★ 7 / 10
Dead men don't Count
coltras35
Two daring bounty hunters enjoy their "professional life" by tracking down wanted scoundrels in order to convict them to the law. Dead or alive doesn't matter…
Two daring bounty hunters enjoy their "professional life" by tracking down wanted scoundrels in order to convict them to the law. Dead or alive doesn't matter, the main thing is the bounty jingling in the bag.When the two of them break into the sleepy town of Blackstone one day, they not only find a corrupt sheriff but also scheming gangs murdering simple landowners and farmers.On the one hand "Dead man Don't Count" is a lively western with a light touch and snappy dialogue and on the other hand it's hard and merciless spliced with melodrama. Sometimes both these elements can be an uneasy alliance, though - it's sort of like the Trinity series but riddled with dozens of people hitting the dust.An above average SW mainly due to the pairing of likeable actors Anthony Steffen and Mark Damon as buddy bounty killers. They sort of like Alias Smith and Jones ( TV western series) but they leave more buddies strewn on the floor. Their chemistry is really good. There's a neat subplot featuring Maria Martini as a woman who has her husband killed so she can be with her lover, Steve Rogers, then comes to regret that decision when she thinks the son (Mark Damon) she rebuked years earlier has returned to avenge his father's death. The cinematography and action is above standard - there's a lively gunfight during the title credits with bodies freeze-framing as they fall.
★ 6 / 10
Violent Chorizo/Spaghetti Western with magnificent and stellar duo as Steffen and Damon
ma-cortes
This is an Anthony Steffen and Mark Damon vehicle playing their usual characters as gunslingers and bounty hunters . After gunning down at a Gothic church some…
This is an Anthony Steffen and Mark Damon vehicle playing their usual characters as gunslingers and bounty hunters . After gunning down at a Gothic church some desperado who tried to kill them, they set out to return to get their aims. The mysterious gunfighters without a name ride and arrive in the little town to stay for execute their mission , chasing wanted men . It deals with two gunfighters , Fred (Anthony Steffen) and Johnny (Mark Damon) arriving in a little town that has the ordinary shops and buildings , such as General merchandise or Hardware, Livery stable, Funeral parlor , Barber shop , Saloon , Blacksmith , Hotel .. Once in town they find themselves taking on a corrupt Sheriff named Bob Watson (Piero Lulli) who is working for the local "Rich Man" named Steve Rogers (Luis Induni) married to a widow (Mary Martin who results to be Mark Harmon's mother). Rogers is buying lands to countrymen and attempting to control all the territory because the railroad is coming through . The powerful man hires the killers Farrell Brothers (Raf Baldassarre) to face off the protagonist duo. Can the mysterious gunfighters stop the outlaw brothers ? The drifters will take on a couple of brothers and their hoodlums (Jose Marco) . Meanwhile , Fred is appointed as a new Sheriff and Johnny falls in love with Elizabeth (Dyanik Zurawoska) .
Well crafted Western with interesting screenplay, acceptable cinematography and slick production design by the habitual Raúl Pérez Cúbero Cubero and José Luis Galicia. Shot in Madrid surroundings: La Pedriza,(The Rogers country house), Colmenar Viejo,(The first Western town), Ciempozuelos (The hideout of the sheriff's gang), and Golden City: Hoyo de Manzanares (The main western town), but no Almeria. Although atmospheric, it is also downbeat and sometimes just downright nasty as when a family is executed in cold blood and hanged. The story is almost rapid and violent as the drifters come to strange frontier town just in time for reckoning bandits . This exciting western contains a story full of violence , good dramatic pace and uneven filmmaking . Enjoyable Chorizo-Spaghetti Western mostly produced by Spain and Italian secondary participation; it follows the Sergio Leone wake , including close-up , zooms , choreographic duels and no being proceeded in American style . The film packs action, crossfire , drama , high body-count and it is fast moving and quite entertaining. It is a thrilling western with evocative landscapes, concerning a breathtaking confrontation among protagonists , Anthony Steffen and Mark Damon versus heartless Piero Lulli; and both of them against Luis Induni and his underlings . Acceptable action sequences with rousing and spectacularly bloody shootouts. Charismatic performance for the whole casting. The notorious Spaghetti actor, Anthony Steffen is good in his usual tough role and agreeable performance by Mark Damon in a likable role ; furthermore the slimy, menacing outlaw played by Ralf Baldassarre, here in his customary role as a bandit and in a cruelly baddie character . There appears as habitual secondaries in Spanish/Italian Western, such as: Luis Induni , Luis Barboo , Barta Barri, Miguel Del Castillo, Alfonso de la Vega, Guillermo Méndez, Jesús Guzmán who still continues playing , and of course , Carlos Romero Marchent , Joaquin and Rafael Marchent's brother who used to work in their films . The musician Riz Ortalani composes a nice soundtrack , well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie , as it's plenty of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background and with catching leitmotif. The picture is well starred by Anthony Steffen-Antonio De Teffe- , he began playing secondary roles into typical examples of popular Italian films of the late 50s as sword and sandal epics, comedies, adventures and was with spaghetti westerns that renamed achieved worldwide stardom. His acting is often accused of being wooden, but in many manners is ideally suited to playing the steely-faced gunslinger synonymous with the genre . His others successes include well liked features as ¨Seven Dollars to Kill¨, ¨The last Mohican¨, ¨Train for Durango¨, ¨Gentleman Jo¨ , ¨Four dollars for Django¨, ¨Shango¨, ¨Arizona colt¨, ¨Apocalypse Joe¨ and several others. He was still enjoyable in other genres, specially Giallos as the successful ¨The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave¨, ¨Death in Haiti¨ or ¨The Crimes of the Black Cat¨, a good example of Giallo where he played a blind pianist - one of his roles he most liked- , and ¨Killer Fish¨ .
The motion picture was professionally directed and in personal style by Rafael Romero Marchent at his best . Rafael is an expert writer and director of Spaghetti Western as he proved in ¨Two crosses on Danger Pass¨, ¨Cry for revenge¨ and ¨Two guns for two twins¨ . While his brother Joaquin Marchent is deemed to be the Paella Western's best director , his first film was ¨El Coyote¨ and the sequel titled ¨Revenge of Coyote¨ shot in Mexico ; after that , he filmed ¨The shadow of Zorro¨ and ¨Revenge of Zorro¨, he went go directing Westerns as ¨ Riding to death ¨ , ¨Adventures in the West¨ , ¨Three good men¨, ¨Sabor de Venganza ¨ and the most popular and violent ¨Condenados a Vivir¨ . Plus , he wrote for his brother Rafael Romero Marchent the following Westerns : ¨Manos Torpes¨, ¨Ocaso Un Pistolero¨ and ¨Garringo¨ . Rating : Passable and acceptable , though contains some flaws and gaps and excessive zooms. Worthwhile watching for the Spaghetti Western aficionados.
80%
AUDIENCE
6.1/10
311
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Thanks FREEMAN, please add - The Avenging Angel (1995)...