Tomas Milian makes his Spaghetti Western debut in this cleverly written, well paced film. Marketing Film R0 German disc.
The Film
José
Gómez (Tomas Milian) is an outlaw who has gained quite a
reputation among the poor citizens of the Old West for his Robin-Hood
style exploits. He is being transported to a high-security prision when
a woman named Eden helps him to break free. Gómez and his
gang arrive at the small ranch where Eden lives, as does a Bounty
Hunter named Luke Chilson (Richard Wyler) who is following them.
After Gómez captures Chilson and begans to torture him,
Eden realises that he might not be such a folk hero afterall, and has
to decide who to support...
Based on a novel, The Bounty Killer is
a more dialogue based Western with a clever and surprisingly
reactionary script. Italy in the 1960s had some very strong communist
inclinations, and the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Sollima and Damiano Damiani contained very strong left-wing messages. The Bounty Killer
is unusual because it contains a more right-wing message
- Gómez is
revered as a folk-hero by the poor, like the left-wing radicals of the
day, however in person Gómez turns out to be a
petty but brutal criminal with few morals, interested only in looking
out for himself. Eden is representative of the general population, who
might support the radicals vocally and from a distance, but would be
very shocked to actually meet them. Chilson represents the law who
might be unpopular, but may also prove essential. While many of the
political Westerns suffered from dragging plots, and gratuitous
gunfights to keep the audience watching, The Bounty Killer is well paced with some good dialogue and enough action scenes to keep the film interesting.
The
direction and sets are pretty average Euro-Western fare, with location
shoots in Andalucía Spain. The fist-fight scenes are
particularly well shot, with some nice PoV angles. The soundtrack lacks
the typical Euro-Western opening song, but is suitably atmospheric and
fits the film well. The action is more brutal than many of the early
Euro-Westerns and there is some realistic looking blood and bruising.
Tomas Milian was on his way to cult-stardom, appearing in the first of 14 Euro-Westerns. Although
he would normally be cast as a gormless but well meaning peasant,
Gómez is more scheming and ruthless, and Milian convinces here.
British actor Richard Wyler plays the Bounty Hunter pretty well. The
rest of the cast contains several recognisable Euro-Westerns faces.
The Bounty Killeris
a strong film, with a good mix of action and plot, and an unexpected
storyline. Ultimately, it seems to be a few years ahead of its time and
seems to be commenting on a genre that had barely begun, with almost
prophetic casting of Tomas Milian in a harsh satirical take on his
usual misunderstood peasant role. Recommended to Spaghetti Western fans, and
a decent starting place for genre newcomers.
In brief:
Anyone famous in it?
Tomas Milian - A big euro-cult star of the 60s and 70s, made his name in the Spaghetti Westerns
Directed by anyone interesting?
Eugenio Martín - A lesser known Spanish director who also shot Horror Express (1973)
Any violence?
Quite a lot of gunfights and fist-fights, some blood and brutality
Any sex?
None.
Good soundtrack?
The first soundtrack from composer Stelvio Cipriani, it fits the film well.
Who is it for?
A well written and directed picture, recommended to Spagetti Western fans.
The DVD
Visuals
The film is shown at approximately 1.85:1 anamorphic wide-screen. Colour. There are hints of very minor cropping at the sides of the print. Believed to be original aspect ratio. The
image generally has the look of a very good VHS, with some minor
print damage but good colours. There are some scenes that are notably
lower quality. Always watchable and much better than most bootleg discs.
Audio
English mono - sounds okay but rather muffled compared to the other tracks. One short scene in German only. German mono and 5.1 surround - sounds good, but the 5.1 mix is very flat. Some short scenes in English. Spanish mono - sounds good but with notable background hiss.
Subtitles
English - only for the short scene on the English audio with German dialogue. German - only for the short scene on the German audio with English dialogue.
There are no subtitles on any of the special features.
Runtime
Main feature runtime: 1hr 32m 10s (PAL)
Extras
The disc includes:
German Alternate
version - the original, shorter German cut of the film. Presented
non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen, with German credits - lower PQ than
the main film although audio is identical. Ending is slightly longer
than on the International cut. (1h 25m 27s)
German cinema trailer. Low PQ. (2m 53s)
2 English language trailers, titled 'The Ugly Ones'. Low PQ. (2m 41s)
German video release opening and closing sequences (title Coffins without corpses), with alternate German ending. (7m 05s)
English language title sequence The Ugly Ones - fullscreen, very low PQ. (4m 17s)
German and American poster images. Presented as video track, not scrollable, no music. (3m 11s)
Artwork gallery - posters from worldwide. Presented as above. (3m 20s)
German pressbook images and text. Presented as above. (2m 00s)
American and Japanese press-photos. Presented as above. (3m 51s)
German press advertising images. Presented as above. (2m 20s)
Filmography
lists for Tomas Milian, Richard Wyler, Eugenio Martín
and Ilya Karin. Presented as above. (5m 54s)
Availability
German Release. DVD Title: Ohne Dollar keinen Sarg
Region
Region 0 (worldwide) - PAL
Other regions?
Japanese DVD, no additional features.
Cuts?
The
film is believed to be uncut, the print used does not have the longer
ending present on the German print. Titles and credits are in Spanish.
Summary
A well written and directed film with a surprisingly reactionary theme. Recommended to euro-Western fans.
The DVD has relatively low
quality print and English audio, but better than a bootleg. Although
there is an impressive list of galleries, there are no interviews, a
pity since several of the main cast are still alive.
