Good grief. I think this is the ultimate caricature of a Spaghetti Western. Its almost to the point where its an unintentional parody of a Spaghetti Western.
I'm not sure they even wrote down a screenplay. I think they just got some horses, a coffin, some Mexican clothes, and a girl and made the whole thing up as they meandered along.
Joseph Cotten is horribly miscast as a twisted Confederate officer bent on somehow reconstructing the Confederacy by dragging a coffin full of money through the desert with his cruel psychotic sons in tow. None of it works out right for them (or makes any sense for that matter...not that you would care) but they do all manage to remain remarkably clean-shaven throughout their horrific and agonizing ordeal in the desert which is a plus for them I'm sure.
The best acting in this film comes from the assorted bit players that wander in and out of the story line for no apparent reason. The Reverend, the blind Sergeant, the Yankee Fort commander, and the card player all have more memorable performances than the main characters even though they only have one or two lines.
The film was gritty enough to have some realistic feel to it, in that weird Spaghetti Western way, but there are a few jarring things that spoiled even that for me. I know I shouldn't be looking too close but its hard to ignore Joseph Cotten's 1966 service station attendant outfit that is supposed to pass as a Confederate uniform (belt loops and all) or Ben's 1966 jacket with the funky pockets. Every time I saw that coffin I had to wonder where they came up with that weird looking lizard flag. The feel of the film would have been improved drastically just by using a regular old Confederate battle flag.
The musical score was good and had that familiar Spaghetti Western eeriness to it that I love. Some of the cinematography was quite interesting, particular the opening credits with the yankees trying to manhandle the wagon across the river. That scene was designed as filler for the opening credits but turns out to be a real gem. I particularly like the detail of the yankee guidon bearer using his guidon to urge the horses forward, nice work. It makes you wonder what this crew could have done if they had taken the rest of the visuals just as seriously.
This film was fun to watch even though it went nowhere and there were no characters to love, empathize with, or even care about. When I get hungry for a little pasta I'll probably watch it again with friends just for the camp value.
I'm not sure they even wrote down a screenplay. I think they just got some horses, a coffin, some Mexican clothes, and a girl and made the whole thing up as they meandered along.
Joseph Cotten is horribly miscast as a twisted Confederate officer bent on somehow reconstructing the Confederacy by dragging a coffin full of money through the desert with his cruel psychotic sons in tow. None of it works out right for them (or makes any sense for that matter...not that you would care) but they do all manage to remain remarkably clean-shaven throughout their horrific and agonizing ordeal in the desert which is a plus for them I'm sure.
The best acting in this film comes from the assorted bit players that wander in and out of the story line for no apparent reason. The Reverend, the blind Sergeant, the Yankee Fort commander, and the card player all have more memorable performances than the main characters even though they only have one or two lines.
The film was gritty enough to have some realistic feel to it, in that weird Spaghetti Western way, but there are a few jarring things that spoiled even that for me. I know I shouldn't be looking too close but its hard to ignore Joseph Cotten's 1966 service station attendant outfit that is supposed to pass as a Confederate uniform (belt loops and all) or Ben's 1966 jacket with the funky pockets. Every time I saw that coffin I had to wonder where they came up with that weird looking lizard flag. The feel of the film would have been improved drastically just by using a regular old Confederate battle flag.
The musical score was good and had that familiar Spaghetti Western eeriness to it that I love. Some of the cinematography was quite interesting, particular the opening credits with the yankees trying to manhandle the wagon across the river. That scene was designed as filler for the opening credits but turns out to be a real gem. I particularly like the detail of the yankee guidon bearer using his guidon to urge the horses forward, nice work. It makes you wonder what this crew could have done if they had taken the rest of the visuals just as seriously.
This film was fun to watch even though it went nowhere and there were no characters to love, empathize with, or even care about. When I get hungry for a little pasta I'll probably watch it again with friends just for the camp value.