Sergio Leone Web Board
Films of Sergio Leone => Other Films => Topic started by: Il Buono on August 19, 2004, 01:08:03 AM
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Saw this movie standing in the local video store. It has Lee Van Cleef in it. Any thoughts on this one?
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well, ive heard that its an American Western but in style its a Spaghetti Western. Doesnt sound wholly promising tho its got Warren Oates in it. :)
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Saw this movie standing in the local video store. It has Lee Van Cleef in it. Any thoughts on this one?
Saw this one in the cinema on first release. I found it boring as hell. In fact, it was part of a double bill. The second movie was CARRY ON COWBOY. I HATE carry on movies but it was more entertaining than the main feature. :(
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I also saw this in theater over 30 years ago; worth noting to compare U.S. style vs. Spaghetti style in that time period. Barquero and Sabata were twin bill on Encore Cable Tuesday night.
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Finally saw this tonight, its been called the "most Italianate of American Westerns" by some critics (more so than Eastwoods contemporary Hang em High) and I'll have to admit it really starts off like gangbusters, after the unusual opening credits sequence (its shot to resemble an oil painting looking as if the film is being projected upon a canvas). Director was Gordon Douglas who did "Rio Conchos", "Chuka", "Them", "Robin & The Seven Hoods", and "In Like Flint" to name a few. Its initial first half has a way more SW feel to it than "Hang Em' High".
Unfortunately what I watched was a fullscreen pan & scan a bit blurry with the colors seeming abit too strong, recorded off a broadcast so it wasn't quite the best way to watch it.
It was shot on location in Colorado.
We see two groups, a small army of mercenary outlaws and a trio riding in opposite directions with ariver valley in the b.g. One side of the river leads to the Mexican border.
Lee Van Cleef is Travis the Barquero the ferryman, and we see him plying his trade as he pulls a wagon of settlers across, his only weapons are a bowie knife and some sort of longrange rifle of a Sharps or Spencer type. He has one prop from his SW days and that's his "Angel Eyes" tobacco pipe.
We first see (Jack Remy) Oates in bed with a plump sweaty Hispanic whore Layeta, wearing his black hat with a fancy gold hatband in a whore house the "Double Eagle"in the town of Buckskin (very frontier looking with a lot of log cabin buildings), he's looking his sleaziest best.
Whore (fawning) "am I not beautiful senior"?
Jack (looking disgusted) "I need a drink".
Whore "Say it senior."
Jack "you're beautiful...oh are you beautiful".
Whore "why do you wear your sombero"?
Jack " why do you wear your stockings"
Whore "because they are pretty"
Jack "my hat's pretty"
a bit later the whore is splashing perfume on herself while singing...
Whore "do I smell senior'?
Jack "yea you sure do".
The massacre of the town starts and Jack is shooting from the window
A Mexican male breaks into Jacks room and asks "whats going on"
Jack "we're shooting people". and Jack blows him away.
Jack to whore "you live in a lousy neighborhood, you ought to move".
Jack is in his command post for the raid on the town by his small army of misfits. Their goal is the bank and a shipment of Winchester Rifles that an army patrol is escorting. Oates' second in command is a Frenchman Marquette (Kerwin Matthews).
Jack dresses, Layeta asks "Senior wouldn't it be nice to take Layeta with you"
Jack "no"
Layeta "will I see you again"?
Jack "I don't think so" and he shoots her.
The action sequences are pretty good throughout the whole massacre.
There are some very good character actors Forrest Tucker (Mountain Phil ) puts in an over the top memorable performance as a grizzeled mountian man.
All I remember of Tucker is his TV (F Troop) performance but he's a hoot in this flick too.
Marie Gomez plays Nola (Chiquita from The Professionals) she is Travis's woman. Mariette Hartley plays the unfaithful wife of a "squatter" who offers herself to Travis (a type of person she loaths but is attracted too) if he'll save her husband, he does, and she does, and Nola doesn't mind.
The film looses steam unfortunately once the confrontation becomes a Mexican standoff at the river, it even quotes FAFDM with a bit where Jack smokes reefer and has a flashback but it just doesn't work. The flash back recalls how he got his hat, not exactly a major plot point, and it feels as if it was stuck in there just to be going with the flow of the late 60's early 70's idea of cool.
