An American mercenary goes deep and hitches up with a group of bandits on a hidden agenda as they go around Mexico to steal arms from the army to sell for money.

The Good

Hey look! Gian Volonte gets to play the protagonist for once!!

This is not only a great spaghetti western, but it is also a good example of the political bend westerns were achieving in the late 60’s. The script was co-written by Franco Solinas who was known for his political films, especially The Battle of Algiers. Teaming up with director Damiani, they weave an action packed parable about how it is easy to be blinded while living the life of a revolutionary. Almost everyone plays their part well including Klaus Kinski, who plays the crazy theologian El Santo.

The story was even in pace as well. It wasn’t to fast or too slow. It build characters effectively while still keeping it full of action to keep the audience involved.

The Bad

I really would like to wring the neck of the American PR department for this movie. The name they gave this movie totally killed the suspense of the picture. If given another name, the picture would have more impact and would have been more well known.

Also, a lot of people see this as a Buddy movie. It isn’t. Volonte is a the colourful protagonist while Castel’s character, Gringo, was the one sided opportunist antagonist. Castel, I think, was doing everything that was expected of him, but he forgot to add a little something more to the character. So, when he has scenes with Volonte, his character is a paper doll compared to Chuncho.

The DVD!!!

The Blue Underground disc is a carryover from Anchor Bay. While the sound is nice and crisp, the visuals are a bit washed. I’m a fan of “natural transferal” so this doesn’t bother me none. The extras are sparse. Just a domestic and an international trailer.

Conclusion

While this is a collectible for Spaghetti Western fans, I would hold and possibly ask for a better reissue. General fans should look this up if you have a hankering for westerns.

3 Stars

Sabata returns to America as a “Shoot artist” and teams up with an old war buddy to find out if a robber baron with the penchant to tax everything under the sun is actually using the money for city improvement or lining his own pockets.

As the poster says, “The Man With The Gun Sight Eyes Is Back”. Van Cleef returns to the role he made and relishes every moment of it. This movie almost out trumps the Wild, Wild West series. The only thing that holds it back a bit is the legitimacy of the palm pistol. that gun is Bad Azz. No “s”s, “z”s. That’s how bad ass that gun is. Over the top action. Total popcorn. loved every minute of it.

With all that being said, I’d like to say that this movie had the same set up as the first two. “A little help for my friends except one can double cross me at any moment.” Doing that twice is forgivable. Doing that three times can cause damage to a possible franchise. They tried to make to make the movie more interesting by adding a few more twists and turns, but painting a few extra colors on a peacock doesn’t make the peacock any more special. It’s still a peacock. I mean really, I can do the same review for all three of these movies, but it wouldn’t be fun for me or you now would it? You’d be quite annoyed about it. other then that, it’s a pretty solid popcorn flick. leave your mind at the door. it’s fun.

As always, this box set was not up to par. The only good thing I do have to say about it is that the audio is great and the video is very nice. It’s cleaned up nice yet hasn’t lost it’s age. I like stuff like that.

Three stars.

Sabata hangs out in Mexico, helping the people fight Maxmillian’s men. He sets out with men to find the Austrian war chest so that they can supply Mexico’s army.

This was supposed to be a stand alone movie, but with the “Sabata” name was a big sell, so they packaged the movie around it. Yul Brynner takes Van Cleef’s place and he totally makes the character his own. That’s good and bad in a way, I think. It’s a comic book western in a way. It’s fun, no need for thought and very colorful. This is a total popcorn movie. Anything totally out there is in this movie.

I think the problem with this movie is that it’s almost the same movie as Sabata. All that made it different was a few extra characters. Brynner’s Sabata is totally different then Van Cleef’s. If the company was pushing these two as the same guy, it’s totally wrong. If I were to sell this, I’d sell it more as the characters are different and the only thing that links them is the name Sabata. Like the Sabata family, y’know? It totally devolves into one mess of a gunfight. Nothing wrong with that, just that after a while, it’s gets a bit long.

As I said in the first installment, this is a box set that could have put out a little something special for the fans, but MGM totally drops the ball on it. Get this if you want to, but wait for a better substitute.

Two and a half stars.

After stopping a major theft of army funds, a gunfighter and his two down and out friends blackmail the high society for orchestrating the theft so that they may buy off land to establish a railroad company.

