Matalo! / ¡Mátalo! (Cesare Canevari, 1970)

[quote=“Lindberg, post:40, topic:201”]The music is what sets this film really apart from other SWs I think, and adds to the surreal atmosphere.

Great score by Mario Migliardi, but not funky is it? More rock and electronic music, no?

Have you got that soundtrack-CD too Avatar?[/quote]
OK, funky was perhaps a bad word to use here. I meant weird, suggestive and so on. But yes it is a ‘rocky’ score which adds splendidly to the surreal setting and atmosphere of the movie.

Of course I got the cd in my collection :slight_smile:

Another soundtrack I would really like to see released though is the one to Django Kill. Again a out of place score to a great movie.

I would call the score psychedelic.

Oh for sure ;D.

But the people who do like are in for a treat :).

Interesting to see what you think.

Ah yes…a good word to describe.

Yes of course. Matches nice with the time the movie was made too…

Disturbing (in a good way) soundtrack, experimental camera work and exotic elements in general.

I’ve got a copy of this on the way but I wouldn’t be surprised about the reaction to it given its director. The only film I’ve seen by Canevari is THE NUDE PRINCESS with Ajita Wilson, Tina Aumont, and Luigi Pistilli and that film is quite an experience.

Yes, spot on, and this is actually quite interesting, what were the influences of the hippie-movement in this genre?

Some characters in SWs smoked an occassional joint, and we have the hippie youngsters in Gli Specialisti but there must be more hippie ingredients?

There is this score Matalo, are there more SW scores with psychedelic influences after all?

EDIT: Hmm, maybe better to start a new thread with this question? :smiley:

Btw, El Topo is a hippie/ psychedelic western? Haven’t seen it yet ::slight_smile:

I loved this movie…

Lack of plot did not make it any less compelling. Definitely style over substance, but style by the truckload.
Great acid-rock score, too…

I’m a fan of psychedelic movies & this really hit the spot - but I can see why some people would hate it.

One of the best things about this film is Claudia Gravy. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her.

Finally watched my Wild East version of this movie tonight. After reading all of the comments under this title, guess I’m about the only one to give “Matalo!” a thumbs down. I didn’t feel like I was watching a spaghetti western at all. Felt more like I was watching a bunch of hippies trying to make a spaghetti western. On a positive note, Pani and Gravy were good and the music surprisingly worked for me. But Lou Castel and boomerangs?! Come on!! Did anybody notice when he threw lefthanded? Give me a break! The biggest wimp ever to play a “hero” in spaghetti western history. Not my idea of a good repesentation of the genre…My humble opinion.

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I watched it for the first time tonight and I have to partially agree with AceHigh…

I give it a “sideways” thumbs. I liked the music, the gothic feel and the strangeness. Lou Castel did not do anything for me at all…almost like he was an afterthought. The boomerangs were an interesting idea but unfortunately they didn’t really work as far as the movie went. They could have been written in better IMHO.

The best parts were the ghost town atmosphere and the dissention in the ranks of the outlaws but the dubbing was bad, they didn’t play Castel up nearly as well as they could have and they wasted a lot of time getting to the “meat” of the story.

3/5 for me…glad I bought the WE release and definitely enjoyable but not the best SW I’ve ever seen.

Agreed…she’s sexy as hell!

Btw, why is Matalo! called AiMatalo! ???

Fans of Matalo! might want to know that the new Italian release by Medusa is SUPERIOR to the Wild East disc. Unfortunately no English audio or subtitles.

http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/screenshots/wematalo.png[/url] (I cropped away the black bars from the non-anamorphic image)
[url=http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/screenshots/medusamatalo.png]http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/screenshots/medusamatalo.png[url]http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/screenshots/wematalo.png[/url]

:wink:

I’m gonna put up some more (smaller) images at my site later today or tomorrow. The WE disc also seems to have at least one very small cut/print damage.

Halfway through this film I thought I thought " Is this movie Great or tterrible?" Recalling, I cannot by any meen call itterrible but it is too unsettling to be great.

Made a review of this one. My first review but recently expnaded.

[url]http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Matalo_review[/url]

I’m with Ace High on this piece of garbage all the way. Although Ally and Eric at Wild East dedicated their DVD release to me it is a joke as they know I hate this film. Matalo is a re-make of KILL THE WICKEDS which will be released in 2009. A much better film which does not incorporate the bizzare aspects of the boomercangs (give me a break all the guy had to do was move 5 feet after the things was in the air to avoid them). The hippy clothes and music also turned me off. I remember watching one version and over the end credits they move the camera around in a circular motion while it shows the building used as the Baxter’s headquarters in Fistful of Dollars. The worst spaghetti western of the genre as far as I’m concerned. Only the opening scene is worthy of being watched. :stuck_out_tongue:

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The 1st scene is one of the best in every SW. And there’s more

I agree. Very wellilmed and sends a message to the viewer about the rest of the film.

Finally received a copy of this one and still love it. But to view it apporopriately, I have to be in my mood. Maybe a tired and accepting mood. A mood that will put up with a slower pace. Whenever I’m in this mood, this film is fenominal.

I for one accept Castel’s late appearance. The film is structured VERY weirdly and this is not only a bold move, but a experimental move that matches the film. It is strange (good way) that the lesser characters probably get the most screen time but the wo leads (Castel and Panni) get an extremely limited amount.

Is Panni to be considered a true villain in this film? Sure he is a mean bastard but what Spaghetti character isn’t. I think his actions are tame compared to Manuel’s in Cemetery Without Crosses. Besides, he seems to truely meen what he says to Castel at the end about being a partner. But I still call him the heavy if not Villain or Bad guy.

What exactly is it about this film that is so watchable? At least to those of us who like it. It just seems so intrancing. It is a real shame I don’t smoke pot. I wonder what this film could be like if I was high.

Well, he betrays everyone.
He kills the guys who had rescued him, he steals the girl of his friend, he tries to betray his friend. And I’m sure he was guilty for whatever they wanted to hang him in the first scene.

No, he’s an absolute villain, an absolute asshole, only that the film is told for the first third from his point of view. And he has a certain charisma, which makes us somehow try to identify with him, but in a problematic way.
Tuco is more like Mother Teresa compared to him.