Listening to the music is worse than going to the dentist-
Freaky-ass old woman-
Nero’s “hair-from-hell”-
that pretty much sums it up on why Keoma isn’t my or many others’ cup of tea
Im sorry but as much as I respect peoples personal opinion I have to agree Karano in that youre not really making any valid critiques in regards to the film as a whole.
Thoses are reasons not to like the score and the hair style but no reason whatsoever to dismiss an entire film.
Thank you good fella 
Ah, my friend Enzo and me.
I always had an aversion towards him, without knowing much about him, only by reading about his films. The only film I had seen then was Keoma in a cinema, and it was a disappointment for me.
Meanwhile I like Enzo, the person, according to some interviews he seems to be a nice guy.
But his films, I have only seen his westerns, and yes they are a mixed affair with ups and downs, more downs to say the truth.
He learned the trade by making westerns, but frankly speaking, he doesn’t feel the genre like other directors did, his westerns generally look more like a job done, than like a heartfelt dedication.
Some say he was a great action director, but I don’t find much evidence for this in his Spagies.
Sure some of the smaller shootouts, like the opening scene from Any Gun Can Play are well enough done, but the larger action sequences, like the train assault in the same film, most of Kill Them All… , the attack of the mexicans at the end of Johnny Hamlet, the long, much too long shootout in the streets towards the end of Keoma, all these are rather ponderous scenes and lack any cinematic inspiration imo. They are at best standard, like everybody could do them.
Especially his pure action flicks like 7 Winchesters… and Kill Them all… are messy affairs, and these should be working if they were made by a gifted action director, at least on a simple level as they are add one action sequence to another with not much in between.
And then there is his special liking of long drawn out fistfights, with much bouncing around and artistic interludes. Terrible.
Any Gun is partly ruined by this and I Came I Saw I Shot for larger parts. These brawls are completely out of place in Johnny Hamlet and even some scenes in Keoma are dragged down by them (especially as they were lengthened by dull slo mo shots).
No wonder that I successfully managed to avoid Tedeum and Cipolla Colt up to this day.
What’s good?
Any Gun Can Play (original Go, Kill and Come Back) is an entertaining actioner (apart from the brawls of course) with a pleasant self ironic attitude.
The last 10 min of Kill Them All
Johnny Hamlet is a sometimes unusual, great looking Hamlet version (well, Hamlet light), which is also the best and constant directed of his early output. A shot like Ophelia floating down the river comes straight from the play, but is at the same time removed out of the original context by changing/simplifying her character, but nevertheless seems to be somhow appropriate in its haunting beauty.
Enzo’s best is Keoma, which I since began to like by and by thanks to repeated viewings.
I still find enough flaws in it, so that despite some fascinating scenes it will never become a favourite of mine. I’m never sure if this is a intelligent film or only a great heap of heavily handled kitsch, but I overall can enjoy this strange mixture, it certainly works for me. The ending is especially well done.
Some of the slo mo scenes (the end again) work, most of them don’t, it’s only endlessly shots of falling people, working against the rhythm of these scenes.
Another flaw is that the brothers characters are not developed very much, and they are casted with unimpressive actors. A major failure.
I like the often disfavoured score including the singing, both the male and the female voice, but again, sometimes it’s overdone and adds a kitschy feeling to the film.
The film is overall atmospherically dominated by a mystic aura, which makes it quit unique, and gives many scenes an unreal effect, which is sensual experiencable.
Enzo by numbers:
Pochi dollari per Django 3
Sette Winchester per un massacro 1
Vado, l’ammazo e torno 5
Quella sporca storia nel West 6
I tre che sconvolsero il West 3
Ammazzali tutti e torna solo 4
Tedeum -
Cipolla Colt -
Keoma 6
Jonathan degli orsi 4
Well, Keoma is often 8/10 but there are also …
Maybe a 7/10 when I watch it again one day.
[quote=“Phil H, post:3, topic:1334”]Johnny Hamlet for me.
Castellari’s work is hit and miss in as much as sometimes his films are all action and not much else. These are still fun but I like my spags with a bit more substance and style beyond endless punch ups and stunts. Johnny Hamlet is a quality film by anyone’s stamdards and definitely shows what Enzo was capable when he wanted to be a bit more creative.[/quote]
Same here ! I also like Keoma a lot but Johnny Hamlet will always be a very special movie for me. Maybe 'cause it’s one of the first SWs that I’ve watched apart from the Leones !??
