detflygandespaghettimons Reviews

Nitôryû kaigen (1943)

A Good Telling of the Miyamoto-Story!

[6/10 · 14 April 2017]

This is a Miyamoto story beginning in median res. We first witness Musashi as he's just been released from an 3-year imprisonment by a Buddhist monk. Having skipped the man's backstory, we're instead introduced to him by a reiteration of his tribulations and aspirations. Musashi possesses an zealous desire to be unmatched with the sword, be just as unrivaled in virtue, and is forced to deny himself the love of a infatuated woman who chases after him so that he can solely give himself to the warrior's path.

After that, Musashi is off to the Ichijoji Temple and the duels begin!

This is one neatly directed movie. You can just tell that the director -- Daisuke Itô -- got his start in the silent days of cinema. He brings an expressive visual orientation to the filmmaking that heightens the material. This is especially forthcoming in the numerous duel scenes, where Itô's visual imagination and camera trickery compensates for the lacking choreography and creates some rousing confrontations.

This is at heart a thematically-focused movie. It centers around Musashi's quest to be a master fencer, and what it truly means to have mastered the sword, questions of virtue and self-mastery promulgating the film. Itô makes this compelling enough, but when the films diverts itself to other matters like Musashi's unfulfilled love or the young pupil that travels alongside him the film, as is usual for this genre, feels a lot more stale and unengaging. People not familiar with the Miyamoto tale though may feel blindsighted by the way we're just thrusted into the narrative as well as the lack of a proper resolution to his quest at the end.

Chiezô Kataoka plays the hero's role. He made innumerable films like these in his years. I always found him passable yet fading in comparison to other actors who armed themselves with the Samuraij's blade.

Overall, this is definitely a good and classical chambara flick, with Itô's visual direction giving it a leg-up. I give it a strong 6/10.

Ariana's Quest (2002 TV Movie)

Poor fantasy movie staring Sable from WWE

[4/10 · 13 December 2016]

Eastern Europe became quite the spawning-ground for American B-films following the fall of the Soviet Union. Plenty of directors flew over there to shoot their pictures on the cheap, taking advantage of the local talent and scenery. Ariana's Quest is a prime example in this tradition. It's sort of a star-vehicle for Rena Mero (wrestling under the name Sable in the WWE), an attempt to convert her wrestling-fame into video-fame. Sadly, the end product leaves a lot to be desires in terms of quality and entertainment.

The titular Ariana (Rena Maro) is a princess of the mold that prefers swords and fencing over balls and courtship. Her father lies at his deathbed, and her lands at the brink of invasion. The cruel Warlord Xantos (Predrag Bjelac) covets both her charms and domains, and he is backed by his sorceress-sister Zuraya (Katerina Brozová), a villain even more evil-minded than he.

Ariana's Quest is plagued by many of the hallmarks of B-level pictures. The cinematography is shoddy, the acting less-than- stellar, the filmmaking odd, but to my thinking the films underlying flaw is mainly the tone they decided to set. The storytelling is very serious. It's a very straight-faced yarn. And the production is just not up-to-task to deliver on that sort of narrative. It is really jarring to see Sable (not the best thespian) talk with dead- tone seriousness about the slave-like responsibilities of being a princess. Or use the word "cold-steel" with a straight-face. Basically, it feels like one of those B-movies that would be really entertaining if someone like Cirio H. Santiago or Jim Wynorski had been sitting in the directors-chair, but Lloyd A. Simandl never nails the fun factor. The Czech locale does offer some relatively well-heeled costuming and locations (they appear to have shot in an actual castle of some sort), but the cinematography doesn't really take advantage of that.

Reportedly, Ariana's Quest was filmed as a pilot of an intended TV- series. That shows, in that the film doesn't really feature a proper ending. But there are several other odd filmmaking ticks that cannot be explained away by that fact. For example, Daniela Krhutova plays the assassin Tai Shan (whom alluringly enough is dressed head-to-toe in all-black leather armour), a relatively minor character. But when she dies, we're treated to this loving montage of her character, showing several pieces of footage of her that wasn't even in the film! It's truly bizarre!

