Manual Movie Reviews

I ordered this with the hope of re-living the atmospheric and operatic triumpsh of Leone (Eastwood Trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West).

Honestly, I'm not a true critic, but I was nevertheless let down with the movie. Knowing Klaus Kinsky and Gian Maria Volonté were starring in the movie made want to buy it. But alas, the Volonte' character of Indio we came to admire for his acting skills and on stage persona, was NOT the same here. Primarily due to the dubbing. In For a Few Dollars more and Fist Full of Dollars, we heard the dubbed voice reflected a resonance and depth that is not represented in this film - a different dubbing voice was given... it almost made me laugh.
Buy this if you want, but I was sadly let down.

Bottom line, not in the best Leone spirit and poor dubbing.

save your money and put it towards "The Great Silence"... it's not Leone but has Morricone for the soundtrack, which is wonderful.

Franco Solinas' heavily ironic political allegory is perhaps the best screenplay ever written for a spaghetti western. An Oscar-winning writer, Solinas turned briefly to the genre in the late 1960's, drafting the story for four oustanding entries: "La Resa dei conti," "Tepepa... Viva la revolución," "Il Mercenario," and "¿Quien sabe?"--known in the US as "A Bullet for the General." He reportedly also highly influenced two more of Sollimas' films-- "Corri, uomo, corri" and "Faccia a faccia." But Solinas' work is never more topically biting than in "¿Quien sabe?" Lou Castel (in a wonderfully opaque performance) plays a mysterious Gringo who sets up a happenstantial meeting with Gian Maria Volonte's "El Chuncho"--an idealistic but sometimes naive bandit turned revolutionary. Gradually, Chuncho comes to realize that the Gringo is an even "purer" form of the character Eastwood made popular a few years earlier: an American with "not much heart but a lot of money." Indeed, money is ALL the Gringo EVER cares about in this film. The conclusion is both cynical and revolutionary--and perhaps one of the most damning portraits of American imperialism (Solinas claimed that the Gringo is a symbol of CIA involvement in Latin America) ever put to film. Damiano Damiani's direction is at times both inspired and inspiring: the opening of the film is near-brilliant (demonstrating the lengths both the Mexican military and Chuncho will go to achieve their goals) and Volonte delivers his greatest performance next to "Faccia a faccia." Luis Enríquez Bacalov's scoring and Antonio Secchi's exquisite panoramic photography (his one great work) lend the film a style to match its substance. A movie as engaging politically as it is entertaining, it puts to shame the "professional westerns" made by American directors during the same period and is matched aesthetically only by Peckinpah's "Wild Bunch." Perhaps not a masterpiece, but easily worth the highest of general ratings and a must-see for those who enjoy leftist entertainment.

Directed by italian director Damiano Damiani in 1967, A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL is a pure marvel released now in the DVD standard by Anchor Bay. Just two trailers as extra features but imperial sound and images justify a must-buy status for this movie.

Now for the actors. Gian-Maria Volonté is exceptional in the role of El Chuncho, a rather likeable outlaw who considers that the mexican revolution is a good opportunity to make money by selling rifles to the revolutionaries. His brother Klaus Kinski, as blonde as El Chuncho is black, is more disturbing as a priest convinced that social justice must be brought into this world by all possible means, preferably with the help of explosives and machine-guns. El Niño, the character played by the colombian born actor Lou Castel, is even more intriguing with his attitude à la Clint Eastwood. He's the meanest of all but nonetheless develops a strange friendship for his alter ego Volonté.

Four years before Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE, A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL is already visiting the mexican revolution but with an engaged point of view that doesn't leave unharm politicians, working-class people, wealthy ranchers, pistoleros, revolutionaries or americans. Great fun with food for the mind, what more can you expect from cinema ?

A DVD zone your library.

I truly wish I could have rated this one higher, because after all, it's Jess Franco, one of my favorite directors. However, I must call a spade a spade: this film, a sequal to "Two Undercover Angels" (see my review), never truly sparks. A viewing of "Angels" is essential before digging into this one, and even then "Kiss Me Monster" so full of campy in-jokes that one quickly gets exasperated. Here, our two beloved "Red Lips" chicks travel to the tropics for an "adventure" (I use the term loosely). I caught myself glancing at the DVD timer to see how much time was left--and it's a short flick! As a Franco completist, I own it, but I cannot in good conscience recommend it to the public at large.

