My favourite release from Bounty Entertainnment is The Fury of the Apaches. I was so pleased with the widescreen print since I used to have to watch it in terrible VHS quality. The film is a personal favourite of mine, too. The only thing that I was disappointed with was the alternative title sequence. The opening on the Bounty DVD makes it appear more like a 1950s American western. I preferred the other version’s opening with the Spanish guitar.
The start and end of the film are quite classy, but in between the output does vary to a degree. But good cast compensates for some elements of the story line. However, some cast members are wasted in their parts, like Kinski for example. But the film is very watchable for me despite the films short comings, and great to finally see the film in its 2.35 ratio.
I rewatched this one and had a look at the review I wrote a couple of years ago (and that was published elsewhere).
The brief text on the database page is quite negative. I still think it’s an enteresting and quite entertaining genre entry, no classic, but better than average
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Vengeance_Trail_Film_Review
What’s the source for this version?
I’m disappointed that my new and shrink-wrapped copy did not include the color sheet on spaghetti westerns mentioned.
Watched it tonight for the first time after reading scherpschutter’s review. 5 out of 10 in my book after first viewing, but I somehow feel that might change for the better with another viewing… An Italian western for sure, but is this actually a Spaghetti?
Italian T.V print dubbed into English.
Yes and no, I would say. Indians are very unusual in a spaghetti western, but the Italians mixed their stories about Native Americans with that typically Italian blood-calls-for-blood theme. In the end this is a revenge movie, with a typical Italian villain, a well-dressed, Mafia type of Don living on Villa Mussolini …
Probably it should count as a spaghetti. At first I thought it pre-civil war. The scalping business had me fooled. But as Grant was president, it is obviously post-civil war. Apparently scalping of Indians for bounties went on after the war (as in The Winter Family).
I’ve just seen this one. I’m with El Topo on this one, it’s in the underdog section for me. While the premise seems quite interesting at first glance, it instantaneously sinks in Squitieri is a sub-par director with no real flair for visuals or visually narrativizing the story, let alone scripting a movie. Oh yes, the film is quite conspicuously very politicized and overtly treating of the multiracial clashes between the white populace and the indigenous Indian tribes which are triggered by the unscrupulous, corrupt bourgeois landowner willing to butcher people just to get his own way, nevertheless, Squitieri doesn’t really know how to go about it and express his ideas about race relations without turning the entirety of his effort into an insipid slog of a film.
There is a substantial section of the movie dedicated to his ideas with respect to racial prejudice and immoral conduct of exploitative bourgeoisie, but at the same time, director’s political commentary is articulated through a series of some cumbersome dialogues and heavy-handed, graceless symbolism. None of the characters are fleshed out in a due course or to an adequate extent and ultimately, the tenuous plot never really complements the social commentary permeating the work at large. What is more and as I’ve mentioned above, Squitieri genuinely lacks a knack for visuals and while you can spot some nice shots here and there, a predominant portion of the motion picture is filmed in an exceedingly nondescript manner, there is a fair amount of bland one-angle shots and unfocused one-take camerawork and suffice to say, all of these issues and tokens of uninspired direction begin to take a toll on the flick and the whole thing started palling on me pretty quickly, like 10 minutes in quickly.
The editing is unfortunately no better and in conjunction with completely redundant comic relief moments and insipidly executed action sequences, saps the general flow of the film, steeping the entire effort in its pervasive tedium and overall stodginess. Furthermore, the role of Doc is underdeveloped and superfluous insofar it feels more distracting than enriching to the overarching narrative and the comedic nature of his part is overexposed to the extent it actually attenuates the somber quality the movie is supposed to boast and be pervaded by. Mann’s acting as well as his character are rather fine, Umiliani’s soundtrack is tolerable (a large part of it is just as pedestrian as the rest of the film though, let’s be honest), but all things considered, they cannot make amends for all the shortcomings which ultimately come to enervate the whole thing insomuch as they pretty much nullify all the originality. Whatever uniqueness might’ve been buried somewhere along the line in the script, it is never really unearthed, becoming completely obfuscated by Squitieri’s invariable lack of directional charisma or any discernible inspiration.
3/10
I watched this one yesterday and was positively surprised, I had low expectations based on some of the opinions that I’ve read here - However, I liked a lot. The revenge theme is strong and comes through effectively through Leonard Mann’s performance. Indians in SWs isn’t usually my thing but it worked fine in this one overall enjoyable 70s spag.
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Yeah, good film this one!
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