Al di là della legge aka Beyond the Law (1968)

[The Firecracker]

Mitchells cape never brought images of Dracula to my mind although it did remind me of Zorro.

I wasnt reminded of anything.

speaking of Zorro, are you a fan of the original show(from Disney)? I think its great and needs a proper release. There are some bootlegs floating around.

[Arizona Colt]

Can't say that I am but I'm not a fan of Disney period except 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and I have fond memories of the  SCARECROW films. These were like westerns too I think weren't they? Haven't seen them since childhood.

[The Firecracker]

These were like westerns too I think weren't they? Haven't seen them since childhood.

Got me there.
Scarecrow?
Is that about the Robin Hood esq avenger who dresses like a scarecrow and robs from the rich and gives to the poor?

"20,000 leagues..." is excellent! why the negative vibes towards disney If I may ask?

[Arizona Colt]

Yes there was a whole band of outlaws that dressed as scarecrows. I'm not sure why but I did like Disney as a kid. I have no negative vibe towards it I just can't bring myself to see those movies again when there is so much more I'd rather see that is to my liking. I recently acquired SONG OF THE SOUTH for a friend which I wouldn't mind viewing again for the simple reason the NAACP had it banned so I could see what there beef is with it apart from the speech used in the film.

[The Firecracker]

SONG OF THE SOUTH

Lucky you. I was just thinking about ordering a copy today through some ebayer. But he wanted 40 bucks for it. I gave him a quick "f**k off" and that was the end of that.


I'm sure there is nothing shocking in it.

[Arizona Colt]

If you want it my friend who runs fareastflix has the japanese laserdisc. He may sell you a copy for $15.00 which is the price for most of his discs. Tell him Brian Bankston referred you.

[The Firecracker]

If you want it my friend who runs fareastflix has the japanese laserdisc. He may sell you a copy for $15.00 which is the price for most of his discs. Tell him Brian Bankston referred you.

www.fasteastflix?

thanks I'll keep that in mind.

[Arizona Colt]

Yes that's the one. John is definitely the best of the bootleggers out there regardless of genre. He even goes through the trouble of creating his own menus(where needed)and performing subtitling duties. Also something big(as in good) is happening for his company soon that I'm not at liberty to speak of.

[cigar joe]

another good Disney series that I liked as a kid was "Swamp Fox", guerrila fighters in South Carolina against the redcoats in the AR.

[The Firecracker]

Looked up a bit of "Scarecrow". It has yet to be released onto dvd. Doesnt surprise me. Disney(now) will never release anything unless it has the number "2" on its title. Its not interested in releasing any of there classics and cult films.
Interestingly enough during further research Disney has recently made a comic strip adaption of there "scarecrow" film. The strip was featured on Disney Adventures magazine( a monthly issue I guess), so this can only mean that it is very possible Disney will be releasing it soon? Why else would they go through the trouble of introducing this to the new genereation of children?

[Arizona Colt]

If they were released on japanese laserdisc John probably has those as well. I'll ask  next time I talk to him.

[Banjo]

Leone Admirer's review from his SW Virgins Guide:-

Beyond The Law

This Lee Van western begins well and ends well but is weighed down by a terrible middle which makes the film over long. The humour does not sit at all well in the film and it would have been much better if they had played the film straight through out like the begining and end.
    The film begins with a grouping of strangers traveling on a stage coach including a preacher (Lionel Stander) and a European called Ben Novak (Antonio Sabato) carrying money across the west to give to a silver mine to pay the workers. The money is stolen off the stagecoach and is hidden by one of the thiefs Cudlip (Lee Van Cleef). When Novack realises the money is gone he travels back to find it, only finsing Cudlip and a friendship is born. When hard troubles hit the town Novack forces his friend to become sheriff, seemingly not knowing of his murkey past.
      The opening heist seems to promise an excellent movie ahead. The director Giorgio Stegani manages to keep the pace up and the excitement high in the opening scenes. However a problem arises. The gang, including Cudlip and the preacher, never seems to convince that they could be an outlaw gang. They seem too jokey, too bumbling to be a good outfit. There are quite a few jokes made at their expense and this I think hurts the movie. If the gang had been portrayed as well badasses the moral dilema of Cudlip becoming sheriff could be much better realised and be more rewarding to the audience. The main villain of the piece played by Gordom Mitchell seems to be woefully out of place, his rediculous costume seemingly encapsulating this. At times, perhaps too much is happening at once and this hurts the movie.
    For me, this isn't the best Lee Van Cleef performance. He does however excel at the exciting end and in this he shows us a glimmer of what this movie could be.
   Sabato is ok as Novak, the new comer who quickly learns how to survive in the west. Other characters do seem to be not used very well. Mitchel does what he can with such a small bad guy role (he does manage to make him menacing, especially during a siege in the town but the film needs to spend more time with the character to make him all the more effective.
    The cinematography was ok, making use of the spanish locations and picking up the dirty, dusty location. Music was not very remarkable and the humerous banjo music I feel hurt the movie.
    Wild East have presented this film in a double set with The Grand Duel on a single 'flipper' disc.
    Beyond The Law is presented in an anamorphic print taken from the Italian release with an English mono soundtrack. The print is quite strong with a little bit of damage there and perhaps a few too washed out colors but it doesn't really hurt the movie at all. The Italian print is longer then the US release version and therefore when a scene that is on the Italian print but has never been dubbed for the English release appears, the film reverts to the Italian language with English subtitles. There is about 2 - 3 minutes of re-instated footage. The English mono is not bad, it does contain the usual clicks and hiss and does have a limited range but it doesn't really hurt the enjoyment of the film.
    Included on the extras front is a trailer, a photo gallery set to music and the alternate English titles. I personally think Wild East should be commended for including this extra as it does show the fact that they are looking at other prints to try and track down the one of the best quality for the DVD release. I also think the English titles were better then the one used in the Italian print in which the title card that Beyond The Law appears on is quite distracting.
  The film was a bit of a disapointment for me. It never reached it's full potential and it was let down by too many negative points. I wouldn't recomend this to new comers but devout fans of spaghetti's and Lee Van Cleef will most likely want to check it out.

[Banjo]

Arizona Colts review:-

BEYOND THE LAW- 1968-Kind of forgettable LVC western with elements of comedy that just do not work most of the time. Bud Spencer is almost unrecognizable as the town mayor. Things pick up in the latter half when the black clad villain played by peplum star Gordon Mitchell enters the picture and the film becomes a serious affair.

[manuel]

I like this film. It has a strong plotline and good character developement.

[moorman]

This was a pretty good film.  The premise was excellent. Van Cleef and his gang start off as thieves and then morph into helping the town defend a silver shipment, though for different reasons.   There are elements of comedy here but for the most part the director played it straight.  During the ending gunfight there was one particular element I didn't like, the townsfolk kept running INTO the gunfire of the bad guy up on the tower.  That didn't make any sense. 

The look of the film was pretty good.  The soundtrack featured a main theme that's pretty good.  I rate this a 7 out of 10 and rank it as one of the better sphagetti westerns I have seen....