I've probably sounded overly negative in this review. Fans of B- movies will probably find some enjoyment in a would-be epic like this one. There is just something inherently charming in productions like these that makes you want to watch them, despite their flaws. That said, I cannot give Ariana's Quest a higher score than 4/10

The Empire of Dracula (1967)

Mexican Dracula is apparently called Draculstein.

[5/10 · 6 May 2016]

The movie begins with Dracula chasing a hefty, middle-aged man through his stronghold. They struggle, rather feebly I must admit, until the pursued man manages to pull down the drapes and expose the Vampire Lord to the sunlight outside, scorching him into nothing but fleshless bones in the process. After this confrontation we jump an unspecified number of years into the future, where the middle-aged man's (now widowed) wife is experiencing violent premonitions of Dracula at her deathbed. She's attended by her son and two daughters, to whom she impairs the dreadful knowledge that Dracula has risen from the grave - and implores the son to seek the Oak Crucifix, an holy item with the power to stop Dracula once and for all.

Said son, being the modern scientific type, disregards his mothers deathbed rambling about Vampires. But he still manages to find himself ending up in the Counts Mansion though, and has for some unfathomable reason brought his two sisters along with him, whom are exactly the kind of nubile, innocent-faced girls that Dracula likes to sink his fangs into.

I referred to the beloved Count as Dracula, but amusingly enough, the movie averts this well-known name and instead calls him Draculstein! Said vampire also lives in a mansion (despite the establishing footage clearly showing a castle). His presence is rather flaccid, I must say, and the movie never manages to turn the bloodsucking villain into a stirring foe to be combated.

Tonally this movie feels like its positioned in the growing-pain stages of the old and the new. Atmospherically the film very much is reminiscent of those old Universal horror movie, it's black-and- white, there's plenty of fog to go around, Gothic stylings with a general lack of music, as well as an overall subdued and restrained approach towards it all. But there is also a smidge of the more explicit material that Hammer Horror brought to the industry, such as the Counts predatory attitude towards women and a ghastly scene where Igor inserts some sort of sword-cane into a woman's heart.

The movie has it's low-budget charm, to be sure. It's an old-school Vampire feature from a time when the standards where changing. The atmosphere and stylings that means so much to the enjoyment of films like these are competently handled but not much else can be said about it. It's okay, fairly engaging if you are fascinated by this kind of stuff, but all-in-all it's an uninspired production with the characteristic shoddiness and limp storytelling that proliferates among B-films in this genre. I give it a weak 5.

5/10

War God (1976)

Guan Yu vs the Giant-Men of Mars!

[7/10 · 25 March 2016]

War God is splendid fun! This Taiwanese Kaiju film by director Hung Min Chen is a testament to how giddily entertaining the genre can be. It's premise alone gets the brain rolling. It pits Guan Yu - an ancient Chinese general from the ending days of the Han dynasty whom after his death became venerated as a God - against the Giant Aliens of Mars! What more natural foes can you ask for?

The story has surreal edges -- as the film begins with the laws of physics being broken in broad daylight. Time moves in reverse, gravity losses its stranglehold, sudden heatwaves boil the water! Earth is definitively amiss! Unlike so many Japanese Kaiju films -- there won't be any schoolboys around in disturbingly short shorts to solve this mystery. The role of protagonists instead falls to a family. We have an elderly sculpturer who works on his masterpiece, a statue of Guan Yu. His son is a revered scientist, whose empiricism prevents him from following in his fathers faith. There is also a much younger daughter, whose hard-partying ways ends with her being abducted by flying saucers!

