Spagvemberfest 2022 - the legend continues

[LankyGringo (Brian)]

Day 3

Colt in the Hand of the Devil (1967)

Colt, in pugno al diavolo, Una - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)

Suspension of disbelief is often necessary for the enjoyment of a spaghetti western but this one requires suspension of disbelief overload. As one example, it asks you to believe that dynamite can be used to blow a hole in a solid wall and that it will leave a perfectly shaped doorway.

The biggest suspension of disbelief this movie requires though involves our hero and top billed actor Bob Henry. This was his one and only lead in a film and there is a reason. All through the movie, I kept flashing back to the old Batman TV series because every time I looked at the extremely tall, but extremely pudgy, Henry all I could think about was Adam West in his Batman costume. While wonderful at satire, one would never have cast the great West in a serious Batman film simply for his build alone. On top of that, this one has left me with a Raiders of the Lost Ark dilemma. Just like Indiana Jones in that film, would this movie have ended any differently had Bob Henry never been involved at all?

There are some things to like including some well done action scenes and the always great George Wang. As a matter of fact, remove Bob Henry and make the true heroes of the movie, Marisa Solinas and Lucretia Love, the leads and it had the potential to be a pretty decent film - dynamite created holes in the wall aside.

[Gingerbread80 (Ginger)]

Day 3: My Name is Pecos (1967) w/Robert Woods, George Eastman. Pecos Martinez arrives in the town run by the racist bandit who had massacred his family years before. Pecos soon gets involved in the search for a stache of stolen gold that in the process. This is definitely one of my favorites in the genre, primarily due to Woods’ performance as the vengeance-consumed Pecos. I don’t think anyone else would have did as fine a job in the role. It can be formulaic at times, but the hard-boiled ending is worth it. 4/5 rating.

[Max (Max Stephenson)]

Happy to see another lover of Robert Woods! The sequel is worth a watch too, a bit more camp than the first but still decent. You can find a decent version up on YouTube

[makesthemovie]

@LankyGringo

has left me with a Raiders of the Lost Ark dilemma. Just like Indiana Jones in that film, would this movie have ended any differently had Bob Henry never been involved at all?

I’m having a flashback to Amy Farrah Fowler on Big Bang Theory making that argument to Sheldon Cooper. I don’t buy into that theory about Indy, but I can understand why you feel the way you do regarding Bob Henry.

[LankyGringo (Brian)]

She did? That’s hilarious! I know that was a funny show, but I never watched it very often. I have heard this theory debated several other places though. Maybe it originated with the Amy Farrah Fowler character?

Note: Now that I think about it after fighting my way through the morning brain fog, I don’t think it could be possible that the show originated it as that discussion has been going on much longer than Big Bang has been on.

[Mickey13]

DAY 3:

Ninguno de los tres se llamaba Trinidad (1973) - Director: Pedro Luis Ramírez - 1/10

This poor excuse for a comedy basically constitutes a quasi-plotless compilation of scenes portraying adventures of the trio of “charming” miscreants whose exploits are intercut with a multitude of other motives; the issue is that these digressions do not advance the tale in any way, shape or form and completely rob the narrative of its focus. To add insult to injury, no central storyline ever emerges at any point and the story has a very extemporary vibe to it, as though most of it was conceived on the fly.

The odd thing is that our fat reprobates do not feel like central characters whatsoever, since much of the running time is likewise dedicated to various other people than our endearing threesome e.g. the deputy, a couple of gun-toting blondes and some other blokes. Additionally, it’s hard to say whether the fat brothers are supposed to be the good guys or villains and film’s tone likewise flip-flops between comedy and something approximating a more serious western, failing to be convincing at either. Needless to say, none of it coalesces into a coherent whole, decomposing into a flabby mush of a film. Lastly, you’re in luck if you are fond of Chris Huerta’s comedic operatics because he’s never been more annoying than he is here.

Passa Sartana… è l’ombra della tua morte (1968) - Director: Demofilo Fidani - 5/10

I am surprised with all the harsh comments about this one, as it turns out to be one of my favorite Fidani westerns right behind Dead Men Don’t Make Shadows and A Barrel Full of Dollars, definitely my favorite “bad” Fidani too. While it includes probably one of the most provisional, extemporaneous storylines I have seen in any spaghetti western, the fact of the matter is that plot was never much of a consideration when crafting films in Fidani’s case, so disposing of the niceties of regular screenwriting so as to heighten the atmosphere makes a lot of sense and actually pays off in this instance.

There is a number of highly evocative scenes in which Jeff Cameron makes a bonfire in the comfy sandpit at sunset and at another point, walks across the gravel pit desert and so forth; odd as it may seem, the combination of Gori’s epic soundtrack, film’s slightly more refined pacing and tighter focus informs the composition with a higher degree of consistency; the moronic simplicity of its story is doubtlessly part of the charm, but let’s face it, this is by and large about Jeff Cameron shooting up people and riding around the sandpits with some mellow Gori tunes playing in the background. I am not exactly sure why this works as well as it does, but it certainly is one of Fidani’s more palatable creations in my book.

