Director Michele Lupo doesn;t seem to get mentioned a lot in our discussions on the forum. But he directed some very good Spaghetti Westerns. So I think he deserves some recognition. My favorite film of his is probably Ben and Charlie. It may not be “ha ha” funny but hell if it isn’t as fun as fuck. Hot on it’s trail is California. Dark, Grim, stylish.
Too sad for Lupo did some cool westerns. I haven’t seen Ben+Charlie yet, but I like the other three.
Arizona COlt for me is one the best Gemmas. It’s a real actioner with much shoting and even more dying.
Buddy is OK. It’s not as good as the two original trinities, but way better than the flood of badly made SW comedies. I like Buddy, cause it’s well made and it shows Lupo’s love for the genre.
California is my favourite Gemma and it also is in my top20. It is by far the best of the late SWs.
Then what do you think of the rest of the twilights? I really love Keoma and Mannaja and Four of the Apocalypse is very good. Even if I don’t “immediately” enjoy it. By immediatley I mean that I don’t think too much of it right away. I have to…take a few steps back to appreciate it and then it becomes very god.
I just had a thought. It seems Lupo did films in almost all of the major spaghetti genres. Strait forward actioner, comedy, and twilight.
I’m not a big fan of Keoma. It’s OK but for ma not as godd as everyone says.
Mannaja - I’ve only seen it once - but I thought it was awful. It looks really cheap and the part with him in the cave it too trashy, but not trashy enough to be entertaining.
I somehow like “the four” because it’s something completely different.
You forgot the most important SW genre, the straightforward revenger 
And you left A Fistful of Knuckles off of the poll 
Seriously though, Lupo was a very solid director. California is probably his best but I have a soft spot for Arizona Colt too.
Strange. I’ve never heard of Fistful of Knuckles.
Yes, it’s an early comedy with the Italian comedy stars Franco+Ciccio.
I think California by far… but I like all his others in some way.
A Fistful of Knuckles sounds a laugh.
All of Lupo’s westerns look quite good, have a good looking production design, but none of them impressed me very much. 3 of them belong in the so, so category.
Buddy Goes West is a bit weaker, directing is not bad, Morricone’s score is quite good, but it’s intended to be a comedy, a pure comedy, nothing else, and it’s not funny. 3,5 /10
California is too flat about it themes. 4/10
Ben and Charlie is an entertaining flic, yet no match for the Clucher comedies. 5/10
And Arizona Colt, entertaining as it is, suffers from often being a bit simple and from some lousy action scenes. 5/10
(6/10 is hereby still the mark which divides the good from the ok ones. Obviously I haven’t changed my rating system like promised. It’s somehow impossible for me to give a 6/10 to a film which is only short above average. )
arizona colt for me ;D
it han anything i want for a spaghetti western: full of action, comedy, good music, great opening, great ending
a very high bodycount!, explosions, very good cast, great midle, good direction, not boring at all dialogs from the begining to the end
i like a lot fernando voice in this one also, a movie that goes very high in my top 20