The Spaghetti Western thread

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Sounds like someone needs to do a composite maybe.

[Zane C. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Zane C.]

I'm with you on Coburn's voice being a must, but according to the runtime posted at the SWDB forum, this will be the shorter US cut at 90 minutes. That's a good bit missing even if Coburn's voice is in this version.

Damn. I like this movie a lot. I wish it would get a decent, Coburn-voiced release.

[Zane C. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Zane C.]

Sounds like someone needs to do a composite maybe.

Agreed. Maybe Franco Cleef can work his magic on this. He's great with SW's.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

Let's everybody bother Franco Cleefe to get the hybrid made.

I'm listening to the score for UN UOMO, UN CAVALLO, UNA PISTOLA aka THE STRANGER RETURNS (1967) by Stelvio Cipriani. The film couldn't be much or I'd remember it better from the TCM airing, but the CD is an eloquent beauty of a score. Wow. Cranking it up.

Together with THE BOUNTY KILLER and THE PRICE OF POWER this is my favorite spag score. I'm almost sure of it.

[Robert W Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Robert W]

Here's a question, would spaghetti westerns be as enjoyable if they were in black and white?

[Zane C. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Zane C.]

Here's a question, would spaghetti westerns be as enjoyable if they were in black and white?

Yes. The vibe of SW's is what usually draws me in, as well as an interesting story. I wouldn't care if they were b/w.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Not for me, I prefer my sw in color. I'm not opposed to b&w westerns, I like plenty of them but as far as spaghettis go, color is essential imo and actually part of the "vibe". I can't imagine seeing a film like YANKEE in b&w, the use of color in that one is almost Bava-esque.

Not to be a downer but I doubt if Franco Cleef would tackle a film that has had any kind of legit region 1 release like A REASON TO LIVE...even if it's only an MOD dvd-r (in addition to the fact that he seems to have retired from doing new ones). There's a far better chance some annonymous fan would do a composite and circulate it via trades or CG.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

Are there any monochrome spaghetti westerns? Me thinks not. Unless you count that French-Italian film about the Mexican revolution that Robert Hossein directed in 1961 or thereabouts; forget the name of it, but it's probably not a spaghetti western by the traditional definition of the word. Spaghetti westerns are generally so lacking in dramaturgy that color becomes a necessary and essential compensation. Without the aesthetics of color many spags would fail to hold an audience's attention.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Both NEST OF VIPERS and TAILS YOU LOSE on the new Wild East dvd are nice looking, this is a big improvement on that Craig Hill double feature. Watched TAILS YOU LOSE recently and it's an interesting, offbeat one. I had read about this film before, it's worth noting that Edwige Fenech has a small role as a prostitute who's stripped and savagely whipped. There's a general extra dose of sleaze and violence in this film, with women tarred and feathered and burned alive - not graphically in the latter case. John Ericson is rather nondescript in the lead but otherwise he's not bad. Fairly stylish direction from peplum veteran Piero Pierotti. There's not a lot of action, it's more of a tragic love story about two outcasts who find each other too late in life, very fatalistic and bleak. If you like the more unusual spaghettis this one's well worth seeing.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

I've been hoping for a positive report on the picture quality. Thanks, Andrew. I'll go ahead and buy it now. I'd have bought it already regardless of quality if I'd known about the added bonus of Edwige Fenech.

Ian, how are you coming along on that composite?

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I'll get right on it as soon as you buy me the editing software I'll need to put it together.

As far as the use of color goes, I agree that it's often very important in SW's, particularly in the opening credits sequence that often times tend to use odd animated bits and crazy fonts to interesting effect (it might sound lame but a lot of times I find the opening credits in SW's fascinating in how they can sometimes reflect what's going to happen later, though sometimes I read too much into these things). With that said, a good movie is a good movie whether it be color or B&W. But I do think a lot of the movies we love in the genre would be very different and in many ways less effective in B&W, though on the flip side of that, we really don't know how the filmmakers would have approached things differently had they not had the use of color at their disposal...

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I first watched THE BIG SILENCE/THE GREAT SILENCE on a monochrome television set when it was shown on Moviedrome, and it worked wonderfully - the stark visuals and the abundance of snow make it an almost monochrome movie anyway, like Andre De Toth's DAY OF THE OUTLAW. In that sense, the film always reminds me of Wellman's TRACK OF THE CAT - often described as a black and white film that was shot in colour. That said, many of the Italian Westerns rely on their use of colour for their operatic style, and I can't immediately think of many others that would work just as well in black and white - maybe SHOOT THE LIVING, PRAY FOR THE DEAD would work in monochrome as it's a very intimate but cold film whose closed style always makes me recall films noirs like Jacques Tourner's NIGHTFALL.

I think I also first watched DJANGO on the same monochrome television set, but that doesn't work so well in black and white - it relies on the sharp juxtaposition of the dull browns of the mud-soaked earth and the many vibrant reds in the film (the hoods, the blood, etc).

I'm probably plucking at straws, to some extent, but it's an interesting discussion nonetheless.

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

Just rewatched CALIFORNIA and I think it would work in B&W but it is an atypical SW.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

CALIFORNIA is indeed an interesting film. I really like that one. It was something of a revelation to finally see it in 'scope, via the German DVD.

[Horace Cordier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Horace Cordier]

The Spaghetti Western thread

Just saw THE BRUTE AND THE BEAST aka MASSACRE TIME for the first time courtesy of Wild East's excellent new SE and loved it. Nero is pretty stiff but George Hilton just steals the thing. He's hilarious and almost touching. I loved all the sadistic Fulci touches like the whippings and overall cruelty - it's a real melding of his horror and Western sensibilities.

Nice extras but I was taken aback by Fulci's intense dislike of Franco Nero. Hilton looked great in his interview though - he's still a very handsome man. And the rare AIP dub that's on this DVD is VASTLY superior to the more common one IMO - especially Hilton's voice.