A Brilliant Conflict

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

It's thirty-seven minutes before a shot is fired in this film! That must be some sort of record for a non-comedic Spaghetti Western. Additionally, Klaus Kinski is the good guy! What is this, some kind of topsy turvy Spaghetti Western world where horses ride men and chickens eat Fernando Sancho?No, it's not. It's a deadly serious revenge film that takes place almost in real time, most of it at night, which means it's a good idea to seek out a decent version of this film or else you'll see next to nothing. Kinski is Gary Hamilton, a man we first see busting rocks in prison before being pardoned due to some loophole I didn't quite understand. Gary's slightly miffed because he was wrongly imprisoned and spent ten years in the pokey due to some guy called Acombar, so he lets bygones be bygones by getting out a jail, buying a rifle, and heading for town to kill Acombar and every single other person Acombar has hired to protect himself. Luckily, Gary bumps into Acombar's innocent, oblivious son on the way there and gets him to pass on the message, which leads to all kind of ominous staring. Even more luckily there's a scheduling conflict which means Gary will be arriving in town at exactly the same time as a tornado.That's the plot, more or less. It's kind of like Django the Bastard in the way that Kinski slinks about the place wasting loads of bad guys in a creepy fashion, except this one plays up the horror angle even more (or Gothic horror angle I guess), with the continuous ringing of the church bell driving the hired goons mad, the relentless darkness and Kinski's big weird face. Acombar's main chamber is made of mirrored walls, which reminded me of the giallo Libido (which also has Luciano Pigozzi in it).Speaking of Pigozzi, he suffers from one of the most unique and violent deaths in a Spaghetti Western, surpassed only by two incredibly horrible deaths in the film Django Kill…if you live, shoot! Ear-splitting song at the start too which might put some people off, but stick with it – this is one of Antonio Margeherriti's best films.

With currently reaching the half-way mark of the infamous Italian Cannibal Boom,and having gotten a little bit to grips with the tough- nosed Italian Crime,and black-glove wearing Giallo sub-genres.My initial plan for a final viewing of the year,was to watch a film,from what is easily the most talked about sub-genre in Italian Cinema:The Spaghetti Western.However,after spending the last few months slowly gathering up a collection of rare Spaghetti Westerns to use as a starting point to the sub-genre.I was given a much-needed push off the edge of a mountain cliff.When,I noticed that another IMDb member was discussing their anticipation for a Spaghetti Western,which I had,by chance,recently picked up.And with my interest in the sub-genre now being given a massive boast,I decided that it was the perfect time for me to saddle up,and walk into the Spaghetti Western Salon for the very first time.The plot:Finally released,after doing ten years of hard labour at prison for a crime he did not commit,Garry Hamilton gathers his few belongings and gets aboard a coach.Shortly after boarding,Hamilton begins chatting to another passenger called Dick Acombar, whose last name starts to bring back some memories for Hamilton.As he gets off the coach Garry quickly tells his fellow passenger,that when he sees his dad later today,he must tell him that Gary Hamilton is out of prison,and that he is going to visit him at sundown.Finding one of the few residents around a town that has mostly been evacuated,due to a tornado heading for the town town.Using what little money he has to pay for the horse and a gun.Meanwhile,Dick goes and pays a visit to his father,who is planning to dig his heels in,and get deeply involved in the politics of the area.Shortly after catching up with his dad's wife Maria and their friends,Dick tells his father the good news that he met an "old friend" of his called Garry Hamilton,who will be coming round for a visit later tonight.Hearing the news drains all the blood from his father and friends, who have been left in disbelief,that Hamilton, (who got sent to jail,due to all of them giving a huge amount of false evidence at his trial)has gotten out of jail.Desperate to keep his murky past secret from his son,Dick's dad makes a plan with Maria and their friends to permanently wipe Garry Hamilton off the face of the earth.But with the tornado gathering speed,and Garry Hamilton now having an almost supernatural power of revenge,Dick's dad and friends begin to suspect,that the only way they can beat this "ghost" is to give him a real life sentence once and for all. View on the film:For his excellent directing of this film,Antonio Margheriti gives the film a chilling,atmospheric Horror element,with the constant threat of an oncoming tornado,allowing Margeriti to give Hamilton's path of revenge a strong feeling that something (possabley supernatural) is pushing him forward,and giving him the skills to get rid of anyone that stands in the way,of him getting face to face with Dick's father.Along with the tense horror-western atmosphere,Margheriti delivers brilliant,stylish directing for the whole film,with the saloon being impressively covered in mirrors,that Margheriti uses to show that the people who want to get rid of Garry,cant see what is staring right back at them.Looking at the very good performance of Antonio Cantafora, (who in this film,looks a little bit like a young Michael Caine!)I feel that Cantafora hit the perfect balance with Dick Acomber,by showing a good mix of young naivety and willingness to attempt and save his family,whilst always having questions about what his father and Maria have done to Garry lingering in the back of his mind.Although the screenplay by Margheriti and Giovanni Addessi does get a little bit "loose" as the set up for Hamilton to finally face the Acomber's takes place,Klaus Kinski massively helps the flaws in the film to disappear,by giving a performance,the truly makes him the centrepiece of the movie.With the film having an gripping chilling,Gothic horror atmosphere,Kinski cleverly gets Garry Hamilton to blend into the mood of the film,by showing him to be an almost possessed Scarecrow!,whose fragile body is being pushed towards destroying everybody who attempted to turn him into just another ghost in a prison camp. Final view on the film:A tremendous Spaghetti Western,with a fantastic atmospheric horror backdrop,and great directing from Margheriti.

