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Messages - Arizona Colt
16
« on: December 31, 2010, 08:26:02 PM »
Gambling City (1975) A gangster movie with an awful, intruding melodrama not so "sub" plot. An interesting premise (a card cheater career) completely badly wasted. Only Salerno's performance saves it from total dullness. 4\10
I never finished this one. It's "up" there with NICK THE STING (with Merenda) and LOADED GUN (with Andress and Strode) as pretty much non interesting. The Hong Kong gambling gangster movies (which originated in 1972 with Shaw Brothers THE CASINO) were much better at this sort of storyline in my view.
17
« on: December 31, 2010, 08:23:36 PM »
Napoli si ribella (1977) Tolerable flick mostly for good action scenes, but of little interest otherwise. 6\10
I thought this was pretty much crap save for the score and the dubbed dialog from Cannavale.
18
« on: December 31, 2010, 08:21:38 PM »
Without Trace (A tutte le auto della polizia...) (1975) This is not a poliziottesco but a solid police procedural based on a novel, with the added value of many young girls showing lots of skin. Some dialogues are annoying and the finale is rather stupid, but Salerno and the girls make it a good 7\10.
This was a really good Giallo style police thriller. It reminded me a lot of WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? by Dallamano.
19
« on: December 31, 2010, 08:19:39 PM »
The Violent Professionals (1973) This is famous for the car chases. And rightly so. They make the movie worth watching in spite of the rather muddled plot. Actually the last chase is very well dramatically inserted in the movie and well above the usual amateurishness of the screenplay and of the awful dialogues. 6\10
This was decent enough. The car chase scene was recycled in a few other movies.
20
« on: December 31, 2010, 08:14:19 PM »
Saw this awful movie on Encore Westerns a few nights ago. Essentially it's a US brutality western born out of the blood & thunder of THE WILD BUNCH (1969) and the like minded flicks that followed such as the ultra low budget CRY BLOOD, APACHE (1970), the vicious SOLDIER BLUE (1970) and the senselessly cruel THE HUNTING PARTY (1971).
Henry Silva plays Chatto, an Apache who catches Five Savage Men having their way with the gorgeous Michele Carey. All five take turns raping her and slapping her around. When finished, she's tied down naked Indian style to bake in the sun. Chatto watches from afar and saves her. Meanwhile, the five killers (the leader is played by Keenan Wynn who seems to relish playing a lead sadist) take off in separate directions while a lawman and a posse pursue them. In the meantime, Chatto teaches the super hot school teacher with the squeaky voice how to shoot and take her revenge.
From here, Chatto (who utters MAYBE five words of dialog the whole film) and Alice somehow manage to find each and every member of the gang, spread out all over creation and summarily kill them off in the most unimaginative ways possible. In its defense, one of the cretins is killed sitting in an outhouse and there's a castration. The ending is just as downbeat and gloomy as the above mentioned titles and has an equally grim, yet ambiguous final shot.
The opening of the film seems to drag for what seems like ten minutes of people riding/traveling across the desert before it kicks in with an eye openingly violent ambush followed by the torture/rape scene. After that, the movie takes a nose dive. Silva skulks around the bulk of the time with a look on his face like he smells something bad (maybe it's the movie?) and does nothing to make this rise above mediocre. Keenan Wynn tries the hardest, but it's the nudity of Carey and her figure in that tight Indian attire that makes this watchable at least once. Carey was also super hot (sans nudity) in her appearances in a few of the WILD, WILD WEST episodes, including the two parter 'The Night of the Winged Terror'.
Curiously, another equally shoddy movie came out the following year with much the same plot called HANNIE CAULDER (1971) starring Raquel Welch. Also, Michael Mann directed the pre DEATH WISH in the West, CHATO'S LAND (1972) which bears some slight similarities.
21
« on: December 10, 2010, 01:45:53 AM »
A quick Merli guide off the top of my head with the "Political Bogging" you mention specified where available.