One of the more outlandish spaghetti westerns. This is the movie where Lee Van Cleef shines through. His opus. The character that makes him big. While the movie is mostly tongue and cheek, Cleef gives it a seriousness needed for it. The camera work is great. The characters are interesting, including Banjo, played by William Berger. He really gives the character the opportunist edge he needs.

The real big problem I had with the movie is the first say…half hour felt convoluted. Like I was supposed to be in on the inside joke and I missed it somewhere. I literally watched the movie a couple times to see if I was missing anything. Some people might not like how it turns into Sabata vs. hitman for the most of the movie, it’s still very good. But yeah, I can see the repetitiveness of it. I do wished there were more twists and turns. They also really picked the wrong wig for Alleycat. It totally looked fake.

What really pisses is me off is that this is one part of a trilogy box set. You’d think they’d add maybe a Sabata retrospective showing how the movies inspired folk, maybe interview people who were part of the movies or even maybe a Lee Van Cleef memorial. None of that is there. You do get some subtitle and language tracks and that’s it. Other then trailers for MGM’s new releases and a stupid ass PSA telling kids not to rip off their shitty movies. Who in the hell under the age of twenty five is going to watch the Sabata Trilogy to see that. Get this for your collection if you want it, but hope for a better substitute. This st sucks.

3 stars

An arms dealer finds himself smack dab in the middle of two fighting revolutionary forces during the Mexican Revolution. In order to receive payment, he must travel to America to bring back the feuding revolutionary leader, who holds the combination to the bank safe his payment is in. Followed by a headstrong bandit and a former acquaintance looking for payback, the dealer heads for the border.

In my opinion, this has got to be Corbucci’s most subversive picture. A lot of people don’t know this, but spaghetti westerns have may archetypes. Usually the more popular one is The Man With No Name, which was started by Toshiro Mifune and was pioneered by Clint Eastwood. In this movie, you got the Budding Revolutionary, which was usually played at the time by Tomas Milian. He’s somewhat the spiting image of Che Guevara which always gives him this kind of role. You also got the Happy Go Lucky Opportunist. He’s the easy going type that always waits for a chance to fall on his lap. This was helmed by Terrance Hill, but in this movie, is played by Franco Nero. It’s really a departure of the grim characters he’s played before, usually based on Django. Also, you got to give it to Jack Palance. I never knew there was a way to play an Irish stoner mercenary with an itch for revenge. I didn’t even know it was possible. Jack pulls it off as well as he can. And of course, we have the Morricone soundtrack making it’s presence known.

I think what Corbucci was doing with this film is he was showing people the extremes o revolution and then telling us we gotta keep a level head when we want to bring forth revolution. With one side represented by Mongo, Revolution is an exploitable commodity where only the strong and the one with the most guns survive. Surviving on fear and slaughter. On the other side is Prof. Xantos who represents pacifism and a Gandhi-like non violence. This way is well intentioned, but being docile and cowardly only leaves you dead. Revolutions die quicker that way. This is greatly pointed out when Xantos scolds those who saved him from the firing squad. A very powerful scene at that.

The DVD is part of a bigger box set put out by Anchor Bay. It’s cleaned up good visually and though some parts of the audio was lost, the audio dub is well too. The disc also has a fifteen minute conversation with Nero, Milian and Morricone about the film as well as the trailer. Western fans need this movie and it will be a jewel in the collection of the regular movie fan.

4 stars.

(With Milian’s Face To Face)

A retired gun slinging lawman is heading for a ship to Europe. In order to get there, he must accept a request from a fanboy of his. Make a name for himself and have a showdown with 150 men.

Six words. Henry Fonda. Sergio Leone. Spaghetti Western. Even though Leone’s fingerprints aren’t on the movie (he produced), he was a large presence. Terence Hill as the easy going Nobody and Fonda as the old and wise Jack Beaumont, have a nice chemistry together and do well in this movie, which is pretty much a deconstruction of the genre in an “end of the West” motif. Morricone has batted three for three. Awesome soundtrack. Especially Nobody’s theme. Sound plays a part of the movie and should be accredited.

I think the only problem with it is that the conflict wasn’t played as hard as it was. I mean yeah, The Wild Bunch were 150 purebred sumsabitches on horses….and? They were more likely props for Jack to kill. Other then seeing them ride, what really made them onery and mean? Even though the film was about hero worship and it is set up as a deconstruction of the genre, isn’t it better to have the antagonist do something mean? Even just for a little bit? Just thought I’d point that out. A little qualm I’ve had.

