Day 2
Ringo, The Mark of Vengeance (1966)
Exactly what you would expect from an early Steffen spag. 2.5/5
6 Likes
Day 2: Django Strikes Again (1987)(a.k.a. Django, The Great Return) w/Franco Nero, William Berger, and Donald Pleasance. Djangoās non-violent, monastic life is interrupted when his daughter is kidnapped by slave traders. He leaves the monastery in order to rescue his daughter and defeat the slavers. Directed by Nello Rossati, and regarded as the only official sequel to Django. Since most of the movie took place on a steam ship, and on a river surrounded by jungle, I thought the film gave off a Herzogian vibe. It was an adjustment from the usual arrid desert surroundings in other filoni films. It wasnāt great, but still worth a watch. 3/5 rating.
7 Likes
Hey now that hurts my feelings.
4 Likes
Spagvember 2022
Day 2 - āEl Ciscoā (1966) Sergio Bergonzelli
William Berger was a leading man in two westerns in Ā“66, and this was the last of those I had to see, it might also be the best of the two. Heās very charismatic (though not as much as when heās a colourful side character) and heās well supported by a good cast including George Wang. The score by Bruno Nicolai is on par with his reputation and the film has that nice gritty sw look. It might not be a particular standout but its exactly the type of film im looking for as a fan of the genre. The supply of these films seems to be pretty endless and I hope I never make it to the bottom, but my completist side needs to see them all, oh well.
7 Likes
DAY 2:
Se tāincontro, tāammazzo (1970) - Director: Gianni Crea - 2/10
While it is probably Creaās least abominable work all things considered, itās still an obnoxious mess of a motion picture in that it is terminally marred by its directorās aberrant incompetence. Filmās framing, editing, scene transitions and overall decoupage are all so choppy and cumbersome it is difficult to immerse oneself in the narrative and as if that were not bad enough, most of the storyline revolves around equestrian frolicking in the sandpits and the inveterate fisticuffs, so there is not much to direct oneās attention to.
That being said, the dialogues in the English dub are on the laughable side insofar as they partially cancel out the aforementioned narrative vacuity, plus the fight at the cemetery gives a good laugh. There is no denying that the regularity with which Crea misses the mark regading the visual aspect of his works firmly establishes him as genreās worst director visually, all his movies look like shit, this thing included. All in all, Creaās best film probably, that being said, the visual amateurship, the meager plot, the chronic misuse of recycled music as well as general stupidity vitiate the outing to the extent that it is still one of the very worst flicks the genre has to offer and at the length of about 90 minutes, it simply goes on for far too fucking long.
Il lungo giorno del massacro (1968) - Director: Alberto Cardone - 4/10
This one is a lot better than the other two Cardones which I have seen i.e. Mille dollari sul nero, which suffers from severe pacing issues and awful fisticuffs, and 20.000 dollari sul 7, which is afflicted with pretty much every bad thing you could conceive of. The work at hand does not manifest the acute erraticism nor does it get bogged down by silly aspirations; the film is a perfectly watchable cheapo affair with a balanced, leisurely tempo, a straightforward storyline, some neat, muddy landscapes and mean-looking Peter Martell shooting up scores of Mexicans.
Albeit undoubtedly not one of genreās loftiest moments, it does serve its purpose well as an innocuous piece of entertainment. Cardoneās direction is hardly anything exceptional, but at least he gets the basics right and dials back silliness to an acceptable degree, although there is still a fair amount of fisticuffs, horseriding footage and other padding to be found here, especially in its stagnant second half. If you covet a solid cheapo with some sandpit action, look no further, this one is mostly alright and should fit the bill just fine even if the middle section tends to drag a bit and necessitates some fast-forwarding for an optimal film-viewing experience.
9 Likes
Day 2: Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo
As teased yesterday I will continue with some highlights in the next days. Donāt think I need to write much about it, everyone has seen it several times, it is just a masterpiece!