The true stars of the show for me though, are the Giant-Men from Mars. Their introduction is like something out of Rene Laloux's "Fantastic Planet", smeared with hilarious surrealism. Needless to say their intentions are to conquer earth and vanquish its inhabitants. But once they arrive they strut around like a bunch of New York pimpsters, breaking buildings and acting like they own the place! What's so fun about all of this is that the Martians doesn't so much come across as evil imperialists as they do mischievous bullies whom says "ops" with an evil grin when a skyscraper collapses. The quality of their costumes are quite horrible. But that adds to their comical effect.

The plot revolves around how to defeat the aliens. The son proclaims science as the defender of mankind. While his father delves deeper into his veneration of Guan Yu in response to the invasion. Conflict erupts from their different approaches. I think the very though of a Kaiju film tackling the question of science and religion is hilarious enough on its own.

We get a lot of carnage out of the Kaiju duels. When the ending credits roll it seems like the entirety of Hong Kong lies in ruins. These miniatures do not possess the same meticulous quality that is the standard of the best Godzilla films, but they are quite cool and atmospheric.

As I said in the beginning -- War God is splendid fun. It definitively surpasses it's budget.

7/10

She yao jing (1973)

The snake-hag must be stopped!

[5/10 · 16 March 2016]

The movie begins with a young woman journeying homewards after visiting her parents grave. Removing her hijab, we see an instant likeness to Medusa! The tresses of her hair are actually serpents, live snakes hanging from her scalp. Accidentally she falls into a ravine - and awakens face-to-face with a snake-woman! This ancient creature has the body of an anaconda, but the face of a hag!

The snake-woman introduces herself as the girls ancestor. She is a Sorceress, a Mistress of the Dark Arts, with a horde of demonic minions at her disposal! Dwarfs, stone-men, living trees, and batmen all answer her call! Not to mention that she possesses the ability to summons venomous vipers at will! She intends to make her descendant a great Queen of Evil like herself, and so the young woman is seduced into her grasp.

Meanwhile, an impoverished yet mighty martial artists arrives in town, looking for a work. He hears that a rich man has issued an hefty reward for anyone who can rescue his kidnapped daughter. Ominously, the kidnapper turns out to be a snake-haired woman. It seems that the Queen of Evil has been gathering nubile virgins from across the land in preparation for the next full-moon!

This fantastical, outlandish setting is what gives Bruka: Queen of Evil a leg-up. It is fun seeing a Kung Fu Hero battling the minions of evil. It's that special kind of idiosyncratic fantasy that you only really see in SoutEast Asian B-flicks from the 70's and 80's.

That said, the movie definitely suffers from its low-budget, B-movie roots. The interesting parts are backloaded towards the ending third of the plot. Also the narrative feels scattered and disjointed, events occurring for no real discernible rime or reason. Everything about it is shoddily made, but if you want to see a Kung Fu Hero battling an army of snake-worshipping dwarfs, then "Bruka: Queen of Evil" delivers on the fun!

Pi li jing hua (1989)

Uninspired cash-in on the "Inspector Wear Skirts" franchise

[4/10 · 12 March 2016]

"Emergency Police Lady" should really be in plural.

This movie came out just a year after the first "Inspector Wear Skirts" film was released. Storywise they share the same template. A bunch of policewomen and cadets are enlisted into an newly-created, all- female law enforcement unit. They go through training together, coached by an harsh female superior, and as the movie enters it's third act - the unit undergoes its first deadly mission. To drive this comparison home even further, the female superior training the girls is even played by the same actress in both films, Sibelle Hu!

Unfortunately, Emergency Police Lady doesn't offer much above that. You have the usual clash of characters, the hardass, the foreigner, the kinda normal girl with a love interest, and the one who almost ruins the whole film, the clownish lass who never shuts up and wears humongous glasses.

Other than that the film proceeds just as one would imagine. But the various subplots, antagonists, and missions the narrative presents just arn't that skillfully executed. Unlike the fun-loving and excitable "Inspector Wear Skirts", this movie never really manages to make the genre-tropes that it plays with very involving to watch.

