(aka "I quattro dell'Ave Maria" )
directed
by Giuseppe Colizzi
Italy 1968
A Leone pasta western without the pretentiousness. Easy going romp of crosses, double crosses, and triple crosses. Wallach is just fine and dandy reprising his Tuco role from GOOD, THE BAD... this time playing an ethnic Greek-Mexican bandit with a Yiddish accent (oy vey) manipulating ol' buddies Hill & Spencer into a scheme to get back at the people who left him out to dry years back. Along the way they pick up acrobat (!) Brock Peters who becomes crucial to their plan. Kevin McCarthy is the target of their wrath. The film concludes with a satisfying round-up. Colizzi directs with a sure hand, even allowing New York method actor Wallach to kvetch for several minutes at a time. No wonder he returned to Italy and Spain from time to time to make these films. No where else would a director allow his star to chew the scenery in such a way. The comedy is not broad or overpowering as most films in this sub-genre tend to be. The characters are uncharacteristically likeable, thanks to the cast. Great scene: revolutionaries mete out rough justice to a town's leaders. Later, our trio, with the help of some greedy peasants retake the town and mete out the same justice to the revolutionaries!!! I've never seen that done in a Euro-western.
Excerpt from ndrejaj1969's comments on IMdb located HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: Italy - 1968
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Recommended Books on Italian Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present by Peter E. Bondanella |
Fellini on Fellini by Federico Fellini, Isabel Quigley |
Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism by Millicent Marcus |
Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives (Toronto
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DVD Review: Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC
Big thanks to Ole Kofoed for the Review!
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| Distribution |
Paramount Region 1 - NTSC |
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| Runtime | 2:02:35 | |
| Video |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono | |
| Subtitles | English or none. | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 16 |
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| Comments |
This is a pretty boring Spaghetti
Western that Paramount has released in a stunning condition. I saw it with a
friend on a big screen and we discussed if I should give it 4.5 or 5 for
the excellent picture and audio quality. There is a few white speckles and
a little dirt so we ended at 4.5. Sharp, detailed and some fine film
grain, we didn't notice any edge enhancement. The English soundtrack is
good (even Hill/Spencer isn't dubbed by the guys we are used to in the
their later movies). Recommended for Spaghetti completists / Hill&Spencer fans.  out of
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