Sunday, December 16, 2018
Friday, December 7, 2018
Enzo G. Castellari and his movies
Some Dollars for Django (1966)
Although credited to Leon Klimowsky, Enzo was not only the assistant director, but he actually directed the movie himself. It's a mediocre Anthony Steffen vehicle, but it's not his worst. Nobody is called Django in the movie, of course.
A typical Castellarian spaghetti western riot with a lot of doublecrossing, doublecrossing of the doublecrossers and doublecrossing of the doublecrossers who doublecrossed other doublecrossers. George Hilton, Gilbert Roland and Edd Byrnes are the stars, but Hilton is the only one who leaves any impression - especially in the opening scene, where he kills Django, the Man with no Name and Colonel Mortimer from For a Few Dollars More!
Edd Byrnes meets Guy Madison this time, in a western that looks pretty similar to the previous one. I haven't seen it.
Shakespeare in the west! Visually great movie, but the plot goes downhill in parts that have nothing to do with the original play. Horst Frank is a great villain, Gilbert Roland is not a good sidekick.
Antonio "I am the greatest" Sabato, Frank Wolff and John Saxon are fighting for gold again, but this time it's more comedy. A comedy I haven't seen.
Action, action, action! Seven prisoners on the way to steal gold from a confederate camp. Or something like that. The copy that is available today is really yellow.
I haven't seen this war movie, but it has Evelyn Stewart and also Eduardo Fajardo as a Nazi!
Enzo's only giallo and by many viewers not a good one.
Another spaghetti western comedy, with an awful theme tune. Jack Palance is in it.
Enzo goes to the crime movies, for the first time with his regular star Franco Nero. Not their best collaboration, but it's a beginning for something better, with great soundtrack by De Angelis brothers.
I really liked this one the first time, I think I need to rewatch it. Franco Nero kicks ass and his chase with the Ford Mustang, where he's running in front of the car is priceless. The music is really good too - containing Dune Buggy from the Bud Spencer-Terence Hill movie!
Either you hate or like this spaghetti western comedy. It's popularity in the Czech Republic is probably given by the fact it was one of the few SW¨s screened in the communist Czechoslovakia, and it has a really good dubbing that eliminated the nonsense like Nero's fake high voice or a talking horse. But wasn't this only in the English version? So which one will we choose? An onion or a pistol?
The best movie by Castellari, starring Nero again. The music is a little bit hurting, but in the movie it makes a great atmosphere. One of the best spaghetti westerns.
Another eurocrime, this time a team work against the omnipresent criminals. Nero is replaced by Fabio Testi here. A great hard rock OST by the De Angelis brothers again, making this their sixth collaboration with Castellari in a row.
Testi again in a movie that is almost like an antidrug study in the first half and a non-stop action ride in the second. Music by Goblin this time.
Castellari goes to the war again, with Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Raimund Harmstorf and a few others. Lots of cheap action, but sometimes really funny.
Castellari returned to Nero and De Angelis brothers in a Jaws ripoff.
One of the very few horror movies by Castellari.
Nero again as a cop, but in San Francisco. Co-starring Sybil Danning.
Another Jaws ripoff! This time with James Franciscus (Cat O'Nine Tails) and Vic Morrow as Robert Shaw.
And Enzo goes more and more trashy. I haven't seen these movies. This is like an Escape from New York ripoff starring someone called Mark Gregory, Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, Christopher Connelly (who was almost in all of these Italian 80's trashy movies) andGeorge Eastman (detto).
And it has a second part! With Gregory there's Henry Silva or Antonio "I know I'm really great" Sabato.
Enzo has seen Mad Max 2 as well So he took Eastman and Williamson again and created some postnuke shit.
Another action movie taking place in Africa this time.
Erik Estrada as a cop in a crime-sci-fi movie! Ok...
Even Castellari made his own Rambo?
And he worked with Daniel Greene of Hands of Steel too. A crime movie apparently.
Cannon produced fantasy TV series directed by Castellari was stopped during filming. One year later Luigi Cozzi took the filmed scenes and edited them into a really, really crappy movie, but signed only by Castellari.
Jonathan of the Bears (1993)
Enzo returned to the spaghetti western in 1990's, again with Nero and John Saxon too. But this time he shot it in Russia... I'm not sure I really want to see this...
You ripped off the title of my movie, Quentin? I'll rip off yours! This looks like a real shit...
The long time prepared western, with Nero to star. Originally they intended to have also Tomas Milian, Gianni Garko, George Hilton, Fabio Testi and Bud Spencer in. Spencer and Milian died meanwhile. Would the movie be ever made? Do we want to see an attempt of another Keoma with 77 years old Nero by 80 years old Castellari? Would there really be the opening scene with Tarantino, Rodriguez and Roth? If it will be made, I'll be in the first row to see it. If not, I won't be sorry.
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