The various action scenes are serviceable though. Guns spray bullets at an excessive amount and police work involve an unusual high amount of martial arts. It elevates the film a little, but I am going to have to set my rating no higher than a strong 4.

Nu er dang zi qiang (1993)

Lady Supercop saved by some Visual Flair

[5/10 · 25 February 2016]

Siu-Hung Chung (aka: Billy Chung) directs this Hong Kong feature from the early 90's about two policewomen related through blood. These main characters are played by Carina Lau, whom claims the part of the older, more professional cousin, while Teresa Mo acts the part of her younger, more playful relative.

This relationship is truly what dominates the film. We see them foiling robberies, attending nightly stakeouts, and having some office shenanigans. Typical police procedural. Serviceable to watch. But I found the overarching narrative quite fuzzy for a large part of the film. Whom is the antagonist? Which organization are they investigating? What is their mission? Eventually a laughing madman played by Chin Ho coalesces as the villain. Unfortunately it's a rather unengaging, stock portrayal that doesn't work in the films favor.

Overall, the main problem with Lady Supercop is found in the narrative. It all feels rather fettered, lethargic and inconsequential. Carina's and Teresa's relationship doesn't really go anywhere or reach any satisfying climax for us to enjoy, which is especially problematic since they are the center of the film.

Lady Supercop is upheld though by some visual flair. Orange tinting, blue shadows, thick fog steaming from the sides of the screen. It's not Dario Argento but Siu-Hung Chung did put effort into these things. The action scenes are fine and sometimes works in tandem with Siu-Hungs cinematographic style. The dominant feel of the rest of the film is rather mellow though, but this is Hong Kong cinema where tonal whiplashes are ineludible and law-of-the-land! A grimdark turn commences two-thirds of the way in and we get some torture and sadism at the hands of Chin Ho.

Lady Supercop is perfectly average though rather uneven at that. Its cons and pros balance themselves out so I'll award it a 5/10.

The Taste of the Savage (1971)

Good Western about Revenge hampered by uneven filmmaking

[6/10 · 18 February 2016]

Alberto Mariscal's "Taste of the Savage" is a 1971 Mexican Western that explores the familiar subject of lifelong revenge. Like so many other movies of the genre the film begins with the murder of a husband by a gang of gunmen and the lamentations of his wife and child.

The wife-turned-widow (Isela Vega playing Sara Carson) has steel in her heart though. She hires an aging gunslinger simply named Huck (a wizened Cameron Mitchell) to school her son Judd (Jorge Luke) in mastery of firearms. Judd Carson is thereafter raised as an instrument of vengeance -- his own trauma and his mother indoctrination making him destined be the bane of his father's killers.

Taste of the Savage was made during the Spaghetti-boom, and follows its Italian sisters in spirit and tone. Judd does grow up to be Gods-gift-to-guns, but he is simultaneously emotionally vexed and troubled. He is hotheaded, twitchy, and obsessed with revenge. Huck's reserved and level-headed demeanor has completely failed to rub off on him. This makes Judd an unstable young man -- and before the film ends we see just how far he spirals into the deep end.

The film doesn't pull any punches in depicting Judd's moral downfall. It has the appropriate amount of blood and sleaze to depict this. In his hotblooded rage he commits some unforgivable deeds. That is not to say that this Mexican Western is anywhere near as gruesome as, say, "Fasthand is Still My Name" (1973) or "Cut-Throats Nine" (1972), but it's attentiveness to the emotional and psychological breakdown of its hero does give it a strong sense of bleakness of its own.