VIOLENT ROME 1975--Merli plays Betti, a cop dealing with muggers, the mob and bank robberies who eventually sides with Richard Conte and his vigilante hit squad to sweep scum off the street after hours. His first Calabresi styled role and no POLITICAL BOGGING, BUT HAS A LOT OF ACTION.
FEAR IN THE CITY 1976--Sequel to LEFT HAND OF THE LAW with Leonard Mann. Merli plays Murri who revenges for the death of his family at the hands of a crime boss recently let out of prison who is knocking off the informers that put him in prison. Calabresi again and no POLITICAL BOGGING, BUT QUITE A BIT OF ACTION.
SPECIAL COP IN ACTION 1976--Merli is Betti who goes after a gang of crooks that have hijacked a busload of children. Meanwhile, gang activity continues and Betti kills a big Mobsters subordinate and ends up going to prison over it and has to deal with a bunch of crooks he put in there. Calabresi again, LOTS OF ACTION & NO POLITICAL BOGGING.
VIOLENT NAPLES 1976--Merli is Betti sent to Naples to where he uses his excessive force tactics to bust up money protection rackets, sociopaths on a murder spree and the Mob. Merli is playing Calabresi again. LOTS OF ACTION, NO POLITICAL BOGGING.
CYNIC, RAT, FIST 1977--Tanzi is pursued by 'The Chinaman' whom he put in prison. He fakes his death, then goes after Chinaman in secret and eventually sets Chinaman against Dimaggio, a big time crime boss. More Calabresi from Merli and LOTS OF ACTION, NO POLITICAL BOGGING.
ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH 1977--Very little plot, just LOTS OF ACTION WITH NO POLITICAL BOGGING as Tanzi goes after The Hunchback and his gang, another drug dealing rapist played by Ivan Rassimov and a youth gang of thugs. One of the most famous of these movies bar none and probably Merli's finest Calabresi impersonation.
HIGHWAY RACER 1977--Merli shaves the mustache and plays a fun loving speed racer cop who smiles and jokes a lot out to stop a race driving criminal and his gang. LOTS OF ACTION, CAR CHASES, CRASHES, EXPLOSIONS, BUT No POLITICAL BOGGING IN SIGHT.
FEARLESS FUZZ 1977--Merli is 'The Fox' a private detective who is sent to Austria to find a missing girl and uncovers a prostitution ring and conspiracy headed up by Joan Collins who sheds her clothes on two occasions. A BIT OF COMEDY, MERLI GETS HIS ASS KICKED FOR A CHANGE, A SMALL DOSE OF ACTION AND A WEE BIT OF POLITICAL BOGGING.
CONVOY BUSTERS 1978--Merli is Olmi, who after solving a double murder, exposing corruption within the law and accidentally killing an innocent citizen, takes a break in a small seaside town where he inadvertently uncovers a gun smuggling ring. A BIT OF ACTION, VERY SLOW, NOT MUCH POLITICAL BOGGING. Merli is once more Calabresi in this movie I don't care much for.
FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN 1979--Merli is Berni assigned to get an assassin of a Sicilian mobster from Italy to NY to testify against the Mob boss that hired him now residing in Brooklyn. The trick is to make it to America alive with his key witness. LOTS OF ACTION, NO POLITICAL BOGGING.
HUNTED CITY 1979--Merli is Ferro who tries to solve a series of shootings involving wealthy land owners. Linked to a former mobster, Ferro sides with an elder Mafioso to try and solve the mystery. A BIT OF ACTION, A LOT OF POLITICAL BOGGING.
THE REBEL 1980--Merli is Rossi, a retired cop who gets back in the game to solve an international conspiracy regarding assassinations of wealthy entrepreneurs. A bit of action, very different location, A LOT OF POLITICAL BOGGING.
