ma-cortes
It is an entertaining Maccaroni western with lots of action , gun-play and fun . So-so Spaghetti Western with a mysterious gunman confronting vicious cutthroats . There's a frontier feud on the border of Mexico , there takes place a massacre . Feared outlaw Hagen (Klaus Kinski) and his hoodlums as Ramírez (Benito Pacifico or Dennis Colt , usual master of arms) and Tamayo (Hunt Powers or Jack Betts who carries big mustache and long hair) have killed Nevada Kid's family . American Civil War is finished , a Confederate soldier named Mark Hamilton or Nevada Kid (Jeff Cameron) arrives in his burnt farm , and finds his family murdered , he is immediately persuaded by Sam (Ray Saunders) to chase Hagen and his underlings , but some nasty brothers hot on their tail . The tough and rare gunslinger Nevada Kid becomes an efficient Pistolero , acting as judge , jury , and executioner and swears vendetta . Gunslinger Nevada Kid being supported by the Afro-American (Ray Saunders) and he gets unexpected help by a cunning , grinning bounty hunter (Gordon Mitchell) against the malicious killers and the ending settle disputes by shooting . Meantime , they save a damsel in distress (Simonetta Blondell or Vitelli , Fidani's daughter) who has been kidnapped by Hagen's henchmen .This Italian production is a moving S.W. movie starred by Jeff Cameron Hunt Powers and Klaus Kinski ; it takes on a strange gunslinger against treacherous gang : the Hagen band who are wanted dead or alive. The film deals with a mysterious stranger , become an avenger , who vows to take down dreaded outlaws . This Spaghetti movie gets the usual Western issues , such as greedy antiheroes , violent facing off , quick zooms , and exaggerated baddies . It is an acceptable , passable Western with several titles as ¨Per Una Bara Piena Di Dollari" , "Coffin Full of Dollars" , "Showdown for a Badman" that contains an interesting and violent plot about a young seeking vendetta . It packs thrills , shoot'em up , violence , and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some pursuits , crossfire or stunts every few minutes . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist against the heartless enemies formed by a brutal gang of bandits led by Klaus Kinski and Hunt Powers. The main starring is Jeff Cameron as a gunfighter really seeking vengeance and the popular Klaus Kinski as Hagen / Slander who appears elegantly dressed and with a brilliant look , gaining a reputation for his ferocious talent and equally ferocious temper ; Kinski plays as a strange killer who occasionally joins in on the action with his deadly guns . Here he plays with lots of gesticulation and excessive gestures . As he is fine , as he ravages the screen with his peculiar face and using suddenly his hidden weapons . This Spaghetti is made during his Italian period when Klaus starred a lot of Westerns , later he collaborated with Werner Herzog with whom played several prestigious films . They later collaborated on five movies : Aguirre (1972), Woyzeck (1979), Nosferatu, (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987). As Kinski starred numerous Spaghetti such as : Pray to Kill and Return Alive , Black Killer , If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death , Bullet King , Shangai Joe , Clint the solitary , The Ruthless Four , Nevada Kid , The return of Clint , and specially famous resulted to be his acting in ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨ . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as well as a lot of twists and turns , as the film approaches its climax , as in the final and the customary conclusion . Atmospheric Eastmancolor cinematography by the famous Aristide Massaccesi or Joe D'Amato , though being necessary a good remastering and filmed in De Paolis/INCIR Studios , Italy Elios studios Rome , as usual , and El Lacio . Enjoyable and thrilling musical score by Coriolano Gori (as Lallo Gori) , including catching leitmotif and attractive song at the beginning by Mark Wolf.The picture was lousily directed by Demofilo Fidani or Miles Deem , considered to be the "Ed Wood of Spaghetti Western" and husband of Mila Vitelli Valenza ,a professional costume designer and father of actress Simonetta Vitelli , both of whom worked in various films of Demofilo . Fidani directed all kind of genres in low budget and exploitation pictures . He eventually had more pseudonyms than any working director in the world , similarly to Bruno Mattei . He followed shooting these taboo-breaking films with excursions into porno film , adventure , as ¨Karzan, Jungle Lord" and specially , Spaghetti as ¨Django and Sartana's Showdown in the West" , ¨Giù la Testa¨, "Sartana, the Invincible Gunman" , ¨El Sartana... l'Ombre Ta Mort¨, among others .
Leofwine_draca
A BARREL FULL OF DOLLARS is a typical mid budget spaghetti western that has some fun with the genre tropes established by Sergio Leone in his seminal trilogy. The story is about a gang rivalry between heroic Jeff Cameron, playing the Nevada Kid, and the slimy and ruthless Hagen, as played by the inimitable Klaus Kinski. Truth be told, Kinski is the most interesting thing in this movie, but his part is very small and he only really features much towards the climax. The rest is a mix of the usual action sequences and gun fights, all shot in a familiar but effective style, and the fun is heightened by the appearance of former peplum star Gordon Mitchell as a goofy, grinning gunslinger.
adrianswingler
I'm not a huge fan of Demofilo Fidani, but I think this is his best, and I'm writing this mainly to refute the rubbish in some of the other reviews of this one that I've seen.Can you imagine someone watching an Ed Wood movie, because it's an Ed Wood movie, and complaining about the sets being cheap??? That's pretty much what I'm seeing, absurd as it is. That and people that don't know anything about the genre. Hey, people, Spaghetti Westerns existed before that useless twerp Tarantino decided to rip them off. He ripped off the blood squibs and such from Hong Kong action cinema, not from SWs. They've never been big into that. Hand waving is good when you're doing it deliberately and you know you are. It's irritating when it's supposed to work as logic, but when you just want to say, "and then that happens" it works in a B movie. Klaus Kinski is great as ever.Simonetta Vitelli (as Simone Blondell) has to be one of the most gorgeous women that has ever walked the planet. Cheap shots about her looks??? Definitely from someone whose taste is limited to their lingual epithelium. People who aren't a fan of the genre could well give "Miles Deem" a miss. Those that love it and don't want to be disappointed by one of his would do well to watch this one, imho. It's just slip-shod enough to be Fidani, but not so Fidani that it gets in the way of being a decent spaghetti western. People that love the genre will know there's a long ways between the best and worst. Anyone comparing it with the top 10 obviously has seen about 3 of the genre.
