Rewatch. Starblack is what you get when you combine the characters of The Lone Ranger and Zorro, and add in a little Italian Western spice. While the look and clothing suggest a homage to the Westerns of the 40’s and early 50’s, don’t be fooled, the character’s are just as gritty as it gets with the SW genre, everyone - even the hero, plays for keeps.
Robert Woods does a great job keeping everyone in the dark that he’s the masked avenger stomping out injustice, playing up being a dainty Easterner type with ease. That smile, chiseled good looks, and athleticism add to the effect.
Renato Rossini, before he started calling himself Howard Ross, is equally impressive as Woods’ sidekick. He brings a nice mix of humor and toughness to his part.
The cast as a whole is very good too.
The Blu Ray from Collosseo Films is really good , the 4K restoration looking fantastic.
Canevari: Matalo!
-The most experimental sw ever made. Great looking and moody film but also at times sleep inducing and stupid (boomerang scene). 7/10
Being an amnesiac gunman story sort of gives this one a unique identity and it delivered a different kind of spin on usual revenge trope. Even if I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, the slow-burn reveal of bitter truths is quite a delicious affair. For a revenge tragedy, it never truly soars, but it still managed hit some good notes to give itself some nice little edges. Only if Nando Cicero’s direction is more confident, this one would be classic. Perhaps the story is a little too disorienting for its own good, as it simply doesn’t pack the punch as it should.
The real draw here are, of course, the two leads: Antonio Sabàto and Klaus Kinski. The former is quite fine for playing a Civil War veteran trying to recover his memories and make sense of his new/old surroundings, though I wish he were a bit more animated at times as he often comes across as too stiff, too stale. But his always sad looking face makes some of the emotional turns sing. Silently raging bastard with sudden burst of violence, is Kinski trademark and he is again just being himself here. So, it goes without saying, he rules. 3.5/5
It’s being a slow marathon in-house but I expect to watch at least 15. Hopefully. Mostly rewatchs. The Portuguese Star Movies channel is now in a SpagvemberFest vibe, exhibiting spags Mondays and Tuesdays. Plenty of stuff to fill my box.
Anyway. I’ve rewatched this one today. It’s still my favorite from the stranger series. Still, I whish the exteriors were better. This didn’t bother me in the past but nowadays rewatching these movies set in Italy kind of made them feel cheaper.
Rewatch. This is a pretty good well done and twist laden SW. A mysterious gunslinger with glasses comes riding into town, seeming to want to avenge somebody, but things get pretty tricky when he realizes a banker being blackmailed not only double crossed the blackmailers, but framed them for a robbery he intended to commit anyway.
Richard Harrison, one of the many American actors to follow Steve Reeves to Italy for acting fame, does a really good job as protagonist Stan. His key advantage is that some think he’s a pushover cause he wears glasses, but he’s as tough and fast with a gun as anyone else. He knows something is up right away in the town, but the question is what.
Jose Bodalo and Jose Manuel Martin make for an interesting contrast of villains. Bodalo is a seemingly respectable banker and retired Army Colonel who it turns out betrayed his men in the Mexican-American War, and also planned to swindle his own town. Martin is the leader of a gang of bandidos whom the Colonel made the long ago betrayal deal with and intends to collect, but gets made a patsy of instead. Both are excellent.
The DVD from Colosseo Films has its flaws due to age, but still offers a really good quality product.
Mulargia: El Puro
-I had not seen this for years. I watched the long version on Arrows blu, I think I prefer the shorter cut as this one seems to take it’s time until anything really happens. Robert woods makes his best role as the drunken hero. 8/10
New addition to these lists. I’ve seen this one in the nineties in one of the VHS clubs of my hometown. Then, I found it disappointing because I thought it would be a standard spaghetti western. In fact this was not for the young Pedro but the older version liked! The political environment is very well done. Great stuff!
This Giuliano Gemma actioner could just as easily be re-named ‘Ringo 3’…
He returns here as the cock-sure, fast on the draw opportunist - a role he first perfected in ‘A Pistol For Ringo’, the year before. This time, he’s not only seeking money, but has his eye set on the beautiful Corinne Marchand.
Yet again, Giuliano is up against the ever-reliable Fernando Sancho, playing what he does best - a snarling, nasty, egotistical bandit with a penchant for shooting first, and never bothering with the questions.
Directed ably by Michele Lupo (‘California’, 1977), with a rousing musical score by Francesco De Masi, this is a rollicking good SW adventure yarn, filled with copious amounts of savagery, torture, occasional glimpses of unrequited romance, and a plethora of genre familiars such as Nello Pazzafini, Andrea Bosic, Rosalba Neri, Jose Manuel Martin, and Roberto Camardiel playing a drunken lovable rogue, aptly named ‘Whiskey’.
