Movie Review: "Man, Pride and Vengeance" (1967; Constantin Film/Blue Underground)

...often, this reviewer had been chastised and heckled by some of the more seasoned (...read: having 18 to 25 years aged seniority over me) film collectors and aficionados in varied cult film discussion group circles, for not having any measure of appreciation for the western genre. Without missing a beat, this reviewer is equally quick to set things straight with those critics, obligingly calling forth the contrary, in assuming and maintaining a most ardent appreciation of the western genre...though, not so much the stereotypically melodic, almost vaudevillian adaption of the genre, cinematically depicted in the olden-golden days of the '30's and '40's, but more the latter rendered 'western genre' which depicted the Wild West era in a much more gritty, unrelenting, unflinching and historically brutal & harsh fervor...something with...well, something with more of a 'realistic' bite, than a ballad...

...let's face it: Seth McFarland's bumbling and cowardly, albeit keenly perceptive character, in the director's hilarious send-up to the American Western...2014's Spaghetti Western film-title inspired "A Million Ways to Die in the West"...hit the nail resoundly on the head, when describing the hard, desperate and oh-so deadly times of that particular era. Life, at that time, was hardly that found in western films produced, circa early '50's and before...of stereotypical dashing, clean-cut heroes, who although exceptional with the gun, and unafraid to wrestle up some well-choreographed fist-i-cuffs, never got a scratch on them, wore brightly colored tunic shirts with embroidery & dangly tassels, rode whistle-responding horses as blindingly white as their ten-gallon hats, and almost always had a weather-worn guitar, strapped to their backs, which they would pull out and melodically strum, in between conflicts, out on the so-called 'lone prairie'. With the exception of the seasoned, weathered and 'been around', though still possessing a hint of once-beauty bar keep, as well as the typical segregated brothel of 'fallen' ladies, living just on the outskirts of dusty town, the women were pretty much naive, innocent, virginal and, for lack of a better term, 'polly pure-bred'. And the 'hive of villainy', as self serving and despicable as they might be, always managed to initiate their diabolical ways in such a way that somehow, the hero of the story always managed to save the day, in the end (...a credit to the film writers of the time; after all, we wouldn't want the bad guys to win, right??). The classic vaudevillian, stove-top-pipe high hat-wearing, mustache-twirling 'Snidley Whiplash' type...yes, ruthless, greedy and conniving, but hardly the sadistic, blood-thirsty and power-mad 'bad guys', which would punctuate the brand of western film, yet to come...or rather, yet to be imported, as of the early-to-mid '60's...

Movie Review: Companeros (1970)

Directed by Sergio Corbucci

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Franco Nero is a most unlikely Swedish arms dealer named Yodlaf Peterson out to make easy money in revolutionary 19th Century Mexico. Franco's English track voice has a defiantly Italian accent – of no consequence, it just adds to the fun). Eurotrash favorite Tomas Milian plays a Mexican bandito out to have good time, and give Yodladf a hard time along the way. Both are recruited by the local warlord to retrieve a pacifist college Professor Xantos(Fernando Rey) who holds the combination to a safe that holds gold bullion to fund the ongoing revolution. Nero and Milian trek great distances to Texas in order to spring the professor, playing a series of practical jokes on each other along the way. Jack Palance, as a one-armed villain with faithful pet falcon – he could have walked off the set of the “Batman” TV series – is out to get both of them.

Many have cited Companeros as their favorite “spaghetti western.” It's an easy film to like: very light on plot, powered by the charisma of its two male leads. Both Nero and Milian thwart disaster at the last minute at every turn, but make no mistake: director Sergio Corbucci was the mastermind behind the brutally nihilistic The Great Silence (1968). Companeros has a moral that many would disagree with, that violence is frequently necessary to protect the good and innocent. But fear not, as the film is not intended as a sermon, but as an undemanding popcorn muncher.

Movie Review: Tristana (1970, Blu-ray)

Review by John Beutler

Oh, if I only knew then what I know now... or rather, if I only had a greater appreciation back then. Even at a young and impressionable age, I had heard the title, as well as the reputation & critical accolades of 1970's "Tristana", mentioned and bantered about in wayward newspaper articles and magazines. But being the immature and uninitiated youth that I was... a budding cult genre film lover, even back then... I would tend to turn the page away from this import (...as well as other foreign 'arthouse' films, which I have gleefully later discovered), in favor of the whys and wherefores of a future, where apes would eventually rule over men... or the subtle nuances of Gothic vampires, who would hang their 'empty' victims, upside down in bell towers.

SPAGHETTI WESTERNS UNCHAINED (4-Disc Limited Special) Coming May 21, 2013!

DJANGO:
Franco Nero (CAMELOT) stars as the lone stranger who roams the West dragging a coffin filled with chaos towards a destiny ruled by vengeance. Co-writer/director Sergio Corbucci (THE GREAT SILENCE) packs his landmark classic with indelible images, unforgettable performances and some of the most shocking brutality of any ‘Spaghetti Western’ ever made. This is the still-controversial epic that defined a genre, launched a phenomenon and inspired over 50 unofficial sequels. This is the one and only DJANGO!

DJANGO KILL… IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT!:
Tomas Milian (TRAFFIC) stars as a half-breed bandit double-crossed and left for dead who rises from the grave to seek his revenge. But when his quest leads to a bizarre town called ‘The Unhappy Place,’ he is plunged into an odyssey of gruesome torture, graphic violence and relentless sexual depravity. This is the landmark movie that fans and critics still consider to be the strangest – and most controversial – ‘Spaghetti Western’ ever made. This is DJANGO KILL!

KEOMA:
Franco Nero (DIE HARD 2) is KEOMA, a half-breed gunfighter weary of killing as a way of life. But when he returns to his troubled childhood home, Keoma is caught in a savage battle between innocent settlers, sadistic bandits and his vengeful half-brothers. In a wasteland gone mad with rage and pain, can one man massacre his way to redemption?

TEXAS, ADIOS:
Franco Nero (STREET LAW) stars as Burt Sullivan, a tough Texas sheriff who heads deep into Mexico with his younger brother to arrest the man who murdered their father years earlier. But when they uncover a shocking family secret, the brothers find themselves trapped in a lawless land where violence is a pastime, vengeance is a birthright and sudden death is a way of life.