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Spaghetti-Western

The 5 Man Army (Un Esercito di cinque Uomini)

AT:
The Five Man Army (
USA)

james_daly.jpg
James Daly is a poker pro for the poor - Nino Castelnuovo agrees

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Beware of deep-flying rifles

D: Don Taylor; S: Mark Richards, Dario Argento; C: Enzo Barboni; M: Ennio Morricone;  with: Peter Graves, James Daly, Carlo Pedersoli ("Bud Spencer"), Nino Castelnuovo

 

Once upon a time they were comrades in the Army, nowadays they struggle through their poor lives: Powerhouse Meceita (“Bud Spencer”) works as a farmhand; Augustus (James Daly), a dynamite specialist, who failed being a professional gambler, plays cards with poor workers for their wages, and “Samurai” (Tetsuro Tamba), the man with the fast blade, is a fair-attraction. These losers don’t hesitate for long to follow a call of their old boss “Dutchman” (Peter Graves), who offers them 1.000 bucks each for a job in Mexico. On behalf of mexican revolutioner Manuel Esteban (Claudio Gora) the quartet, strengthened by former circus artist Luis (Nino Castelnuovo), shall rob a heavy armed and armoured train, filled with gold intended for the mexican dictator: somewhat a kamikaze operation. After the five men have destroyed a complete mexican army-post as a kind of warming up, they start their hopeless proposition. While his four mates don’t think of delivering the gold to the revolutioners after succeeding, “Dutchman” sympathizes with la revolución.


I 1969

The Gunslinger says:

This „Heist-Movie“ was realized with an obvious big budget, if you take the costly boom effects and the many extras. The story follows the known ways: A big boss assembles a small group of specialists to pull off a nearly impossible knavery. US direktor Don Taylor places it in the revolutionary Mexico and tells it with the means of the Spaghettiwestern. No complains besides the lack of originality: consistent atmosphere, good camera work, a duly gunplay and lots of action, culminating in the thrilling train robbery. The score by Morricone with its hard guitars, flutes, strings and choirs seems to me, as if the maestro cites himself and his more popular, earlier works. No problem: So he stays on the safe side and it finally fits to this movie.

Rating: $$$$-

Bodycount:
ca. 70 Mexicanos

Explicit Brutalities:
-
diverse maltreatments and shootings of peones by the mexican army: Ayayay!

Luv’:
A mexican girl named Maria (Daniela Giordano), a name which is really hard to find in the SW ;-), falls in love with “Samurai” (2/10)

Splatter:
A sword is made to cut, folx: 2/10

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