classicsoncall
Well I should have seen it coming but I must have let my guard down. The final showdown had a twist ending that was a blast given what had gone before. Johnny Lowen's (Harvey Keitel) advice to 'go the other way' to his young grandson was well executed by crazy old Joshua (Jim van der Woude) in what was a cool ending for an evil David Bowie.I have to admit, seeing Bowie's name in the credits was the main reason I tuned into this one on the Encore Western Channel. Besides that, I really didn't need another one, as Westerns are my favorite genre and I catch as many as I can. Another surprise was this one turning out to be a spaghetti Western of sorts, but instead of your classic Ennio Morricone score, the opening music more resembled something coming out of "The Godfather". So in that respect this was more like a gangster Western, especially after Bowie and his crew showed up in Basin Flats.On the subject of Bowie as a Western villain, I had to groan a bit when he first came on screen. His voice didn't fit the character of a nasty villain, but he sure made up for it by being an equal opportunity killer. Poor Mary, there was no way Jack Sikora (Bowie) could have known about the knife, but he didn't really need a reason to shoot her given his character. Later he borrowed a page from Peter Townsend and The Who by whacking Joshua across the head with his guitar - nice touch.I suppose I should be more critical of the picture because other than Bowie, Keitel and the colorful cast of characters, this isn't one of the better Westerns you're likely to come across. I didn't care a whole lot for Leonardo Pieraccioni as Doc Lowen; it's OK to be a pacifist in a Western but his luck would have run out if gunslinger Dad hadn't ridden into town. One suggestion I would have made in the casting, since Joshua looked so much like Keith Richards, that's the guy I would have called on for more of a rock and roll flavor. But man, you can't beat that weirdo showdown where Bowie looked like the man who fell to earth.
vmoulton
Several of the comments here show negative response to what I feel is really a kind of tribute film to the great Sergio Leone. This film could easily have been Parmesan cheese atop the fabulous westerns Leone and Clint Eastwood created, but I think it keeps a good blend with the genre. Yes, the main character, Doc, is speaking in Italian and English is dubbed in. But that's a big part of the charm of all "foreign" films, especially the spaghetti westerns. And having spent my childhood in Oklahoma, I thought Bowie's psychotic bad man accent was surprisingly good (although I think Dwight Yoakam would have made a better casting choice). The soundtrack, likewise, could have come off as a pale substitute for Morricone's memorable scores. I thought the choice of the Marley's reggaeesque tune was more than suitable, especially since one of the "bad guy" characters was Rastafarian - one of many colorful additions that, in my view, bring nice flavors to the genre.My only complaint after seeing the film once is that it's too short. If it were expanded to include more about Keitel's character and his earlier relationship with Bowie's, the climactic scene could have carried more punch - maybe not along the lines of the Bronson/Fonda gunfight in Once Upon a Time in the West, but richer character development would definitely have added more suspense and contributed to bringing a well-worn genre into the 21st century.I don't think anyone who is a true fan of spaghetti westerns would be disappointed in spending 95 minutes with a tastefully created, colorful, quirky film like this.
destracricetale
Leonardo Pieraccioni is a nice, handsome man who made some successful comedy (romantic)movies in Italy, targeting the 20-30 years middle class womans. No gross matters, no sex , no curse language , I would to say no humor and no fun but it is just my opinion.This time he make an attemp with a spaghetti comedy western and failed miserably. The plot is absurd and amateurish, the actors (pretty goods) were wasted in a crappy plot with just some glimpses . Do you want to enjoy yourself a Italian comedy? Do you want to see a spaghetti western? Simple make another choice: From Sergio Leone to Ugo Tognazzi,Bud Spencer e Terence Hill . Speaking to Tuscany ' commedians ,I would suggest Alessadro Benvenuti (prior 2000)and the early Benigni.
Nolaus
I was so surprised how this movie had bad writing, a worse storyline while employing a cast like Harvey Keitel and David Bowie. Not to mention the fact that, while dubbing a movie ruins a film altogether, they've dubbed the doctor's lines in English. We were wondering why that actor was so bad.The dubbing ruined part of the intensity the actor might have brought, but it could have never made up for the multitude of flaws and the bad ending this movie had. Is it any wonder the voting for this movie is going lower and lower?I had "Unforgiven" in the DVD player, ready to go, but put it off until the end, just to see how the movie turned out... Rent anything else but this.
AD
