…It truly must be the case 
1 Like
Spagvember Fest Day 9
Una Colt, in Pugno al Diavolo
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Colt,_in_pugno_al_diavolo,_Una
Rewatch. This is quite the fun little SW, a nice middle of the road Action Western. I agree with @LankyGringo that some aspects of the film are a little over the top, but that’s what makes it so fun and the filmmakers weren’t worrying about total accuracy I think, just looking to make a film fans would enjoy.
The biggest surprise for me was the Confederate Army as the good guys, I’m so used to them being played up as villains, but I imagine they did save towns from bandits and outlaws too.
I was really impressed with George Wang as El Condor, he definitely should’ve gotten to play more lead bad guy parts. A big surprise for me is that El Condor was actually a likable villain as he didn’t treat his woman like dirt and he was a loving father to his son. He was only ever nasty when he had too much to drink.
The Hard Box DVD release isn’t bad in quality at all, though I do have to admit the version I saw on YouTube last time was a little crisper in picture and audio.
7 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 9
The Stranger & the Gunfighter (Margheriti / 1974)
The Kung Fu not so great in this genre hybrid but everything else works pretty well actually and turns out funnier and more enjoyable than you might expect. Plus, I like Lo Lieh enough from his other Hong Kong work to make allowances for him here.
7 Likes
Day 10
The Specialists (1969)
Specialisti, Gli - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
I felt like watching something familiar today, so I pulled out my favorite of Sergio Corbucci’s films. I think the reason that I like this one so much is because Corbucci seems so disillusioned with literally everything. He still holds the money class in contempt, but his once poor and noble revolutionaries have now become nothing but common bandits. And don’t even get him started on hippies!
The finale of what some have called Corbucci’s “Mud and Blood” trilogy (along with Django and The Great Silence) is beautifully shot and definitely unique within the genre; an example of the uniqueness being that I have never seen so many bare butts at one time in my life! 
9 Likes
Day 10 - “Hallelujah to Vera Cruz” (1973) Stelvio Massi
It’s hard to believe that before making many solid Eurocrime films, cinematographer Stelvio Massi started his directorial career with this awful hack job.
I had been digging for this film but I might have lived a happier life if I hadn’t found it. It is, in context, a zapata western but it is just a stupid comedy with circus brawls and a rather disgusting scene where Stander tries to catch a fly with his mouth. The story, if there is any, was complete lost on me despite watching an English dub, maybe it was too hard to care. It also steals that train raid scene from “A Bullet for the General”, with hilariously inept inserts that really contrast the Almeria desert and the cheap Italian location of both films. Although this being the last zapata western stealing a scene from the first does bring the genre in full circle, in the worst way possible. That blue eggs and ham theme song is gonna be stuck in my head all day and I’m all the worst for it.
5 Likes
DAY 10:
Vivi o, preferibilmente, morti (1969) - Director: Duccio Tessari - 5/10
The opening scene is really unlike anything else in the history of the genre and I have to say I cherish it very much; while the rest of the film doesn’t pan out quite as well, it still has plenty of charm and is considerably more enjoyable and well-rounded than other Italian western comedies of its time, not to mention some of the trainwrecks of the seventies. The reason why it seems to work better than expected is probably due to the satisfactory chemistry between Gemma and Benvenuti, who turns in a surprisingly good performance for a non-professional actor.
Secondly, the comedy prioritizes the comedic quirk and the buddy element at the expense of slapstick and action which in turn greatly benefits the overall plot development and flow of the narrative. The approach calls for a bit more sophisticated writing and though it doesn’t live up to genre’s loftiest standards, at the very least it furnishes an acceptable tale packed with just enough old-school thrills and corny skits to make for an enjoyable viewing. The fisticuffs do come along eventually, but they look exceptionally well in virtue of Benvenuti’s strong punches. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination and more of a comedy than a western, but hardly a disaster either and definitely diverting in its own right despite being pretty episodic throughout, could have been even better with a stronger script.
6 Likes
I fully believe Corbucci was jealous of the Hippie Culture, a good amount of people understood all they wanted was peace and universal brotherhood, and I think it infuriated Corbucci that peaceful protestors got all this sympathy and support while guys he knew from further back weren’t so fortunate. Or maybe he came to a kind of realization that maybe what the Hippies were doing was working, but his subconscious couldn’t handle it, so he lashed out at them. Either way something did break inside of him.
I agree, I too have never seen so many naked butts in a Western except here 
1 Like
DAY 10
YES! My lovely daughter pulled a no.2 out of the tub, which proved not only to be far less traumatic than it sounds, but really rather fortuitous No.2 on my list is one of the best of the lot and indeed, in this humble gringo’s opinion, the greatest spag not made by Sergio Leone: The Big Gundown (Sollima, 1966), in which Tomas Milian frantically tries to keep one step ahead of the relentless LVC for just long enough to convince him that maybe he’s hunting the wrong target.
