Si può fare... amigo

Hiram Coburn is not the typical spaghetti western protagonist. He doesn't use a gun, instead opting to pound his opponents silly with his fists, and although he is as powerful as an ox, he is mellow and laid back to an annoying degree. He takes some getting used to, but by the end of the film I found myself liking this character. Jack Palance plays Sonny, an eccentric gunslinger (what Palance does best). He is very entertaining, and I would have liked to have seen more of him in the film. The weirdest thing about him is that his accent keeps changing. Sometimes he sounds like he is from the southeastern US, other times he sounds Mexican, and other times he sounds like he's from Chicago or something. I don't know if this is intentional or not, but it sure is odd, and odd is a good thing in a spaghetti western.

The music score by Bacalov is excellent. It reminds me of some of Morricone's work, which is pretty much the best compliment one could give.

The story is great, and just about the most original one I've ever seen in a spaghetti western. The movie is a comedy, but not to the extent that it becomes completely unbelievable. I may have given this movie a higher rating if I saw it in a more complete, widescreen version. The version I saw, which I assume is the most commonly available, is approximately 98 minutes long if I remember correctly, and it feels like it's been edited somewhat to shorten its length.

All in all, this one's a must-have if you are a spaghetti western nut like me.

One of Bud Spencer's star vehicles without his partner Terence Hill takes him back to familiar Spaghetti Western territory. Despite a good cast (Jack Palance, Francisco Rabal, Luciano Pigozzi) and crew (screenwriters Rafael Azcona and Ernesto Gastaldi, cinematographer Aldo Tonti and composer Luis Enriquez Bacalov), the film rambles amiably along without ever becoming sufficiently memorable.

Spencer seduces Palance's virginal sister (having mistook her in the dark for another dance-hall girl) and flees from her pursuing pistolero/showman brother until he meets an abandoned child in the desert whom he takes under his wing (shades of two films Bud would later make with CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND [1977]'s Cary Guffey); as it turns out, the boy is the proprietor of a dilapidated wellspring which turns out to be rich in oil but they soon fall foul of outwardly harmless sheriff/judge/preacher Rabal. Spencer indulges himself in several of his typical fist-fights and even "Paco" Rabal gets to taste his trademark hammer-blow to the head; amusingly, he puts on his glasses before a fight so that he can think more clearly! Palance scores best as Spencer's laid-back, black-clad, pursuer-cum-partner and brother-in-law to-be. The title song is an agreeable one although it's only played during the opening and closing credits sequences.

I have missed out on this one several times on Italian TV over the years but I did catch the free-for-all finale once; since the quality of the DVD I watched was quite terrible – not just pan-and-scanned but extremely washed out as to lapse into practically black and white at various points!; although it was nice to hear Palance and Rabal's own voices in English, I'll make it a point to tape this one when it's shown again on one of the major Italian TV channels.

For a Spaghetti Western It Can Be Done...Amigo is neither among the best or worst. While less than perfect, it was entertaining if in a strange way.

While it does deserve a much better DVD with a more expansive widescreen and sharper picture quality, It Can Be Done...Amigo is not a bad-looking film at all. In fact, the scenery is very evocatively beautiful and the camera work is well-placed and doesn't try to be too ambitious or simplistic. The energetic, rousing, haunting, stylish and beautifully and cleverly orchestrated music score is the best thing about the film, plus it fits very well, while the songs are a good memorable fit. It Can Be Done...Amigo is well-directed and the acting is also not bad although the child actor is a little annoying and the dubbing is unnecessary and poorly utilised. Bud Spencer is a charismatic and imposing lead with a good flair for comic timing and Jack Palance is lots of sinister yet hammy fun despite his accent rarely staying the same. Dany Saval brings charm to her role as well.

Regarding the script and story, both are a mixed bag. A good deal of the humour is very entertaining, a couple of the running gags like with the cans and the reading glasses do really work and give off a fun vibe. but some of it does fall flat when it does get a bit too silly and bizarre. The dialogue has its moments and is appropriately good natured, but also gets too silly and awkward-sounding. The story is problematic, credit is due for it trying to do something different for a Spaghetti Western, the interaction between Spencer and the child mostly engages and the final fight is oddball but amusing and tense. Also despite how it sounds reading a synopsis it is thankfully easier to follow than you think. However the film does start very sluggishly and feels like you're riding on the shell of a snail for a lot of the first half of the film, and it ends on an abrupt note.