When you get a chance, check out the resume of director Jesus Franco. Not only did he direct films under dozens of alias, most of this films come close to double figures on release titles. That makes "Kiss Me, Monster," his 1969 film also released as "Castle of Doom," almost something of a minor offering. This one features the return of the "Red Lips" detective team of Diana (Janine Reynaud) and Regina (Rosanna Yanni). Looking over some sheet music the girls pose as saxophonists (this explains the jazz soundtrack I think) to visit an island where a missing scientist has been doing diabolical experiments on young people as part of one of those secret cults that were so much in vogue after the Manson murders. Do not try to seriously follow the plot, because the director loves to take red herrings and slap the audience in the face if they try to take things too seriously. The dubbing is highly suspect as well, so take that into account when trying to follow the dialogue. Obviously we are supposed to pay attention to the skimpy outfits and enjoy the go-go dancing. The film only runs 75 minutes in the U.S. version, losing 12 minutes from the original Spanish version-the mind boggles at the possibilities of what has been lost. Certainly "Besame monstruo" is a minor effort from Franco in comparison to "Vampiros Lesbos" or "Succubus," which are more representative of his particular brand of Sixties Euro-Sleaze. This is a movie for frat parties where nobody cares what is playing on the tube.

This movie is so bad it is great fun to watch, IF you enjoy watching bad movies.

Loose script with holes as big as the Black Hole. At certain clippings, there were potentials to evolve into a good movie but always fell short. I could clearly see that none of the actors had put heart into this movie but just acting by wearing cool dark or black gears. Son of Tolby didn't know how to handle a six shooter but suddenly became a fast-draw gunfighter and shot to kill the tough gunslinger without even had to aim. The loud mouthed tough outlaw with fast draw was beaten by the young man due to ending was coming and had to die. Nelson and Chris just cash in for their cool images. There was no storyline whatever I could see, just contrite and joking around performance. The country singer sang a pretty good song but acting poorly with good western Texan accent. What's the deal between the Mexican officer and that look-tough-but-got-nothing-to-cash-in when the chips were down? Don't treat a viewer like me as a pea brain or even brain dead, OK? The script was obviously a die-trying by a high school drop out. What impressed me most is the snorings of these two old hombres. That's the only thing I could remember and visualized for this pathetic movie.

Waylon Jennings, looking like Joe Spinell, is killed off in the first scene of this half baked western. He is the lucky one. His son, Chad Willett, decides to take revenge on Jennings' killer, a former member of Jennings' outlaw gang. Willett is joined by two other former outlaw gang members Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, making like Abbott and Costello, and they ride after the bland villain, taking poor Travis Tritt (a third gang member).

Nelson and Kristofferson do the same old TV western movie routine they have been doing for years- flat delivery, down home humorous bickering, and goofy grins. Tritt tries what he can, relying on all the acting chops he earned in his music videos. He has onscreen charisma, it would be interesting to see what a professional director might mold with him. Willett, probably the only real actor here, is okay. After getting killed, Jennings does what he does best- voiceover, as his son reads his diary.

The Unmagnificent Four get involved in little unthreatening scrapes here and there on their way to meet the villain. They are held up, but get their stuff back with the help of some friendly Native Americans they helped save. Willett finds romance, because if you are young and cute in a western, you must fall in love. Of course, that philosophy does not explain how Nelson manages to do the same thing. He falls for a local senorita in a town where the villain burned down the church. These happy outlaws help rebuild the church in one of those saccharine scenes that must be seen to be believed. The actual climactic shootout is dull, thanks to some really bland direction. At one point, Willett has a perfect opportunity to finish the villain off, thereby sparing Mexico and the audience from further torture, but he does not! The added "mystery" about the true identity of Willett's real father is never resolved, either!

This is just dumb entertainment for people who find "F Troop" too deep. I am warning you now, Nelson has a bathtub scene. No nudity, but proceed with caution. "Outlaw Justice" is an injustice.

This (R) rated "unedited director's cut" looks no different that a regular TV movie. It contains physical violence, gun violence, and mild gore.