The rest of the Poll’s movies is quite enjoyable (count out Tedeum and Cipolla Colt, which are a mess) but far from great…
Keoma gets better when viewed more often. But, as far as I’m concerned, it’s nowhere near top notch. Neither is Forgotten Pistolero for that matter. I agree that Forgotten Pistolero plays like a soap opera. I just found it more interesting and better executed than Keoma. Perhaps I should have described it a bit more pinpoint: I believe that Keoma is more of a tearjerker so to speak, while Forgotten Pistolero is less sentimental. I don’t hate Keoma. It has its qualities: Cast, atmosphere, directing. But I just can’t see why this should be exalted as a masterpiece, because in my humble opinion it is not. The excruciating music for example is hard to ignore.
Thank you Bad Lieutenant. Now I can respect you critiscm of Keoma. Thank you. 
No problem. Thing woulds be boring if we’d all like the same things. By the way, I’ve rated it 6/10. I’ve reviewed 643 movies so far with a 5.284 average. So for me Keoma is better than the average movie I watch. Furthermore I guess it depends a little on mood and the version you see. The first time I saw it was on German tv. The second time in English (DFW dvd) I already liked it better, especially because I knew what music to expect. Even though I still disliked the score I coudn’t be bothered by it as much as the first time I saw the movie.
I feel the same way about many spaghs. I watch them a second time knowing what to expect and find I enjoy them more.
For me, one of the most overrated directors ever.
OK, Keoma is a good movie.
But the rest divided in average films and bad films.
Some Dollars for Django is: a cucumber. Poor film without highlights. And very American.
Any Gun Can Play: Very good start and that the film is getting worse. Unbalanced relationship between humor and serious scenes.
Seven Winchester’s for a Massacre: The Next cucumber. Bad actors, uninteresting story and untalented implementation
Johnny Hamlet: A film with a good reputation. But I was disappointed. Ok, there are beautiful locations. But this constant childish, amateurish fight. Very annoying. The film would have had potential. If Corbucci would have realized it.
Kill Them All and Come Back Alone: Again, always fights like a Bud Spencer and Terence Hill movie. At best, average
Jonathan of the Bears: One of the worst SW of all time.
His comedies, I do not know and do not interest me.
Finally, I must ask again: Why is the man so well known. For his good SW not. Castellari has to make in my opinion no sense for a SW. And unfortunately, he has made many Western. >:(
Said before…prefer his crime films to his westerns.
Your opinion of Castellari is very similar to my opinion of Corbucci 
As for my taste in Enzo, I love Keoma and like his other SWs too but his other SWs are not quite up to the standard of Keoma.
For non SWs I really like Inglorious bastards (better than QT’s) and Street Law, but thats about it.
I like most of his work and think hes a good director (though his Westerns before Johnny Hamlet are pretty weak)… his most famous movies are probably The Inglorious Bastards and the post-apocalyptic films he made like Bronx Warriors.
I must admit, I only know of his Western and some bad comedies. Since these films i have never liked, I have never had more interest in his other films. 8)
i like very much payment in blood 1967! cool music and nonstop action!
I recently saw Tuareg with Matt Harmon ( a very young one), very good movie I was surprised
Glad someone else likes it! It doesn’t seem to get a lot of love around here. Maybe because it’s lighthearted, maybe because of Edd Byrnes? And i love that soundtrack.
From the list, I’ve only seen Keoma and Johnny Hamlet, both of which I thought were excellent. Personally, I prefer Keoma just a little bit more.
I’ve watched a lot of Castellari’s other films and I think you have to be open to trashy films to really get along with his stuff. That’s not to say his spaghetti westerns are trashy necessarily, but as a director he seems very willing to produce films which are derivative and plain silly. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and clearly doesn’t hold his work up to be great art.
I actually watched Johnny Hamlet for the first time quite recently and was struck by how well shot it was. The constantly creative camera work really enhanced a lot of the scenes for me. It’s funny, I think Castellari is a fine director, but I don’t think he sets out to make films which are anything more than fun.
He definetly makes his films with entertainment value as his first priority, but i think he also adds a certain “artfulness” to his films that the average spaghetti director might lack. So I think he does try to be more artful with his films. He had alot of symbolic imagery and innovative camera angles with Keoma for example. I would’nt say it was pretentious but it was certainly preachy. I think he does try to do something more than just make his films fun, but he does it without comprimising the fun aspect, so it plays off as trashy even when its not. I’m not even sure if I’m any making sense here LOL.
i haven’t seen yet ‘i came i saw i shot’