Overall, flawed but strangely entertaining. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Released in 1972 (but not in the USA until 1974), "It Can be Done… Amigo" is an Italian oater starring Ben Spencer as a gentle giant, Coburn, saved from unjust hanging. He becomes the caretaker of a little boy who's the heir of a remote ranch that many people are interested in obtaining for some reason. Jack Palance plays a comical gunfighter/pimp who insists that Coburn marries his nagging sister (Dany Saval) because he was previously intimate with her.

In spirit, but not plot, this is basically an early 70's Euro version of 1963's "McLintock!" Unfortunately it was lost in translation for me. Obviously a lot of effort was put into it, but it failed to engage. It's also marred by the limitations of most Spaghetti Westerns, like dubious dubbing. Plus there should've been more prominent women (Saval is likable, but she just grates on the nerves after a while). Still, the movie's likable; it's just very eccentric, which limits its appeal, but I'll give it another try in a few years.

The film runs 109 minutes and was shot in Almería, Andalucía, Spain.

GRADE: C- (4.5/10 Stars)

This is a funny spoof about several Spaghetti clichés with relentless comedy and parodying usual Western events that sometimes becomes stale . This is a good entertaining juvenile for Bud Spencer fans , as he's delightful in a fraternal story . It packs action, fist-play, sniping, slapdash , humor with tongue-and-cheek and is quite amusing . It deals with Coburn (Bud Spencer or Carlo Perdesoli) an insouciant , bumbling drifter who breaks out from prison and attempts to right wrongs . He embarks on his getaway and he gets stuck a ten years old little boy (Renato) . The boy's uncle dies, leaving a house , useless land to the child but is actually plenty of petroleum that is coveted by a priest-sheriff-judge (Francisco Rabal) and his hoodlums (Salvatore Borghese , Riccardo Pizzuti) . Hiram Coburn oblivious to risks and hopeless odds endure mishaps adventures and he join forces with the child to rout nasty gunmen . Meanwhile, the gunfighter Sonny Bronston (Jack Palance) going out the chase of Coburn to marry his sister (Dany Saval) and the baddies want to take the rich lands.

This release has some cool and several hilarious moments , though the Terence Hill-Bud Spencer duo films are much better , such as ¨They call me trinity¨, ¨Trinity is still my name¨ and ¨Truoblemakers¨ . Good for laughs as well as lots of shootouts and fist-play . The film isn't always good , sometimes is fresh and diverting and on a couple of memorable occasions , it's frankly delicious . The flick belong to the sub-genre that Bud Spencer played in which he has as partners some sympathetic children , as ¨Supersheriff¨, ¨Banana Joe¨, ¨Flatfoot¨ and ¨Aladdin¨. The film displays a wide plethora of secondary actors usually seen in Spaghetti genre as Sal Borghese , Luciano Pigozzi or Alan Collins , Robert Camardiel as an old drunk and Ricardo Pizzuti , the latter usual in Hill-Spencer flicks . The movie displays innumerable jokes , laughter , and slapstick , though relies heavily about the continuous relationship between the tired gunslinger and the orphaned boy . Enjoyable but silly screenplay Ernesto Gastaldi and Rafael Azcona . Catching musical score with noisy songs by Luis Enrique Bacalov who subsequently would win Oscar for ¨The postman¨ . This motion picture was professionally directed by Maurizio Luzidi . Although Maurizio couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . He was a fine editor and also filmed detective thrillers , Giallo , comedy and even a horror film or two . He directed two Western more as ¨La grand Rapina del West¨ with George Hilton and Jack Betts and ¨Pecos¨ with Robert Woods , and even made films with international cast as ¨Sweet people¨ with Roger Moore and Stacy Keach and ¨The last chance¨ with Elli Wallach and Ursula Andress . His greatest conquest was the edition of ¨Don Quijote¨ by Orson Welles . Rating : 5,5 . Acceptable , passable but average . It is a middling Western story in which gibing the Spaghetti genre , plenty of fights and shoot'em up . As the director Mauricio Lucidi is uninspired and the ending is pretty predictable .