"La collina degli stivali" or simply "Boot Hill" (and there's half a dozen other international titles I could mention) is an Italian Italian-language movie from 1969, so this one had its 50th anniversary last year in fact already, which means it is over half a century old, most likely still a little older once you read this because 2020 is almost over and what a year it was. But let's stay with this film for now. The running time is a bit confusing because there are several stated here: One would be 86 minutes, another 100 minutes and I kinda feel that the version I watched on German television tonight was somewhere in-between with nine as the first cipher. Not entirely sure though as there were massive commercial breaks. Not too important either. What matters more is that the writer and director (even two writing credits he got) is Giuseppe Colizzi. He did not really get too old unfortunately, but eveon for dying before his 55th birthday his body of work as both writer and director is pretty small honestly. He made up for a it a bit by working in all kinds of other fields of film production. And it is definitely no coincidence that he was the man in charge behind the camera here because he worked really a lot with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. This also includes the two films who belong to this trilogy and are not the one I am talking about today. Colizzi also worked on those if I am not mistaken. Those include Spencer as Arch Hutch Bessy and Hill as Cat Stevens. Not the musician obviously. Had he even changed his name by the already? Anyway, this is western. This is what Spencer (and Hill) did before their lighter and more fun movies. This is a tad more serious for sure, even if it is a bit difficult if Spencer is part of a film to take it really seriously because he always has that playful, slightly comedic big cuddly bear tendency, even if it's a western movie in which people die. But it is fitting Hill is more of a lead here, far more at the center of the story because when he was in the lead, these films were really more about grit and drama and not really innocent fun the way it turned out so many times in the 1970s. Or at least not when Spencer was not at least Hill's co-lead. But even if the duo rides into the sunset in the end, Spencer is nothing but supporting here, probably not even the biggest supporting player. There are long sequences without him and he does not enter the film before the 30-minute mark. Strangely enough, Hill is also not doing too much there because he is wounded and bleeding and helped by a few other people, so the invincibility element they (him and Spencer) have in future films is not here at all. Not one bit. They also rely on help from others. So other actors and characters are definitely more in the center of the movie here than you are used to it if you have seen Pedersoli's and Girotti's most famous (if we forget about the Fonda film for once). The evidence is there. We have many scenes when neither (especially not Spencer) is featured and the movie also starts with a lengthy sequence that does not have one of the two. With Hill being first credit I can agree, but Spencer in second is not just accurate at all given his screen time. They clearly used his name to promote the movie. Enough about the duo for now and instead a few words on some of the other cast members. Women are almost not existent in here, but it's a western, so it happened before. Woody Strode deserves a mention though. He deserves the praise because of how prolific an actor he was back then in times that, unlike today, were really a huge challenge for Black actors. But he won them over with his talent, attitude and craft. Good for him. He also shows up really briefly in one of the most known western films of all time, which may have helped him in getting the part here, which is a much bigger part. The second one I would like to mention is Victor Buono, already an Oscar nominee by then, even if I remember him probably more from the Batman series. i think they could have done more with him and his talent. That's really all I can comment about, even if there are many more pretty experienced actors in the cast list here, also not just Italians as you can see from the ones I mentioned.
