The Last Western You Watched? ver.2.0

Howdy there, @Mickey13, long time no see. :wink: Yes, yes, superior certainly.

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Hello, Tomas, itā€™s really nice to see you too! Havenā€™t posted anything here in a while, but hopefully it will change now.

First and foremost, I have to rework my entire Essential Top 20, some big changes coming up. Blindman is definitely going to end up somewhere in my Top 5 or 10. I have no idea why, but itā€™s one of these few spaghetti westerns that has remained a truly big favorite of mine and still feels as fresh as it was during my first viewing. I am well aware of the fact that itā€™s basically a WiP film disguised as a western and a perfect example of a style-over-substance filmmaking, but there is something truly fascinating about the rendition and its overall style. Ciprianiā€™s score is definitely a big plus as well, no doubt. Cemetery Without Crosses is likely to appear high on that list too. Overall, I guess my taste has somewhat shifted throughout all these years and the list will surely reflect that.

As for Four of the Apocalypse, I re-watched it not that long ago and liked it even more the second time around. Itā€™s probably one of his best movies, up there with his gialli efforts. I never cared about his Zombie/Zombi 2 which I thought was extremely erratic and not that interesting TBH. Other than some impressive gore effects, there is not much to discuss or to take interest in. Itā€™s an okay movie, but not one that stays in mind for long, at least in my estimation that is.

Iā€™d like to see that. Yes, I have similar feelings about Blindman. Never cared much about Cemetery senza croci, but Iā€™ve seen it almost ten yrs ago, so rewatch is on the program, maybe Iā€™ll change my mind.

Whatā€™s that?

I actually might seen this one, not sure, these italian zombie, cannibal or what have you are just completely pointless movies for me, that I pretty much forgot everything about them. :slight_smile: Maybe Iā€™ll give a go to some of his giallos one day, just to be sure, that Iā€™m not missing much or on the contrary a whole lot of fun.

My two cents on Tonyā€™s westerns. Just take it easy. Iā€™ve been already told on facebook, that Silent Stranger is a hunk of crap and Get Mean even worse, so feel free to express yourself in any way you want. :smiley:

Tony Anthonyā€™s spaghetti westerns. Iā€™ve rewatched almost all of them recently and in a better video quality than last time, so letā€™s have a look at them. Are they still that good or did I like them so much back then, because my crave for the genre wasnā€™t fulfilled and I would celebrate any garbage as masterpiece? Yes, these are the questions that bothers seasoned spaghetti western masochist as myself.

A Stranger In Town - Minimalist spagh introducing Tonyā€™s coolnes and establishing my favorite spaghetti western character of all time. Suck on that Django and Man With No Name. I still love it for what it is, but slower and repetitive middle part, although featuring Gia Sandri as dominatrix, is a bit of a bumper, but really only slightly. Also the score is weakest of the Stranger series, but the main theme is still very listenable. Final showdown is one of the best Iā€™ve seen in SWs. Rating: 80%

The Stranger Returns - Director Luigi Vanzi delivers a sequel which is even better than his first effort, without any bumper areas and accompanied by highly listenable soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani. Final showdown is undertaken with the help of a four-barreled shotgun and although I can imagine they could do more with it during the combat, it still features one of the most funny takedowns of all time. The theme playing during the duel between Stranger and Dan Vadis wasnā€™t on a soundtrack, what a shame, because itā€™s pretty cool. Rating: 90%

The Silent Stranger - Third and last Vanziā€™s entry into the spaghetti realm of The Stranger. It actually starts off with a weird scene in a shack in Klondike. If I was the director, I would do an outdoor scene in a snow (not a problem, I think, since we see Tony running across the snowy lanscape at the very beginning), and without that silly hanging scene. But after that everythingā€™s great. A scene after scene is one marvel after another stuffed with many inventive ideas, engaging story, funny dialogues and an original surroundings, which you probably havenā€™t seen in any other western. Well, almost whole film was shot in Japan and The Stranger is battling samurais with katanas. Once again, The Stranger gets his revenge in the end with the help of a weapon of mass destruction :slight_smile: , but since we are far away from his homeland and shotguns are not available, he has to come out with something else. Oh, and Stelvio Cipriani once again delivers superb soundtrack. For me, this spagh is TOP 5 material. Rating: 100%

Get Mean - Ferdinando Baldiā€™s installment in The Stranger series. Hated by many, loved by very few. Well, maybe not, I didnā€™t do statistics, but it is less favourited than its predecessors. Anyway, I belong to the latter group. I love it for what is, and if you have no idea what it is, go and watch it and be amazed or offended. Great track by Bixio and Co. Rating: 90%

Blindman - Havenā€™t seen this one in a long time, but i remember it was amazing and I donā€™t think I would change my mind on it, so very much recommended. Baldi at its finest. Rating: 100%

Cominā€™ At Ya - Again Baldi. Made as a 3D movie, yes, they had something like that back then too, with a lot of spectacular looking scenes, nevertheless, this is the only instance I didnā€™t like a western Tony starred in. It is not a part of Stranger series, but quite similar and it also repeats the theme from Blindman (women trafficking), but it doesnā€™t work for me. Also, the final showdown is laughable and quite silly when compared to the final combats in the previous movies. Rating: 50%

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Women in prison film

Iā€™ve seen his Lizard in a Womanā€™s Skin, The Psychic and Donā€™t Torture a Duckling. All of them are very highly recommended films. And this is coming from someone who isnā€™t a die-hard giallo fan, these are simply excellent movies which show that Fulci was also capable of making stylish and fairly subtle flicks. None of them are particularly gory or bloody too.