With one of my favourite villains (Baron Von Schulenberg) and one of my favourite theme tunes in addition to the two luminous aforementioned leads doing some of their best work within the genre, The Big Gundown is an absolute slam dunk for me. Any day is a good day for this one.
11 Likes
#9 Carnimeo: They Call Me Hallelujah
-One of the best comedic westerns, I think. Charles Southwood’s character makes me always laugh. 7/10
9 Likes
The dancing scene on the table… brilliant stuff.
Spagvember Fest Day 10
Per 100,000 Dollari ti Ammazzo
First time watch. A solidly made SW that does the brother vs brother story right. Unlike with Mille Dollari sul Nero, Garko and Camaso don’t overdo the hatred John and Clint have for each other, and in fact add a complex undercurrent of affection towards each other as well.
The film drags a little near the end, but that’s no deterrent to the overall goodness of it. The Koch DVD is excellent and while some age still exists in the print, it adds to the character of the film.
I honestly prefer 10,000 Dollari per un Massacro as it’s tighter in its storytelling and action, but the companion piece is still quite entertaining.
8 Likes
Day 10
El hombre de la diligencia
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Hombre_de_la_diligencia,_El
José María Elorrieta’s work is still sort of a mystery to me and it’s my intention to watch his westerns in this period. At least this one is pretty solid.
8 Likes
DAY 11:
L’oro dei Bravados (1970) - Director: Giancarlo Romitelli - 5/10
It’s odd that so few people mention the great score by Bacalov in this one, I find the main theme to be incredibly catchy. As for the movie itself, this is just the kind of quick-and-dirty hack job that I like: it distills all the right flavors without bothering much with the niceties of sophisticated writing or anything along those lines; it just supplies the most essential, indispensable narrative devices and then proceeds to provide rapid shootouts, fast cuts, decent photography and epic duels with some good music to boot.
In other words, the film is a cheap and dirty cash grab and nobody involved in it seems to have made any bones about it which intriguingly enough, lends it a refreshing air of guilelessness and candor in the process. Hence, while there is no denying that the material lacks much in the way of originality, the self-aware nature of it informs it with a certain charm which is hard to resist, a kind of post-spaghetti or meta-spaghetti. Furthermore, its immediacy and brevity additionally drive the point home and make it appealing in the grubby sort of way if that makes sense. One mighty fine piece of junk. Okay, the last 15 minutes get sorta protracted, but that’s what the fast-forward button is intended for, press it and exuberate.
5 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 10
Bad Man’s River (Martin / 1972)
Currently suffering with a rotten bout of the flu so was faced with a Spagvember choice. Do I watch someting good to cheer myself up or watch a pile of old pony on the basis that I’m almost certainly going to fall asleep part way through. I went for the latter with predictable consequences.
We’ve all said the said the same things before, how can a film with this much talent involved turn out so shite? Turns out that all you need to do is close your eyes and snore like a freight train through most of it and it’s quite enjoyable.
6 Likes
what do you mean?! Lee takes his shirt off,10/10 movie, would recomend 
3 Likes
Day 11
Stagecoach of the Condemned (1970)
Diligencia de los condenados, La - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
While far from being perfect, this is certainly an interesting entry in the genre. It takes elements of High Noon, Stagecoach, and other American westerns and combines them into a rather tame (at least for we fans of nasty, dirty and harsh spaghettis) but extremely entertaining movie. On the other hand, the only other movie Richard Harrison is more intimidating in is Vengeance.
8 Likes
Day 11 - Apache Fury (1964) Jose Maria Elorrieta
I don’t think I dislike the early American style spaghetti westerns as some other do, and this one was alright by me. It’s not anything remarkably good or remarkably bad, it’s just decent. Because of that, I can’t either say avoid or recommend it. At 80 minutes it doesn’t have the time to drag and it’s solid on all fronts, with a really nice score that gets sadly repeated way too often.
7 Likes
#10 Salvi: Wanted Johnny Texas
-This was quite a random pick from shelf. Film that has some good music, nice different kind of role for Fernando Sancho and most notably Monica Brugger as a female lead looking stunning. Too bad the film is otherwise complete turkey, especially the sets are the most cheap looking I’ve seen in any sw. 4/10
6 Likes
DAY 11
Kicking off the second third of SpagvemberFest by drawing no.17 out of my tub, and that means quirky, weird, almost anachronistic late-cycle spag Four of the Apocalypse (Fulci, 1975) which at one time I absolutely couldn’t stand but which kind-of lodged itself into my mind until I developed a respect for it which briefly bordered on becoming a fixation. Still, I haven’t seen it in some time which is why it’s on my list this year. It needs another runout.
Tomas Milian’s strange Charles Manson-like character is woefully underused in this one, so much so that, every time I sit down to watch it, part of me hopes that the laws of time and space will bend to my will somehow and that he’ll be in the movie a lot more this time. Silly. Still, maybe this time.
8 Likes
For me 4 of the apocalypse has risen from mediocre curiosity to my top 10 favorite over the years. I just love this movie.
3 Likes