Un genio, due compari, un pollo

I purchased this PAL DVD (my Macintosh computer plays the format) and a region- free, NTSC/PAL DVD player (connected to a regular NTSC tv) so I, NOT THE STUDIOS, can choose what I want. The PAL disc was the only version I found available, and I will submit DVD info when I find time. Look for the widescreen/ letterboxed format (which "Genius" is), instead of the horrid pan and scan, because letterboxed (or matted) is what the director intended viewers to see! Please keep an open mind about spaghetti westerns. Sometimes viewers comment with such harsh criticism that it can turn someone away when they should be prompted to look for a title in the genre they are interested in. I've suddenly grown a fascination in macaroni that I'm finding movies that I've never been interested in before. I swore on Clint/Eli/Cleef/ Leone/Ennio flicks yet didn't notice people like Nero and Milian. And now I'm discovering not to be so hard on my boy Terence Hill. Okay, so he doesn't take it so seriously. At first, that's what turned me away from his flicks. It wasn't Eastwood enough. But geez, what a kick you can get from "Genious." Initially I didn't care for Ennio's music, but it seeps into you. And there's something about the camera placement and movements that draw me into the film, which was just the right length -- not too long or short. The funny moments and comments throughout, plus the explosion (a very real and powerful one) somewhere in the flick made me decide on 8 stars. I judge these the same way as kung fu action. It can be so easy to pick apart and be literal, but these generally are simply pasta and lo mein noodle- type movies. Just enjoy sucking it into your system. You'll love getting full, and soon you'll want another helping.

I'd never heard of this one until I stumbled across it on DVD (under the title 'A Genius, Two Partners And A Dupe'). I was intrigued because it was directed by Damiano Damiani who made one of the very best non-Leone spaghetti westerns 'A Bullet For The General', and was produced (and many say co-directed) by Sergio Leone himself. I believe this was the last western Leone was involved with, and one of the very last spaghetti westerns ever made. The eclectic cast was another attraction. Terence "My Name Is Nobody" Hill, Miou-Miou, Patrick "The Prisoner" McGoohan and the legendary Klaus Kinski... Mmmm, very interesting! Well after sitting through this crap I now know why it's so obscure. It sucks. In almost every way. I have no idea of Leone's involvement, but the striking opening sequence looks like it might have been directed by him. Too bad it's all downhill from there! This was retitled to try and sell it as a sequel to 'My Name Is Nobody'. Hill actually plays a different character and the connection between the two is tenuous at best. BUT it is in a similar vein to many of Hill's comedy westerns, or should I say "so-called comedy" westerns? I didn't get one laugh out of it. It's really hard to imagine a serious director like Damiani making slapstick rubbish like this. The awful dubbing doesn't help things either. Regarding the supporting cast, the bad news is Kinski. He only had a small role in 'A Bullet For The General', but in this one it's even less. Basically Kinski has a two scene cameo at the beginning of the movie, and that's it. I love watching Kinski but anyone renting this movie just to see him should be warned. The good news is McGoohan. He has a much more substantial role and is quite good. Unfortunately he's surrounded by actors hamming it up and a lousy script. If the movie hadn't have played it for laughs, had someone other than Hill as the star (say Franco Nero) and more Kinski it might have been good. As it is only rabid Leone fans will want to bother watching it. Easily the poorest spaghetti western I've ever seen. Avoid.

While many people claim that "A Genius, Two Partners, and a Dupe" is a sequel to "My Name Is Nobody", it really isn't - Terence Hill's character here has a different name, and it's taking place before the events of MNIN. Sequel or not, what we have here is a very disappointing spaghetti western, one of the last that was made. For the longest time, there simply isn't any plot to be found. And when the plot DOES start, it unfolds in a very confusing manner. Klaus Kinski fans will be let down by the fact that he only appears for a few minutes. (He only seems to be in the film enough so that the movie could get German funding - the movie is an Italian, French, and German co-production.) Terence Hill is charming as ever, there is a great score by Ennio Morricone, and the scenery is fantastic, so the movie isn't a complete loss. Still, I would only recommend this to spaghetti western enthusiasts - and even they might find this tough to sit through.

I've watched this movie in German and with many Terrence Hill movies, the German translation might often deviate heavily from its original script. It's incredibly cheaply produced - the explosions and action sequences aside - which you can see almost everywhere. I don't know, if that's usual for Terrence Hill movies, but I almost lost it in the end, where "Nobody" holds his final speech but the camera never shows his face, all while constantly panning over the other character's faces, yet only showing "Nobody's" hands. Also its very slapstick-heavy, which often falls flat with me.

I might recommend this, if you like Terrence Hill movies, but for others this isn't really worth watching.

This Terence Hill film is quite strange!Supposed to be a sequel to My Name Is Nobody,it's a spoof on the old west!Not very family friendly,it has it's good parts!Terence Hill really makes the movie.It would have been better if his partner Bud Spencer starred with him.The first scene is directed by the great Sergio Leone.What's wrong with it is not the plot(a great plot),but the supporting cast,and how it doesn't make much of an impact,like My Name Is Nobody did so well.Great music from Ennio Morricone,though not very western sounding.In the end,Sergio Leone,was not impressed and took his name off the film and never did another western!