This is the strength of the film. Unfortunately though, it is seriously hampered by some uneven filmmaking. Much of this has budgetary roots. Mariscal does have the directional abilities to give the various scenes a "spaghetti-vibe", but other things such as dubbing and editing are absolutely abysmal. Even the most pivotal scene in the film is almost ruined by an atrociously jarring cut that completely takes us out of the moment. Likewise, the VHS pan-and-scan is one of worst I've ever seen. At multiple times, talking characters disappear off the edge of the screen and close-ups feel very crowded and claustrophobic. I'd imagined that the cinematography of a wide-screen copy would look quite adequate but the VHS transferee is very bad.

Overall I give "Taste of the Savage" a 6/10 for the reasons listed above. It's a rather weak 6 though.

On the Road Forever (1964)

Homeless Drifter confronts his Fate

[7/10 · 26 January 2016]

The premise of Homeless Drifter is a rather multifaceted one. We are introduced to two men, a spirited drifter called Ipponmatsu (Raizô Ichikawa) and a rather shabby-looking ronin named Yaichirô Kuroki (Jun Fujimaki). Both these men have just been involved in a gambling parlor robbery. They fend off their pursuers, and just as exhaustion is to spell their doom, a local peasant-girl named Haru (Mikiko Tsubouchi) springs to aid by lending them her horse. Reaching a nearby village, they find it governed by a ruthless gang. Said gang is supposedly exiling farmers that owe them money to a nearby island. Motivated by poverty and hunger, Ipponmatsu puts himself under these criminals employment, though quickly turns turncoat as he finds out that Haru's family is among the many farmers on their debt-list. In another early twist, Ipponmatsu forms strong suspicions that Kuroki's father murdered his own, and may in fact be the hidden mastermind behind the gang, an idea that Kuroki himself fervently denies. The landscape is further complicated by Osei (Eiko Taki), sister of a one of the crimelords, who soon becomes personally involved with Ipponmatsu.

All of this is dropped on us rather jarringly in the opening fifteen minutes. And many more personas and relationships litter the film. It's by no means terribly handled - yet gives the story a rather scattered feel. The further in the plot goes though, the more focused and engaging the narrative gets.

This minor detriment does not negate the films strongest touch though. Kenji Misumi sure does know how to compose a scene! A whole slew of filmmaking techniques are deployed so to keep the film visually stimulating. Misumi has a lot of fun playing with angles, camera placement, shadowy faces, objects in the foreground, etc. It strongly elevates the film. The swordplay though, is rather standard for chanbara films of this period.

The characters, likewise, are engaging. All the actors do a serviceable job. Raizô Ichikawa plays somewhat of an anti-hero whose strong adherence to his code lands him on the good side. Yet his quest to find his fathers killer is a emotionally heated one - where rage and vindictiveness often breaks his rather suave shell. Fujimaki performs well as the twitchy, cowardly ronin. And Eiko Taki does look prideful and seductive in her role as a woman latched onto possible false idealism.

Overall, this is quite a strong entry into the Chanbara-genre, especially due to Misumi's splendid craftsmanship. Nothing genre defining, transcending, or transforming. But certainly an enjoyable watch. It's a solid 7/10

Du hang da biao ke (1971)

The Bamboo Sword vs Lei Fu

[6/10 · 3 January 2016]

This movie opens with the familiar scene of highwaymen attacking an Imperial convoy, stealing away with all the gold and treasury in their possession. Lei Pao - wielder of the bamboo sword - is ordered by the government to retrieve their property, and put an end to this notorious gangs banditry. The urbane gentleman disguises himself as a scruffy vagabond and travels to their purported base of operations, where he intends to win the confidence of the bandit-leader Lei Fu and infiltrate the gang. Meanwhile, a warrioress dressed in all white named Tsui Fong also arrives at this destination... with a mission of her own.

Other than that, there isn't much to say about this movie. It's a rather textbook example of a Kung Fu flick, with many of the genre-tropes that come with it. However, overall its rather skillfully executed. The crew and actors managed to make an familiar yet engaging Martial Arts film.

There is an emphasis on armed combat, as opposed to the unarmed kind. The villain, a rather crude fellow, is also hilariously enough nicknamed "Blackie" by his mother. Some of the plot points are a bit stale but its nothing overly detrimental to the film.