The film had potential but ends up loosing its way and feels more like a TV program at the end.
The barge battle was a bit hurried but you have to admit different.
The final duel between Travis & Jack is flat has no dramatic build up at all, almost as if they ran out of time. Score is nothing special.
Van Cleef should have had a bit more screen time he's just not featured enough in my opinion, but he is acting in a very different role, not a cool efficient killer, not and ex outlaw, not a drunk, more of a pioneering business man. And this, come to think of it in hindsight may have been his biggest career screwup, he was typecast for years by Hollywood as an outlaw, then he got that role of a lifetime as Mortimer, he could of, or at least his agent could have really tried to do (as Eastwood did and parlayed the MWNN charater into an American film career) if they had held out. If he had played another strong Mortimer type in a successful American film here who knows how far he may have gone.
This would have been a great Leone or Corbucci or Sollima film if they had the balls to bring an Italian director over and give him a budget, Peckinpah would have been excellent also, too bad, it was a unique story, and they would have made more out of it.
This needs a widecreen transfer.
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Being a LVC completist(well the Euro/SW stuff) this has been on my wanted list for a while.There is the odd full-screen video floating around on Ebay every now and again-and i've been outbid every time,damnit!
Other than that i'm sure Jerksi is selling a collectors version on USA Ebay though i can't remember offhand if this is widescreen!
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Definitely for LVC and Warren Oates fanatics you will not be displeased, in fact more like pleasantly surprized.
Like I said the version I watched was recorded off a cable channel. It needs a good DVD widescreen release, Its one of those LVC roles where he's exploring new characters and directions, he's completely believable as this frontier/wilderness barquero.
It's supposed to take place at or very near the Mexican border somewhere in west Texas (since Remy (Oates)mentions Coahila) probaqbly in the early1870's judging from the Winchesters and Colts, though Mountian Phil and Travis, aka "Fire Eyes" also have Some type of custom made, breech loading, longrange hunting rifles, and Nola has a .56 five shot Colt revolving rifle that's pretty cool.
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derringdo, sure it was Boetticher? Bud didn't die until 2001 at 85.
Where did hear or read about the original director?
More thoughts on Barquero
Anyway I watched the film again and noticed that there may have been a few cuts.
Mountian Phil first appearence may have been trimmed for all we see is him pulling a bowie knife out of a body, and nothing leading up to it.
Lee Van Cleef & Mariette Hartley's "lust in the dust" sequence must have been trimmed since this scene is not in the film in this version:
(http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4453/lvcbarquero7au.jpg)
Another cut is right before the barge battle, you see Remy's gang building their rafts and it immediately cuts to the two Remy rafts oaring their way across the river towards the barqueros barge.
Then you cut again to the opposite side of the river and all the squatters are hunkered down in the ferry already and waiting. So there must have been a sequence where Travis figuers out what Remys has planned and gets all the squatters into the ferry.
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"Sexy" publicity stills taken from rehearsals or simply staged for maximum one-shot impact were common enough at that timeframe (see some of Hammer's vampire movies from this timeframe) to where I don't know that the one scene is necessarily per se cut.
True basically in the film they go off together Marriette leading then Mariette un-buttons her blouse, then it cuts to Marriette with her back to us and LVC pulling it down off her shoulders, then cut. The still I found would have been the next logical progression.
Anyway a quick google seacrch brought up these running times:
IMBd USA 115
France 110
Italy 109
Not that any of that actually means anything :(
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Just popped it in and from UA logo to last end credit it timmed out 1:48:15 so 108:15, The artwork cover has the full 115 printed. So maybe there are a few trims.
Interesting if it was shot in matte frame, It does look slightly blurry in some LVC/Hartley closeups.
Another crop at the end when Oates gets shot we don't see his body on the dock just his hat brim sticking up, you'd think it was cropped at the bottom.
How can we get a definitive answer on this?
also found an interesting link to Buckskin location for the film.
http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/buckskin.htm
And some real Montana Missouri River Ferries:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.videomontana.com/images/Cows.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.videomontana.com/stilltiny.html&h=186&w=247&sz=8&tbnid=xFKEWgzT40asnM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=105&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMissouri%2BRiver%2BFerries%2B%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG
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Yea dd, I agree now that you pointed it out about the flashback & the hat, I forgot about Marquette's comment.
