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The Colossus of Rhodes / Re: Sodom and Gomorrah

« on: October 09, 2011, 12:05:29 PM »

Just checked the running time and the widescreen version that's been airing on Fox Movie channel runs 2 hours and 35 minutes.

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The Colossus of Rhodes / Re: Sodom and Gomorrah

« on: October 07, 2011, 06:44:54 PM »

This has played a few times over the course of the last year on Fox Movie Channel in a widescreen three hour version. There's nothing in the film that looks like anything Leone has done, at least not to me. Maybe others who are more finely tuned to his style can say differently. Supposedly, he was never comfortable directing big action scenes leaving those to his AD's. Still, I like this movie a lot despite not being religious in any way at all. It's a good story filled with a lot of gorgeous women and a wagon load of familiar Italian genre stars like Giacomo Rossi Stuart and Anthony Steffen among them. I'll post the exact running time of this version once I've burned it to DVD-R later tonight.

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Other Films / Re: Django Unchained (2013) - QT's SW

« on: June 24, 2011, 04:24:20 PM »

Looks like Jaime Foxx(??) is going to be Django in this potential celluloid pap. Judging by the plot, this must be the "serious" slave/racist movie QT said he wanted to make after that GRINDHOUSE garbage tanked. The plot has a helluva lot more in common with THE LEGEND OF NIGGER CHARLEY (1972) than it does DJANGO.

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The Colossus of Rhodes / Re: Lets make a list of the best of the S&S films.

« on: June 19, 2011, 11:39:13 AM »

Hi, Joe. I have this article here which I wrote back in late 2009. It's 26 of what I consider the best of the genre. Best as in good films and 'best' as in good, solid fun of the popcorn and coke variety. There's also highlighted links to full on reviews of a bunch of the movies.  There's a few others I've seen since such as WARRIOR & THE SLAVE GIRL and THE REVENGE OF SPARTACUS I'd add. There's 32 S&S reviews posted there so far as well.

http://www.coolasscinema.com/2009/12/26-best-sword-sandal-adventures.html

But if you don't feel like perusing the article, these here I'd say were really good movies...

HERCULES 1957
HERCULES UNCHAINED 1958 (better than the first, I'd say)
HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD 1961 (Bava movie also with Christopher Lee)
HERCULES & THE CONQUEST OF ATLANTIS 1961 aka HERCULES & THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (look for a brief role by Gian Maria Volonte)
THE FURY OF ACHILLES 1962 (Gordon Mitchell is on fire here; big budget epic from Castellari's dad)
THE TROJAN HORSE 1961 (Steve Reeves big budget epic. Arturo Dominici plays Achilles here. Lots of familiar faces)
THE GIANT OF MARATHON 1959
ROMULUS & REMUS 1961 (Huge classic with both Reeves and Scott; Leone was a writer here)
THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII 1959 (Reeves again. Apparently Sergio Leone directed a lot of this movie)
GOLIATH & THE BARBARIANS 1959 (no mythological stuff, but Reeves in a great adventure and Chelo Alonso is super hot; the violence level is unusually high here)
MACISTE IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS 1960 (Mark Forest in early role with some shocking violence, brief nudity and arguably Alonso's hottest dance number)
MACISTE AGAINST THE VAMPIRE 1961 (Gordon Scott's first movie. Did all his own stunts and did some incredibly dangerous things during his career. He's the best actor of the bunch in my opinion. This is a fun 'Saturday Matinee' type movie)
GOLIATH & THE GIANTS 1961 (Fernando Sancho co-stars without his 'stache. Lots of monsters and absolutely gorgeous cinematography. Not serious at all, but tons of fun.
MACISTE, THE WORLD'S GREATEST HERO 1963 (Big budget spectacle has Giuliano Gemma in a major role. One of the best and a lot of fun)

Here's a link to the section where you can read all the reviews from most recent on down. Many of the ones here are from gorgeous widescreen Italian and Spanish DVDs. Most without English options, sadly.

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Sword%20and%20Sandal

Recently, a widescreen version of MACISTE AGAINST THE BARBARIANS 1964 has been airing on cable TV/satellite a lot.

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Other Films / Re: La bataille de San Sebastian aka Guns for San Sebastian (1968)

« on: February 27, 2011, 05:06:58 PM »

Copied this from Encore Westerns the other day and watched 3/4's of it this morning. Quite good story-character based western. I was a bit surprised to see Charles Bronson as a bad guy.

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Other Films / Re: Undead or Alive (2007)

« on: January 25, 2011, 11:20:23 PM »

Not seen it, but saw the DVD box in the video store. I don't care much for newer horror movies as there's relatively few that I can tolerate these days, but I do see a lot of them as my girlfriend absolutely dislikes anything more than a few years old.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)

« on: January 19, 2011, 08:24:29 AM »

Did you finally get around to it?

Nope not yet.

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Other Films / Re: Villa Rides (1968)

« on: January 02, 2011, 11:31:31 AM »

It was WAAAAAAYYYYYYYY better than about a hundred SW's I've suffered through recently.

