A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

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

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Oh great: another Italian Comedy Western that's low on laughs and everything else to boot. This is even more disappointing as it was directed by Duccio Tessari of Tony Arzenta fame, and it stars Guilliano Gemma of loads of great films fame. Sometimes these tongue-in-cheek comedies work (like Run Man Run and Fistful of Lead) but most seem to rely on lame slapstick that you've seen Charlie Chaplin do several hundred years previously. This one involves two brothers who hate each other, but who also have to spend six months living together in order to receive an inheritance from a dead Uncle. Don't ask me why. There's a bunch of bad guys who are harassing Gemma's brother who periodically turn up throughout the film to ruin Gemma's increasingly dumb attempts at crime sprees (including robbing a bank where everyone who enters the bank trips over the same step…hmm).Gemma does get to show off his trapeze skills and there's an axe fight on a train that results in an entire carriage being destroyed, but no one in their right mind is ever going to want to watch this unless they are obsessively watching their entire collections of Italian films. Ahem.Other comedies not being reviewed any time soon: My Name is Trinity, My Name is Nobody, Cry! Onion, Life is Tough, Eh, Providence, Trinity is Still My Name etc etc.

In order to claim an inheritance, fancy-pants Giuliano Gemma, a problem gambler, must go west and live with his brother for six months. Though they don't like each other very much, the two use the time to embark on an inept crime spree that keeps getting interrupted by a gang of real criminals.A genuinely likable and often times really funny western comedy, this is a good showcase for Italian western superstar Gemma, who gets to show off his charisma, as well as his prowess as an action star, doing all or most of his own stunts.There's some good action action sequences here too, including a rowdy bath-time punch-out/gunfight and an exciting train robbery climax, all leading to a finale that actually rips off the final scene of The Graduate!

The premise here is that two estranged brothers must spend six peaceful months together in order to inherit $300,000 from a rich uncle. This premise, however, is merely an excuse to put the two brothers into a series of comic adventures in the American West -- circa early 1900s. While none of these adventures is original or memorable, they combine to produce an easy-going "spaghetti western" which never takes itself too seriously and which therefore qualifies as a pleasant time-killer. (Incidentally, the movie's Italian title translates as "Alive or Preferably Dead." The American title shamelessly tries to capitalize on another film's success but it has nothing to do with the famous characters portrayed by Paul Newman and Robert Redford.) This movie is helped by the fact that the two brothers, (and they actually look like brothers), are played by such handsome and agreeable actors as Giuliano Gemma and Nino Benvenuti. Gemma, (billed as "John Wade" for American audiences), got his start wearing nothing but a towel in 1959's "Ben-Hur" when he appeared as one of the muscular Roman athletes who observe Messala placing a bet with the Shiek on the outcome of the chariot race. Benvenuti, (here billed as "Robert Neuman"), first achieved fame as a boxer in Rome's 1960 Olympics. Despite being personable and good-looking, he only appeared in two movies. Not surprisingly, opportunities are found to show off these hunks' physiques by stripping them to the waist. Gemma is shown sitting in a tub, taking a bubble bath, while Benvenuti sheds his shirt when he chops a load of firewood. Both men are also shirtless when they're tortured by the Bad Guys who apparently poke burning sticks into their chests. Alas, both the American theatrical release and the videotape release drastically cut this torture scene. The two brothers are shown tied up and threatened but then the action jumps forward. The brothers now have burn marks on their chests but no torture was actually shown.Sydne Rome, (billed here as "Karen Blake"), makes a spunky and appealing heroine but at the end of the movie one realizes she's just been added to the proceedings to persuade viewers that the two brothers -- appearances to the contrary -- are really "straight."(November 2007 update: Having viewed a DVD of this movie under its Italian title, some new comments are in order. This Italian version is longer and more detailed than the American version known as "Sundance Cassidy and Butch the Kid." It contains the complete torture scene which turns out to be quite different than expected. The two brothers, stripped to the waist, are laid face-up on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. The bad guy approaches with a smoldering stick taken from a nearby fireplace but does not, as expected, poke it into the brothers' chests. Instead he uses it to draw a smudgy line across the floor. Then he tells his gang-members they can throw hot pennies at the brothers but they cannot step across the line. The gang-members reach into the fireplace with their gloved hands, scoop up hot coins, and gleefully toss them at the brothers' bare chests. The brothers squirm and writhe, trying to avoid the scorching missiles, but some still hit their targets. Then a distraction occurs, the brothers manage to free themselves with no more damage than a few burn marks on their chests. It's puzzling why the American prints cut most of this scene since it's not especially violent and is played more for comic than sadistic effect. The beginning of the movie also varies from the Italian to the English-language print. The Italian version begins with a scene "back East" in which Monty Mulligan leaves a Christmas party, fights off four street-thugs intent on robbing him, and then encounters four more men who demand that he repays his gambling debts. Monty's unable to do so but is saved by the arrival of a messenger from a lawyer's office. The scene then shifts to this office where the lawyer reads to Monty details of his uncle's will. At this point the movie switches to its Wild West setting which is where the English-language prints pick up the story.)

This film is also known as Sundance and the Kid in the U.S. release. Starting as early as the 1970's most Euro-Westerns started going downhill in quality and budget. So Italian producers started combining the usually dramatic Spaghetti Westerns with comedy and later in 1970's with martial arts! This film, Sundance and the Kid, is just plain awful in everything from the acting to the screenplay. This turkey was cranked out to compete with the more original Spaghetti Western comedies with Italian actors Bud Spencer and Terence Hill such as Boot Hill, They Call Me Trinity, Trinity is Still My Name..etc. and also perhaps to certain extent the quality U.S. film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Robert Redford and Paul Newman which is recommended if you want to see a quality made comedy-western.Ironically, in my opinion, Italian directors made the very best westerns and the very worst westerns. On most all these Spaghetti Western-Comedies everything from the title of the movie to the names of the Italian actors, directors and sometimes even the production crew would change their names to American names and add awful English dubbing all designed to sound more American so it would sell better. In Spaghetti Westerns everything in fact is made in Italy but to make $$$ they had to make it look like an American made western as much as possible...but sometimes failed miserably as in this movie.