As for the film itself, I am not impressed unfortunately. I can see why this was seen by considerably fewer audiences than the two films it follows up on. It is just a bit of everything, but nothing truly convincing in any area. This includes the overall story most of all, but also I thought this could be better visually. Like I love western and the aura that comes with them, but in terms of nice prairie shots, there is the one in the end as they are ridin into the sunset, but before that there is almost nothing. Kinda fitting that one shot I remember more than almost everything else is when Strode's character is reunited with a young friend and lifts him up. Also these films for me frequently stand and fall with the villain(s). I do think there was the potential there and they could have turned the antagonists into more memorable characters than they actually turned out. Lots of gunfire here, not unusual for western films obviously, but nothing that really got me on the edge of my seat. At least, Spencer got his funny little punching sequence in the end. But this could save the film either. I mean, don't get me wrong, this is never failure territory or anything, but after a decent start, I was kinda convinced around the 50-minute mark that I probably cannot give a positive recommendation here and it stayed as uninspired until the end, so I have to go with two stars out of five. The circus inclusions, numbers and music throughout the film, especially early on where they were at their most frequent, got old pretty sickly. I guess they ere featured this heavily early on because Spencer was still out of the picture and Hill doing nothing but bleeding and suffering. As for the circus moments, it was not the film's biggest strength from any perspective, be it how they get together so quickly again to create a bit of an army or how this army actually manages to stand up physically to the bad guys. The best part of the film was probably the first scene with Spencer, namely when Hill shows up to recruit him and this is the usual reaction by Spencer's character that he absolutely wants none of it, but is still convinced in the end. The idea of this deaf-mute fella is also one that was nice in a comedic sense that he is the only one Spencer's character can deal with because he won't get on the big bearded guy's nerves. Still how did he understand what Spencer was saying if he was deaf? I mean this plays centuries back, so there as no miracle worker profession. Anyway, we all find out playfully that it was all pretense anyway. Okay, this is really all I have to say about this film. I am somebody who likes westerns. I am somebody who loves Spencer. I am somebody who likes Hill and maybe also one or two of the other cast members here. But even these solid foundations made it not possible for me to appreciate this movie. It's a thumbs-down and it as probably the right decision to not turn this into a quadrology afterwards. What followed away from western (especially in Spencer's career) was clearly superior. Watch that. Or something different altogether. But not this one here. I hope the two previous films are superior, but hey I'm an optimistic. Bye now.
As for the film itself, I am not impressed unfortunately. I can see why this was seen by considerably fewer audiences than the two films it follows up on. It is just a bit of everything, but nothing truly convincing in any area. This includes the overall story most of all, but also I thought this could be better visually. Like I love western and the aura that comes with them, but in terms of nice prairie shots, there is the one in the end as they are ridin into the sunset, but before that there is almost nothing. Kinda fitting that one shot I remember more than almost everything else is when Strode's character is reunited with a young friend and lifts him up. Also these films for me frequently stand and fall with the villain(s). I do think there was the potential there and they could have turned the antagonists into more memorable characters than they actually turned out. Lots of gunfire here, not unusual for western films obviously, but nothing that really got me on the edge of my seat. At least, Spencer got his funny little punching sequence in the end. But this could save the film either. I mean, don't get me wrong, this is never failure territory or anything, but after a decent start, I was kinda convinced around the 50-minute mark that I probably cannot give a positive recommendation here and it stayed as uninspired until the end, so I have to go with two stars out of five. The circus inclusions, numbers and music throughout the film, especially early on where they were at their most frequent, got old pretty sickly. I guess they ere featured this heavily early on because Spencer was still out of the picture and Hill doing nothing but bleeding and suffering. As for the circus moments, it was not the film's biggest strength from any perspective, be it how they get together so quickly again to create a bit of an army or how this army actually manages to stand up physically to the bad guys. The best part of the film was probably the first scene with Spencer, namely when Hill shows up to recruit him and this is the usual reaction by Spencer's character that he absolutely wants none of it, but is still convinced in the end. The idea of this deaf-mute fella is also one that was nice in a comedic sense that he is the only one Spencer's character can deal with because he won't get on the big bearded guy's nerves. Still how did he understand what Spencer was saying if he was deaf? I mean this plays centuries back, so there as no miracle worker profession. Anyway, we all find out playfully that it was all pretense anyway. Okay, this is really all I have to say about this film. I am somebody who likes westerns. I am somebody who loves Spencer. I am somebody who likes Hill and maybe also one or two of the other cast members here. But even these solid foundations made it not possible for me to appreciate this movie. It's a thumbs-down and it as probably the right decision to not turn this into a quadrology afterwards. What followed away from western (especially in Spencer's career) was clearly superior. Watch that. Or something different altogether. But not this one here. I hope the two previous films are superior, but hey I'm an optimistic. Bye now.