That Dirty Black Bag

Spaghetti Western? Yep. Made in Spain instead of Italy. Dark western. Yep. Arty film? Yep. Great cast? Absolutely. Shock factor for shock factor value only. Yep. Blood and guts? TONS of it! Good writing? Not sure. I have no idea what the story line is - other than a town filled with very angry people and some religious ones too. But a story. Haven't found it yet. Black bag and all. Visually: Absolutely stunning.

Even the music is reminiscent of another series, but I'll be darned if I can remember which one. Makin' me nuts! Like this series!

Once you think you have it figured it out - you don't. Now I'm conflicted. Should I call this a spoiler? I doubt it. If you stick with this series - you know what you're in for much sooner than later. And you'll be reminded very often.

That Dirty Black Bag is a dark, sometimes violent but we'll written and acted western that pays homage to the classic spagetti westerns of the 60s with Clint Eastwood, Lee van Cleef and a host of well known actors of the time. Not only is it filmed in the province of Almeria, Spain (near Tabernas) with its stark, dry, desolate landscape, but it has overtones of Quentin Tarantino's dramatic, violent, oversized red credits style similar to what we saw in The Hateful 8. But more importantly it's a nod to the great director Sergio Leone who pioneered the good vs evil western with closeups of the cool, calculating and terror-filled faces with rousing academy award winning music by Ennio Moricone. We see hints of Sergio's directing style throughout the series but especially in episode 8 "The Great Duel" which is so reminiscent of the final scenes of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly replete with a cemetery, wide angle POV followed by angst-ridden closeups of the gunslingers as they prepare to shoot em' up. To make it even more interesting the evil protagonist is of Italian descent and of course the crew is 95% Spanish. As I write this there are few ratings for the last few episodes but I expect this series to be a sleeper, and fan reviews will come out soon with headlines like "the best western you missed" or that you should see... Definitely in the 8 area of IMDB...

It is a western ! And it is a good western - it has dominick cooper !! I thought every show and movie these days could only take place in a "universe" where people where capes. Between this show and 1883, i am hoping that westerns get a little more love. I am so sick of the super hero stuff. Its been going on for a decade now. It has been nothing but wonky cgi generated super hero's doing wonky super hero things via bad cgi and vfx. Burnt out. Give us more content like this please ! Good stuff ! Now, put your head in my sac.

I wrote a "preliminary review" as I watched the first episode. Having finished the first season's 8 episodes now, I'd have to say it met my expectations and more. The cinematography and acting are superb. A very interesting cast of characters played with great finesse by top-notch actors. It is set somewhere in the Old West, but it's beyond the usual spaghetti Westerns by being more mythic and somewhat "supernatural." If there's a downside, that I'm sure some viewers will not like, it's that the the symbolism and hysterical motivations are kind of far-fetched. But as I said before, the "Mad Max" series was also far-fetched but due to being a fantasy of a dystopian world.

This is for sure a dystopian "Old West," extremely grim and violent. Reminds me of Cormac McCarthy's famous trilogy. If violence gives you the flibberty-gibbets, then don't watch it. I won't comment about the finale except to say that the following seasons are going to be made or broken by how that turns out.

I don't understand the negativity around this series. It has all you want in a western. Just because it's not made in America and is directed by Italians? Get a grip. It's a dark and gory western and keeps you hooked throughout! If you simply enjoy this genre then I very much recommend.