[LeSpecialiste (Loïc)]

SpagvemberFest 2022

Day 3 - “Gunfight at High Noon” (1964) Joaquin Romero Marchent

Very competently made and fairly entertaining early euro western with a very solid cast including genre favorites Richard Harrison, Fernando Sancho and Claudio Undari. It features a very sweet rousing score by Ortolani in the tradition of “Shane”. Where the movie fails is where it structurally differs from the spaghetti formula that would be established just a few years after, as with the underwhelming ending and the killing of the most vicious outlaw 30 minutes before the end of the film. Still, it is a fun romp that looks great and stays entertaining for all of its runtime, making it one of the highlights of the pre-Leone spaghetti westerns.

[IllThinkAboutIt (MMcG)]

I am watching this boxset at the moment so for Spagvemberfest I have seen so far:

Beyond the Law
Sundance Cassidy & Butch the Kid
Ben & Charlie

[last.caress]

DAY 3

My daughter drew number 30 from the box today, and that’s Today We Kill… Tomorrow We Die! (Cervi, 1968), a men-on-a-mission revenger penned by horror maestro Dario Argento and featuring a unique turn by Kurosawa favourite Tatsuya Nakadai as one of the most enigmatic villains you’ll find, even in a genre bloody loaded with them. I’m a big fan of this one.

[p.pereira]

Day 3

Il suo nome era Pot

I know I’ll regret it. Still I have to cross it from that never-ending watchlist.

[makesthemovie]

Spagvember Fest Day 3

Cheidi Perdono Dio…. Non e Me!

https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Chiedi_perdono_a_Dio…_non_a_me

Re-watch. Solid Action Revenge SW. I’m thinking maybe a contender for the Alternative Top 20 list. Giorgio ‘George’ Ardisson should’ve done more SW’s, he had the right face and charisma for them, and he gets extra points for shedding tears on camera when he finds his family massacred, only ever saw him, George Hilton, and one another actor do that in SWs.

The climatic finale is really well shot, and the b fist fight between Ardisson and Anthony Ghidra is one of the best I’ve seen in an SW. Peter Martell was great in his cameo as Ghidra’s brother, such a shame he had the wanderlust and didn’t stick to honing his acting skills.

The Blu Ray from Herr Bruckner’s Explosive Media is really good, and the interview with Ardisson is a great extra.

[JohnnyCashFan66]

Day 3 - Face to Face

The first time I watched this one I found it fascinating. Gian Maria Volonte’s Brad Fletcher is great, though I admit I like him more as a timid professor from the East than as a ruthless, cunning criminal. Tomas Milian is pretty subdued as Beau Bennet, who is one of the strangest southern archetypes in any western I’ve seen. Any spaghetti western is going to take heaping amounts of artistic liberty when it comes to portraying the real west–American westerns do this almost as liberally–but this one seems to really want to touch about something to do with the South and issues of slavery, name-dropping Lincoln and lingering a while at a former plantation that, despite Lincoln, still maintains slaves in everything but name. But why? The English language version of this one doesn’t really go anywhere with that theme of freedom.

This movie also does a typically bad job with women who fall for violent pursuers; at least one really loves Beau, and another has a change of heart. What makes it more problematic to me is that this is a western that can be contemplative, nuanced, and intelligent. That just makes some of the issues (treatment of women, random comedic scenes) more jarring.

William Berger is always welcome, and his Pinkerton agent complicates morality once more when compared against the pure but animalist Beau, and the calculating and cold Fletcher. He’s a little of both, a stone cold killer but with a moral code. Confusing.

I think this one needs an English translation of the original Italian soundtrack to make more sense of the layered characters. Sadly it falls short of being a great one for me as it is, but a great transfer and proper dialogue might just change that.

Morricone delivers, as always!

Faccia a faccia / Face to face / 血斗のジャンゴ (cover)

[Bill_san_Antonio]

#3. Corbucci: Minnesota Clay
-Good early Corbucci western, it’s weird how this film changes slowly from rather light hearted film to very dark, like Corbucci had found his trademark style in the middle of the filming. 7/10

[Phil_H]

Spagvemberfest 2022

Day 4

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Leone / 1966)

After God’s Gun this is a case of “from the ridiculous to the sublime”.
Really don’t have to say much about this one as we all know it inside out and my feelings about it haven’t changed. This time around though I skipped the extra scenes as I do find them a bit superfluous and my viewing time was limited. Still a classic either way.

[LankyGringo (Brian)]

Day 4

Garter Colt

Giarrettiera Colt - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)

A pistol packin’, poker playin’ Nicoletta Machiavelli. What other reason does one need to watch this film?

[LeSpecialiste (Loïc)]

Day 4 - “Django the Condemned” - 1965

A very dull and boring Spanish melodrama directed by a Hollywood director for I don’t know what reason, as this is a solely Spanish production. The action scenes are few and far between and always shot without any care, making them almost as lame as the main story. Hilariously, Italian distributors released it two years after its initial release, this time cashing in on the Django craze, making it probably the least Django Django-movie ever.

[Gingerbread80 (Ginger)]

Good to know! Is it called The Return of Pecos?

[makesthemovie]

Love this SW, wish Machiavelli played more characters like Garter Colt in her career.

[Admin (Sebastian)]

@LankyGringo

What other reason does one need to watch this film?

Availability of a decent BluRay of it

[LankyGringo (Brian)]

I dreamed once that Arrow put out a box set of Garter Colt, Black Tigress, The Belle Starr Story, and…Little Rita. I have no idea where that came from.

I think I spend too much time thinking about movies.