Hands of a Gunfighter / Ocaso de un pistolero / Mani di pistolero (Rafael Romero Marchent, 1965)

Watched this one today and as there was no thread for the film I thought Iā€™d start one.

Former gunman Craig Hill tries to escape his old life but it catches up with him and he feels compelled to pick up his guns again.
Straightforward premise is complicated and made more interesting as we discover that the son Hill and his wife (Gloria Milland) dote on is not actually their own but a lad they stole from the sheriff who accidentally killed theirs some years previously. As a Marchent film it predictably tends to have that ā€˜Spanishā€™ rather than Italian feel about it but as I like the Spanish ones this kept me reasonably happy for its rather short running time. Particularly liked how Hillā€™s character shifts from being the pacifist hero to a much darker and more tragic figure who winds up losing our sympathies as he descends into a pit of grudges, ill temper and self pity.

Not from the top tier of the genre by any means but considering I watched this one within hours of a revisit of The Good the Bad and the Ugly it stood up pretty well really.


For more info visit:
Database page: Ocaso de un pistolero - The Spaghetti Western Database

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I have this one but, for the life of me, I canā€™t remember if I watched. I think itā€™s time to get it out and watch it (maybe watch it again?) I do like Marchentā€™s Spanish feel so Iā€™m expecting it to be pretty good :wink:

Donā€™t remember much about it right now but thatā€™s what I wrote in ā€œLast western you watchedā€ topic in 2008:

-This one started quite boringly. Apart from nice title sequence and beautiful and strange dream scene it was just like many other early swā€™s which still remind too much american westerns. But during the latter half of the movie it gets much better with some nice action and duelling scenes and the last scene is already pure spaghetti western. Recommended.

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Viewed this one a couple of times and just cannot seem to get into it really. Remember finding Hillā€™s dubbed english voice rather irritating.

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Colors are a bit off, otherwise it wasnā€™t too bad:

https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Gunman's_Hands_(Ocaso_de_un_Pistolero)_Review

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funny this thread should crop up as it is the film due to be watched on my " To watch" pile tomorrow night. iā€™ll let you know what i think.

Well i watched this last night and i liked it|! it does start off rather clumsy and a little confusing but stay with it and despite having a well worn theme it manages to make it fresh and film has drama and i found it a good film. Not a great fan of Craig Hill films but he is ok but i think gives one of his better performances here and certainly one of his better spaghetti westerns. the second half of the film is what makes it and it is pretty good especially for an early entry in the genre. Have to agree with Bill the ending is iconic and definitely a spaghetti western classic scene. 8/10

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A good scene, yes, but I thought this ā€˜alternative Russian Roulette sceneā€™ was even better. Makes you clear that thereā€™s something wrong with this Murphy fellow.

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[quote=ā€œscherpschutter, post:8, topic:2772ā€]A good scene, yes, but I thought this ā€˜alternative Russian Roulette sceneā€™ was even better. Makes you clear that thereā€™s something wrong with this Murphy fellow.[/quote]ah yes! agreed a good scene. forgot about that. wonder if Michael Cimono saw this before he did the " Deer Hunter"? :slight_smile:

Donā€™t think so, but if he did, those scenes in The Deer Hunter werenā€™t bad either ā€¦

Anyone know where I can find a full uncut version of this? Iā€™ve only seen the 76 minute one on youtube.

77 minutes is the correct runtime for this one.

Phil - I canā€™t believe you havenā€™t mentioned Lorenzoā€™s sartorially splendid choice of jacket in this :stuck_out_tongue: ā€¦ even though a bullet proof vest might have been more practical :slight_smile:

Always seems cut this one as such a short running time.

Got the German Koch Media DVD today. Running time: 73 min, 50 s (PAL speedup). JonathanCorbett is always right:

Does the German Blu have English audio?

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According to Amazon.de, yes. I donā€™t have the BD, but I guess itā€™s identical to the DVD.

Iā€™ll get it then, thanks!

I have the BD, itā€™s the same as the DVD. Enjoyable western for me, but the english dubbing was kinda bothersome.

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Just ordered the blu ray from Amazon Germany - I found conflicting language info from a Koch Media website, SWDB and Amazon.de but as you say above the German site has English on both the dvd and blu ray.