hyped garbage

Best movie of this year hands down!

Best movie ever!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

In most Westerns, the protagonist is mentally healthy. He may have a single-minded obsession about something, like John Wayne's character in "Red River" and in "The Searchers," but that is just part of his manliness. There are a few Westerns, however, in which the protagonist is mentally ill. There is Sterling Hayden's character in "Johnny Guitar," who is gun crazy, and there is Charles Bronson's character in "Once Upon a Time in the West," who does not simply want revenge against the man who killed is brother, but is an obsessive-compulsive, who keeps playing the harmonica that was in his mouth when his brother died, and he even wears clothing similar to what he wore on that day. In such movies, the music is usually in a minor key."A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die" is in that subgenre. The protagonist, Clay McCord has, or at least thinks he has, epilepsy, and is haunted by memories of his father having fits. When his gun hand starts acting up in moments of temporary spasms and paralysis, he thinks it is just a matter of time before he will meet with the same fate. Even though he needs his partner to help him out when his hand freezes up, he parts with him because he cannot stand the idea of someone else seeing him in that way.He realizes that his days as a gunslinger and bandit are coming to an end, and so he decides to apply for amnesty, which is being offered in the territory of New Mexico. It turns out that he does not have epilepsy, but rather has been bothered by a bullet lodged near his spine, which is removed. Nevertheless, he applies for the amnesty anyway. But it is hardly a happy ending, because he still seems to be troubled by his past.The movie is marred by a couple of absurdities. After being rescued from Escondido by a government agent, he rides with him in his wagon until a couple of riders approach. McCord kills both of them, and then tells the agent to unhitch one of his horses, because he needs a horse to go his own way. But the two men he just killed were riding horses, which are now saddled and ready for use, and all McCord has to do is get on one of them. As one of the horses is unhitched, however, we see the two dead men in the background, but not their horses, for some strange reason.Second, McCord decides to hide out in a place called Beaver Head, which is a nice cabin, completely unoccupied and stocked with rifles and dynamite just sitting there for the taking. No explanation is given for the existence of this place, or why, with all the bandits around, it remains unmolested.All in all, this is the best Spaghetti Western not directed by Sergio Leone.

Why is it that Italian westerns get "R" ratings when they do the same thing that American westerns do? Does it really matter if you kill 10 or 12, or if you kill 50 or 60. Is it because the bad guy wins instead of John Wayne or Randolph Scott? Just wondering.The bad guy in this film, Alex Cord, did a lot more TV than movies, but he did a good job in this film as an outlaw who thought he had epilepsy. When ids the last time you heard that in a western? Another thing you probably won't hear in American westerns is references to the Catholic Church with words like excommunication and ordained.Yes, lot of people get killed, and the bad guy rides off into the sunset, but it was still worth the time.Also featured five-time Oscar nominee Authur Kennedy, Oscar nominee Robert Ryan, a hot Nicoletta Machiavelli, and lots of Italians.

118 minutes...was claimed on the DVD......but it only runs 98. The 20 minutes cut seems to have made a very choppy...rather unabsorbing film out of what apparently..with the INTENDED..(but chopped off here) ironic ending.. some nice bits..and a very good performance by Robert Ryan..a wonderful actor...could have been at least a pretty good film. As it is now...it's confusing.....and discordant...and exceptionally ordinary..a harkback, visually & musically, to the Hollywood carbon copy Westerns that Italy used to churn out before the 3 Sergios started weaving their magic. It was nice to see Arthur Kennedy & Ryan shoot it out with the bandits at the climax...and Alex Cord had a few good moments of action...other than that...a very forgettable film.

There are a number of reviews that comment on the cast of this film. Suffice it to say that Alex Cord plays a strong lead opposite Robert Ryan and Arthur Kennedy. What concerns me is that many of you may not be aware of the (at least) two existing versions of this film. In the U.S. version Clay McCord gains amnesty from Governor Lem Carter and then rides out of town redeemed. I agree that ending is less than satisfying. However, in the original Italian cut Clay McCord rides out of town (weaponless as he has turned in his pistols to the Governor) and is bushwhacked by the bounty hunters that have been slowly depopulating the bandit town of Escondido. The Bounty Killers are excited at the prospect of splitting the $10,000 reward but are disappointed to find McCord's amnesty agreement in the corpses pocket. As they ride away one is heard to comment,"If this amnesty keeps up I'm gonna start hunting buffalo !" . This alone takes A Minute To Pray...A Second To Die and places it on an even playing field with movies like Keoma and The Big Gundown. As the end credits say in the Italian cut "FINE".