Pleasantly surprised by this one because it has a very poor reputation. In fact it's a slightly flawed but enjoyable western with a simple, easy to follow story which i wont repeat here but it holds your interest where some westerns can veer toward the confused (Return of Sabata for instance).
The late great William Berger is given a leading role for a change and apart from his terrible dubbing is very good. More of an anti hero than a good guy. Definitely not Sartana in fact he isn't called by this name at any point in the whole film as far as I could tell. Similar black wardrobe but otherwise a different man.
Decent gun-play, the agile Berger leaping about blasting away at his adversaries as he usually does. Still don't know why half the street at beginning explodes when he shoots the ground though, maybe some of the plot ended up on the cutting room floor that explains this because the editing is very jumpy. Perhaps he has exploding bullets or hid some dynamite there earlier! Daft! I nearly spilt my beer when it happened. However, the version i saw was apparently missing about 15 minutes so that definitely would explain the choppy editing.
Good fun though and the action sequences are reasonably well spread though the film so it does not ever get boring. There isn't anything fancy or original, just the usual gun fights, punch ups and explosions, but done well enough.
Unfortunately the theme song is really dreadful, thankfully its only really sung over the opening credits and after that just a short burst later on by a saloon singer. The incidental music is better, though fairly nondescript. Does the job.
The other actors are adequate, familiar face Franco Ressel is there as a villain but doesn't last long. No really terrible performances, though the dubbing is particularly poor.
It seems to be a very low budget picture so as as other people have commented the 'Valley of Death' in the title is a bit unimpressive. Bit too much foliage for death valley, it looks more of an abandoned building site than a desert, but they did the best they could i suppose. Most of the action takes place in greener pastures.
As for the climax to the film it is good and satisfying end to a very enjoyable spaghetti western experience. If you prepare yourself for something more modest and lower budget, you will not be disappointed.
Not bad at all!
The late great William Berger is given a leading role for a change and apart from his terrible dubbing is very good. More of an anti hero than a good guy. Definitely not Sartana in fact he isn't called by this name at any point in the whole film as far as I could tell. Similar black wardrobe but otherwise a different man.
Decent gun-play, the agile Berger leaping about blasting away at his adversaries as he usually does. Still don't know why half the street at beginning explodes when he shoots the ground though, maybe some of the plot ended up on the cutting room floor that explains this because the editing is very jumpy. Perhaps he has exploding bullets or hid some dynamite there earlier! Daft! I nearly spilt my beer when it happened. However, the version i saw was apparently missing about 15 minutes so that definitely would explain the choppy editing.
Good fun though and the action sequences are reasonably well spread though the film so it does not ever get boring. There isn't anything fancy or original, just the usual gun fights, punch ups and explosions, but done well enough.
Unfortunately the theme song is really dreadful, thankfully its only really sung over the opening credits and after that just a short burst later on by a saloon singer. The incidental music is better, though fairly nondescript. Does the job.
The other actors are adequate, familiar face Franco Ressel is there as a villain but doesn't last long. No really terrible performances, though the dubbing is particularly poor.
It seems to be a very low budget picture so as as other people have commented the 'Valley of Death' in the title is a bit unimpressive. Bit too much foliage for death valley, it looks more of an abandoned building site than a desert, but they did the best they could i suppose. Most of the action takes place in greener pastures.
As for the climax to the film it is good and satisfying end to a very enjoyable spaghetti western experience. If you prepare yourself for something more modest and lower budget, you will not be disappointed.
Not bad at all!