Load your guns, ladies and gents, spagvemberfest is here! A month of spaghetti westerns awaits. A month of love of the genre, of spreading the word and of watching dusty piles of films we love and cherish (and some we keep avoiding but there’s one month in the year where that is not tolerated).
So get ready, post your Spagvember-watchings, and if you do so on Social media, please do use the hashtag spagvemberfest so your posts can be found and shared!
What’s a “Spagvemberfest” you ask? Read this helpful refresher article:
And here is a quick banner I made with Hannie’s help:
Bosch’s oater proves surprisingly versatile and multifaceted in the way it topically forms a tripartite structure. Firstly, it deals with there being good and evil on both sides of the law, the noble law enforcer being represented by the former sheriff played by Craig Hill and the ignoble lawman being embodied here by Fernando Sancho’s part. On the other side of the equation, the story outlines two brothers, one of whom endeavors to desist from the path of crime, whereas the other remorselessly engages in pillaging and murder and openly vows to continue to do so irrespective of victims left in his wake. Plot’s inherent moral ambiguity results in that the storyline acquires certain noiresque characteristics along the line and evades clear-cut ethical boundaries in its depiction of the posse, generally running counter to traditionally established conventions.
Secondly, the good brother on the run from the law chances upon a woman with whom he develops affinity, the two eventually taking a shine to each other; the female nurses the outlaw back to health and when confronted with the prospect of running afoul of the law, she still takes his side and helps him escape regardless of possible corollaries, all of which unfolds on Craig Hill’s character’s watch. Thirdly, though former marshall’s involvement is initially explicated in purely pecuniary terms, it gradually sinks in that he takes interest in the fugitive for private reasons; the revenge subplot arguably consitutes the least original pillar of the aforementioned structure, yet when combined with the two aforesaid thematic strands, it neatly variegates and bolsters the narration ever so slightly; the movie ultimately differentiates itself by reason of all of its foremost characters being endowed with personal motivations, exhibiting genuine inclinations and in unison, forming a three-dimensional, immersive characterological mosaic. All of that is topped off with Bosch’s mature visual language, balanced storytelling, solid pacing and Bruno Nicolai’s atmospheric score. A cracking little film.
First time watch. This is a unique entry in the SW genre as it’s done like an anthology style film, the connecting point being the main character looking to avenge his brother’s murder and tracking down the killers and his interesting and creative interactions with them.
Writer/Director Mario Lanfranchi takes his audience on a brisk paced ride as Cash goes from location to location hunting down his quarry, and taking off as suddenly as he arrived. The semi fragmented structure is sometimes too fast, especially with the ‘Brother’ Baldwin sequence as he had a large gang of men Cash would have to deal with later, and then just cuts to the final target in O’Hara, but doesn’t take away from the fun and excitement of the film, only that Lanfranchi maybe could’ve slowed down just a little.
Robin Clarke’s only Western role as Cash is solid one, his face perfect for the genre. Not a lot of background is given on Cash, other than that he’s peaceful life was destroyed after the murder of his older brother and that he’s a somber wanderer who may never recover from that shock. This is surprisingly plenty as we know pretty much everything about him we need to know as the audience, and Clarke delivers the brooding vengeance minded character type well.
Richard Conte, Enrico Maria Salerno, Tomas Milian, and Adolfo Celi deliver excellent, if short performances, as the men Cash is after. Conte’s Diaz apparently regrets his past choices in life, but it comes back to haunt him regardless. Salerno’s Montero is a competitive gambler willing to play the live or die stake with Cash at the poker table. Milian is his usual eccentric creative self as an albino criminal suffering with epilepsy. And Celi is excellently slimy as the false clergyman killing in the name of repentance
This year I will be covering the ten years 1964-73 that Leone was actively involved in making westerns and will watch 3 from each year including all of the masters works of course but also a range of others based mostly at random but also trying to include eurowesterns along with the more purist spaghettis.
So, the obvious place to start is with Fistful. Especially seeing as though I bought all the new Arrow Dollars releases but have yet to open them. Nothing needs saying about this one but the release looks really nice and the extras are all worth having too.
I have to admit that I will not be able to partake in the festivities this year because I am going to visit the lands of @garringo55 and @Alleluja ….
This also means that the SWDb’s social media channels will stay silent during that time. I hope everyone else is making appropriate ruckus instead keep on spagggging!
Rewatch. There are little touches here and there that showcase how talented Corbucci was. A little more time was taken on this than the average spaghetti. A little transition scene that goes from a sermon at a white graveyard and opens at a Navajo burial site is one of those light touches that you’d expect in a film that had some planning beforehand.
But my favorite sequence is towards the very end.
When Joe is dying, relaying his wasted/fulfilled life to his horse, and there’s nothing but Morricone… it’s a genuine horse opera moment, and I unashamedly love it.
Day 1: A Man Called Django (a.k.a. Viva Django, W Django) (1971) Directed by Eduardo Mulargia.
This year I decided to pick a theme for all of the SW’s I’ll be watching. I’ll be watching movies with the main characters’ names in the titles. These are not only the Big Four names: Django, Ringo, Sartana and Sabata. I’ll also be watching SW’s with Trinity, Joe and Jim in the titles.
In A Man Called Django, Anthony Steffen plays the title character with a more lively, playful performance than usual. The movie has elements from both Death Rides a Horse and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Django is after the four men who broke into his house and murdered his wife while he was away. Killing each of the four, one by one. While going after Jeff, one of the killers, Django frees a horse thief named Carranza from the hangman’s noose. Much of the remainder of the movie has the unanswered question of whether Carranza was one of the four men who murdered Django’s wife or not. Out of mutual interest, Django and Carranza help one another out in going after Jeff and the other two murderers. Simone Blondell (the muse actress in Demofilo Fidani’s movies) makes a couple of brief appearances as Inez, a potential love interest for Django who isn’t in the movie nearly long enough. I thought the movie was a perfect starter film to kick off the next 29 days of Spagvember. Rating: 2/5
Rewatch. Still one of the best. Like many Italian films, about as politically subtle as a brick being thrown at one’s head. This is neither appraisal or a complaint. Love that LVC is playing such a competent but naive character in this, and Tomas Milian is just, well it’s Tomas Milian in this movie. Good stuff.
keep on spagggging!