Even though the DVD is barebones, the video is excellent and the audio is beyond awesome. Western fans will love this. General movie fans, get it when you can.

3 stars.

Two bounty hunters make the big score and are set to retire until they’re robbed by a bandit hellbent on taking revenge on those who hung him out to dry. The hunters pursue the bandit and later join his quest.

Y’know, I was sitting and watching this thing and I seem to have the feeling that I’ve seen this movie before. I couldn’t place it at first. I thought for a bit and then I figured it out. This was a bass ackward version of Da Uomo A Uomo but without the angsty young guy wanting to take revenge for his family. I guess Eli Wallach was supposed to be both Van Cleef’s and Law’s character. It just really seem to be some lazy script writing with stars in it to me.

Another thing that gets to me is that you got Terence Hill. You got Bud Spencer. You’d think they would play this as a Trinity movie, right. Nah. We got Hill doing his best Eastwood impersonation. Then I realized that this was their first collaborative effort. Even then if they were following a trend, Hill really can’t do Eastwood. Franco Nero maybe. Not Eastwood. As I’ve said already, the script is just a plagiarized version of another movie. That’s lazy. It also looks like Eli trying to pull of a Tuco-like character, but you know it’s Tuco none the less. The only bright spot in acting has to be Brock Peters who does well as Tom, the tightrope walker.

The DVD isn’t anything to write home about. The video is ok. Sound is great. Other then that, it’s pretty barebones. Not even a trailer. Get this DVD whenever you want. Not that important.

2 1/2 stars.

A mute gunman with a broomstick Mauser and an unhealthy hate for bounty killers finally meets his match in a psychotic bounty killer out to get a group of exiled Mormons with a bounty on their head in the snowy mountains of Utah.

This is one, if not considered THE best spaghetti western ever made and one of Serge Corbucci’s finest works, easily edging out the other movie he’s better known for, Django. If you’re expecting tall silent man strolling into town to save the day get the girl and or large amount of moolah while smoking a whole box of cigars along the way, this is totally not the movie for you. After the first scene, it’s all down hill from there. The snowy hills and embankments easily frame the cynicism and nihilism that is the come. Klaus Kinski plays his part as Loco to a tee. Psychotic, yet practical in how matter of fact he is about the business he’s in. This is followed with the silent brilliance of Jean-Louis Trintignant as Silence. Jean-Louis does a magnificent job conveying emotion without speaking a word. Add to this Luigi Pistilli as the sinister banker, the lovely Vonetta McGee and the godly Morricone soundtrack to make this film a solid picture worthy of future showings.

A lot of films where inspired by Great Silence after it was shown. From horror movies like Bava’s Black Sabbath, De Toth’s Day of The Outlaw to some of Clint Eastwood’s movies like Hang ‘em High and Pale Rider. Corbucci’s influence stealthily reached throughout the western genre as well as others throughout the years.

The DVD is magnificent. Very good quality sound. Very crisp video. You’ve got director Alex Cox (Repo Man) doing an intro/ discussion of the movie as well as commentary over extra footage. A Real good buy for the general movie fan. A must for the collection.

4 stars.

A man who witnesses his whole family being slaughtered by bandits as a child finally gets a chance at revenge when a gunman fresh out of jail guns down one of the men and is in search of the others to get his own form of payback.

This is one of Van Cleef’s better movies. While John Law does a good job as the main character, and Luigi Pisstilli and Tony Dawson do their tings as baddies, Van Cleef really takes the show. The Morricone score always makes things great. What am I saying? Morricone would even make pornos sound great if he had the chance. He’d make adult diaper commercials awesome. Got to give credit to Giulio Petroni too. He has a very innovative style.

With all that being said, I think the film was awesome…but the DVD sucks cock. Yes, C-O-C-K cock. It was like I had ask my friend to burn me a copy of the movie. In fact, I should of asked him. Picture and sound are both bad. While the interface is simplistic, they added a voice that made me wish it had a face so I could punch it over and over and over again. Whoever made the DVD needs their balls handed to them…PERIOD!!

While again, the movie is awesome, I’d wait until a better DVD was released. Give this a wait for your collection.

Three stars.