Hi my name is Barbara and I'm from Canada and I think Travis is a great actor, just by the way he talks in his interviews tells you, what ever you buy of Travis you'll never go wrong. Thanks

Loose script with holes as big as the Black Hole. At certain clippings, there were potentials to evolve into a good movie but always fell short. I could clearly see that none of the actors had put heart into this movie but just acting by wearing cool dark or black gears. Son of Tolby didn't know how to handle a six shooter but suddenly became a fast-draw gunfighter and shot to kill the tough gunslinger without even had to aim. The loud mouthed tough outlaw with fast draw was beaten by the young man due to ending was coming and had to die. Nelson and Chris just cash in for their cool images. There was no storyline whatever I could see, just contrite and joking around performance. The country singer sang a pretty good song but acting poorly with good western Texan accent. What's the deal between the Mexican officer and that look-tough-but-got-nothing-to-cash-in when the chips were down? Don't treat a viewer like me as a pea brain or even brain dead, OK? The script was obviously a die-trying by a high school drop out. What impressed me most is the snorings of these two old hombres. That's the only thing I could remember and visualized for this pathetic movie.

Waylon Jennings, looking like Joe Spinell, is killed off in the first scene of this half baked western. He is the lucky one. His son, Chad Willett, decides to take revenge on Jennings' killer, a former member of Jennings' outlaw gang. Willett is joined by two other former outlaw gang members Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, making like Abbott and Costello, and they ride after the bland villain, taking poor Travis Tritt (a third gang member).

Nelson and Kristofferson do the same old TV western movie routine they have been doing for years- flat delivery, down home humorous bickering, and goofy grins. Tritt tries what he can, relying on all the acting chops he earned in his music videos. He has onscreen charisma, it would be interesting to see what a professional director might mold with him. Willett, probably the only real actor here, is okay. After getting killed, Jennings does what he does best- voiceover, as his son reads his diary.

The Unmagnificent Four get involved in little unthreatening scrapes here and there on their way to meet the villain. They are held up, but get their stuff back with the help of some friendly Native Americans they helped save. Willett finds romance, because if you are young and cute in a western, you must fall in love. Of course, that philosophy does not explain how Nelson manages to do the same thing. He falls for a local senorita in a town where the villain burned down the church. These happy outlaws help rebuild the church in one of those saccharine scenes that must be seen to be believed. The actual climactic shootout is dull, thanks to some really bland direction. At one point, Willett has a perfect opportunity to finish the villain off, thereby sparing Mexico and the audience from further torture, but he does not! The added "mystery" about the true identity of Willett's real father is never resolved, either!

This is just dumb entertainment for people who find "F Troop" too deep. I am warning you now, Nelson has a bathtub scene. No nudity, but proceed with caution. "Outlaw Justice" is an injustice.

This (R) rated "unedited director's cut" looks no different that a regular TV movie. It contains physical violence, gun violence, and mild gore.

Hi my name is Barbara and I'm from Canada and I think Travis is a great actor, just by the way he talks in his interviews tells you, what ever you buy of Travis you'll never go wrong. Thanks

Horrible, boring film from one of my top 10 favorite directors. The only thing worth seeing is the amazing "tiara" of candles that Goya (supposedly?) uses to paint at night. BORING!!

It seems that the director approached making this film on the pretext that the viewer knows something about Goya, his art, and the time in which he lived. Without some of this background information, it may be rather difficult to watch. I wasn't particularly fond of the use of scrims, but it was interesting to see how their use translated on film-in fact, the whole film is approached more like a staged work than as cinema. In the end, it works. Incredible acting, great music, good representation of Goya's works.

This film is not only amazing cinematically, but also in context. The story follows the life of Francisco de Goya very well, and I feel it successfully conveys the emotions (and insanity) he went through at the end of his life. Artistically, every scene is visual perfection in composition and effects. Contextually, the philosophical and psychological motifs are deeply insightful. This is definitely one of the best films I've seen in my lifetime.

A forerunner to "Sexy Beast", the outstanding 1984 Brit-Noir "The Hit" is a lushly filmed, "*****" (five-star) movie by director Stephen Frears ("My Beautiful Laundrette","High Fidelity", "Dirty Pretty Things"). It features a dream cast (Terrence Stamp, John Hurt and the big screen dubut of Tim Roth). A five-star film, a critically acclaimed director/cast, and a beautifully-filmed Mediterranean locale. Any one of the aforementioned attributes should warrant respectful treatment of the film's transfer to DVD. Unfortunately, Artisan "Entertainment" botches the job once again (check out customer reviews of Artisan's DVD release of "The Last Emperor" to see the pattern emerging here). Not only is the DVD in "pan & scan", but the print is quite dark and noticably "jittery" in several places. The audio, while acceptable, exhibited no improvement over the the s-vhs copy I had already archived from a cable airing. I understand that "The Hit" is likely destined to "cult" status, with a limited arthouse audience, but does this justify the shoddy, inattentive treatment? Scour your cable listings until Criterion gets hold of it.

