“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those who SpagvemberFest, and those who are barely tolerating yet another shitty November.”
SPAGVEMBERFEST DAY 28
Not just my favourite spaghetti western of all time but my favourite western from anytime or place on Earth, not to mention one of my favourite movies of any genre (these will be sentiments many of you will share, of course): Today, I’m hitting up Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD blu-ray presentation of the almighty The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Leone, 1966), and in a fairly significant personal departure from my usual late late viewing habits I shall be settling down to this one this afternoon, subjecting the wife and kids to it in the process. And why not? It’s an important cinematic touchstone, its size and scope makes it an ideal Sunday afternoon feature and, most pertinently of all, it happens to be a f#cking kick-ass movie. Now, when you have to shoot, shoot!
Seems like everyone has been watching this one this Spagvemberfest so thought I’d jump on board seeing as though I have this locandina in my collection. It’s an ideal easy watch for a Saturday afternoon and a typical light hearted Giraldi affair. I watched the Italian RHV DVD from the box set I have which is a terrfific quality release with really nice picture quality. It also has some interesting unused scenes included in the extra features which show Jose Manuel Martin playing the part of Maldonado instead of Leo Anchoriz. I’d love to know why that change was made.
And for the final Sunday of Spagvemberfest it’s one of my all time faves. Castellari’s masterpiece and a cracking theme tune sung by the great Maurizio Graf.
My Italian locandina confuses me though as it doesn’t show the Italian title of the film. I understand that Castellari always favoured this title but was over ruled by the producers. Was this an earlier release or a later re-release. The poster is definitely not a new reprint so I don’t really know what to think. Whatever, it’s a great film whatever you call it.
There really isn’t much to say about this one that hasn’t already been said. There are two camps, people either really like the film or they can’t understand what everyone sees in the movie. I am firmly in the camp of the former but can definitely understand where the others are coming from with their view. Just like Robert Hossein’s other film that fits into the genre, The Taste of Violence, this one is just so distinct in virtually every aspect. What sucked me in originally was the conversation that occurred between Hossein’s Manuel and Michele Mercier’s Maria when she comes to enlist his help. The dialogue, though minimal, was almost poetic yet perfectly conveyed everything the viewer needed to know about their past together. After that, I was hooked all the way to the bleak finale which was totally satisfying in itself as there was just no other way for the movie to end.
Before Gianna Garko was Sartana, he was a different Sartana here. This one is a very bad dude who extorts money from entire towns, and framed his brother, Anthony Steffen for murder. He also stole Steffen’s woman and treats her mute brother like a slave. Steffen gets out of prison 12 years later looking for revenge. Steffen gets help from the mute guy and the lovely Erica Blanc, the daughter of the man Steffen was convicted of killing. This is another one that plays up the disfunctional family melodrama, complete with tons of mommy issues, but still has plenty of time for lots of good action, including a surprisingly high amount of fisticuffs from Steffen. Steffen gives another one of those performances where he acts as if he hasn’t pooped in three weeks, but he’s a good hero. It’s Garko who steals the show as the incredibly evil nut job Sartana, and he’s a blast to watch. I really enjoyed this one, even if the melodrama goes a bit over the top, especially in the scenes involving the mom. Definitely worth the watch just to see Garko’s terrific bad guy. 7/10.
It is on my watchlist but with only two days left and a slot already taken, I always finish with a Winnetou, don’t believe I’m gonna watch it this year. It’s too long, tomorrow I’ll most likely will be watching another Juan Bosch movie or Terence Hill’s Lucky Luke (just read DaisyTown book, so it makes some sence to go with the lonesome cowboy).
I do sound like a lame old boomer, but those not linking to SWDb pages when mentioning film titles: please give it a try, it’s not that hard and adds tremendous practical value to your posts.
Well, it looks as though my Eureka blu-ray presentation of The Great Silence (Corbucci, 1968) isn’t going to arrive today and I don’t want to hold off on it until tomorrow because, as cold as it is right now here in the UK, I don’t actually want my 'Fest to end on a bleak and Wintery downer, even one as well made as Sergio Corbucci’s masterpiece. So tonight, I’m busting out my perfectly wonderful Film Movement copy. Brrr!
I thought to save time that I would go with the U.S. release but then I started thinking about the scenes that one is missing and went with the subtitled version instead. If you are going to enjoy a classic, it is best to enjoy it in the way it was intended to be seen.
The ultimate watch, or do I manage one more? We’ll see.
This was last western for me to watch to complete Robert Woods’ spaghiography and he once again played a bad guy, but not just a regular baddie, but a real scumbag. Interesting. Unfortunately this spagh falls into a category “It could have been so much better, if they wanted to”. 6/10
