Rewatch. Love this SW, such an excellent entry in the genre. The plot is fairly straightforward and simple: a Mexican bandido takes the daughter of the man who sent him to jail as payback. Bounty Hunter Django is offered a hefty sum to bring back the girl to her father and the bandido to justice, but Django isn’t interested. A tragedy involving the woman he loves changes his mind.
Gianni Garko (for some ludicrous reason credited as Gary Hudson) in his first ever Western role does a fantastic job as a gunslinging bounty hunter. Along with Glenn Saxson and Anthony Steffen, Garko wears the Django moniker quite elegantly and graciously. Garko gets extra points for shedding tears when he finds his sweetheart dead in the held up stagecoach.
Claudio Camaso, the ill fated brother of Gian Maria Volonte, exudes a smiling and cunning menace as the vicious Manuel Vasquez. While having some honor in not killing anyone from behind, loving and respecting his father, and genuinely loving the woman he “kidnapped”, this guy is a stone cold, cold blooded thief and killer. When he goes too far, Manuel ends up in a losing fight.
Fernando Sancho, while not the main villain like he normally is, still exudes his usual bombastic and menacing prowess as Manuel’s father Stardust Vasquez. His moniker gained from taking as trophies the badges of lawmen he’s killed, Stardust is as ruthless as his son. That they share a typical father/son bond is interesting.
Arrow Video did a fantastic job with the transfer and restoration of this classic.
Despite having been fashioned after its contemporary American counterparts, Marchent’s oater turns out intriguing just the same by reason of its extensive characterization and generally sound writing all around. Film’s biggest strength undoubtedly dwells in the fact that all characters are endued with their own personal quirks and idiosyncrasies which entails that all of them prove quite memorable and three-dimensional. Regardless of whether one speaks of the gunslinging ex-convict, the vengeful man seeking revenge upon the former for his brother’s untimely demise, the Chinese comic relief character or the troublemaker acted by Sancho, they all feel meaningfully developed here; suffice to say, the whole yarn is properly fleshed out and makes for an immersive viewing experience even if it is of the decidedly corny, old-fashioned kind. Narration’s multifaceted nature is further bolstered by adequate focus and dexterity wherewith Marchent weaves both of the predominant narrative strands: one of them deals with Hundar’s quest for justice, whereas the other portrays husband’s endeavor to secure treatment for his ill wife who has an operable brain tumor. Though tale’s focus initially seems somewhat diffuse and faltering, it all subsequently improves the moment both of the primary plotlines converge, ultimately adding up to one gripping storyline.
Brett Halsey is ticked off.
A simple revenge tale mixed with a “5 man army” structure made all the better for an unexplained Japanese villain. Always enjoyable.
Chose this one to tick off Linda Veras but, in reality, her part is minimal. One word I think. But it obviously includes a lot of the other category Hall of Famers and is a great film so I’ll take it.
Great to rewatch both SW.
The Corbucci is a widescreen movie and so 16mm aspect ratio is more or less correct. Good colours. I always liked Joseph Cotton in this role. Good movie.
The Django unfortunately is not in scope but at least cropped to widescreen and not to fullscreen. Great colours.
Solid SW with Anthony Steffen and Frank Wolff. Good old school story and some bloody scenes.
Glad to have them both on 16mm reels…
Next up for me: Lo Voglio Morto from the Arrow disc… fantastic transfer. Solid (but not great) movie.
Edit: the transfer is actually a bit of a mixed bag, with lots of exteriors being far too bright, but overall, quite good.
#12 Days of Vengeance
3/5
First watch! The first few minutes had me hooked–the way it was the filmed, the size of the cast, the style of the credits, the two-hour runtime… I thought I was about to watch some forgotten spaghetti western epic. (I’d heard good things). But what I got was an enjoyable spaghetti that felt very average. I almost think the opening act without Gemma is the highlight–it was certainly more tantalizing.
#13 The Last Tomahawk
2.5/5
First watch! An adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s classic novel “The Last of the Mohicans” which I haven’t read (yet). It was certainly done a rather traditional style. There were some really great filming locations though! And lots of action. While it isn’t great by any means, it isn’t horrible either–and like nearly all spags: at least it isn’t boring!
It has been a very eclectic journey so far, and I’m enjoying it. There should be some more weird and obscure films to watch and review. I already have some ideas for the remainder of the fest.
Rewatch. Haven’t watched this SW in a couple of years and it was a good time revisiting it. The action and plot do take a little bit to get going, but once it does it’s an excellent ride to the finish. Mixing the classic revenge story with the Magnificent Seven and the Dirty Dozen was a nice touch.
I could be wrong, but I believe this is the only SW to depict the infamous loose confederation of criminal utter dregs known as the Comancheros. They were well depicted in the film.