Please give us one of your insightful in depth critiques when you get a chance.
When you get done give us your thoughts also about wether or not there seem to be some cuts in it, or some unexplained cropping.
thanks in advance.
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Well? I'm waiting on pins and needles for your in depth analysis.... 8)
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Yea for me its definitely a keeper.
I do agree on Oates he should have continued "as a complete loon so entertainingly far over the top that the audience doesn't care whether he's believable or not. " amen sister! lol.
And I see you concur about the cut sequences, it would be nice to get a restored version of this with some extra features, I can dreem can't I.
And on a side note I think I was confusing this with "Bad Man's River" for all these years, I think I was thinking along the lines that this was the American title, lol.
Did you notice Dominic Frontieri's musical quote from Hang 'em High?
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The Hang Em High quote is the "Deguello" type bit where Remy marches to the end of the quay to face Travis in that rifle duel, right?
Actually on the Domenic Frontieri quote I was thinking of the very beginning of "Hang 'Em High" he quotes the "Da.... Dum.. Da Da" opening notes of his score. Check it out if you have it.
We need to start a write in campain to Sony, lol they need some prodding, to release some stuff, along with the remastered DYS, FFAM & AFOD.
On a side note was flipping thru the channels yesterday and low and behold there was John Davis Chandler (Fair, Remy Gang) on the screen with Jack Cassidy, followed by Marriet Hartley on the screen in an old Colombo Episode) I guess he was in a lot of TV and other stuff looking at his IMDb listings. :-*
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I didn't leave my thoughts on this film elsewhere?
Agree with the general consensus, great first act, sluggish second act and fun finale.
LVC is given little to do (nevermind the two woman he sleeps with) and the rest of the cast is okay. Oates is the only one who stands out as the villain with the tormented past (ala Indio).
The massacre in the beginning is a lot of fun as is the Barge battle towards the end.
Music is nothing special though I do enjoy the trumpet music just before Oates's and LVC's showdown over the river.
3 1/2 out of 5
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Yep i'm in agreement with that Firecracker.The Oates and LVC tense battle of will is terrific and its about time this got a decent dvd treatment as it is LVC's best non-Italian western. ;)
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it is LVC's best non-Italian western. ;)
Even though LVC gets more coverage on other American westerns (released after the Italian counter-parts) I agree with the above statement.
"El Condor" is right behind this one methinks.
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This movie is a complete waste of time IMO. Nuff said. >:(
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For those in australia, Barquero played on fox classics on Jan 5. I missed the first 30 mins but enjoyed the rest of the film. Although Forest Tucker had the better lines compared to LVC, i thought it was a good LVC movie, and has been mentioned is more of a spaghetti than an american western (filmed in colorado).
The movie is repeated on Jan 10 and i'll definitely watch the whole movie, now does anyone have a dvd burner, since this is impossible to find on dvd??
Saturday 10 January 1.35 pm Classics Barquero
An anti-social barge owner becomes the town hero when he rescues its residents from a band of outlaws.
Rating: PG
Running Time: 115 mins
Categories: Other Programmes
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What aspect ratio did it play in, the copy I have is full matte 4:3, and 115 minutes but it looks cut in some shots & pan & scaned in some shots. It was recoded off Encore Westerns.
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For those in australia, Barquero played on fox classics on Jan 5. I missed the first 30 mins but enjoyed the rest of the film. Although Forest Tucker had the better lines compared to LVC, i thought it was a good LVC movie, and has been mentioned is more of a spaghetti than an american western (filmed in colorado).
The movie is repeated on Jan 10 and i'll definitely watch the whole movie, now does anyone have a dvd burner, since this is impossible to find on dvd??
Saturday 10 January 1.35 pm Classics Barquero
An anti-social barge owner becomes the town hero when he rescues its residents from a band of outlaws.