Overall, I give this a 6/10. Though a rather weak one at that.

Tiger Angels (1997)

The Marital Tribulations of a Shopping Mall owner... with a minor dose of Cynthia Khan and Yukari Ôshima!

[4/10 · 1 January 2016]

Taiwan is beset by a criminal gang of kidnapping extortionists! Wealthy people everywhere live in fear. To protect himself from this scourge - Chang, son of a Shopping Mall owner, employs two female Martial Arts experts to protect himself and his family.

That is the set-up! The film itself is something quite different though. Most of the running time is spent on the relationship between Chang and his shopaholic (though good-hearted) wife Anna. Chang's slavish devotion to his fathers business has put a serious strain on their marriage. He could really need a break. Meanwhile, the newfound boyfriend of Chang's secretary possesses a startling resemblance to the Shopping-Mall heir himself...

Cynthia Khan and Yukari Ôshima play the bodyguard-duo Butterfly and Rose. Despite receiving top-billing, their collective screen-time is less than 10 minutes. What's more, their scenes are almost completely divorced from the main narrative itself. They handle the action, while the rest of the cast have to deal with the comedy and drama.

This is all-in-all a rather unremarkable, mediocre film. The storyline and action is serviceable enough to watch. Nothing about it is overtly bad, just uninspired, and the disconnect between the action scenes and the rest of the narrative is palpable to be sure. I give it a 4, though a rather strong one at that.

4/10

Yagyû renyasai: hidentsuki kageshô (1956)

Two Samurai Destined to Duel

[5/10 · 21 September 2015]

The film opens with legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi challenging the champions of the powerful Yagyu clan. Miyamoto effortlessly dispatches his opponents, flawlessly blazing through the competition that the Yagyu clan places before him. To save face, the leader of the Yagyu clan aborts the duel, calling for a farce "draw". Two young yet promising swordsmen watch the proceedings: Tsunashiro (Raizô Ichikawa) and Hyosuke (Shintarô Katsu).

Taken with Miyamoto's awesome skill, Tsunashiro aims to become his disciple. The legendary swordsman makes it so, seeing Tsunashiro as a tool for achieving vengeance on the Yagyu clan. Hyosuke, meanwhile, rises to become the personal mentor for the heir of the Yagyu clan. Destiny dictates that these two men must cross paths... violently.

Looking back at this film, it feels strange that I did not like it more than I did. It certainly contains many strong elements that make it watchable. Two men with no real personal spite or antagonism towards each other, are galvanized into conflict because of rank, honor and the obligations of their positions. Tsunashiro because his status as a pupil of Miyamoto, and Hyosuke because of his standing in the Yagyu clan. The scenes involving these themes certainly are strong and enjoyable to watch.

However, the film is dragged down by many less interesting parts. There is a lot of "faffing about", so to say, that just serves to distract from the main conflict itself. Tsunashiro's and Hyosuke's love- lives, for example, are a bore to watch even by jidaigeki standards. There are also some rather jarring time-lapses.

Both Raizô Ichikawa and Shintarô Katsu made this film relatively early in their careers. Both were destined for greater things. I must admit that although his performance was serviceable, Shintarô emerged as the weaker partner in the main-character duo. Raizô Ichikawa simply had more screen-presence, and therefore appeared as the more interesting part of the film (though his very distinctive eye-brows certainly helped with that!).

The direction has the serene, dignified style that is a hallmark of jidaigeki films from this period. Music is used sparingly. The swordplay likewise, is not depicted as battles between wild berserkers, but as a tranquil chessgame between two expert technicians.

The strong ending, must also be praised... but doing so would go into spoilers!

All-in-all... I found it an perfectly average film. Watchable, but nothing special. As said, its one of those movies where certain parts are definitively better than others. I give it a strong 5 out of 10.

