A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

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

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Gunfight At Red Sands is an excellent early spaghetti western. It is probably the best pre-1964 eurowestern I have seen.I wouldn't be surprised if this spaghetti was the one that started it all, as far as the style goes. The other early examples of the genre I have seen seem to be lacking in the defining characteristics that make these films so great, but this movie has all of the stylistic elements in place. The ultra-bleak depiction of life in the west, a couple of oddball off-kilter characters, a great music score (by the master, Morricone, no less), some great suspense-building camera work, a dramatic showdown, and lots of rousing action really make this one stand out.The acting in the film is very good, and definitely above-average for a eurowestern. Richard Harrison is great in the role of "Gringo." Giacomo Rossi-Stuart also does an excellent job in the role of Sheriff Corbett. All of the other players are great as well. The character "Lisa," played by Sara Lezana, is one of the strongest female characters I have seen in a western. She's every bit as tough, and can shoot as well as any other character in the story, and she has a very prominent role in the most important action scenes of the film.The story is a very engaging one, and it moves along at a really good pace. There are no slow parts or fillers in this movie. There is also a strong element of mystery, as Gringo has to do a fair amount of detective work to figure out who murdered his father.All in all, this is a great movie that no spaghetti western fan should overlook.

"Gunfight at Red Sands" has one of the cooler sounding Western movie titles of the modern era. The title would have been right at home as an episode of 'The Dakotas' which came out the same year, 1963. Though it appears to hold an important place in the early history of Spaghetti Westerns, the film for me was a rather run of the mill affair with it's Euro-West flavor and unrelenting revenge theme. The opening scene in which the Gringo's (Richard Harrison) partner Francisco was shot in the chest by a posse shooting from behind as they gave chase may have colored my perception about what was to follow. That sort of stuff should have gone out with Fifties B Westerns.That's not to say that the picture didn't offer some interesting elements. The Martinez sister Lisa (Sara Lezana) takes an active role in the action showing some skillful firearm work in the final showdown against Sheriff Corbett's (G.R. Stuart) bunch. Just before that, I thought it was cruelly ironic that the Sheriff gunned down his own girlfriend Maria (Mikaela) during the posse chase, a classic case of what goes around comes around. Ultimately though, this one didn't strike me as anything special. At one point in the story, the Gringo is asked how he's doing and he replies - "Things are bad but they'll get better". I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Still, it was a cool title.

Richard Harrison is a gringo raised by a family of poor Mexican farmers, who have recently discovered gold on their property. He returns home from a war in Mexico to find his father shot down by three strangers looking to take his treasure, leading to a showdown with several local bigots and friction with the town's new sheriff.Although definitely not the first western shot in southern Spain nor the first Italian-made western, this may have been the first real "spaghetti western" (albeit with American co-writer Albert Band), by Jolley Film of Rome, the studio that made A Fistful Of Dollars the following year.Some say that El Sabor de la Venganza, released the same year, came before. However, I'm not entirely convinced, as this is the one that's acknowledged as the film debut of Spanish genre star Aldo Sambrell, an actor who appeared in both films.Harrison, better known for starring in a slew of Italian sword and sandal features, is pretty good playing the sullen, lone-avenger type in this typical but entertaining flick, that benefits greatly from a fast-pace, good action, and gun-play.This is also notable for being the first western film scored by the great Ennio Morricone. It's not his best, but there's a few good moments, including the catchy main-theme "A Gringo Like Me", featuring a truly odd vocal performance that was changed and made more mainstream for it's CD appearances!

I had the chance of watching this great movie the other day. Everybody told me that it was a great "spaghetti-western", and I really believe it is. And I´ll tell you why. The movie plot is very intriguing, the rhythm is unbeatable, and it´s a story it could have happened somewhere in the west last century. It´s just wonderful, great. And by the way it´s also one of the first spaghetti-westerns. The great performances of Richard Harrison, Mikaela, Daniel Martín, and the rest of the cast make this movie absolutely delightful. And to boots the main title song called "A gringo like me" is one of the best pieces I´ve heard in a western of this kind: "Put your hand on your gun...don´t you trust anyone, there´s just one kind of man that you can trust, that´s a dead man... or a gringo like me...".