Rating: PG
Running Time: 115 mins
Categories: Other Programmes
The movie is available on DVD (Spanish) under the title "Los forajidos de Rio Bravo". You can google that title.
http://dvd.es/dvd/Los%20forajidos%20de%20R%C3%ADo%20Bravo
Unfortunately, the DVD I have is the pan and scan 100 minute version by Jenymar in the crappiest video and audio quality one can imagine. I recieved it as a present long ago from someone with very good intentions, and that's why it has not ended in the garbage. Perhaps a longer version with better video and audio quality would be somewhat more enjoyable, but the one I have is a complete waste of time.
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The copy I have is pretty good looking overall, but I'm still not sure if its the theatrical release, there are scenes that look obviously cropped. and there are some cuts between sequences that look to abrupt, like I mentioned its full matte 4:3, Imdb shows it as supposed to being 1.85 : 1
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One of oats few staring roles
LVC seams a little uneasy not playing a classical bad guy or a typical good guy.
LVC shoots Remey in a spiritless thankless two second duel. pity
lot of action though w/ execelent music by domonic frontere
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This and 5 other Westerns get a UK release in April. http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/70399/optimum-in-april.html
Can't wait to see LVC and Warren Oates together again for the first time!
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This and 5 other Westerns get a UK release in April. http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/70399/optimum-in-april.html
Can't wait to see LVC and Warren Oates together again for the first time!
Hopefully, it will be a much better version than the one I have.
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You've got a bootleg?
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Yea I do too. O0
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You've got a bootleg?
Not sure, but it is a crappy Spanish fullscreen version titled "Los forajidos de Rio Bravo". As I mentioned in another thread, the only reason I keep it is because my brother gave it to me as a present.
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Amazon.co.uk lists the new R2 DVD with a runtime of 105 minutes. If that includes PAL speed-up, then the film is heavily cut. No mention is made of the AR, but this series has been pretty good about preserving OAR. We'll have to see. Here's the page at amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barquero-DVD-Lee-Van-Cleef/dp/B001TJKVKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1238748668&sr=1-1
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Mine is full matte also and in English but I've read opinions that it was shot that way, its source was a satellite broadcast, but it looks cropped and cut in a few scenes, though it is a fairly nice transfer.
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IMDb says it was shot at 1.85 : 1, and it's kind of hard to believe a 1970 film would NOT be in a widescreen format.
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http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/forums/index.php?topic=1226.0
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Barquero certainly sounds like the best release in that pack of Westerns, but maybe the other titles are interesting as well. Does anyone know anything about the others? The Glory Guys sounds kind of interesting: Ft. Apache/The Little Bighorn revisited, I guess, but with a Peckinpah script. I may have to get that one. But what about the others: Billy Two Hats? Bad Jim? Anybody know anything about either of those (the other 2 titles being offered already have Region 1 versions)?
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I've never heard of any of them. :'(
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Can't remember about the others, but of course I saw the Gable movie a 15 years ago. Not bad.
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Just noticed you can get the VOD version from amazon right now. You can watch the trailer here: http://www.amazon.com/Barquero/dp/B000RL6YK2/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&s=digital-video&qid=1239642713&sr=1-50
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6\10. I wondered what the gang was waiting for crossing the river anyway, try some commando action far from where the ferry was, building a raft (but why do they have to coast the ferry when they decide to?). The music on the opening credits ain't bad.
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trailer: http://www.amazon.com/Barquero/dp/B000RL6YK2/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&s=digital-video&qid=1239642713&sr=1-50
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trailer: http://www.amazon.com/Barquero/dp/B000RL6YK2/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&s=digital-video&qid=1239642713&sr=1-50
Amazon might as well put the whole movie up as opposed to putting that.
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From the new R2 DVD, the inventive title sequence:
(http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1281/cap249.png)
(http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1952/cap250.png)
(http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/9783/cap251.png)
(http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/4515/cap252.png)
(http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6288/cap253.png)
(http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4250/cap254.png)
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And now, our stars:
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5313/cap260.png)
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1336/cap262.png)
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4943/cap279.png)
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Warren Oates, action star:
(http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/6589/cap263.png)
(http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/6986/cap265.png)
(http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2226/cap266.png)
(http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5228/cap267.png)
(http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/6379/cap268.png)
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8887/cap270.png)
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But it's Forest Tucker who steals the show
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That wasn't my impression.
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Hey DJ can you comment on this pervious post of mine, thanks.
