E Deus Disse a Caim

After 10 years in prison, Hamilton (Klaus Kinski) swears revenge to those who betrayed him. The Showdown actually begins after only 30 minutes. After the introduction of the characters, the whole film plays during the stormy night of revenge. The most remarkable thing about this film is Margheriti's unusual visual interpretation. It lets this Western look like a horror film, with typical small effects like windows suddenly opening, curtains blowing, or birds screaming when the name Hamilton is called. Kinski's appearances have got a kind of supernatural touch, he seems to appear or disappear like a ghost. Nevertheless a natural explanation (darkness, caves, a sandstorm) is always provided. The darkest Western ever made takes place at night for two thirds of its running time. And as a stark contrast, it ends in a bright mirror room. Kinski usually played one of the bounty hunters in his spaghetti westerns. In this case, he was cast as the hero (well, anti-hero) which turned out to be a clever move. Extraordinary for the genre!

If you read the synopsis for And God Said to Cain you would be forgiven for assuming it was another archetypal Spaghetti Western. The story starts with a man called Gary Hamilton, being released by Presidential pardon from a hard labour prison sentence. And from here he immediately sets about seeking out those who betrayed him leaving him imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Making matters worse is the fact that the chief villain, Acombar, has subsequently profited from his crime, making him a very wealthy land-baron and, to rub even more salt into Hamilton's wounds, has taken his wife as his own. It's a pretty straightforward and generic revenge narrative reminiscent of many an Italian western. But what sets this one out from the crowd a bit and gives it its interest factor is the way in which it goes about presenting this story.

Probably the single most significant element is quite a simple one. Virtually the whole story happens during one stormy night. This might not sound like much but I was raking my brains to think of another western whose main body of action all takes place during the night-time. The western genre, be it American or Italian, has a convention for action taking place mostly under the unforgivably hot, bright sun. It's a fairly ingrained part of the iconography, so much so that when a film deviates from it, it's pretty noticeable. This movie builds up the basic set-up typically enough but by the half hour mark we enter the final act and we never leave the darkness. The fact that the showdown itself last a full hour is pretty unusual too it has to be said. In this part Hamilton has to contend with Acombar's thirty henchmen and he does so via a variety of methods.

Director Antonio Margheriti was a solid, if unspectacular director who worked in a number of genres and made films such as the giallo Naked You Die. It's very possible that this could be his best effort though. He really cranks up the atmosphere in this one. The night setting sort of automatically creates a dark ambiance in truth but there are several details that really accentuate things nevertheless, such as the moody soundtrack from Carlo Savina that very much underscores the ominous tone that the director is going for. While there are some nice ideas that add an extra layer to the feel as well, such as the tolling bell that prefigures the villains doom. Even the ending is going for something interesting with a finale in a room full of mirrors.

The action is maybe a bit samey in the middle section, however, with faceless villain after faceless villain being dispatched by the hero. And the constant darkness didn't always ensure the action was always too clear which was unfortunate, although admittedly, this could be due to a poor print and not the film itself. But on the whole, this is a western that stands out a bit tone-wise and this is a good thing. And, how could I end without mentioning Klaus Kinski? He normally played the villains in the westerns he appeared in. In this one, along with Black Killer from 1971 he was in an atypical good guy role and this film, like the others he starred in, benefits from his charismatic presence.

Antonio Margheriti's "E Dio Disse A Caino" aka. "And God Said To Cain" is a very dark and excellent Spaghetti Western with a great leading performance by Klaus Kinski in an untypical role. Kinski, who was usually typecast as a crazy and/or extremely cold-blooded villain plays the (anti)hero in this, an innocent victim, who becomes a merciless avenger.

Innocently imprisoned, Gary Hamilton (Kinski) is pardoned after 10 years of heavy labor in a stone pit in the desert. After loosing ten years of his life for a crime he did not commit, Gary only has one thought on his mind - to take bloody, pitiless revenge on those responsible for the crime he was charged for and who blamed him for a crime they committed.

Klaus Kinski (once again) delivers an excellent performance in the lead, and although the role of Gary Hamilton is unusual for Kinski, I could hardly imagine anybody else to fit in this role as perfectly as he does. Peter Carsten also does a very good job as the villainous Acombar, and the supporting cast contains Gino Lollobrigida, who fits into his role as one of Acombar's sidekicks very well, and beautiful Marcella Michelangeli, who is lovely to look at and who also plays her role well (allthough it did not require a lot of acting). The movie has a lot of horror influences and the atmosphere in "And God Said To Cain" is a very dark one, and resembles the atmosphere of a Horror flick at times (unsurprisingly, since director Margheriti is best-known for his horror movies). The score by Carlo Savino is very good, it mixes the Spaghetti Western sound with a sound that resembles the soundtrack of Thrillers and Horror movies. Furthermore, the score contains a stylish, chanted gospel-style song in the beginning. I usually prefer soundtracks without singing in Spaghetti Westerns, but I have to say that this one fits very well in the opening scene in the desert prison. The cinematography is also very good and quite original, as it underlines the dark atmosphere and intensifies the suspense.

"And God Said To Cain" is an excellent, dark and very suspenseful Spaghetti Western that I highly recommend. Spaghetti Western and/or Kinski fans can't afford to miss this.

Pardoned and freed after serving ten years hard labor for a crime he did not commit, Klaus Kinski returns to his hometown for some well-deserved payback against the bigwig who framed him.

Overly talky at first, things pick up about a third of the way in, when Kinski blows into town ahead of a violent windstorm to wreak near biblical vengeance.

And God Said To Cain... is full of neat Gothic touches such as the howling wind, the dark secluded mansion, a ringing church bell, and the silent priest playing pipe organ. All the while, there's something akin to superstitious dread on the part of Kinski's nemesis and his hired guns as the silent Klaus hides and seeks his prey.

Director Antonio Margheretti made films in all genres of Italian exploitation films (horror, peplum, giallo, etc.) with mixed success. Not bad, this one lies somewhere in the middle.

This has a great opening theme song and a satisfying fiery climax.

"And God Said to Cain..." (1969), a Saghetti Western directed by Antonio Margheriti, stars Klaus Kinski, Peter Carsten and Marcella Michelangeli and is the recipient of a startling, innovative script by Antonio Margheriti and Giovanni Addessi that has a hero who prefigures Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter" by being a ghost (or is he?). Even in the transcending, transgressive, aggressive genre splicing of the world of Spagheetti Westerns, this is surprising stuff.

The plot has all the hallmarks of tightly-knit Greek tragedy: it takes place in a twenty-four hour time frame as Guy Hamilton (Kinski) mysteriously seeks revenge against the rich, powerful Acombar family.

Crows shriek out whenever Hamilton's name is spoken and an ominous storms broods over the landscape; this is not so much a Western as a Horror Western. The explanation, the motivation for Hamilton's insane night of bloodletting is cursory, almost as if the filmmakers felt obliged to try to explain the unexplainable. For the film to succeed then, it has to rest on the strength of Kinski's performance, which is marvelous, a million miles away from his phone-in cameo role in the previous year "If You Meet Sartana, Pray for Your Death". The rest of the cast are admirable and the cinematography by Luciano Trasatti and Riccardo Pallottini and direction are both superb.

A Gothic Horror Western that is utterly unexpected, this is diamond that should be displayed much more than it is.