22
« on: December 10, 2010, 12:57:25 AM »
Okay, here's some of your inconsistencies and bewildering statements regarding some of your "opinions". Below is your statement regarding THE BOSS from another site and you reference in the first sentence, "NOT BETTER THAN THE FIRST TWO IN THE TRILOGY"
THE BOSS Not better than the first two in the trilogy. Oh well.
My favorite scene is the beginning where Silva blows up a bunch of, embarassingly obvious, mannequins with a trusty grenade launcher. After that the film becomes an interesting, but overly talky crime movie.
Now, here's your statement from a page or two back regarding MILAN CALIBER 9.... MILAN CALIBRE 9 I couldn't finish to be honest.
MANHUNT, I've always liked. The "one man against the world" concept is one I always enjoy and this is a great example of it.
The final climax in the dump is a little sketchy because the stuff with the crane doesn't really work (almost as if they didn't get much coverage that day) but it hardly hinders the rest of the movie.So which is it? HAVE YOU SEEN THE DAMN MOVIE, OR HAVEN'T YOU?  ? Another oddball comment is this remark regarding CYNIC, RAT, FIST from another site.... I think I prefer this one to ROME, ARMED TO THE TEETH. It's more jokey and the final confrontation is handled better (the Hunchback "getting it" in the back at the end of ROME is kind of a cop out).
The only thing wrong with this entry is the fifteen minute segment where it becomes a heist picture.
That scene came totally out of left field.And this one from here.... I have not changed my opinion of Cynic and Teeth (although I like the alternate cut Assualt with a Deadly Weapon better). It's the other Merli films that I don't care for all that much. It has been so long that I've seen any of them that I can't recall all the titles save for some of the more popular ones like Violent Naples and the other two of the "trilogy". I just seem to feel that those 3 have been sold wrong to me. They said they were action fests but had little action in it. Naples and its companion pieces, always seem to turn into political intrigue/conspiracy movies or films that don't center around the exploits of Merli the policeman (then again, save for some of the violent set pieces, I don't recall much from them and could be wrong about the details of the subplots).So which is it? DO YOU LIKE THE DAMN MOVIE, OR DON'T YOU? This is from you a page or two back..... I'm with Titoli, I've seen about two dozen of these things (most being "the best the genre has to offer") and only Di Leo's MANHUNT can be described as a great movie.
The Merli films can be fun, when not bogged down by talky segments or politics, but overall they're unsubstantial fare.
Maybe "unsubstantial" was the wrong word but I don't think they are on par with the other genres the Italians were putting out during that time.
The Merli movies, for me, are as I said they are. Bogged down by a bunch of stuff that gets in the way of the action. The Merli films should be escapist fun but they always seem to turn into something else. At least the ones I've seen.
OKAY, THAT'S FINE AND ALL, BUT THERE'S NO POLITICAL BOGGING IN EITHER OF THOSE MERLI MOVIES YOU GUSH OVER BEFORE, BUT SLIGHT AFTER.... I must admit, though, you were pretty consistent with the likes of REVOLVER, the LVC crime flicks, CONTRABAND and ALMOST HUMAN, but since Titoli has stated his distaste for it (as per his opinion of the Merli films that now magically matches your own), you're likely to despise it now as well.
23
« on: December 10, 2010, 12:10:13 AM »
Ask Chris Alexander, head editor of FANGORIA.
He sent a mass message to all of his email pals "begging" for money to fund a project.
Last I checked he was using Kickstarter to fund that same project that presumably will have the magazine's name over the title.
All I'm saying is there is nothing low about it.
Even the big guys (compared to us) use it.