More thoughts on Barquero
Anyway I watched the film again and noticed that there may have been a few cuts.
Mountian Phil first appearence may have been trimmed for all we see is him pulling a bowie knife out of a body, and nothing leading up to it.
Lee Van Cleef & Mariette Hartley's "lust in the dust" sequence must have been trimmed since this scene is not in the film in this version:
(http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4453/lvcbarquero7au.jpg)
Another cut is right before the barge battle, you see Remy's gang building their rafts and it immediately cuts to the two Remy rafts oaring their way across the river towards the barqueros barge.
Then you cut again to the opposite side of the river and all the squatters are hunkered down in the ferry already and waiting. So there must have been a sequence where Travis figuers out what Remys has planned and gets all the squatters into the ferry.
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The film gives great Riff Raff:
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9563/cap276.png)
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6982/cap271.png)
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4284/cap273.png)
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/853/cap274.png)
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8116/cap275.png)
"We are happy in our work."
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When you're putting images on the board, put them under links. I know it's not pretty like this, but at least the browsers won't loiter every time one has to open the topic.
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Hey DJ can you comment on this pervious post of mine, thanks.
I was planning on it, even before you asked, but I wanted to post the screen caps first.
It seems the cut of the film is the same as the one you've seen. Forest Tucker's first appearance is as you describe it, and the "lust in the dust" w/ Marionette Hartley is missing the still you referenced and certainly seems trimmed. However, I can answer to this:
Another cut is right before the barge battle, you see Remy's gang building their rafts and it immediately cuts to the two Remy rafts oaring their way across the river towards the barqueros barge.
Then you cut again to the opposite side of the river and all the squatters are hunkered down in the ferry already and waiting. So there must have been a sequence where Travis figuers out what Remys has planned and gets all the squatters into the ferry.
I don't know if this is something extra, or if you just missed it, but the night before the barge battle LVC goes down to the dock and takes a look out at the ferry landing across the way. Sounds begin to register, and he pricks up his ears. On the soundtrack we hear hammering and sawing and the like. The reaction shot of LVC at that point tells us that he is starting to figure out what's up. The cut to the next day then works perfectly well: we see the river crossing from the POV of the baddies, and as they draw closer we suddenly reverse angle and see the squatters hunkered down on the raft. In an instant we realized LVC has anticipated the attack and organized everyone to counter it.
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When you're putting images on the board, put them under links. I know it's not pretty like this, but at least the browsers won't loiter every time one has to open the topic.
My browser doesn't have this problem. Are you running Firefox?
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My browser doesn't have this problem. Are you running Firefox?
Yes.
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Then it must be your connection.
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Aren't you from Seattle? I thought you were gonna try to persuade me to use IE! :D
No, I actually have a fast connection, it must be something else.
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Aren't you from Seattle?
Originally. My computer guru is also from Seattle, and he put me on to Firefox.
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Originally. My computer guru is also from Seattle, and he put me on to Firefox.
I thought people from Seattle go for IE, being a Microsoft product an all. I also prefer FF.
This probably happens because the cookies get deleted on my browser and it has to load them again each time I open the topic.
But, you're not supposed to put direct links to pictures hosted on ImageShack on forums/message boards anyway. If you watch what the page tells you look after you upload them, you'll see that it gives you different links for forums. If you use direct ones IS deletes them after a while because that way too much bandwidth (internet/data traffic) gets wasted. (Not that I figured that out myself, someone told me.)
This was probably as off-topic as it can be, Barquero and LVC didn't deserve it.
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Photobucket is the way to go.
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Yep. You open an account and upload your pics. All in one place, nothing gets deleted, free.
I was about to say GeoCities but I found out just now they will be closing it for good later this year. You learn something new each day.
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DVDTimes reviews the new disc: http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/70623/barquero.html
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DVDTimes reviews the new disc: http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content/id/70623/barquero.html
we aren’t initially sure which side of the river Van Cleef is on
I call BS on this. How could some one not know this? The reviewer must not have been paying attention.
– and there’s a howler of a plot hole towards the end which would fox many better directors – if it’s so easy to swim across the river, why don’t the bad guys do it?
I'll admit, that never even crossed my mind.
I may be weakly defending the movie by saying... it could be possible half of Oates' gang couldn't swim?