(5.5/10)

A Stranger in My Forest (1976)

An orphaned child befriends a bear after his father dies

[4/10 · 2 August 2015]

A Stranger in My Forest is a family melodrama churned out by Mark IV Pictures, a company most known for their controversial and austere films about the Rapture. It starts with a tragic car crash that robs a young boy and his older sister of their parents. The now traumatized boy befriends a bear, clearly as a coping mechanism for the loss of his parents. This brings him into conflict with his community - in particular the Sheriff - who do not accept the boys peculiar friendship with the animal.

As you'd expect from a explicitly Evangelical film-company, a Stranger in My Forest is heavily embedded with a Christian ambiance and morals. Unlike the Rapture films though, this movie does not present its ideology in such a vindictive and imposing manner. Which is fitting for a family film. The storytelling is also more conventional, compared to the Rapture films often bizarre and feverish plot lines.

There are many problems that weight down this film - most of them common among low-budget, independently produced products. It's generally kind of dull and unengaging. However, the director did manage to make something out of the movies independent spirit. There is a sincerity and gravitas to the morals being presented, as if the makers and actors truly believed in what they were saying. This leaves the film with a sense of seriousness that the big-budget productions often lack. Even if the overt Evangelical spirit may rub many people the wrong way, there is at least nothing faux about the creators intentions.

3.5/10... (4/10)

The Revenge of Ivanhoe (1965)

Ivanhoe's Revenge

[4/10 · 27 May 2015]

This is one of the most run-of-the-mill movies in this genre I've seen. It has all the common tropes and plot-points you'd expect from a quasi-historical knights movie of the period. The Hero acts, look and feel like a typical hero would. The same can be said for the balding villain, the entrapped heroine, and the rest of the crew. Nothing about it's story really stands out in relation to it's peers. (save for perhaps an infiltration segment).

References to the Lionheart mythos is sprinkled throughout the film - so to connect it to the wider history these films take place in - but it doesn't really affect the plot in any tangible manner. Ivanhoe's Revenge is in no way a grim ordeal. It's sensibilities are perfectly in-line with the light-hearted, adventurous feel that most Knight movies from this time period exudes.

The Revenge of Ivanhoe, though, is not bad in any overly substantial way. The pacing, acting, directing, and the production values are all serviceable for the kind of matinée-type flick this is. It's just a bit trite, conventional and uninspired, that's all.

4/10

Death on High Mountain (1969)

Mediocre, light-hearted Spaghetti-Western flick

[6/10 · 12 May 2015]

The movie opens with the familiar scene of Mexican highwaymen robbing an army wagon. These bandits have assistance though, as you then see them divide the loot between themselves and an American associate.

Meanwhile, in the nearby town of Two Arrows, a dastardly youth named Loring Vandervelt (Peter Lee Lawrence) is trying to find his way in life. All while a mysterious stranger, sporting a black hat, has just moved into town (Luis Dávila).

There is not as much violence or skullduggery as one might expect from a Spaghetti flick, despite a fair share of shootouts. Instead the tone of the movie is more akin to it's American contemporaries, rather than the purposely cynical Italian western's made around this time. The humor of the film varies in quality. Many jokes fall flat but a few (like the Mexican general drawing storyboards for his attack-plan) are genuinely funny.

The actors all do a fine, serviceable job. Lawrence depicts the naive, yet optimistic and charismatic role his character calls for, while Luis Dávila nails the part as a laconic loner.

The same can be said for the movies directing and cinematography. The plot moves along at a solid pace, sporting enough twists-and-turns to keep you interested, with a few genuinely surprising moments to stir things around a bit.

The English title, "Death on High Mountain", is completely nonsensical, and do not reflect the film at all.

Lastly, there are some rather undignifying portrayals of Mexicans in this movie, even by the standards of the day. The Hispanic gunmen are basically crude, jocular, caricatures.

Overall, it's a pretty average flick. 6/10