I just met Caroline back in September, who was extremely nice. Funny enough she told me she loves spaghetti westerns also.
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I met Caroline too and she told me that her most memorable moment at Comic Cons was when she clocked this guy she really fancied giving her a “Lady Di smile” but she couldn’t make a move because he was with his missus. Her greatest regret apparently. She tried to track him down but only got as far as he was a West Ham fan from somewhere near Basildon. 
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Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 7
The Big Gundown (Sollima / 1966)
Not just one of LVC’s best but one of the all-time best of the genre in my opinion. Episodic? For sure, but what does that matter if the episodes are good? I adore this film and rate it right up with the Leones in quality. Morricone’s music is sublime too. Love it!
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Day 8
The Grand Duel (1972)
Grande duello, Il - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
This was not the one I intended on watching today but I got up this morning, plopped into my recliner, flipped on the TV, and it was just coming on. I didn’t feel like walking upstairs to get another movie at the time, so I decided “why not”?
All in all, one of the better spaghettis made after 1970.
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After we bonded over our mutual love for Shoot the Living, Pray for the Dead. She said she’d join the SWDB forum, to track down the fella whom bailed on the chance of giving her said smile.
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DAY 8:
Professionisti per un massacro (1967) - Director: Nando Cicero - 6/10
One of the very few spags in which slapstick seems to work for me just fine. I must say I enjoyed the whacky combination of violent action and comedy; albeit far from being original, the script furnishes enough items of interest and applies enough detail to keep your interest throughout. Other than the part played by Byrnes, I found the characters sufficiently memorable to root for them in the context of the tale, which is not all too frequent in as action-driven genre as this, with Hilton getting here one of his most extravagant roles and turning in a great performance.
There is no denying that the film loses its focus in the second half and is not nearly as enjoyable and as direct as its first 45 minutes; the plotline with the Mexican bandit feels somewhat out of place and is not that gripping to follow in the first place. While it is hardly a classic and is definitely burdened with a baggage of faults, the motion picture exhibits enough buoyancy as well as energy to surmount its shortcomings. A solid mid-tier entry with just enough assets to justify its existence.
Un dólar de recompensa (1972) - Director: Rafael Romero Marchent - 4/10
While it may seem a little fastidious to fuss about a gritty revenge yarn made as late as 1972, the fact of the matter is that its paper-thin storyline, odd contrapuntal score and hit-and-miss rendition mark this one as more of an amusing curiosity rather than a notable work capable of standing on its own. Few of the genre examples were able to conjure up a genuine atmosphere of suspense and mystery, but here genre’s one-dimensionality reaches its absolute nadir in the way the laughably perfunctory tale plays out.
Most of the more accomplished revenge stories diversify their otherwise shallow screenwriting mechanics with such motifs as the master-pupil theme or something to that effect, yet creative measures of this sort are hardly to be found here and most of it comes down to an otiose rehash of the same tropes you have seen dozens of times before in much better ventures, except that they are presented here in a merely okay fashion. The whodunit mystery, which has a depth of a toilet bowl, appears to be solely a pretext to encase a number of shootouts and other standard action filler. I guess it is preferable to some slapstick abomination, but do not expect an iota of nuance here, as this is strictly mediocre stuff.
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Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 8
Take a Hard Ride (Margheriti / 1975)
It’s a Spag Jim but not as we know it. Always felt like more of a U.S western to me. The cast, the music. All of which deserve a better end result. It’s OK for the most part and then really not. Oh well, it was 1975 after all I suppose.
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DAY 8
Ooh, my little girl drew no.24 today which means I’m in for some swingy-flingy hand-axe action in the shape of the wonderfully grimy Mannaja (Martino, 1977). Deliciously villainous turn by John Steiner who steals every scene he’s in, but props are also due to star Maurizio Merli in creating a terrific anti-hero who might’ve come to so much more had Mannaja been produced ten years earlier. As it is, it’s a smoke-enveloped, gothic horror-flavoured late-cycle gem, and you can chop my hands off if it isn’t so.
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Day 8 - “Tomb of the Pistolero” (1964)
Probably the only spaghetti western shot in black and white that came during the 1964+ era. It’s actually quite a nice film and despite its Hollywoodesque approach, it works fine as a spaghetti western and I personally found a liking for the early era of the genre. It’s features a nice cast of genre regulars and it’s very interesting to see them and the locations under the lens of a b&w film. Very fine film but doomed to be an outsider because of its peculiarity.
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Day 8
I’m still a newbie on Mexican westerns. This one seems to have some good reputation, so I search for it on YouTube. Very enjoyable. Still I whish they didn’t use those dreams scenes.
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Day 8
It’s November 8th today which means I’m officially 20! Hooray. Still a bit ill from a fever so mostly stayed in bed but that means perfect viewing conditions for Spagvember. Chose Death Sentence to rewatch today. Not an all-time favourite but an enjoyable anthology Spaghetti with a real star-studded cast. 3.5/5
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Happy birthday!!! 
1 Like
#7 Lucidi: My Name is Pecos
“Meanest gun in the west, Revenge…” once again another hilariously cheesy song for otherwise very serious, violent and dark film. It’s never been big favorite of mine but the Arrow’s blu is surely pleasant to watch. 6/10
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Happy Birthday mi amico 
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Spagvember Fest Day 8
Starblack
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Starblack
First time watch. I really enjoyed this SW a lot, another good blend of the American and Italian styles. I especially enjoyed a scene early on where Starblack saves this family from Carey’s henchmen and then gives the woman one of his guns so she can kill the guy who forced her to have sex with him. I rooted for her all the way as she gunned that dog down.
I thought mixing The Lone Ranger and Zorro characters was an interesting choice for the Starblack character, it shows he believes in doing the right thing and allows him to use methods the regular law can’t.
Robert Woods does an excellent job in the lead role, he really keeps the viewer on their toes as to what he’s up to. His singing voice isn’t too bad either, but the lyrics writer didn’t do him justice.
Colosseo Films & Al!ve AG Entertainment did a great job with the restoration of the film and The Blu Ray looks fantastic in picture and audio quality. I only heard two hiss pops with the Italian audio, it was clear and crisp 99%.
I highly encourage whoever couldn’t get into this film earlier in the month to please give it another try, you won’t be disappointed.
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Day 8 - A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die
Robert Ryan is one of my favorite American western actors from the classic era, and he is one tough but compassionate governor here. This November 8, he has my vote. 
A big thanks to @last.caress who introduced the extended cut of this film to me many years ago.
Here’s a question–was there a real life inspiration for the “Outlaw Town” trope, where there’s a town where renegades all gather? In this film it is Escondido. But there’s a similar town in Face to Face (misfits, not strictly outlaws), which is kind of like Mos Eisley in Star Wars.
But this is Thieves Landing in the Red Dead Redemption games . . . and in Larry McMurtry’s Streets of Laredo there is Crow Town, where the antagonistic outlaws all congregate.
Now, I know George Lucas and Larry McMurtry and the Houser brothers at Rockstar all watched spaghetti westerns to some extent, but was there an American western that popularized this?
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Happy birthday, Max! 
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Robert Woods wrote the song himself, and had a brief contract as a recording artist on Philips Records, in the mid 60s … don’t think that worked out too well - but he did tell me that while he was in London recording some vocal tracks, he was hanging out with the American cast who were in town making ‘The Dirty Dozen’ … now I just hope he completes his autobiography, because there are a few landmark moments in SW history that happened during this period … like encouraging Charlie Bronson to go to Rome to work with Leone!
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Happy birthday, Max 
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Happy birthday … have a great 20th celebration
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