Or Oates himself for that matter?
Of course, that is never established (would have been interesting if they incorporated that into his flashback) so the plot hole the reviewer cites is totally valid.
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we aren’t initially sure which side of the river Van Cleef is on
I call BS on this. How could some one not know this? The reviewer must not have been paying attention.
I think what he means is, it isn't made clear which direction Remy and his men are coming from. See, they screw this up by having the 3 guys who have gone ahead ferry across and tie up LVC on the other side from where everyone lives, which makes no sense, because they need the raft back where they started out. Why move the raft? Just take out LVC and leave the raft where it is. By insisting that LVC take them across, the film seems to suggest that the rest of the gang will be coming from the other side (which they aren't).
– and there’s a howler of a plot hole towards the end which would fox many better directors – if it’s so easy to swim across the river, why don’t the bad guys do it?
I'll admit, that never even crossed my mind.
I may be weakly defending the movie by saying... it could be possible half of Oates' gang couldn't swim?
Or Oates himself for that matter?
Of course, that is never established (would have been interesting if they incorporated that into his flashback) so the plot hole the reviewer cites is totally valid.
This DID occur to me, as soon as LVC and Tucker swam across. Yeah, earlier, one of the gang members made a point about being freaked out by the fact that the river was so deep, but to imagine that every member of the gang has such issues is a real stretch. Remy's gang is huge! He's gotta have at least a couple guys who can do a bit of SEAL work, cross and secure the raft, and bring it back. Only a couple men need to go. Maybe Remy himself can't swim, but he could still order his men to do it, even if they claimed they couldn't. He'd at least try it. Or his partner, the brains of the operation, would have at least suggested it. The whole issue should have been raised in the script, and then dealt with somehow. Maybe Remy has some kind of weird superstition about not letting himself or any of his men touch large amounts of water. That would tie in well with the bathtub motif that runs through the film.
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Its not that far fetched, reading a lot of historical journals from the French & Indian War when I was doing research most soldiers/civilians couldn't swim and any body of water was a real obstacle back then.
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French and Indian War? Joe, this is a hundred years later and the setting is Texas or some such (near the Mexican border, anyway). You don't move across the West without learning how to cross rivers. Maybe not everbody, but like I say, Remy's gang is big (about 30 guys). Anyway, even if they can't swim, there's plenty of material about the town they can use to float across. They eventually make the two battle barges to cross with anyway: why didn't they just come up with simpler vessels earlier to get some men across for a commando-style raid?
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I just made that reference because it was the earliest, but I'm sure that it was true up through most of the 19th century. Not until swimming was taught to kids on a regular basis.
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Why move the raft?
Because that would prevent interference from strangers while they're waiting for the gang. On the other side of the river they only have LVC to take care of (or so they think) and they have absolute control of the river-crossing.
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But then they have to bring the raft back across for the gang. But they don't know exactly when the gang will arrive. It is better to have the raft properly positioned and ready to go when Oates and the boys arrive. Nobody can use the raft without LVC (he's the owner/operator) so just taking him out will prevent any of the civilians from trying to cross (the 3 goons can put a sign up that says LVC will be back later, or whatever). The point is, the men need the raft where it sits from the beginning. It is foolish to move it (or allow it to be moved). What they want to do is kill (or incapacitate) LVC, and they can do that without moving the raft.
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Its not that far fetched, reading a lot of historical journals from the French & Indian War when I was doing research most soldiers/civilians couldn't swim and any body of water was a real obstacle back then.
The reason I figure a lot of these people born and raised in the west couldn't swim was because bodies of water were just not accessible to them for learning purposes.
Of course that really depends on which part of "the west" we're talking about.
P.S. did DJ like the movie, or not?
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I like the first 40 minutes a lot. Once the stand-off sets in, however, the whole thing stalls, and even the moderately interesting finale can't save it. In future, I'm only ever going to re-watch the beginning.
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This is on OnDemand right now if anybody is interested.
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Maybe Remy has some kind of weird superstition about not letting himself or any of his men touch large amounts of water. That would tie in well with the bathtub motif that runs through the film.
Doesn't Remy shoot the water at some point?
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Hopefully, it will be a much better version than the one I have.
