I’ve been trying to find a copy of the Koch DVD of the Ruthless Four for a while now. I saw a few copies on Germany’s eBay, but they were either too expensive, or the sellers don’t ship to the US. I’ll keep looking though.
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I’m not sure how difficult it is to get hold of nowadays…I bought my copy years ago. Good luck with trying to get one, though. 
- Siodmak: Pyramid of the Sun God
-Picked one Karl May film which I had not seen before. I started watching it on youtube one sleepless night and didn’t understand anything about it, today I finished it as I noticed that I can watch it with auto-generated english subs, while far from perfect they made it easier to follow although the film itself is such a hopeless mess that it didn’t improve in anyway. For 1965 film this one feels terribly naive and outdated. 3/10
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I watched Django Challenged Sartana and thought it was very okay in most regards. Similarly to Vengeance Is a Dish Eaten Cold, the movie suffers from poor camerawork, jerky editing and meh visual style; thankfully, it’s a much simpler flick, so it does not get as overambitious and helpless as that movie, which means that it works a lot better and does not get bogged down by the technical deficiency as much. Both Tony Kendall and George Ardisson look pretty badass and make for an enjoyable pairing in this otherwise fairly simplistic revenge story.
Squitieri is not much of a director and he doesn’t have much to work with, but at least he tries. After the tedious 30 minutes of its prologue, the spag outing picks up to some extent and eventually climaxes in a decent shootout. I don’t know, I guess it is mostly fine for a zero-budget sort of affair and needless to say, I have seen much worse than this. On the other hand, I have to add that I’ve seen much better and there is not much to write home about either. That being said, I guess it’ll do for a simple kind of spag.
4/10
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I remember watching ‘I Guappi’ (1974) and thinking it good enough to IMDB the director … so I was surprised that someone with that level of talent/intelligence had made a Z list Spaggie !
He also did 2 other Mafia stories, ‘The Iron Prefect’ aka Il prefetto di ferro and ‘Corleone’, both with Giuliano Gemma and his girlfriend … non other than Claudia Cardinale !!! So respect for that alone 
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Maybe I was a bit harsh, considering these were his first movies, he might’ve gotten better along the road. I have no way of telling, as I haven’t seen anything else from him apart from his westerns. I mean some scenes in Django sfida Sartana look as though the director had broken the 180-degree rule among other things, so the appearance of these spags is simply kind of tawdry. I wouldn’t call them Z-list spags though, it’s a bit extreme, they’re just not that good IMHO.
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Days of violence is to me a very good flick,no doubt . Great choice . Not sure what I’m gonna hunt down today . Feeling like I want to see something I haven’t watched before and it’s kinda getting more challenging ,in the last year and a half I’ve watched hundreds. So yeah if your have one that’s kinda rare and watchable . let me know of one you recommend just for today. That’s if you think of anything .know your a busy man so no pressure.
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so you want a random recommendation? How about Gatling Gun… or Savage Pampas
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Thanks for texting back, Sebastian. I’ve seen both. Thanks though. See, I’m looking for something I haven’t seen:Thanks again. Might be tough, but I know I haven’t seen them all yet. Do know it’s getting close.
Day 16 - Take a hard ride
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Take_a_hard_ride
Another DVD I bought and left on the shelf. Not even sure if I’ve ever seen it before or not.
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Day 16
Today’s movies - Born to Kill (1967)
Very average affair that isn’t bad but isn’t good so you just end up feeling nothing. Seeing Gordon Mitchell as a lead was very interesting and I’m looking forward to watching more of him in “3 Bullets for Ringo” that I also have not seen before.
Also, Taste of Killing (1966)
Another Craig Hill gem I needed to rewatch, and I’m simply blown away by this debut from the great Tonino Valerii. This was already my favorite western of his but now there’s a high chance that I’ll move it up to my top 40. Must watch.
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Spagvember Fest Day 16
La Morte non Conta i Dollari
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Morte_non_conta_i_dollari,_La
3rd viewing. This is probably my favorite of the ‘sit back and enjoy’ type SW’s. It offers plenty of action and thrills, all while not taking itself too seriously. Mark Damon pulls off the Gemma like cowboy a little better than Gemma I think. Love the plot twist in it, and I’ve got no problems with the happy endings.
The Koch Media DVD offers a nice clean up of the film, and while some age and damage still exists in the print, it adds charm to the experience. Whenever I watch this one, I always go with the Italian audio track (like I usually do with all my SWs) cause the English dub is p$@# poor, not just in execution, but in quality too: constant pops, hissing, and at times hard to hear. I don’t know about the Wild East release, but Koch got railroaded on that audio.
