Rewatch. I can never decide between this one and I Voglio Morto as my favorite Craig Hill SW as he does so good in both, granted he’s a bit more on the unscrupulous and devious side as Lanky Fellow. George Martin makes a great villain, and is the only Mexican bandit I’ve seen in a Western with an Anglo-Saxon name.
Tonino Valerii made an impressive debut with this SW, and while isn’t super innovative, is well made and enjoyable.
Spagvemberfest 2021, Day 12: NEST OF VIPERS aka NIGHT OF THE SERPENT
(1969)
I’ve already watched two movies from Giulio Petroni this month, might as well make it three. I saw this years ago on Wild East’s DVD double feature with TAILS YOU LOSE, and I’ll be darned if I could remember a thing about it, so I gave it another look.
It’s a very different, slower paced film than your average SW, with unusual characters. And that’s not entirely a bad thing. It’s oddly structured, with the first act focusing on four devious relatives trying to cheat a young boy out of an inheritance. Enter the great Luigi Pistilli as a corrupt police officer who wants the money for himself. Then we switch to Luke Askew as a drunken gunman with a dark secret hired to kill the young boy. When he finds out who his target is, he sobers up and goes after the all the bad guys.
There’s lots to like here, such as the unusual hero, Pistilli’s evil officer and Chelo Alonso as a devious prostitute. I also liked Petroni’s direction, especially in revealing Askew’s past and the moving score from Riz Ortolani. Unfortunately, the parts are greater than the whole here, as I did find it a little dull at times, and really slow out of the gate. Yes, I could have used more action but I enjoyed the acting, the style and the unique mood of this one enough for a 7/10.
Ooh, lovely! At last and having saved it specifically for Spagvember, I’m finally getting a first look at my Eureka Entertainment Sabata trilogy box set, starting, fairly understably I guess, with Sabata (Parolini, 1969), in which everybody who gets shot immediately performs a triple back-flip with double twist. Sabata is of course as silly as arseholes but it’s a fun silly. I’m hoping the new blu does it justice and, being a fan of Eureka generally, I’m sure it will do.
Very early day 13:
First time watch. Kinda disappointed by this one and found it quite boring apart from the last 20 or so minutes. Anthony Dawson is cool as hell though.
Day 12: Tepepa (1969) with Tomas Millian and Orson Welles. Definitely in my top 10 list of spaghettis. Tomas Millian is at his best (in my opinion) as the peon-turned-guerrilla leader, Tepepa. Welles is also great as the classist villain Colonel Colasco. The English doctor who is bent on killing Tepepa for the death of his wife begins to gain some respect for Tepepa beyond presuming him to be a mere murderous bandit at the film’s beginning. Drama is mixed with humor effectively as well. I have no problem watching it a third time in the future. (8/10)
Parolini: Adios Sabata
-Second film from the bd release. It’s similar fun as earlier "Frank Kramer films and with amazing score but I think Yul Brunner is miscast in the main role. I think he would have been great as an avenger-type roles in sw’s or maybe men-on-a-mission films but for this type roles you need Lee van Cleef or Gianni Garko. 6/10
Beautiful transfer, looks as though it was shot yesterday for the most part, one or two soft-looking scenes notwithstanding. I chose to listen to the commentary by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw which was an entertaining, lively and easily-listenable commentary if not especially illuminating. I’d happily listen to that again. One of the big issues with a great transfer of Sabata of course is that William Berger’s wig now takes on a terrifying life of its own. I think it’s even got its own song and dance sequence now, iirc. Or maybe I just had an awful nightmare after the movie, I can’t remember now.
I think that, if you’ve an opportunity to pick this set up, you should buy with confidence.
Nowhere near Corbucci’s best but actually better than I remembered it. Mark Damon in more of a Ringo/Arizona Colt type role who is apparently Mexican but outside of the unwise Cantinflas type moustache choice doesn’t seem it. Impressive pyrotechnics though and not unenjoyable. My locandina is an accurate reflection of the film too. Pretty nice without being spectacular.