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My favourite Anthony western is still definitely Blindman but the first couple of Stranger films I also remember fondly. The third one less so. Probably due a re-visit actually. I watched Get Mean not that long ago and it certainly is a much better experience on the new Bluray release but still not a favourite of mine. It does have a certain bonkers charm about it though. Cominā€™ at Ya is one I am still yet to see but am not in any real hurry if Iā€™m honest.

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Forsaken (Cassar / 2015)

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Got this as a Christmas present a year and a bit ago but only just got around to it this weekend.
Itā€™s fine but more than a little predictable. To be honest I think itā€™s a good example of why the western will never make a real comeback as a popular genre. Itā€™s a vehicle for older leading men being reluctant heroes. If they want to win a younger audience there needs to be more action and less crying and soul searching. Itā€™s an OK oater of the modern variety but I couldnā€™t really recommend it.

ā€˜Comin at Yaā€™ isnā€™t really a film at all ā€¦ just a series of clichĆ©d set ups to show off the 3D effects, which in the old anaglyph red and cyan version Iā€™ve seen, doesnā€™t really work ā€¦ at least not on TV.
I know this was given the re-mastered treatment, so no doubt it looks a lot better, but itā€™s still a lousy movie.

Yes, @aldo, my thoughts exactly.

Yeah, it helps. Not that I wasnā€™t fan of it before. :grinning:

Last night I saw Bone Tomahawk for the third time :slight_smile: Still think it might be Jenkinsā€™ best performance

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I really loved Bone Tomahawk, excellent stuff.

Mickey, what do you think of the photography?

In Bone Tomahawk? As far I remember, the cinematography was digital/modern looking, but it somehow suited the general atmosphere and grittiness of the motion picture. I also cherished the fact that there was hardly or no music used in the movie which made things even more tense. Iā€™d have to re-watch it to be more precise in my assessment (watched like a year ago or so), but overall I really liked Bone Tomahawk. Iā€™ve no idea why there arenā€™t more western/horror hybrids of this kind.

Death Rides a Horse. El Dorado , The Missouri Breaks , And Rio Conchos

Django Il Bastardo
I realized that I have to rewatch this urgently. Well, itā€™s seven years Iā€™d seen it and remembered only bits and pieces. So, what are the thoughts now, when Iā€™m a grown up and I exchanged words ā€œguilty pleasureā€ for a much more mature currency: ā€œResponsibilityā€. I have to say the thoughts are pretty much the same as last time. Except for a two short scenes, I love it. I promote Sergio Garonne to a Fourth Sergio. Sorry, Sergio Martino, you are now fifth Sergio. And by the way, your postapocalyptic flicks suck big time. Rating: Solid 80%

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The scene in which Williams hums while opening a bottle of champagne?

No. The scene when a trap pulls a henchman up in the air and other henchman panicks and shoots him. And then other henchman tells him ā€œhey, that was one of oursā€, but they are so unexcited about it, it is ridiculous. Canā€™t remember what was the other sceneā€¦

Yesterday I watched Hostiles in the cinema.
I have some mixed feelings about the movie. Settings, details and imaging looked great and also the acting was very well. But the story missed something IMO.

(Spoiler alert)

I understood that Blocker had a past and he changed during the trip he made with one of his worst enemies. But that is just the point; the basics why the change took place towards his enemy I could not find in the movie.
There are some minor discussions, a shared fight with some trappers (but you do not see them fight, you only see them enter a different tent). All in all not enough for a convincing change of mind towards his enemy.
The way Blocker lived his soldier life is on the other hand well balanced given

The trip they made and the scenery was beautiful filmed.

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Westerns and quasi westerns Iā€™ve seen since my last visit here (august 2017):

El charro de las calaveras [The Rider of the Skulls] (1965) - 5/10
Quel maledetto giorno dā€™invernoā€¦ Django e Sartana allā€™ultimo sangue [Django Meets Sartana] (1970) - 6/10
White Fang (1991) - 7/10
The Last Wagon (1956) - 7/10
Wilcze echa (1968) - 8/10
Firecreek (1968) - 6/10
Prawo i pięść [The Law and the Fist] (1964) - 8/10
Yellow Sky (1948) - 7/10
Cowboys & Aliens (2011) - 5/10