Due volte Giuda

Despite the presence of Klaus Kinski, "Twice a Judas" is a somewhat dull spaghetti western. It does start off well, with the hero waking up in the middle of an expanse of bodies and not knowing who he is or how he got there. For the next half hour or so the movie remains engaging, as the hero tries to figure out who he is and whether he should be cautious about any of the various people he encounters. However, after that first half hour, things soon fall apart. It turns into a pretty dull mystery, with the hero for some reason afraid to ask questions that might have solved his mystery much quicker. There is also very little action, with a lot of dull talk. And Kinski, compared to many of his other movies, seems surprisingly restrained here. Far from the worst spaghetti western I've seen, but there's not much here to make it worth ninety minutes of your time.

Similar to "And God Said to Cain", another Kinski "Spaghetti Western", Twice a Judas" is only marginal in entertainment value. Again Kinski's actual voice is absent, the dubbing is however far better than in "Cain." The other big advantage of "Judas" has over "Cain" is it almost totally takes place in daylight, as opposed to "Cain" which is barely visible for the majority of it's running time. The "Twice a Judas" storyline is scattered although flashbacks try to tie everything together with the ending. I consider "Twice a Judas" to be the better film of these two, but it is strictly for Kinski fans who can live with the fact that it really is not a very good film. MERK.

Nando Cicero's "Due Volte Giuda" aka. "Twice A Judas" of 1971 starring Antonio Sabato and the great Klaus Kinski, may not be a Spaghetti Western masterpiece, but it is certainly an entertaining and suspenseful and vastly underrated film.One aspect that makes this movie special is the amnesia story. This is one of the few Spaghetti Westerns to include amnesia, and the only one I've seen in which the topic of amnesia is actually one of the primary aspects of the plot, which follows a man (Antonio Sabato), who wakes up with a grazing gunshot wound to his head, next to a corpse in the middle of the desert, and has no clue who he is. The first half hour of the movie is quite confusing, and that's what maintains the suspense.

Kinski delivers an excellent performance as always, and Sabato fits in his role very well. José Calvo is furthermore convincing as an alcoholic doctor. The rest of the performances are OK too, but I couldn't say that any of them were particularly worth mentioning. The film is nicely (though in no way outstandingly)photographed, and the score is also quite good (although certainly not brilliant).

"Twice A Judas" is an original and suspenseful Spaghetti Western, and although it looses some of its quality towards the end, which is, in my opinion, a bit cheesy and too fast-paced compared to the film's beginning, it is certainly worth watching and way underrated. If you're a fan of Spaghetti Westerns and/or Klaus Kinski, I recommend to give this a try. 6/10

TWICE A JUDAS is a well-shot but rather routine spaghetti western enlivened by colourful cinematography and a slightly left-of-centre plot. The main character is a man who wakes up in the searing desert heat alongside a corpse. The problem is, his memory has gone, so suffering from amnesia he enters a local township and discovers problems with corrupt officials.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that Bourne-style plotting but it's the indifferent execution that lets this film down. The action scenes in particular are rather limited in scope and execution and nothing the viewer hasn't seen before. In addition, Antonio Sabato gives an exceptionally wooden turn as the protagonist, a guy you neither care about nor have any sympathy with despite his plight.

As is usual for this type of film, the best thing about TWICE A JUDAS is the dual role for Klaus Kinski. Kinski is reliably eccentric and/or nasty in his part(s) here and lifts things whenever he appears, so it's just a pity that's not all that often. Watch out for Cristina Galbo (THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE) as the love interest. As an aside, Sabato's dog steals all of his scenes.

This a very good Spaghetti Western no question about it. I'm a big fan of the genre and have to admit that the bulk of these films are mediocre to bad and I put off seeking this film out due to the bad reviews posted here. Unfortunately the two comments left are totally unsympathetic to the quirks of the genre and the one review doesn't even describe the story correctly! - May you meet the blazing lead of Antonio Sabatos Elephant gun! The film is very well shot and directed and the score is fine also. Kinski gives a very good nuanced performance. He ends up being extremely evil but there is a question as to this which is carried through out the movie to very good effect, helped by Kinski's performance and the rather intelligent script and effective direction. Sabato is good as the lead and surprisingly you buy that he and Kinski could be brothers, they have similar face structure. Added pluses are some very well staged shoot outs. One in particular uses the Family dog to riotously effective uses in helping the hero roust the Bad guys. Very well done indeed and adds a touch of humor to a sombre reflective film. This scene alone is worth the price of the film even if the rest was a wash, its that good. For you aficionados catch the Dubbing work of Veteran character actor Walter Barnes, as the voice of the Sheriff. A hidden gem if you can get a copy!