It’s an anti-realism genre. And, as with the drunken brother in Massacre Time, I have trouble buying the depiction of Woods the alcoholic getting clean.
Also the little kid who loves Woods and brings him home to be protected? One thing little kids love is middle-aged drunken men. Not. I think this proves the point of trying to add dramatic realsm to a genre of images and types can cut both ways. If one only goes half way then the unrealistic nature of the remainder of the flim can become a negative instead of a positive.
And my problems with the score mentioned elsewhere, much to the chagrin of some forum members I like and respect.
So for me I’m stuck in ambivalence land. I watched a mediocre dupe which I assume is how all of us watched it. I’d like to see it on a proper DVD. That can make such a difference. For example the amazingly beautiful restoration and authoring done by Koch Media can heighten the experience of watching any mid-level SW for me. And the experience of watching a very very good film can be dimished by seeing it in multigeneration video tape dupe quality.
I need to look for some more films with Woods.
;D
It wasn’t really to my chagrin, amigo. I just didn’t know if you were aware of who the composer for the EL PURO score was and all that.
Interesting points. I somehow manage to soak up the good stuff in this film and overlook the faults, or allow its inconsistences. Col. Mortimer can’t stand the implausability of parts of it, and it ruins the film for him. It doesn’t do that for me.
I have much more belief in Wood’s alcoholic, than I do in Hilton’s in MT.
Anyway - I’ve probably made all these points before … what I really meant to say was that Black Jack, My Name is Pecos and Challenge of the McKennas are probably the best outings for Woods, other than EP.
If you haven’t seen these, then they’re worth hunting out I reckon.
[quote=“Mortimer, post:106, topic:795”]I have trouble buying the depiction of Woods the alcoholic getting clean.
Also the little kid who loves Woods and brings him home to be protected? One thing little kids love is middle-aged drunken men. Not.
And my problems with the score mentioned elsewhere[/quote]
Seems a bit nitpicking to me, even though I understand what you mean about the score
Woods wasn’t totally run down, and maybe kids in the old west didn’t have anything against drunk men? :o
There were probably a lot of drunks around at that time, Woods was still sort of likeable, even to Rosalba Neri ;D
You know, the more I research the old West and discuss it with historians like Bob Boze Bell, Ben Traywick, Tim Fattig, and others…the more I believe you are right.
Sometimes, it seems that the only people who weren’t rip-roaring drunk in those days were clergymen, religious folk, and shop-keepers. Certainly those whose work kept them near Saloons, and other such places, were largely drunk all hours of the day.
Also, keep in mind that in the old West “boom” towns (places like Tombstone, Deadwood, Dodge City, Bodie, and so on) there were literally dozens of Saloons just down the main street of the town. The number of Saloons outweighed the number of other types of establishments–so, when the men folk weren’t working, what were they doing? Yep. You guessed it. They were drinking! Actually, some of them didn’t even wait to be off work before they started drinking!
Surprisingly, from our modern point of view, there were a lot of kids running around these Saloons, as well. Some were often sent there to fetch pails of beer or bottles of whisky for their parents! Most Saloons had an errand boy that just hung around there so they could pick up a few cents by verbally delivering messages from the establishment’s patrons to folks around town or to shine shoes, and the like. Check out Sam Peckinpah’s PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID and you will see one such errand boy on hand when Coburn needs him. In that film, the errand boy is hanging around the barber shop which happens to be in a corner of a Saloon (which was not at all unusual in those days).
So, kids were definitely used to being around drunks and folks that were drinking in those days, without a doubt.
Still, though…I perfectly understand what Mortimer is saying in regards to the kid in EL PURO warming up to Woods’ character in the way it is depicted.
You are absolutely right. Guilty as charged and admittedly so. A couple of wise people who participate in this forum have pointed out how the mood one is in when watching a film can effect one’s level of enjoyment. Also the quality of the print can make a huge difference. A mediocre film is much more enjoyable with a nice widescreen print that looks nice. Two factors at play in this case.
How can I justifiably praise a film like Sartana Non Perdona and criticize another film for lacking realism? It does seem to be a contradiction. With Sartana Non Perdona there is no attempt at realism so that’s not a criteria by which I judge it.
I’m looking forward to watching El Puro again. There’s a lot of great stuff in it, and a lot to admire about it. Perhaps if I view it as being in the school of existentialist westerns (a la Monte Hellman) rather than failed realism.
At least El Puro feels a lot more ‘realistic’ than many other spaghetti westerns, if we’re going to discuss realism in these films
I was thrilled to see the extended version of El Puro - and thrilled again to see Brother Autephex had been responsible. It’s the Col.'s nightmare, of course - an extended version, but it was brilliant for this devotee. This film just gets better, and I have to applaud this cut - and disagree with Autephex in his ‘note’ - the extra bits certainly add more to the understanding.
There’s something so different about it. Sure it’s slow, but I can’t think of another sw that delves so much into the human psyche - and I understand the bit where Brega rushes El Puro’s gun - he’s a broken man who knows he’s gonna die and have to meet his brother in hell - he just wants it over with.
A truely brilliant film! “Pow!”
[Edit - I may have to get a tattoo based on this beaut 
]
I definetly did notice cuts in the VHS rip I saw. The opening is abrupt and obviously is the middle of the scene. As well as brega attacking the girl and her father. No transition from them jumping off the coach to the farm. I need this extended cut!
Autephex did a great job on this… like all his other projects.
Thought you already did, Rev! 
I remember saying ages ago in the “Philosophy” thread about there being phrases/maxims that you just might wanna get tattooed, and I mentioned the “a man can’t carry his tombstone around for ever - it’s just too heavy” quote - it’s been with me a while - but eventually … ;D
Indeed ;D
And these are the two bits I refer to from the “Spaghetti western philosophy” thread…
“The stuff I’d like to see on this thread is, as we’re watching these films, are the little philosophical nuggets, the pearls of wisdom, the little maxims that you might live your life by, or get put on a scroll and wrapped around a skull (wearing a battered hat with a bullet hole in it, and smoking a cheroot) and tattooed on your forehead.”
[size=14pt]&[/size]
"I missed out pissed-up old soaks …
Robert woods in EL PURO -
“A man can’t carry his tombstone around on his back forever - it’s just too heavy.” "
Over 2 years ago - but we got there - sort of.
I’m sure the brilliant opening shot, is exactly how it should be. I was baffled when I saw it, one of the most beautiful opening shots of every SW.
It gave me the feeling that there was something different to come, and it came.