Interesteg What makes it different from others?

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Leofwine_draca This early outing for Bud Spencer and Terence Hill sees the pair in fine form in a huge spaghetti western with loads of story, characters and tons of action to recommend it from the start. The meaty running time consists of dozens of plot twists, dupes, swindles and betrayals and the film never lets up from a spot-on pacing which holds the viewer's attention at all times. The three main ingredients for the film are drama, action and comedy and all are served up in spades. Obviously the Spencer/Hill relationship is played for laughs and both actors put in commendable performances; Hill as the Eastwood-style sharp-shooter, the intelligent member of the pairing, and Spencer as the clumsy but lovable oaf who's as strong as an ox and complements Hill's character perfectly.The dramatic angle of the storyline comes in the sweaty form of Eli Wallach, reprising his role from THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY as a bandit with a heart of gold who ends up being used and abused by those he considered to be his friends. Wallach's mission of justice makes up the bulk of the film and once again the actor puts in an excellent performance which hugely enhances the film. Writer/director Giuseppe Colizzi understands the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" in regard to Wallach's performances so gives the public more of what they have seen already in the Sergio Leone film and the result is no less successful. The script is unusually fine and lends plenty of comic banter and interplay to the scenes between the action sequences.Speaking of action, there is plenty ranging from bloody boxing matches to more traditional shoot-outs, prison breaks, brawls and even a massive gun battle with a machine gun involved. The suspense is gradually upped for the genius climax, set in a dodgy gambling house as our heroes attempt to make themselves some cash by hiding in the loft and cellar and using the fixed roulette wheel for themselves with disastrous results. The film then plays its own ace by introducing arch-villain Drake, acted by American import Kevin McCarthy (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) as one of those slimy villains you just love to hate, and the resulting climax is wonderfully exciting.Great use of widely differing music is made throughout the film from epic-sounding vocals to waltzes at the end! Technically the movie is proficient with a more than adequate budget put to good use in the sets and costumes; solid, slightly artistic photography; and well-staged action. One of the best I've seen from Spencer and Hill and a film guaranteed to please fans of the genre.

MARIO GAUCI One can see the influence of Sergio Leone writ large all over this large-scale Spaghetti Western (and not just in the casting of Eli Wallach from THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY [1966]) – but Colizzi doesn’t in any way show a comparable talent! The director also receives sole writing credit, which rather explains the film’s relentless self-indulgence – padding a wafer-thin plot with lame attempts at characterization and dreary passages of local color! The film happens to be the second teaming of popular Italian brawling duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer (the first – GOD FORGIVES…I DON’T [1967] – was actually a prequel to this!) but Hill’s atypical glum countenance robs the film of some much-needed charisma. Incidentally, neither title – American (which places an emphasis on the gambling subplot which comes into play only during the last third) or original, which roughly translates to FOUR GUNMEN OF AVE MARIA – is really satisfactory…but, then, neither is the film itself: one isn’t bothered by the sluggish pacing and extreme length of Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, but that certainly can’t be said here! Mind you, being a vintage outing, it’s moderately watchable and, at least, the print (via the Paramount DVD – how they suddenly felt the urge to release this I’ll never know!) was very nice…in contrast to its follow-up, BOOT HILL (1969), which I recently viewed by way of a horridly panned-and-scanned Public Domain edition.Anyway, the plot involves “lice-infected jailbird” Wallach being sprung from jail by a corrupt banker to retrieve a sum of money ‘stolen’ from him by Hill and Spencer; there follows an endless series of chases and double-crosses – with occasional interjections from black tightrope-walker Brock Peters and, it goes without saying, numerous stops for the duo’s trademark brawling antics. Eventually, the four join forces to clean up the gambling-house owned by Wallach’s long-time enemy (and former partner) Kevin McCarthy: this is an elaborate and mildly suspenseful sequence – climaxed by a shoot-out between the gang and McCarthy and his (anonymous-looking) henchmen on either side of the gambling table during a particularly busy night. The soundtrack is, once again, the handiwork of Carlo Rustichelli – but, while serving its purpose, isn’t especially remarkable within the impressive pantheon of Spaghetti Western scores…