I've been waiting for this film to come out on DVD for years. I like it quite a bit -- it's sort of a philisophical gangster road movie. I'd normally rate it maybe 3 1/2 stars. But I can't give that rating to this version of it, unfortunately, since I discovered when I tried to watch it tonight that it's Pan & Scan -- cutting off both sides of the picture -- and apparently that's the only way that Artisan will to release it. Don't you hate it when film studios don't actually care about their films?

Anyway, if you don't mind Pan & Scan, by all means, check this one out. Heck, I'll sell you mine, cheap.

This fresh cinematic spin on the infamous "Hit Man" doesn't seem to be well known and that's a shame. 'The Hit' is very sly and cunning, stepping far astray from the usual efficiency associated with these individuals, and contains ingenious plot twists guaranteed to keep you guessing. Though it is British the film remains accessible to all moviegoers; the accents are easy to understand and the dialogue is not completely bound to British standards.

A pair of hit men, Braddock, a wily veteran and Myron, a greenhorn, track down former gangster Willy Parker, who squealed on his former partners and has been hiding out in Spain for ten years. The hit men intend to take Willy to Paris to meet his former boss before he is summarily executed but an unexpected complication occurs that throws the plan into disarray. Attempting to alleviate the problem only causes it to snowball beyond belief and soon the two hit men are forced to take a hostage along the way. Willy's lackadaisical approach to his certain demise displeases his "escorts" who expect him to be quite fearful of his impending doom. The hostage is a bit of puzzlement as well and Myron takes it upon himself to look after her interests. As events continue unfolding causing more chaos it isn't long before Myron is questioning Braddock's control of the situation.

To say anymore would be an unforgivable transgression; suffice it to say that 'The Hit' is a movie you won't regret having spent time watching. Besides being directed by Stephen Frears it also features Terence Stamp, John Hurt and Tim Roth - his film debut - in the three key roles. The screenplay allows for a few terrific action sequences, frequent suspense, laugh-out-loud humor and even some very memorable scenery in Spain. The theme music performed by Eric Clapton is among the best of his compositions and he gets an assist from Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. 'The Hit' is a movie deserving of cult status for its many offbeat touches and unconventional manner of storytelling. Do yourself a real favor and set aside some time to watch this film - but beware! You'll find that once isn't enough!

Once you get past the obvious setbacks of the film: an unconvincing lead, very bad make-up, horribly choreographed violence, and a pretty [weak]ending--there is some enjoyment to be had from Curse of the Devil. To begin with, the story is actually pretty involving and the plot has some tricky forks in it at times. The idea is very good: an arrogant hero pays for that arrogance through a satanic curse, which seemingly is unbeatable. Unfortunately, you have to make the mother of all suspensions of belief to deal with the actual werewolf. Naschy just wasn't suited (bad pun!) for the job. When you do have close-ups of the creature, there just isn't any menace conveyed-merely a frozen make-up expression. When he attacks, it is almost comedic as, for most of the film, he quickly runs on screen and then off before the viewer has a chance to even register what has happened. The opening sequence, if you're able to not laugh at what must be one of the lamest swordfight scenes ever filmed, is kinda cool with the way the pink tint conveys an otherworldly and othertimely atmosphere. The gypsies in the beginning are very convincing in their vengeful rage. All in all, it's not a bad movie. There just aren't that many werewolf movies out there, so Curse of the Devil will come as a happy expansion on what you are already familiar with concerning werewolves of the screen.

Heres one i took a chance on, having never viewed it. Nice atmosphere helps a pretty good Werewolf story. In fact this is a story of a werewolfs origin due to a curse put on an ancestor of the man. Sexy women abound as witches, and the Werewolfs love interests.

