Absolutely Fantastic

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Warren Oates and his gang need to be portrayed as ruthless killers; we understand that. But the town massacre in the opening scene just goes on and on, with senseless killings of innocents. That violence overshadows the epic performances of Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker, Kerwin Matthews, John Davis Chandler, and Marie Gomez. Perhaps there is an edited version available that shortens the opening sequence. I would have given this an 8 or 9 rating, but I simply cannot recommend a movie that needs dozens of murders to set the stage.

Frankly, this tepid and slightly mediocre spaghetti western is simply gorgeous to look at on blu-ray. The locales and the sets look so damn authentic. The setting is unique - a village on the bank of a river with a wharf and a barge. The village bank is robbed by a bunch of bandits lead by WARREN OATES. But the river stands between the bandits and freedom. And the only way they can escape is on the barge owned by LEE VAN CLIFF. But CLIFF is attached to his barge and wont let go. The villagers led by CLIFF and FORREST TUCKER escape to the other side of the river on the barge, leaving the bandits stranded in the village. Tensions run deep in both camps regarding the next plan of action.One of the reasons I bought the Blu-ray DVD was because the film had LEE VAN CLIFF and WARREN OATES facing off against each other. The muscular and sweaty CLIFF is terrific. I wonder whether the director had a soft corner for him because I'm sure the ladies would find him to be eye candy. WARREN OATES does not make much of an impression - his role is ill etched and he looks way too slight and wiry compared to CLIFF. And the supporting cast is poor - the gorgeous MARIETTE HARTLEY in the role of a posh woman coveted by CLIFF's character is irritating at best, the unremarkable MARIE GOMEZ plays CLIFF's girlfriend NOLA, JOHN DAVIS CHANDLER is a poor man's Klaus Kinski while the pudgy FORREST TUCKER and his torture of the bandits were a distraction at best. The dialogues and plot developments are uninspired. It could have been a terrific little film. It had so much going for it - the story and the location had a lot of potential. The final action scene was pretty cool. Everything in the film looks very authentic including the sweaty sex scene between OATES and a Mexican prostitute. It is sort of a huge opportunity lost. I guess its too late to wish for a remake. Nobody makes westerns anymore.

This is one of those often-overlooked types of movies that should have gotten a lot more consideration.Just a plain, down-to-earth western, with good guys, bad guys, a little bit of steaminess and a lot of action. It's delightful to watch just an ordinary ferryman outwit and outsmart a bunch of badmen, while enlisting the help of a town full of losers. Lee Van Cleef does a superb job!If you want to watch an old-fashioned shoot-'em-up with a hero, his "partner" and a whole lot of others thrown in to make it interesting, then this is the movie for you.Quite simply put, it should be shown on The Western Channel a lot more often - and it should definitely be released on DVD - what are they waiting for? I loved it if only for the fact that it does NOT have gobs of special effects all done with computers!!

Beautiful Colorado scenery and a fine attention to detail in this western set in the late 1860s.Several American attempts at a spaghetti western surfaced in the late 1960s: this one is a much more compelling film than Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High", in that all of the lead characters are well-drawn and mysterious. Van Cleef, in his finest lead, plays the title character, a man more interested in protecting his barge than in the well-being of the "squatters" who populate the town. Oates is a bit hammy as Remy, but an effective psychotic villain nonetheless.Tucker practically steals the film in a role that would have gone to Edgar Buchanan two decades earlier, that of Mountain Phil, a man loyal enough to put his life on the line for his best friend, and who holds the "squatters" in even more contempt than the barquero does.Should be on DVD by now. An overlooked gem that anticipated "Tom Horn", "Unforgiven", and other stripped-down westerns that would follow over the next 25 years.