For me it always feels like an adventure or roadtrip movie. Three guys hunting for a treasure during American Civil War.
At least, I just want to leave some love for Eli Wallach. His acting as Tuco is amazing.
7 Likes
DAY 2
Ooh, lovely! My 3 year-old drew for me today and she drew number 15, which on my list is one of the heaviest of heavy hitters: The sublime For a Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965), one of only five spags I owned prior to finding this den of iniquity and all of you naughty gremlins.
6 Likes
Yesterday I wanted to join Spagvemberfest for the first time. I chose āStarblackā and ā¦ turned it off after ten minutes. What a mess 
6 Likes
That counts! Keep going! 
5 Likes
#2 Tessari: A Pistol for a Ringo
-Another bluray purchase I needed to check. Arrowās version was far from perfect though, the quality varies from great to pretty bad several times. I think Iāll still keep my Koch dvdās.
Film itself is great, very entertaining. 8/10
8 Likes
Day 2
I was going to pick another random western comedy on YouTube (been avoiding those for a while) but Iām not really on the mood. So I pick this one instead. The combo Peter Lee Lawrence with Brescia gave us some good stuff, so I think this one would fit just fine on the marathon.
11 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 2
For a Few Dollars More (Leone / 1965)
The perfect antidote to Kid Vengeance or to pretty much anything else really. So many standout moments but Kinskiās barely contained rage when LVC strikes a match on his hump is priceless.
Tomorrow Iāll dive back into the 70s LVC crap pile. Wish me luck.
14 Likes
Spagvember Fest Day 2
QuiƩn Grita Venganza/I Morti non si Contano
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/QuiƩn_grita_venganza
First time watch. Not a bad middle of the road SW. A little slow moving at times but Steffen &
Damonās chemistry makes up for it and the Intricate plot is worth the payoffā¦ Steffen really came alive in this one and it was fun seeing him cracking jokes and some smiles.
Herr Brucknerās Blu Ray release is top notch in quality.
14 Likes
āThe Steffā is always much better when thereās a decent rival on screen ā¦ not that Iām wild about Damon, but heās a pretty good actor. Been a while since Iāve seen this, so might re-watch it again ā¦ although Iām not āFestingā this year, itās good to get reminders of SWs that are worth another look.
1 Like
Day 1 - They Call Me Trinity
I canāt say much more about this, except that the first two Trinity movies are the only pure spag comedies that I can enjoy. The soundtrack is very good, and the main theme is just fantastic and catchy every time. Terence Hill finds his perfect role at last (if I recall correctly, he got his start as a Franco Nero lookalike). And while I think Hillās masterpiece is My Name is Nobody the chemistry with Bud Spencer is right on. I would even argue that Bambino steals the show. What more can I say? This is one Iād watch with my dad, who grew up with it on TV, and one of the few my wife will join me on! Fun for the family.
Day 2 - Vengeance, 1968
If someone asked for a good genre revenge western, this is would be the way to go. Satisfying action, an interesting flashback heist scene, and some eccentric characters. The Mendoza character is so memorable, and really gives me vibes of Dr. Jekyll. I wouldnāt really call this a Gothic western, but the bad guy, with his flaking skin and Victorian attire, will not be forgotten. The soundtrack is pretty good, and the main theme sounds like The Grassrootsā āLive For Todayā melody slowed down.
9 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 3
Godās Gun (Parolini / 1976)
Two Leeās for the price of one but neither with his own voice
What can I say. Itās just not very good. LVC going through the motions, script is bland, support cast even blander. Only Palanceās usual scenery chewing offers any real entertainment.
Well, itās out of the way now so thatās something at least.
10 Likes
Day 3
Like most Steffen spags, its nothing special, but still pretty solid. 3/5
6 Likes
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.
7 Likes
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 Woodsā performance as the vengeance-consumed Pecos. I donāt 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.
9 Likes
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 
1 Like