Well, I watched the new version and it is definitely much better than my Spanish DVD. The picture quality and the sound are excellent, but the movie lasted 105 minutes versus the full 115 minutes listed in the IMDB (still 5 minutes longer than mine). It would appear, however, that either the IMDB is wrong or there is an international extended version around, as the NYT review dated September 4, 1970 described the movie as lasting 104 minutes.
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E07E3DD1F3EE336A05757C0A96F9C946190D6CF
Another interesting thing I noticed is that the picture has been cropped at the top and the bottom to give the 1:85:1 aspect.
All in all, the new version is far more watchable than the one I had before, so I will change my initial rating of "complete waste of time" to 7/10.
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Finally watched Barquero and was a little disappointed. I caught different parts of it on TV before and it seemed better. The story is actually very interesting, but without focused direction it turns into a bunch of funny episodes dancing around a huge hole in the plot. Too many interesting faces-characters don't get used properly as the cross-not cross mind game advances further at apparently no purpose at all. Even Lee Van Cleef doesn't seem to benefit from his screen time, although his character is pretty interesting. He always seems to be somewhere behind, ''in the rear with the gear'', and the ladies (good for him). If it wasn't for them I doubt many here could remember what exactly was he doing throughout the whole movie. Mountain Phil (Forrest Tucker) steals the (shaky) show.
(around) 6/10
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I just re-read parts of Frayling's book "Spaghetti Westerns," and he absolutely trashes Barquero. It was in the section of the book where Frayling discusses AW's that were released after the Spag craze started and were trying to copy Spags, and in all his examples, I think he reserves the harshest language for Barquero! Surprised to read that; while this isn't the best movie in the world, I didn't think it was that bad either.
LVC is certainly not used properly. One of the greatest Western gunslingers is stuck operating a ferry? Come on, man! (It would be like they made Dirty Harry with Eastwood as the police radio dispatcher!)
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Blu due on 4/28/15.
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Hmmm, Gary's review of the PQ is kinda lukewarm. I'm not sure whether I should upgrade or not . . . http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_66/barquero_blu-ray.htm
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I have a copy of this dvd, courtesy of CJ. Seems like a portion is missing - they are building the raft (or whatever you call it, that fighter boat) and suddenly they are traveling on it. Any word if the BRD fills in what seems to be a missing few minutes on the BRD?
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I have a copy of this dvd, courtesy of CJ. Seems like a portion is missing - they are building the raft (or whatever you call it, that fighter boat) and suddenly they are traveling on it. Any word if the BRD fills in what seems to be a missing few minutes on the BRD?
I was never sure if CJ was right about that. In the DVD I have there's a scene with LVC at night listening as the construction of the boats is going on. Then there's a cut to the men crossing the river the next day. It plays perfectly well and there's no reason to suppose something was cut.
Anyway, no one who has reviewed it yet knows the film well enough to comment on such things. We'll just have to wait and see (whether Jenkins gets a copy).
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I was never sure if CJ was right about that. In the DVD I have there's a scene with LVC at night listening as the construction of the boats is going on. Then there's a cut to the men crossing the river the next day. It plays perfectly well
And so do I remember it, and so it works pretty well.
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Its got some weird cropping also in that last seqment
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I am not certain if I'd have noticed a (possible) missing scene on my own; but when CJ sent me the DVD, he said, Did you notice the missing scene? (Not certain if he said it before or after I watched the movie - I think it was after) but once he asked me, I replied, "Oh, you must mean the raft scene," and he said yeah. So I can't know whether it is something that I would have noticed or if it would have bothered me on my own if CJ hadn't mentioned anything to me about a missing scene.
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Here is my quote:
More thoughts on Barquero
Anyway I watched the film again and noticed that there may have been a few cuts.
Mountian Phil first appearence may have been trimmed for all we see is him pulling a
bowie knife out of a body, and nothing leading up to it.
Lee Van Cleef & Mariette Hartley's "lust in the dust" sequence must have been trimmed
since this scene is not in the film in this version: (I used to have a link to a pic)
Another cut is right before the barge battle, you see Remy's gang building their rafts and it
immediately cuts to the two Remy rafts oaring their way across the river towards the barqueros barge.