Believe me, I am paying attention. There's nothing in your above paragraph that denotes Chris Alexander as one of the "Big Guys", and no, Fangoria isn't a MAJOR MOVIE STUDIO, it's a HORROR MAGAZINE who dabbled in a few direct to video horror movies back in the early 90s and they went nowhere. I don't read them anymore so if they're doing movies again, bully for them, but they are not the "Big Guys" when it comes to producing MOVIES which is what we were talking about. Apparently you are not paying attention to what you yourself are typing. If you've seen "A lot more of them", please enlighten us as to what they are, or better yet, DON'T, because your opinion will change a month from now if the topic comes up with someone else and they have some DVD-R's you wish to acquire. You can't even recall but a few and have ODDLY confused some titles you displayed a liking to barely a year ago. It's extremely difficult to take anything you say seriously when one minute you like a movie and then the next minute you've got a pompous attitude about it. You sent me a PM on the third of December asking if anything had changed or if the "Usual suspects were still assholes" and the only thing that has changed is your "political motives" towards a handful of flicks and your sudden disdain for them. So from here on out, any opinion I read from you that changes a month or so from when you initially proclaim it, I will just assume there's a coveted DVD-R you're after.
24
« on: December 09, 2010, 09:40:26 AM »
Even the big guys (compared to us) use it.
The "Big Guys" go asking fans to finish their movies? What is "compared to us"? I assume your role has expanded since we last talked which was something like a year or two ago when this documentary was going on...well, silly me, it's still going on since it still hasn't even come out yet. You said you merely got a location provided by some rich gay man you know. Are you a full fledged producer now? Congratulations if so and it may partially explain your alternate personality perception of these movies.
25
« on: December 09, 2010, 09:32:18 AM »
You're not paying attention.
You sure you're reading ALL of my posts?
Now I know you haven't been paying close attention.
LOL, no, I am paying CLOSE attention. You opinion changes on a whim depending on who it is you're talking to.
26
« on: December 07, 2010, 05:56:23 PM »
No, the copy I saw was just the film.
I think Mike Malloy burned me a copy of it.
It's quite possible I'm getting confused with those then (Malloy burnt me a good portion of his Merli collection which I have yet to sit through 100% of) but I distinctly remember not caring for the Naples trilogy.
So? They new what they were getting into.
And it was a lot more than that.
Again, nothing about filmmaking is easy.
Right. And Malloy got his copies "From those guys at lovelockandload". while his doc was still in production. I have a friend working on a low budget flick at Warner. He can't finish it and the studio won't give him anymore money. Maybe he can get funding from the people? There's been lots of unfinished movies. Maybe EUROCRIME will start a trend?
27
« on: December 07, 2010, 05:41:10 PM »
So you haven't seen the Sabato film?
Titoli? Anybody?
Yes, I own it. But you wouldn't like it. It's filled with a lot of that boring stuff. Political intrigue and things like that. If you didn't like the non stop violence and sleaze of VIOLENCE FOR KICKS, or the action oriented Merli movies, or the upper class Damiani movies, which ones do you enjoy, then?
28
« on: December 07, 2010, 05:39:13 PM »
I have not changed my opinion of Cynic and Teeth (although I like the alternate cut Assualt with a Deadly Weapon better). It's the other Merli films that I don't care for all that much.
It has been so long that I've seen any of them that I can't recall all the titles save for some of the more popular ones like Violent Naples and the other two of the "trilogy".
I just seem to feel that those 3 have been sold wrong to me.
They said they were action fests but had little action in it.
Naples and its companion pieces, always seem to turn into political intrigue/conspiracy movies or films that don't center around the exploits of Merli the policeman (then again, save for some of the violent set pieces, I don't recall much from them and could be wrong about the details of the subplots).
This is one of the reasons I prefer French Connection 2 to the original.
It centers around popeye.
Mike Malloy's documentary......I'm sure it's very enlightening, but how brazen is that to literally BEG fans to help you finish your movie when you, the filmmaker fail to secure the financing for YOUR OWN PROJECT?!?!?!?!
The film's main $20,000 budget was secured through investors.
The $10,000 raised through kickstarter was needed for film rights.
It wasn't begging. The people who put up the money were investors and will be compensated like any other investor.