zardoz-13 "Ace High" (1968) qualifies as one of the better hybrid action/comedy spaghetti westerns that followed in the wake of Sergio Leone's trend-setting bounty hunter movie "A Fistful of Dollars." Variously titled overseas as either "Revenge In El Paso" or "Four Gunmen of Ave Maria," this handsomely-produced, elaborately-staged, sun-drenched, shoot'em up shares something in common with the Lee Van Cleef oater "Death Rides A Horse" (1968) in that our lice-ridden hero (EIi Wallach) got double-crossed by his outlaw buddies and left behind for the law to catch while they made good their escape. A two-bit bandit of Greek heritage, Cacopoulos winds up serving fifteen years in prison. Once he gets out of prison, he is framed by crooked banker Harold ("Trinity" alumnus Steffen Zacharias in a dramatic role) for a murder that he didn't commit, and then sentenced to hang by the neck. Although this Giuseppe Colizzi written & directed effort contains about as many twists and turns as a diamond-back rattlesnake, the scripting is often haphazard but nevertheless entertaining. Our heroes participate briefly in the Mexican revolution, a favorite theme of late 1960s and early 1970s spaghetti westerns, which hikes the body count substantially. Italian western buffs who aren't familiar with this well choreographed dustraiser need to saddle up and watch the bare bones Paramount DVD with enhanced widescreen to see what other less well-known helmers were doing with the genre while Leone rode herd over sagebrushers.For the record, blue-eyed Terence Hill plays Cat Stevens (like the folk singer but no relation to him) and Bud Spencer co-stars as Hutch, his beefy, barrel-chested sidekick who shuns a Stetson. They are an arresting pair to watch in their sweaty, greasy, western outfits, on horseback in the blinding sun prancing around mainly on the plains of Almeria, Andalucia, Spain, where veteran cinematographer Marcello ("Assignment Outer Space" & "The Stranger Returns") Masciocchi lensed this sprawling western in widescreen splendor. A clue to its filming location is the lopsided anvil-shaped mountain in the background that dominates the long scenes not only in "Ace High" but also "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" the way that the Paramount logo mountain stood out against the studio sets in the old "Bonanza" TV series. Another dead giveaway that this is a foreign western is the perfectly synchronized but too cool dubbing of Hill and Spencer. Their perfectly modulated dialogue foreshadows the dubbing on anime adventures of the 1990s. Some of the dialogue sounds like it was translated into the English by foreigners, because nobody would talk that way, but that's what makes Italian movies of any genre so much fun.Actually, "Ace High" is the second entry in the only cinematic trilogy that Hill and Spencer starred in. Remember, they only did two "Trinity" movies together. "Ace High" picks up where Colizzi's "God Forgives, But I Don't" wrapped up with the explosive death of bandit Bill San Antonio (American expatriate Frank Wolff of "A Stranger In Town"). Our heroes trundle into town with a wagon load of gold, $300-thousand, and try to collect the bounty on Bill, though all they have of him is his boots and hat. When they cannot convince the law as to the authenticity of their claim, they traipse over to Harold's Bank and blackmail him into giving them an undisclosed fortune that Hutch at least plans to retire on and run a small ranch. Seems that the late Bill San Antonio and Harold were in co-hoots in stealing from the bank. Spaghetti westerns always had more plot than they needed. One of the neat touches that occur through "Ace High" is little bits and pieces like the dusty boot prints that Cat and Hutch leave when they saunter across Harold's blood red carpet in this upstairs office. Meanwhile, Harold springs Cacopoulos and hopes that he will kill Cat and Hutch. Caco does steal their newly acquired fortune, but not before he deals with the slippery as a rattlesnake Harold, one of the three men who set him afoot after a bank robbery. Anyway, Cat and Hutch chase Caco across the parched southwest and run across a traveling circus sideshow Thomas (Brock Peters) who performs high-wire (in this case—rope) acts. Eventually, all team up to rob a casino—think a lean, mean, "Ocean's Eleven" with only one casino. The music is pure spaghetti. "Ace High" is tops!

christophaskell The second, and in my opinion the best in the Cat Stevens/Hutch Bessy trilogy, ‘Ace High' has enough fun for everyone to come out and play. Everything from the heist to the violence was done in a light-hearted way, and without a hint of pretension. Eli Wallach joins the party for this film and, as a testament to the quality of actors involved, does not steal every scene he is in. He is par for the course, however, which means he does an outstanding job in a supporting role. Director Colizzi went on to direct a few more films, but overall had a short-lived career, which is unfortunate because he tells a great story, and doesn't shy away from adding humor in awkward places, or generally being a little unconventional. If you're a fan of spaghetti westerns you'll understand a lot of the humor herein, but even for the casual viewer there's plenty to keep you entertained. Rating: 26/40