Then you cut again to the opposite side of the river and all the squatters are hunkered
down in the ferry already and waiting. So there must have been a sequence where Travis
figuers out what Remys has planned and gets all the squatters into the ferry.
and another:
Interesting if it was shot in matte frame, It does look slightly blurry in some LVC/Hartley closeups.
Another crop at the end when Oates gets shot we don't see his body on the dock just his
hat brim sticking up, you'd think it was cropped at the bottom.
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I am not certain if I'd have noticed a (possible) missing scene on my own; but when CJ sent me the DVD, he said, Did you notice the missing scene? (Not certain if he said it before or after I watched the movie - I think it was after) but once he asked me, I replied, "Oh, you must mean the raft scene," and he said yeah. So I can't know whether it is something that I would have noticed or if it would have bothered me on my own if CJ hadn't mentioned anything to me about a missing scene.
So now you're saying you never read this thread before watching the DVD? I call BS on that.
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So now you're saying you never read this thread before watching the DVD? I call BS on that.
Now, for me, I saw this film decades before DVDs were invented !
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You saw this film decades before Drink was invented. ;D
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I never read this thread before I saw the film. I never even heard of this movie before CJ sent me the DVD. The conversation I had with CJ about the cuts was over PM - he asked if I noticed a missing scene and I immediately figured it was the boat scene. I didn't read this thread until after I had seen the movie and had my PM conversation with CJ.
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I don't doubt that that is the way you remember things, but I remain skeptical.
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Only rates a 3.5/5 for PQ: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Barquero-Blu-ray/121116/#Review
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is perhaps the most enticing "Barquero" has ever looked, but this low-budget effort doesn't make it easy on HD expectations. Grain is erratic, with fluctuating levels of intensity that tend to break the visual flow of shots, offering a few noisy bursts along the way. The feature's second half utilizes day for night processing, which tends to dilute everything filmic about the frame, with the BD lacking intensity, though it's an inherently cinematographic problem. In the daylight, fine detail emerges on sweaty faces and the spare construction of the riverside town. Textures are acceptable, isolating creases and woodwork, with a reasonable amount of sharpness to sustain clarity. Colors are adequate as well, with secure skintones and a nice overview of costuming, while outdoorsy hues sustain intent. Delineation runs into photography limitations (contrast tends to lose stability during the aforementioned "sundown" hours), but doesn't entirely solidify. Print is in encouraging shape, with only a few marks of damage detected.
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Ok. Just saw this. Great movie. I saw the trailer and didn't think i would like it. My quick review:
1. Cinematography. Very good. I don't know what it was filmed in, but it was pretty good. Nothing too special about the camera angles. Everything was pretty straight forward. I did like the long shots across the river.
2. Script. Very good. I like when a script writer can take a simple story, and make it work. The basic premise of NEEDING that barge, was turned into a full fledge story. I loved that.
3. Acting. Pretty good. Lee was ok. He is one of my favorites. Oates did his thing superbly. He had some lively characters in his gang that were pretty good and funny. Maria Gomez. I'm buying the Blu Ray just because of her...lmao
4. Musical Score. It was ok. Nothing special. Not great or bad.
Overall, it was a pretty good American version of a Sphagetti Western. It worked. I didn't know what to expect, so i was pleasantly surprised at this movie. I give it 7 out of 10 and worthy of your DVD or Blu Ray collection...
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4. Musical Score. It was ok. Nothing special. Not great or bad.
If you watch Eastwood's Hang 'em High you'll notice a similarity with the score, if I remember right.
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If you watch Eastwood's Hang 'em High you'll notice a similarity with the score, if I remember right.
I will have to really pay attention the next time at the score...
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German blu is getting released on 31 March: https://www.amazon.de/Barquero-Blu-ray-Lee-van-Cleef/dp/B01MT3E4TY/ref=pd_sim_74_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F139N1Z01S58D4C1B6X7
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I bought this film, only knowing that it had Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates in it, I thought it was a Spag. I guess what they meant it was an American interpretation of a Spag Western.
I agree with most of the consensus on this, started well, mid-way it was dull probably because it was just a massive stand-off, picked up with the barge shoot out. Definitely worth watching though if you're an Oates and Van Cleef fan like I am.