Stylish but barely mediocre overall

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Seven convicts chained together are travelling by carriage under the charge of Sgt Brown, a widower who not only has to guard these murderers, but also has to keep them away from his daughter. Worse still, one of them is responsible for the murder of his wife, and to add to the trauma, a bunch of bandits stop the carriage, kill the guards, and send the horses into a panic, wrecking the carriage and stranding everyone in the wilderness. The day has gone badly enough, and now Sgt. Brown has to get these guys to the nearest town, while they sing a song about how they are going to kill him the moment he turns his back! For a change this Western doesn't take place in a sandy desert, but up on a snowy mountain, which adds to the already grim situation. To make things even worse, the bandits discover that Sgt Brown might be travelling with more than prisoners!It's basically one of those 'people trapped in the wilderness' films (like Four Rode Out – Leslie Neilson as a bad guy!). I'm guessing it probably had some sort of influence on Tarantino's Hateful Eight, although it'll be about 2034 by the time I get round to watching that. This film is probably more famous for its exploitation elements rather than being a Western. Often described as the most violent, gory Western ever made, it does deliver on the goods – as long as you understand it's very gory by Western standards, not horror standards. People have their throats slit, get graphically shot in the face, burned alive, disembowelled and such like, but it's not a constant gore fest either. Luckily it's also got a story to tell as well, all filmed in an almost cinema verite fashion (I think that's French for 'delibarately half- arsed'). It's also a film where you shouldn't get too attached to any particular character, and even throws in some kind of hallucinogenic zombie attack! Grim stuff, all the way through.

The fact that this Spaghetti western is often seen as one of the more violent genre entries is the main reason why I wanted to see it; and while I'm not too well versed in this type of film overall; I've got to say that it is indeed pretty violent. Just to make things a little more uncomfortable for the audience, there's also a distinct streak of sadism running throughout the film, and stapes of the western genre such as gunfights and horse riding are replaced by things such as torture, rape and murder. The plot is not as expansive as the films from the likes of Sergio Leone, and focuses on a tight plot thread, which runs throughout. We begin with a sequence in which a sergeant introduces his wagon-load of convicts, all of which have been sentenced for heinous crimes. However, the wagon is soon attacked by bandits, and the sergeant, along with his beautiful daughter, must transport the troupe of convicts to their destination through the snow. However, even chained up these unscrupulous men aren't happy to do what they're told and it's not long before the man in charge is no longer the sergeant...This film seems keen to break the western 'code' as often as possible, and that's even shown through the locations, which are often covered in snow. The film does adhere to some of the western staples, however, and that includes the soundtrack - which while perhaps not up there with the likes of the work of Ennio Morricone, still bodes well with the on-screen action and presents a fabulous Spaghetti Western atmosphere. The acting is overall rather poor and the lack of any cult stars is a negative aspect, but it doesn't harm the film too much. The major gimmick of this movie is the fact that it features all of its "bad" characters chained to one another. It's an original idea, and it has to be said that it is well used throughout the film. The violence doesn't come thick and fast, but when it is on screen; you'll certainly know about it. A scene that sees a man have a hook put through his skull before being winched up is a particular highlight! The ending is good and provides the perfect finish to a film like this, and overall; while I won't say this is one of the greatest westerns ever made, it certainly is a very good one.

Conedandos a vivir (1972) was and is marketed purely as a violent exploitation film. Viewers approach it that way and either find it terribly vacant and crude or enjoy those aspects of the movie that are hyped up by hucksters. As the euro-western was widely marketed as violent and cynical, this advertising tactic that often blinds viewers to what is actually occurring on-screen. This is unfortunate as this movie is actually a well thought out and decently executed western that provides the nihilistic capstone to an interesting series of Spanish westerns made in the mid-to-late 1960s and early 1970s. Viewed in that tradition, as the terminal point in a genre narrative that began much earlier in films like Joaquin Marchent's own El Sabor de la venganza (1963), it is a moving and fascinating movie.Contrary to the reputation of the "Mediterranean westerns" made in Italy and Spain in the 1960s and 70s, these movies are not simply absurd and extreme distortions of the original American genre somewhat like Red River (1948) or Rio Bravo (1959) projected into a hall of mirrors. Instead of warped conventions without significance, these movies contained their own views of society and morality. Many of the westerns written or directed by Spaniards have a very interesting perspective of the nature of violence that is central to plot and character. Violence is a contagion that consumes everything and everyone in it's vicinity. In movies like El Hombre que mató a Billy el Niño (1967), El Sabor de la venganza (1963), or Garringo (1969) victims are transformed into victimizers through the alchemy of good intentions in a corrupt society. There is always a character who has a close personal relationship with the victim-turned-victimizer who both opposes the political corruption and also it's products, including their friend or brother/son. Outlaws are portrayed in bestial terms, a pack dominated by the most brutal one. These movies always end with an ambiguous sacrifice to necessity.With Condenados a vivir, this formula reaches it's fullest development. Isolated in the wilderness, there is nothing to stall the corrosive assault of brutality. Every member of the group is degraded and virtually every on-screen character is dead by the final credits. Sarah Brown (Emma Cohen) is the only character who opposes this effect in any way, though her response is ambiguous as it involves a hopeless and absolute nihilism. In this series of movies, the typical genre ending of a shoot-out in the street or synonymous act becomes endlessly complicated. The exorcism of violence by violence must, according to the logic of these narratives, only perpetuate the contagion – an inescapable circularity.This movie has a sort of resurrection of the dead hero in the manner of the Italian brand of western, but here it occurs in the delusions of an insane fugitive. However, whereas in the Italian movies this return-from-the-grave is followed by a sort of liberation of a community, in this movie this is only a guilt-ridden and confused hallucination.As in most of these Spanish movies, the technical execution lags far behind the narrative sophistication. The "gore-effects" will strike you as laughable if you are in the right mood. However, all-in-all, this movie is a successful and sincere b-movie, and as such I recommend it. With El Sabor de la venganza, this is Joaquin Marchent's best western.Top spaghetti western list http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849907Average SWs http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849889For fanatics only (bottom of the barrel) http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849890

Billed as the goriest or most violent western ever made, Cut Throats Nine is certainly over hyped. I doubt that it is either the goriest or the most violent. I do think its one of the bleakest westerns I've ever seen and leaves you feeling rather depressed and uncertain at the end (which I think is the reason many people dislike it) The plot is simple. A band of really bad military prisoners are being transported to a new location. The wagon they are riding in is ambushed by people looking for gold, when they don't find any they destroy the wagon and leave the prisoners and their one surviving keeper (and his daughter) alone in wilderness with no way to get anywhere but walk.No one and nothing is as it seems. In a weird way there are no good guys, only bad people trying to survive and get out of a really bad situation. Your expectations of who is who and what is what shifts around during its running time, so rarely are you on solid ground about what is happening and who you can root for. Its a kick in the pants for anyone looking for a typical "heroic" western, spaghetti or otherwise.I don't think the film is perfect. It meanders a bit too much and on some level I think it thinks its more important than it is, but there is no denying that the film packs a wallop in the unremittingly ugly department.If you want to see a dog eat dog western with no good guys see this film. If you want a film with heroes or anti heroes stay away.