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SPAGVEMBERFEST DAY 16
Hard to believe we’re already into the second half of the 'Fest but here we are and I’m heading back towards the clubhouse with the fantastic, ever-so-slightly demented Requiem For Gringo (aka Duel in the Eclipse) (Merino, 1968), an almost Tarantino-like romp with flashback-driven chapters, multiple end-of-level bosses and a hero who bests his enemies with little more than his knowledge of stellar phenomena and a swatch of leopardskin-pattern polyester. Grrr, tiger… I mean, leopard! Grrr!
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Day 16: Ringo, the Mark of Vengeance (1966) with Anthony Steffen, Eduardo Fajardo, and Frank Wolff. I really enjoyed this movie. Like the movie yesterday, I was really absorbed by the plot, and couldn’t stop watching it until the end. Steffen and Fajardo are drifters who save a man from being killed by a group of men. They soon find out from him that he has half of a map to the location of a treasure tattooed on his back, and a former convict friend has the other half tattooed on his. Pretty soon, another shady character (Wolff) smooth-talks his way into their circle to find the gold. The rest is a lot of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. There isn’t a bad performance among the cast. Fajardo shines as Steffen’s sidekick, Tim. I give it 7.5/10.
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Day 17:
Coffin Full of Dollars
Pretty average. Didn’t really mind Jeff Cameron. Klaus Kinski plays another Klaus Kinski character. Gunfights were actually pretty good but for some reason there’s hardly any music in this one despite a cool opening credits theme (I guess due to a low budget?) so the action can feel quite empty. My two favourite bits were the slow-mo jump shot from Jeff Cameron and the hilarious Klaus Kinski mannequin that falls off the tower at the end.
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He was a baby, was only 33 when he died and made a lot while he was alive
Day 17: ‘California’ (1977)
I’m wondering if Spag-fatigue is kicking in … as I found this one really quite boring and sickeningly sentimental, despite having the great Giuliano Gemma, and many familiar locations - Claudio Undari saying almost nothing and really living the character is worth special mention, he and Romano Puppo just look perfect as a couple of world weary ruthless bastards.
The story is however a bit wishy washy and the Almeria desert is supposed to represent the state of Georgia ! It just irritated more than entertained, even though there are a few good scenes.
Giving this just 5/10
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’CLINT THE NEVADA’S LONER’, (1967)
Also known as ‘Clint the Stranger’, and ably directed by Alfonso Balcazar, this is my tribute to the late, great George Martin - here playing a good guy, gone bad, who wishes to return to the side of righteousness for the sake of his family.
Bearing in mind that there were some very gritty SW’s being shot in 1967, this pleasant little offering - shot very much in the vein and tradition of ‘Shane’ - is what I would call a family-friendly offering. George Martin plays the ageing gunfighter; Marianne Koch (Fistful of Dollars), plays his wife, and also mother to a sometimes irritating son; and Walter Barnes relishes the role of a greedy landowner, determined to drive out those pesky homesteaders. And, of course, the ever-dependable Fernando Sancho plays the obligatory ‘heavy’ with his usual brand of sneering likeability.
Although this not an SW filled with poker games, bullet-fodder (Mexican bandits); or bawdy saloon girls, I found this to be a refreshing change from the norm. Despite the lack of action, the last quarter of the film lets loose with some fantastic action sequences. The dependable Nora Orlandi provides the pleasant soundtrack, which perfectly accompanies the breath-taking landscape.
This is what I would classify as a ‘feel-good’ SW; and it makes a welcome change from the genre’s bleakest and darkest endings…Not everyone’s glass of tequila, but I like its clean-cut ‘innocence’.
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Day 17: Arizona Colt Returns (1970)
Oh man, I really wish he hadn’t. This SW had me bored right from the start. The lead protagonist is wooden, the goofy sidekick is annoying, the plot is nonsensical, and the dialogue is just plain corny (in the English dub, at least). 4/10
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Day 17
It is time for some Anthony Ghidra so I thought I would kick it off with Pistoleros (1967). Though the plot bears similarities to a few other movies in the genre, particularly For a Few Dollars More, I still think this one is unique in its own way. Ghidra’s gunfighter on a mission is a bit more moralistic than what you find in a typical spag, but he always maintains a level of ultra-cool throughout. While not a perfect movie, I do think it is a must watch for any fan of the genre but I feel that way about all of Ghidra’s westerns.
Ballata per un pistolero - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
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