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Other Films / Re: Villa Rides (1968)

« on: January 01, 2011, 07:16:25 PM »

Finally got around to watching this and what a great, great movie. It seemed to last forever and in a rare occurrence, was never boring. Bronson was most memorable for me with his character who loves shooting things and people. Might watch it again before the night is out.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS: An Overview & Reviews

« on: December 31, 2010, 08:42:57 PM »

MILANO ODIA: LA POLIZIA NON PUO SPARARE - (ALMOST HUMAN) 1974

In the italian dvd there's an extra feature with three reviews written when the film first came out. Well, I think they exactly mirror the opinion most people had at the time and later. And also mine. This is Milian's worst performance: He acts over the top and has the wrong mimicry and the wrong gestures continuously. His character has no logic: sometime he acts like a evil genius, sometime like a crazy, imbecile man. And that reflects on the plot, which is really embarrassing as to logic. F.E. Milian decides the best way to kidnap a girl is to use his own girlfriend's car. Does this makes sense? Of course not but most of the plot hinges on this moronic decision. I could add tons of inverosimilitudes to this (the way he got hold of the weapons: can a dealer be such an imbecile? And the way the ransom is paid. And  the man who admits the frightened girl into his home forgetting to close the door. I stop here). Still the movie can be seen for some reasons: the car chase, the final scene (but a bar near the trash heaps? Come on...), Laura Belli and Morricone's score (not exceptional but good). The Martino production probably is the reason why Lenzi's direction looks as such. 6\10     

Milian counts this as one of his favorite roles and in my view, one of the best and nastiest films in the genre. It's also one of the most respected films of Italian crime films. Arguably Lenzi's best in this style.

Milian's character only cared about himself. What is illogical about using his girlfriends car when he ends up killing her anyways? Sachi only cared about himself and no one else. He is motivated by greed and a seething hatred for his fellow man, those who have what he doesn't. This is blatantly obvious to anyone who has watched the movie. I am really surprised (well, not so much now) that a certain individual isn't expressing an opinion on this since this person raved so much about the film after seeing it.

I found nothing at all illogical here. It's a film about an angry, vicious and cruel man who manipulates everyone he encounters to get what he wants and then summarily does away with those who have inadvertently helped him receiving his just desserts in a symbolic fashion at the end. Silva's great here, too, with what little screen time he has.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS: An Overview & Reviews

« on: December 31, 2010, 08:35:47 PM »

ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH - Roma a mano armata (1977) This has the advantage of an episodic structure, so the screenplay is a little more acceptable than those having a linear plot, a task which seems beyond the capacity of the people involved in creating these kind of movies. Still it falls often into the ludicruous, with Merli apparently being always in the place where a crime is committed (or maybe these crimes were so many that Rome must have been a hell of a place to live in in the '70's). Merli makes me laugh each time he goes into action, he's so incapable of acting. 5\10

Definitely not on the tier of such movies as CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971) or EXECUTION SQUAD (1971) or MILAN CALIBER 9, but one of the best of the mindless violence crime flicks and one of the most fun Merli movies. Also a signature genre entry that defines what makes the more exploitable films a lot of gruesome fun.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS: An Overview & Reviews

« on: December 31, 2010, 08:33:33 PM »

Emergency Squad (1974) As usual Sacchetti's story is quintessential "you've seen it all before", you can tell what's going to happen next. Add to that ludicrous scenes like the hippies (?) pad or those including dialogues between Milian and his sister in law which make your skin cringe because of their mawkishness  and you have very little to be happy about. Still it has 3 major actors like Milian, Moschin (but you never know what his character is about: he is dubbed as il Marsigliese" but he doesn't affect a french pronounce) and Carotenuto (totally miscast, though, as Milian's pard) and the final scene is effective: I would like to know if it is original. So I give it 6\10.
The inteview with Massi included in the dvd is depressing.

The ending reminded me of a western. Aside from Milian and Moschin, this was average to me.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS: An Overview & Reviews

« on: December 31, 2010, 08:32:29 PM »

Double Game (1977) Only good thing of the movie is Annarita Grapputo, unfortunately not showing much. During the vision I thought mostly about something else, couldn't have cared less about what was happening plotwise. No good action scenes. Score barely notable. 4\10 

This 1978 movie was garbage. I couldn't even finish it and the sequel from 1980 is even worse. Hilton's BLAZING FLOWERS is better, but not by much. Lots of sleaze in that one and little else.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS: An Overview & Reviews

« on: December 31, 2010, 08:28:47 PM »

Crimebusters (1976) This is so over the top that made me laugh a couple of times, especially in the rather violent action scenes. These are the reason for watching it, I think, the plot being so absurd and full of holes (the Emiliano actor in the Trinity movies apparently knows always where to find Silva) that you don't care in the least about it. The De Angelis brothers score is annoying, rarely appropriated to the scenes or, maybe, too much. A Keystone cops or Tex Avery cartoon movie. 6\10

This one is braindead fun. Probably the best thing I've seen from Tarantini. About the only movie with a decent score from the de Angelis brothers I can think of is SHARK HUNTER with Nero.

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Off-Topic Discussion / Re: ITALIAN CRIME FILMS: An Overview & Reviews

« on: December 31, 2010, 08:27:03 PM »

Ransom! Police Is Watching (The Great Kidnapping)(1973) Well, this is better than expected, quite in the line of La polizia ringrazia: not a real poliziottesco (there is little action) but a reflection on how to deal with kidnapping (that was a very common crime in the '70's in Italy). Salerno is good as usual but given an awful make-up. The Cipriani's score is in the Morricone's mould. 6\10

Hmmm. Not sure I have this one. I have several that involve kidnappings, but I don't think this is one of them in my collection.