Day 15: Zorro il dominatore
Stock footage and recycled Lalo Gori score. Despite that, not actually a Fidani movie.
1 Like
#5.
Django - 8/10 - Rewatch.
Not seen Django for quite a number of years. Wanted to rewatch it as I used to consider it my favourite SW until watching The Great Silence recently, so I wanted to give Django another shot to compare. While brilliant, Iâll still have to keep The Great Silence in the top spot. Overall I donât think Django is quite the 10/10 I used to think it was.
Found it a tiny bit slow in places, aswell as having a much better first half compared to the second half, which I thought was a little silly and stretched in parts. I donât think I enjoyed much of the Mexican sub-plot.
Nero was awesome, albeit the dubbing was worse than I remember too, something I have a bit of a pet peeve over. Of course the soundtrack was beautiful. But yeah, still great, but not quite The Great Silence level. Part of me is wondering whether I actually prefer El Puro too..
7 Likes
Day 15: They Call Me Hallelujah (a.k.a. Heads You DieâŚTails I Kill You; Guns for Dollars) (1971) Directed by Giuiliano Carnimeo. Starring George Hilton, Roberto Carmadiel, Agata Flori, and Charles Southwood. During the 1860s war against the French occupation of Mexico and rule under Emperor Maximilian of Austria-Hungary, General Ramirez (Camardiel) hires gringo gunfighter Hallelujah (Hilton) to get back a cache of Mexican jewels that are being used by Emperor Maximilian to buy guns for use against Juarez and the Mexican freedom fighters. Hallelujah must take on American gunrunners, a nun and a Russian grand duke to recover the stolen jewels. Though I made a few attempts to watch Hallelujah in the past, this time I watched the entire movie and had a good time. The humor (which could have fallen flat if not done right) was spot on. My favorite comedic part was General Ramirez and Hallelujah getting into a heated discussion about the stolen jewels and the terms of their business arrangement while a street battle between Mexican peons and Austrian troops is going on around them. Theyâre both able to participate in the combat and keep their concentration on talking shop. Rating: 4/5.
9 Likes
SPAGVEMBER FEST 2025
Day 15
Due Once di Piombo (Il Mio Nome e Pecos) (1966)
Rewatch
A really fun and solidly crafted serious SW. What I find exceptionally special about this genre entry is the tackling of racism with Pecos not only tackling the baddies cause theyâre terrorizing his hometown, but that they take every opportunity to degrade the Mexican inhabitants of the area with every form of racial slur and insulting language.
Site favorite Robert Woods gives one of his many fine performances as the somber and revenge seeking Pecos Martinez. A personal tragedy leads him back to the town Houston, with the intent on finishing the justice that was interrupted. Woodsâ stare as he looks with red hot rage at Kline/Claneâs gang shows him as a man on a mission who wonât be denied.
Pier Paolo Capponi, a favorite in the Giallo and Euro Crime genres, shows off fine Western villainy as Joe Kline/Clane. This guy is fiercely loyal to his underlings and hates being double crossed, showing a preference to maim rather than outright kill, a clear sign of a sadistic streak. Heâs also an unrepentant racist, loving to abuse, physically and mentally, every Mexican he sees. His constant favoring of his throat hints at a time his luck may have run out, and that maybe he might still be running from it.
A must watch entry in the genre and more than deserving to be in either the Essential Top 20 or Alternative Top 20
5/5
11 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2025
Day 10
The Hellbenders (Corbucci / 1967)
A very busy week of work with long hours has put me behind in my Spagvemberfest viewing but making up time now.
Hellbenders is one Iâve always liked and the new Studio Canal bluray makes it look better than ever. Excellent stuff.
9 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2025
Day 11
John, the Bastard (Crispino / 1967)
A drop in quality from the Hellbenders but a decent watch and one Iâve been meaning to revisit for some years.
I watched a better version than when I reviewed it some years back but my feelings about the film havenât changed.
7 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2025
Day 12
Custer of the West (Siodmak / 1967)
A eurowestern which doesnât feel european in the slightest to be honest. Poorly directed and unsure of itself politically, it all winds up being a bit of a mess. I suspect that the fact it was shot in Super Technorama 70 for the Cinerama cinemas didnât help it. There are repeated scenes clearly shot POV to create a theme park ride effect that doesnât come across at all on home TV. Racing down a hillside in a runaway wagon and zooming down a forestry sluice run being obvious cases in point. Itâs a bit like watching 3D gimmicks when you donât have 3D effects on your telly. Anyway, not very good.
7 Likes
#11 Shoot, Gringo, Shoot
A bounty hunter is hired to kidnap a son who has joined a gang of outlaws and return the boy to his patriarchal father. The highlight for me was the gang leader, The Major, who was wonderfully eccentric and had a pet duck that NOBODY better shoot! And he sprinkles it with kisses. The shootout at the end was handled nicely, though the bulk of the movie plods along.
2.5 / 5
#12 Shanghai Joe
This is my favorite western in the minor âeast meets westâ subgenre, surpassing Red Sun (which I feel drags at times). This one is pure b-movie genre fare of the best variety. The production value is mixedâsometimes you can easily see the strings carrying actors as they fly . . . but at other times the effects are really well masked.