Today, I finally dived into my Vengeance Trails set and kicked it off with one of my favorites - And God Said to Cain. I love Gothic horror and to have two of my favorite genres wrapped into one movie is like having a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup where the chocolate blends with the peanut butter to provide its own unique delicious taste. And the fact that this one is directed by one of the legendary masters of Gothic horror, Antonio Margheriti, means that it is absolutely drenched in the feel of that genre. I now might have to pull out his other great gothic-y flavored western Vengeance and add it to my watch list for the month. Another thing I enjoy about this movie, which is pointed out in the extras on the disc, is the completely subdued performance of Klaus Kinski who manages to command the screen without really having to do much at all. As for the release itself, having seen some pretty crappy transfers of this movie in the past, I thought the overall clarity and sharpness of the Arrow disc is pretty amazing.
Another dud. Nothing happens for the first hour and the final shootout is just daft. I also have a dislike for SWs that feature circuses (see Gunman Sent by God 1968 and Boot Hill 1969). 5/10
This is more like it. Carnimeo’s direction is good and Massi’s cinematography is superb, the twisty-turny plot is great, and there’s plenty of gun-play. Even the comedy is good because of the dry delivery from our two main protagonists Lord and Bull (although Eastwood’s MWNN did it better). 7/10
The version I watched on the Gringo YouTube channel has a few minutes missing which makes for a confusing edit. I may have pick up the upcoming bluray for the full unedited HD experience.
First spagh Robert Woods appeared in. It’s actually not bad, until let’s say last 20 minutes, when some scenes started to be kind of dumb. The final showdown is just meh. 5/10
My Image DVD of this one must be at least 15 years old, and I haven’t seen it since after I originally bought it. It’s not the greatest print, but I had forgotten what a fun movie this is.
It starts with a creative and brutal murder, and director Antonio Margerhiti keeps the pace brisk with lots of action. Richard Harrison gives one of his best and toughest performances here, and Claudio Camaso is terrific as the totally bonkers main villain. I loved the gimmick of Harrison tossing a short piece of rope on the bodies of the bad guys as a reminder of their evil deed, and the film ends with a terrific shootout in an abandoned mine.
Look, no deep themes or attempts at artfulness here, just a tight exciting action flick, very well done and hugely enjoyable. 8/10.
One of the first movies I watched when I first learned what spaghetti westerns were. Perfect and iconic and positively one of the greatest Italian westerns. There isn’t much I can say that hasn’t been said already about this classic.
Is it really? Egads man, it’s horrifying! Look at that woman’s eyeliine; she’s keeping a very wary eye on it. I suspect it’s chatting her up whilst Berger’s attention is elsewhere.
I’ll say this, though: Sabata took a MASSIVE jump up my personal list of favourite westerns as a result of watching it last night. Over the years, it had drifted way out of my favourite 100 westerns, almost out of my favourite 150. It’s right back in my top 40 now, and that was just from watching it with a commentary playing over the top. It really is a fun picture, and I think I’ve always judged it harshly against my preferred If You Meet Sartana… Pray For Your Death, which is probably an unfair comparison in any event.
Dallamano: Bandidos
-One of my favorites, top 20 film for me. My only complaint goes for the shoot-out in the end which goes on for too long, I’d have preferred duel scene in the Leone style. Near perfect 9/10
Arrow’s bluray on the other hand is far from perfect, I knew it was cut regarding some brief horse falls but the way they’re cut… the whole screen goes black for few seconds during those scenes! Just terrible solution.
Decided to play it safe with an old favorite … It does contain some silly comedic moments which can be forgiven because when Gianni Garko and William Berger are together on screen it’s sheer SW poetry … what cool chemistry these two have as reluctant friends/rivals … Brilliant fun, and it has one of the most rousing theme tunes ever heard in any western, by Bruno Nicolai
Already seen this at least a dozen times … but tonight I can actually hear it properly in English thanks to the Youtube rip which has now been removed, probably for copyright reasons.
