The Pitiless Three / El sabor de la venganza (Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent, 1963)

runner · May 4, 2019, 9:34pm

I just watched the Wild East-release of Three Ruthless Ones/Gunfight At High Noon/Sons Of Vengeance/3 Implacables and found it specially interesting as a pre-Leone SW or paella western, but with several recognizable faces.

Looking at the different Almeria locations was the most intriguing, including Tabernas area and El Cabo de Gata. The rodeo scene obviously though was shot at Clomenar Viejo where it was possible to observe its caracteristic hill. The family ranch I suspected was rather close to Mini Hollywood, and I just found it on Google 3D here :
https://tinyurl.com/y23shgvg

Maybe the film is a bit more American style in story telling, but I found it entertaining nevertheless, and I guess I will rate it as 6 of 10. It do lack the rather typical mood of many SW, and that genre’s best music.

Phil_H · March 26, 2021, 12:27pm

Re-watched this one after more than a decade yesterday.
Still consider this one of the better pre-Leone spaghettis. Well shot, good story and well cast with Robert Hundar stealing the show as the angry elder brother intent on using violence to gain revenge on those who have done the family wrong.
Need to re-visit a few more of these older ones I think. It’s been a while.

Admin · May 6, 2022, 7:25pm

Not bad at all, this one. A bit slow, but well written, rather high quality little revenge flick

QuickDraw · May 22, 2023, 2:07pm

There’s a new poll available for this one at the top of the page under the original post!

The database page for this one is also in need of the 3.0 treatment.
Sabor de la venganza, El - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)

Admin · May 22, 2023, 2:24pm

Thanks!
This movie’s page in the database has now been freshly upgraded indeed. It shows some gaps! Please contribute facts and info, links, reviews, pictures and more - or point out errors with the information we have so far.

Rayo · May 22, 2023, 10:11pm

I just watched this one again.
If someone could update the main page: El sabor de la venganza

At least some of the “filming locations” were set at:
Parla
Tabernas
Colmenar Viejo
Cabo de Gata
Retamar

Thanks,

Admin · May 22, 2023, 10:19pm

done!

Mickey13 · November 14, 2024, 6:42pm

Copied from the Spagvemberfest 2024 thread:

Spagvemberfest 2024 - 30 coffins won’t be enough

Pic’s story essentially portrays a childhood trauma and its impact upon a trio of brothers whose father is killed during a clash with bandits: the surviving son played by Hundar openly expresses his disdain for the instituted laws, while the other played by Harrison deems them as necessary in maintaining order and social cohesion, perceiving them as a noble end in itself, which prompts him to become a man of the law himself the instant he becomes an adult. The third sibling basically resides between the two extremities and plays the role of an intermediary between the two men and by extension, between the two ideological positions.

The friction in question actuates the said men to seek justice in divergent ways, either adhering to or running afoul of the law depending on their personal inclinations. Not only does this strife make for quite a spectacle, but also it provides ample room for character development which reveals itself most conspicuously in Hundar’s part. On the whole, Marchent attempts to stylistically emulate the look and feel of the archetypical American western in the way he narrates and frames the central plotline here. Though it is hard to shake off the impression the work could have become a minor classic had it been crafted with more panache and stylistic elan, eschewing some of the moralistic clichés of the era, film’s writing generally turns out so good it doesn’t constitute much of an impediment, culminating in a fittingly tragic coda.