The spaghetti westerns you mention fall into exactly the same mire as the crime flicks. Just as many, if not MORE of those STINK to high heaven especially since there were twice as many of them.
But the fact remains that I still enjoy them a whole lot more.
I think out of the 500+ films they made during that cycle (of which I've seen maybe 300 of) about 150 range from watchable to excellent pictures.
I'm having trouble getting through the first 20 of the Poliziotteschi that I've seen without wanting to give up.
It's down to personal preference.
I've already mentioned HIGH CRIME in the previous post.
There is either NO or VERY LITTLE political intrigue/conspiracies in those Merli movies you mentioned. They focus around Merli the cop and accentuate the violence over anything else. VIOLENT NAPLES and ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH are action packed movies. So you prefer the Aquarius Releasing cut as ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON? A movie that makes absolutely zero sense and shuffles scenes around??? where did you see this as there is no DVD of this title I am aware of. Did you rent the old OOP VHS tape from Thriller Video?? The one with Sybil Danning doing an Elvira shtick before and after the movie?? The conspiracies/intrigue and "all that boring stuff" is in the OTHER Merli movies I mentioned. The ones with SOMETHING ELSE. Yes, the contributors are compensated with a credit and a free copy of the doc when it's released a decade from now.
29
« on: December 07, 2010, 04:52:45 PM »
My evidence stems from my own feelings and all those guys over at Lovelockandload who love the shit out of these movies but think little for the Westerns.
Interesting you mention "those guys", when it's "those guys" who ran to Malloy's aid to help fund his documentary when he couldn't do it himself. Not running to THEIR defense, but calling it like I see it.
30
« on: December 07, 2010, 04:22:03 PM »
Maybe "unsubstantial" was the wrong word but I don't think they are on par with the other genres the Italians were putting out during that time.
The Merli movies, for me, are as I said they are. Bogged down by a bunch of stuff that gets in the way of the action. The Merli films should be escapist fun but they always seem to turn into something else. At least the ones I've seen.
MILAN CALIBRE 9 I couldn't finish to be honest.
MANHUNT, I've always liked. The "one man against the world" concept is one I always enjoy and this is a great example of it.
The final climax in the dump is a little sketchy because the stuff with the crane doesn't really work (almost as if they didn't get much coverage that day) but it hardly hinders the rest of the movie.
IL BOSS's opening sequence is fantastic, fake dummies and all(!), but the middle is mostly a talky affair with a character (Silva) that is hard to get behind.
The climax with Garko and Silva is tense though.
SYNDICATE SADISTS is pretty solid all around and is a good example of how most of these things should be. Light entertainment.
Thanks for reminding me of ALMOST HUMAN, I had almost forgotten about it. It's really good and possibly my favorite of the bunch.
Other than those notables the rest (probably around a dozen) I've seen range from mediocre (BROTHERS TIL WE DIE) to really bad (VIOLENCE FOR KICKS).
I'm surprised you're rushing to their defense as you yourself have said in the past that it is no wonder that the genre has been forgotten as most of the entries are a bunch of stinkers.
Mike Malloy's doc on the subject is a lot more entertaining than the films themselves.
But this is up to preferences anyway.
It seems that most people who dig the Spaghetti Westerns don't care for these films and vice versa.
My evidence stems from my own feelings and all those guys over at Lovelockandload who love the shit out of these movies but think little for the Westerns.
There are people in the middle but they're in the minority.