First of all I would like to [say] that this film is dubbed and that's why it seemed like the characters lips weren't moving at times. Obviously he hasn't been exposed to the european stage because dubious dubbing is
ubiquitous throughout this genre here in North America. Good luck in tracking down the subtitled version. Anyway this film was great. Nice to see a brilliant sumptuous transfer in tact here. Actually the dubbing wasn't as bad in this one either. Make sure to watch Werewolf Shadow as a precursor to this.

I agree with Frankenberry from Hollywood Ca...however he was much too kind...THIS IS THE WORST mess I've purchased in a long time and I sold it for junk. This is not Franco at his best, it's Franco at his most boring! Not even worth keeping as a Franco curiosity. So the cinematography is nice and the print is good...nothing happens until that ridiculous "torture scene"! That's not why I enjoy Euroshock. I want something that keeps me glued to the film and this waste of disc material wasn't it....I adore Image for their diligence in reviving these old chestnuts with such TLC, but they should have slipped the old Baron out the back door to the dumpster. Pee-eew. I'll wait for "Mill of the Stone Women"---it ain't Franco, but at least it's Euroshock!

Howard Vernon stars in this classic Jess Franco film about a man who inherits his family's sadistic habits. This disc contains the often missing dungeon/torture sequence that is a real eye opener. The widescreen transfer is perfect and this is in french with english subtitles. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for Franco fans and horror fans in general.

Jess Franco is known primarily for his "who cares?" approach to film-making, which is exemplified in such works as "Succubus" (1969) and "Vampyros Lesbos" (1970), where attention to such details as a coherent plot, good acting, and photography are sacrificed in favour of a disconnected, yet erotically charged, atmosphere of dissolution and dark despair.

"Baron von Klaus"(1962), by contrast, is a traditional gothic horror movie. The genuinely eerie mood of the film results from a relatively tight screenplay, decent acting, good cinematography and inspired direction.

"Baron von Klaus" bears considerable resemblance to the equally engaging "Doctor Orlof" (1964). Both are filmed in highly effective black-and-white, both tell stories of reclusive madmen, and both feature the creepy, bug-eyed Howard Vernon.

The DVD release is as excellent as the film itself. IMAGE adds another solid entry in its EUROSHOCK series. The film reproduction is first class, with sharp detail and minimal print damage in evidence throughout.

Just wanted to say LEXX ON SCI-FI Return On January 25 2002
at 10:00 pm.(eastern time) LEXX heats up its NEW Home...EARTH!
ALSO 10:00 every friday after that or check local listings

This is probibly the weakest of the Lexx DVD but if you are a rabid Lexx fan than it is still worth the purchase. It slowly moves the story closer to the final confritation with mantrid as the crew realises that the Universe in being absorbed by Mantrid's drones. Some very funny scenes but all together not up to usual Lexx wit.

i'm definately a big lexx fan, but i didnt get hooked on the show until the third season and therefore had not seen the majority of the second season episodes. So lucky day for me i've been seeing them for the first time on this series of dvds. the episodes really start heating up and getting good here on volume 4. everything about the show from the writing to xenia seeberg's performance as eva haberman's replacement for zev/xev has gone up about 10 notches. the special features on this disc were about 80% as good as ones on the other discs, but the real bonus is having these fantastic episodes for your collection. if you are a lexx fan you should already own this! if you've never seen lexx before then you should start it right and get the original 4 movies ("i worship his shadow" "supernova" "eating pattern" and "giga shadow"). As already mentioned they are only available in canada (on dvd... you can buy the VHS version here on amazon under the original title "tales from a parallel universe") but i got the dvds easily enough on ebay. so there you have it. LEXX IS GOOD!

This is a great movie that shows one of the early acting life of Richard Harris. This movie runs all the way from fun to the desperate struggles of life in the early American West. Please do yourself a great favor and buy this movie you will not regret the purchase and you can take that to the Bank.
Rick Freeman

I go to the movies to be entertained, and to school for history lessons. It is true that this movie is not historically accurate or representative of the real Lakota people in any way. But it is fool of action, suspense, and Color. I don't know of any Historical representations on films, that did anything more than entertain, and in some cases such as myself, arouse the desire to learn more about the factual people and situations depicted. I loved this movie.

I loved this movie! My Great Grandmother was
a full blooded Narragansett Indian. I am very sure
she would have forgiven me for liking this movie.
Just enjoy and try not to pick it apart.