Brett Halsey, one of the many American actors to get their big push through Italian Cinema, does a fine job as the stone faced and hard edged Bill Kiowa. Raised by the Native American tribe of which he takes his surname, Kiowa led an uneventful life until his close friend betrayed him by raping and killing his wife, and framing him for robbery. After serving 5 years, Kiowa decides it’s time to gather the best gunman available and take revenge.
Tatsuya Nakadai, one of Japan’s finest actors next to Toshiro Mifune, delivers an incredible performance as the twisted and menacing El Fego. Once Kiowa’s close friend, El Fego betrayed him several times over, including the murder of Kiowa’s wife and became the leader of a gang of marauders. Nakadai’s Samurai film background serves him well here, wielding and using a machete just like a sword. His unnerving facial expressions when playing a bad guy or madman are also used to great effect.
Bud Spencer, Wayde Preston, William Berger, and Franco Borelli (prior to getting stuck with Fidani) offer up great support as the gunman Kiowa employs to help him.
The German Blu Ray offers a fantastic transfer and restoration, but loses some points for having forced subtitles on the Italian track and that Bud Spencer is touted as the star when it’s really Brett Halsey.
Garrone: Django the Bastard
-Gothic/horror western with Anthony Steffen. While it’s good and definitely interesting film it’s also frustratingly disappointing at times. Probably Steffen’s best film anyway and Luciano Rossi has one his best roles. Vasco & Mancuso’s score is too vivacious for my liking, something more moody would have fitted this film better. 7/10
Two thirds of the way through the month and it’s the turn of Loredana Nusciak. Of course, with Django it also covers Corbucci, Barboni and Eduardo Fajardo. And unlike Linda Veras in yesterday’s film Nusciak features heavily in this one and gives possibly her best performance in a western. Django is still a great film. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how different it was to what had come before. I watched the Cult Films bluray and it looks pretty good.
(should’ve watched these last night but stupid real life got in the way, so I’m doing them tonight. Stupid real life!)
An interesting pair for me this evening. I start with My Name is Pecos (Lucidi, 1966), a movie I desperately want to like more than I do; I’m sure there’s a fantastic spag in there somewhere, if I can just latch onto it. I might even switch the order of these two and watch this one after midnight. Sometimes that works wonders with certain films, believe it or not.
I’m then following that up (or preceding it, maybe) with the grotesquely beautiful Keoma (Castellari, 1976), the best of the “twilight” Spags for my money and arguably one of the finest Spags from any year. As long as you can get past that f#cking theme song, of course. Should be designated as a biohazard, that thing.
Kidnapping (1968)(orig. 20.000 dollari sporchi di sangue) - Director: Alberto Cardone - 5/10.
Pic’s most prominent allure consists in its fairly unusual premise which was rarely exploited elsewhere in the genre; the kidnapping intrigue necessarily entails that the storyline unfolds in a somewhat different fashion with multiple twists and turns being ably handled here. Halsey’s interpretation of the booze-guzzling ex-sheriff is excellent and generates interest in tandem with the already gripping plot. What arguably hobbles the narration to some extent is movie’s dilatory pacing: while the languorous tempo sort of works at the beginning of the midsection when the story elaborates on ex-lawman’s background, establishing his redemption arc and laying the groundwork for the latter part of the story, the narrative fails to accelerate in the second half which grows acutely conspicuous in the rather flaccid climax. Indeed, flick’s culmination appears flabby insofar as some viewers are wont to zone out in its course which attests to the need for some cuts to aid film’s generally flagging composition therein. Aside from that niggle, the tout ensemble is executed with an adequate dose of cohesion and proficiency. On the whole, this is clearly Cardone’s best oater, what with him largely eschewing far-fetched plot devices and rendering the material in a straightforward, down-to-earth manner. With that being said, there is no disguising the fact that it definitely would have benefitted from tighter pacing and snappier editing along the line, so it arguably could have turned out even better in the end.
Day 21–Sartana Kills Them All (1970) D: Rafael Romero Marchant. Starting Gianni Garko, Guglielmo Spoletini (William Bogard), Maria Silva, and Cris Huerta. Sartana (Garko) and Marcos (Spoletini) evade the law and try to score big in poker. All while crossing paths with a murderous paraplegic, Confederate patriarch and sons as well as a red-headed beauty who endangers their friendship. Spotelini stole the movie as Marcos, the wise-cracking Mexican buddy of Sartana. I don’t want to share any spoilers, but there is a scene with Sartana and Marcos near the end of the film that had me laughing out loud. The English title makes the film seem more serious than it is. Aside from some intense scenes involving the Confederate patriarch it should be considered a SW comedy. Rating: 3.5/5.
Spaghetti favourite, Robert Hundar, and co., spill copious amounts of warm claret into a white landscape of freezing your nuts off proportions, in this grim, bloody, gut-wrenching, and eminently watchable SW gothic fable.