No, you have told me you liked the Merli movies and yet to different people, your opinion changes towards whomever it is you are "talking to". It makes no sense to kiss one persons ass then pucker up for the dude behind him as well. If you're going to make an intelligent/pseudo intelligent assessment regarding a movie, make it stick from one person to the next for gods sake. This isn't about critical opinion of Maurizio Merli, or "rushing to his defense", it's about what you've said to me and the confoundedly different opinions given to somebody else which I assume is so you can score more DVD-R's instead of actually buying anything. Which Merli movies "Turn into something else?" His first handful of movies were virtually the same damn movie with minor differences. It's those very films that people misleadingly appropriate as DIRTY HARRY clones, when in fact they weren't. It wasn't till later that his movies "Turned into something else". It's obvious to anyone with even a modicum of interest in the genre that if you watch Merli's films post CYNIC, RAT & FIST, he was trying for something totally different-- Comedy in FEARLESS FUZZ as well as not being the tough cop of other movies (he gets his ass kicked for crying out loud and you get a very naked Joan Collins on more than one occasion). THE REBEL is without doubt one of his best movies period. It's an international intrigue film about a clan of assassins Merli infiltrates and is light on action, but high on character and conspiracy. HUNTED CITY is another interesting movie that melds political underpinnings with a cop on the edge who must work with an aging mobster to solve a series of killings involving rich businessmen. Have you seen those? THOSE TURN INTO SOMETHING ELSE. Outside of ALMOST HUMAN, which I recall being the one who recommended it to you, which movies HAVE YOU SEEN ACTUALLY? I never stated the Merli films were "Great". Do I think a number of them are some of the best of the genre? Yes, I do, but within the context of being escapist entertainment. To many Italians of the time, they needed a hero to identify with after the turmoil of the Calabresi controversy (not counting the Red Brigades, Ordine Nuovo, kidnappings, bombings, lower class youth gangs and other violence going on at the time) and Merli's movies were that cure brought about after the wild success of Castellari's HIGH CRIME (1973) with Nero. I assume you have seen that one? Fernando Di Leo and Damiano Damiani are the masters of the genre in my opinion and truly delivered some great movies which a lot of people dislike because they don't have all the car crashes and shootouts of the violent cop thrillers. For every CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN, or VIOLENT NAPLES you have a dozen RICCO, THE MEAN MACHINE's and KNELL, THE BLOODY AVENGER's. Which are your notables, then? THE BOSS (1973) is another one that's good. A fine Mafia picture made all the better in that it connects and even names individuals involved in corruption at the time which makes for an even better experience. I liked the "talky" stretches. This movie is about Silva's character and he commands attention when he's on screen. There are some 300 of these movies, Eric. To say most of them stink still leaves a good number of great, good and average entries left to enjoy. And I don't recall saying MOST of them stink, I believe I said A LOT of them. I haven't seen enough stinkers to say MOST OF THEM. Mike Malloy's documentary......I'm sure it's very enlightening, but how brazen is that to literally BEG fans to help you finish your movie when you, the filmmaker fail to secure the financing for YOUR OWN PROJECT?!?!?!?! As I said, I'm sure it's a very good documentary. Regarding Italian cult cinema, I've seen close to 200 peplums. Do a lot of them stink? Yes, they do, but that doesn't mean some of the stinkers are void of any entertainment value. Some of those movies are truly worth watching and worth singing their praises as well. We're not talking Hollywood here and $40 million budgets, but movies made with what little they had to work with. Some turned grit to gold and others weren't so good at it. The spaghetti westerns you mention fall into exactly the same mire as the crime flicks. Just as many, if not MORE of those STINK to high heaven especially since there were twice as many of them. How many towns must get robbed of their gold, or how many times must we suffer through Anthony Steffen's lousy non acting, or how many times must one see George Hilton grin from ear to ear before enough is enough? I'd say there's about 100 truly great to good SW's and at least 50 truly great to good Italian crime pictures. We have had this conversation before. I'm not running to anyone's defense here. Again, the main point here was your "Changing of the Guard" with your opinion. I remember what you said about CYNIC, that you liked it till they it turned into a jewel heist movie momentarily. ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH is another one I recall you stating you enjoyed quite a lot. Where does this Merli vehicle TURN INTO SOMETHING ELSE? What exactly is this SOMETHING ELSE???
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