This is one of those films where the running time flies by because the film you are watching is so good. This Spaghetti Western was directed by the guy who made What Have You Done To Our Daughters, stars the cop from Bird with the Crystal Plumage, so it makes sense that contained within the first scene is a giallo-like clue to what happens later in the film.
You also get a sense straight away that the guy behind the camera knows what he is doing - check out that beautiful tracking shot of all those dead folk lying in and around the train following Venantino Venantini's massacre. The whole film plays out like that.
Yep, this one starts with a train robbery and a massacre, and the only man left alive is, or was, a sharpshooter named Martin. Shot in both hands but left alive for some unknown reason, Martin seeks revenge against those who robbed the train, and for other reasons that aren't explained at this point either. What he finds first is a young potential trainee sharpshooter, but as this film is full of mysteries, he may not be what he seems either.
So, gorgeously filmed, fully of inventive camera-work, great actors in front of the screen, loads of twists and turns. This one has it all and is one of the better Spaghetti Westerns out there (and that's me saying that! I love most of them!). There's plenty of shootouts too and the final duel is very creative, only eclipsed for me by a more emotional shootout a wee bit earlier in the film. Enrico Salerno has a certain aura about him in every film I've seen him in - I can't put my finger on it but he's probably the best thing in this.
You also get a sense straight away that the guy behind the camera knows what he is doing - check out that beautiful tracking shot of all those dead folk lying in and around the train following Venantino Venantini's massacre. The whole film plays out like that.
Yep, this one starts with a train robbery and a massacre, and the only man left alive is, or was, a sharpshooter named Martin. Shot in both hands but left alive for some unknown reason, Martin seeks revenge against those who robbed the train, and for other reasons that aren't explained at this point either. What he finds first is a young potential trainee sharpshooter, but as this film is full of mysteries, he may not be what he seems either.
So, gorgeously filmed, fully of inventive camera-work, great actors in front of the screen, loads of twists and turns. This one has it all and is one of the better Spaghetti Westerns out there (and that's me saying that! I love most of them!). There's plenty of shootouts too and the final duel is very creative, only eclipsed for me by a more emotional shootout a wee bit earlier in the film. Enrico Salerno has a certain aura about him in every film I've seen him in - I can't put my finger on it but he's probably the best thing in this.