All in all, a very pleasurable way to pass two hours of your time…
Today’s second retwatch, Black Killer.
It’s not a classic, just a little upgrade of any of Fridani’s westerns but I never forget Kinski’s book’s hidden pistol. That sticks.
Sartana should always be Garko of course but Hilton is a good substitute and this entry into the series is good fun throughout. This one ticks off Hilton and Erika Blanc from my HoF list plus Carnimeo and a host of others.
#9 - Those Dirty Dogs (1973)
3/5
The subgenre of this one is probably best described as “mad-rush-for-huge bounty western” or “double-crossing-partners western”. Just imagine if Tuco were three greedy soldiers/bounty hunters. It’s interesting seeing Garko play a practitioner of Islam named Koran or Korano, but if the film gets a point for some interesting diversity in a western, it’s also more chauvinistic than your average spag.
It’s Gemma’s turn to be ticked off (as well Vallerii and Bacalov) and the film couldn’t be more different to the Sartana flick I had just watched. Heavy on the drama and no sign of irony but a good film and still entertaining. Known for its political allegory but at heart also a standard revenge western.
Halfway? Already? Good God, man! Where has it gone?
Still, never mind all that. I’m delighted with my double bill tonight. Real Saturday Night Spag stuff, in the form of the inimitable Django, Kill… If You Live, Shoot! (Questi, 1967), chased up by the action-packed Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (Castellari, 1968). I like the latter, and I absolutely adore the former. Can’t wait to get started tonight (I’m having to wait until after Strictly Come Dancing finishes. You’ll never get away with this, Oooooaaaaaakes!)
I’m not a big fan of those Klondike westerns but need to cross them from the list. Tonight I’ve tried this one. Jack London themed, dogs, snow… Zzzzzzz. But overall decent.
Long overdue Rewatch. The first time I watched this companion piece to the original Ringo film, I liked it, but the stark contrast between the two threw me for a loop. While not dead serious in tone, the higher sense of tension and drama is still palpable and it’s clear from the get-go these characters are definitely playing for keeps. This second go around I enjoyed the film a little more, but it doesn’t compare to the fun time the original brings. Transplanting Homer’s Odysseus to the Old West was a good call on Tessari and Di Leo’s part, the story works really well within the setting.
Giuliano Gemma as the totally different Capt. Montgomery “Ringo” Brown showcases the actor’s dramatic flair really well. A long lost Civil War vet finally makes it home, only to find the town taken over by Mexican bandidos during a gold rush and the people left in desperate fear. Gemma shows his ability at range with a hard-bitten and war weary look that works greatly in his favor for the character. Every time we see his eye, cheek, and lips twitch seeing Paco Fuentes holding his wife, we think at any moment he could explode and start gunning down everyone in his line of fire, only every ounce of self control stopping him. A sudden realization to why his wife moved on changes his plans for the better.
Fernado Sancho and Jorge “George” Martin make for fantastic villainy as the slimy Fuentes brothers, Esteban and Paco. What adds to them and their gang’s villainy is their racism against anyone who isn’t Mexican, even poking fun at Gemma while he’s incognito, suggesting he’s a Spanish Indian. Using the ruse of panning for gold, the Fuentes’ obliterated the men returning from war, as well as town leader Senator Brown and the local judge, establishing a reign of dictatorship and terror, and victimizing everyone at will. Paco went further in this with threatening the life of Ringo and Hally’s daughter if Hally didn’t appear to be in a relationship with him, showing just how despicable the brothers truly are.
Nieves Navarro and Antonio Casas are the other two stand out performers in the film. Navarro plays Rosita, a Mexican Gypsy who can read the past, present, and future via tarot cards. She knows right away Ringo is someone special, but doesn’t speak to boyfriend Esteban of it, wanting to save him and free him from Paco’s megalomaniac influence once Ringo has his revenge. Casas plays Sheriff Carson, a once respected and renowned lawman who for unknown reasons lost his edge when the Fuentes’ and their gang came to town and is now the town drunk. Seeing the undercover Ringo show courage against the gang is enough to stir Carson out of his depression and dispair, and is able to regain his sense of self worth and self respect.
The Arrow Blu Ray is fantastic looking with excellent quality.
Just saying this ticks off Anthony Ghidra from the HoF doesn’t do this one justice. Such a terrific melancholic western which Ghidra’s eternally sad face matches perfectly. So glad I chose this one. Always a pleasure and a good one to mark the halfway point. And also ticks off Giuseppe Vari and Roberto Pregadio of course.