After enduring ten years of hard labor for a crime he did not commit, Gary Hamilton (Klaus Kinski) is given a a presidential pardon (preposterous, but who cares?) and is let out of prison. After ten years of shoveling and smashing rocks in the hot sun there is only one thing on his mind, revenge. Revenge on Acombar, the man who framed him. Gary soon finds out that this same man is now the wealthiest land baron in the territory and is also sleeping with his wife. Gary purchases a rifle and (with what seems to be a never ending supply of bullets) sets out to extract his revenge on Acombar. But before Gary can get to him he must face 30 of Acombar's bodyguards during a conveniently well timed tornado at night.Antonio Margheriti (better known as Anthony Dawson or Anthony S. Dawson) returns to his horror roots to direct this suspenseful revenge story. The movie has some fabulous atmosphere. The character of Gary Hamilton is treated as a supernatural by the villains. Wind picks up whenever he appears, animals make strange noises when his name is uttered and his arrival is signified by a threatening Tornando. This all adds to the horror element of the movie (also the fact that a large portion of the film takes place at night).It's a good little western with a few atypical twists. However it doesn't all go off without a hitch. There is a very nasty pacing problem during the 45 minute storm segment where Hamilton hunts down each and every one of the villain's gunmen. Hamilton does this by firing from windows then ducking before the return fire reaches him and by firing his rifle from holes on the ground when down in a tunnel system under the town's buildings. This goes on for quite awhile. I'm sure you can agree with me when I say there is nothing more dull than some prick hiding behind a barrel and randomly picking off people every now and again. I Hate to see that in westerns. It's alright if it's used once or twice but when several action scenes are devoted to it for long periods of time something is certainly wrong. In it's defense there are some really creative death scenes, an interesting use of a church bell as a weapon is of particular mention, however there is a severe lack of them overall. Too bad. I also thought that the virtually non-existent tornado should have played a larger role in the film as opposed to making a few cameo appearances as a gust of wind every now and again (they had a nice dust devil effect in "Matalo!". Why not here?). Perhaps the twister could have taken out a few baddies? mmm? Just a thought.The cast is a good one. Kinski stars as the anti-hero Hamilton. It's almost a sick joke casting Klaus Kinski as a hero. The famous actor played mostly villains throughout his entire career and I have yet to see him playing a good guy in a spaghetti western. I suppose he liked the role because he would usually snag a part where he was on set for as little time as possible for as much money as possible.Peter Carsten as the greedy Acombar does his job as a slimy no good and the pretty Marcella Michelangeli is unforgivable as Hamilton's cheating wife.Composer Carlo Savina makes a good soundtrack here. I really like the title theme.Despite it's faults And God Said To Cain is a welcome addition to any spaghetti western library and worth picking up.

After serving 10 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Gary Hamilton (Klaus Kinski) is released. Hamilton has had 10 long years to plot his revenge and he intends to get it. His quarry, a man named Acombar (Peter Carsten), has assembled something of an army to help protect him and his family. But Hamilton appears to have something on his side – God. Hamilton rides into town just ahead of the wind, dust, and noise of a tornado. It's quite an entrance! And God Said to Cain is a solid Spaghetti Western (SW) from often underrated Italian director Antonio Margheriti. With this movie, Margheriti put together one terribly effective SW. A lot of SWs include some sort of light-hearted, comedic moments. That's not the case with And God Said to Cain. It's as serious and dark as any SW I've seen. Margheriti doesn't allow a single moment of levity. Normally relegated to playing the heavy, Klaus Kinski gets a rare opportunity to play the lead. And he does a good job with it. He plays Hamilton as a man with a single-minded focus – get revenge. Before we as an audience even know who Hamilton is or what he's up to, he's killing people on a dark, stormy night. The action and shootouts are entertaining, the supporting cast is solid, the music is good, and the sets and locations fit the film nicely. What more can you ask for in a SW? The only negative regarding my experience with And God Said to Cain actually has nothing to do the movie, but concerns the budget label DVD I watched. What a terrible transfer! Much of the movie is set at night and it was often very difficult to tell what was happening. Who knows? I might have rated the movie higher had I not missed about a fourth of the action. So be warned – in this case you get what you pay for.