The music is among the best of the genre. Bruno Nicolaiâs finest moment.
4/5
#13 Day of Anger
A masterpiece. Lee Van Cleefâs red eyes after being tied and dragged by the rope and pulled by three riders . . . look at the pain and the anger and the relief he shows Scott Mary, and youâll understand why heâs my contender for best western star.
Go watch the movie if you havenât seen it before. Itâs part of the âold gunslingerâ spaghetti subgenre. The music will get stuck in your head.
5/5
7 Likes
No. 14 & 15:
EL ROJO
&
ABRE TU FOSA AMIGOâŚLLEGA SABATA
The monthly highlightâŚour 35mm SW Double Feature in cinema. This month both with Richard Harrison in the lead.
EL ROJO copy faded to purple but turned better from reel to reel. Nice revenge movie with Piero Lulli as bad guy, a masked bounty killer and beautiful Nieves Navarro.
ABRE TU FOSA⌠copy had brown colors and many splices at the end of the reels. Also a revenge movie but it turns more to comedy after 20 minutes. Harrison and Fernando Sancho are a good couple and fun to watch. But best ist Raf Baldassarres bounty hunter. Great performance.
Both 7/10 with cinema Bonusđ¤
9 Likes
Day 16: The Mercenary
Rewatch.
4 Likes
Great pick! Definitely one of my favorite SWâs. Robert Woods is irreplaceable as Pecos. And, in a genre about revenge stories, Pecos is badass at serving his revenge red hot rather than cold.
2 Likes
SPAGVEMBER FEST 2025
Day 16
Pecos e Qui: Prega e Mouri (1967)
Rewatch.
I know this isnât a favorite among the fans here, but I have a grand old fun time with. The treasure hunt included adds some exciting spice to the mix. Our favorite Mexican gunslinger, with the help of three likable wandering minstrels, is on the hunt for Montezumaâs fabled treasure to prevent a crazed despot from using it to takeover Mexico.
Robert Woods may not have the intensity like the first go around, but Pecos Martinez is still one tough hombre who gets the job done. I believe because he finally avenged his family, the anger and hate within him died, and he was able to move on and become a traveling avenger.
Erno Crisa gives a delightfully unhinged performance as El Supremo, a madman bent on becoming dictator for life of Mexico. His outfit might be an oddball cross between a bullfighter and Fu Manchu, but by golly does it work for the character. Having a bullwhip as his weapon of choice adds a nice dose of unique difference.
Luciana Gilli, Carlo Gaddi, Pedro Sanchez, Umberto Raho, abd Piero Vida offer up fine support.
An underrated middle of the road piece I think fans should reevaluate
4/5
7 Likes
Nice use of the term âdemiurgeâ in a context not related to Gnosticism! Always enjoyable reading your reviews 
.
2 Likes
- Petroni: Death Rides a Horse
-I watched Screenbound Pictures Bluray. Otherwise nice release Iâd say but there seems to be some out of sync subtitles here and there during last minutes. Good film but a bit overlong, I think the whole village defending scene with the burning trenches could have been left out, itâs totally unnecessary scene. 8/10
5 Likes
- Vari: Degueyo
-Another film Iâve seen but had no any recollection what it was all about. Giacomo Rossi Stuart plays the lead and thereâs a bunch of characters like drunk ex-soldier, opportunistic whisky seller, crazy colonel, runaway mexican girl etc. All these characters and Dan Vadisâ brutal mexican bandit make it enjoyable film. 6/10
5 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2025
Day 13
Villa Rides (Kulik / 1968)
Another eurowestern that feels totally American outside of the odd familiar Spanish face and location. Much better than Custer though. An enjoyable Sunday afternoon adventure film. It presses my purist buttons though in terms of it being a western at all. I long ago made the concession that Mexican Revolution films get a free pass as westerns but when a film has an aeroplane as a central feature of the story I struggle.
7 Likes
Agree :
18 Death Rides A Horse (Giulio Petroni) 1967
19 Day Of Anger (Tonino Valerii) 1967
20 Sabata (Gianfranco Parolini) music Marcello Giombini 1969
21 My Name Is Pecos (Maurizio Lucidi) music Coriolano Gori 1966
x22 Blood River/Ten White Men and One Little Indian (Gianfranco Baldanello) music Piero Umiliani 1974
x23 Awkward Hands (Rafael Romero Marchent) music AntĂłn GarcĂa Abril 1970
x24 Challenge Of The Mackennas/Badlands Drifter/Amen/A Dollar and a Grave (LeĂłn Klimovsky) music Francesco De Masi 1970
x25 Pistoleros/Ballad Of A Gunman (Alfio Caltabiano) music Marcello Giombini 1967
x = I need official DVD/Bluray
1 Like
No. 16 DALLAS
Probably the worst Anthony Steffen SW. Unfunny comedy with a terrible Score. No cinema start in GermanyâŚonly VHS.
1/10
5 Likes
The video box âartâ doesnât help ⌠Iâve seen this one and didnât hate it as much as many others - Perhaps because I was expecting nothing, I wasnât so disappointed. Fernando has a few comic moments ⌠but itâs no classic!
2 Likes
Day 17: I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
Rewatch. Glanced at the Lorem Ipsum in the newspapers in this film, some wacky stuff.
3 Likes