Pelo Prazer de Matar

"Taste of Killing" is an almost okay spaghetti western. It looks really good but that's about it. The cast is fine, I guess, but the storytelling is not up to par. The movie drags at times and isn't always clear in what's going on. I don't want to bash "Taste of Killer". It was an almost okay time killer.

This above average spaghetti western focuses on a bounty hunter who is hired by bankers in a small town to protect their cachet of gold against a predicted heist by Mexican bandits.

The director here was Tonino Valerii who was assistant director to Sergio Leone in his first two classic westerns, A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For A Few Dollars More (1965). He then went it alone himself as a director making very good efforts such as Day of Anger (1967), A Taste of Killing was his debut as director and while it isn't quite as good, it is still definitely an impressive effort and better than most in its sub-genre. It benefits from a good turn from Craig Hill in the central role as the bounty hunter. He has unusual vulnerabilities such as the fact he can't read but he also has the more typical spaghetti western trait in that he is in possession of an unusual weapon, in this case a sniper rifle with telescopic sight. He is a nicely amoral central character who waits for robberies to happen and then proceeds to rob the robbers and return the money to the authorities and so bagging 10% in the process! The movie ends with a wry scene where our hero observes a gang of new bandits through his telescopic lens as they prepare to ambush the gold shipment he protected earlier on. He couldn't be happier - another 10% deal looks imminent.

I'm glad that there is a DVD company (Wild East) in North America that is releasing a number of spaghetti westerns that never before got the attention in North America, probably due to the fact that they generally don't have the star power as other spaghetti westerns. I just watched one of their releases -"Taste Of Killing", and as a spaghetti western fan I was satisfied by the end for several reasons.

One reason is that the hero of this spaghetti western is not a superhero. Yes, he's smart and quick with a gun, but he doesn't seem to have mystical powers like other spaghetti western heroes. He can't read, for one thing, and in a few instances he relies on teaming up with townspeople so that his plans can succeed. Craig Hill does well playing this hero.

The script has a few other surprises as well. It's a more leisurely-paced movie, with not as much action as some other spaghetti westerns. (Though the action scenes are pretty good, especially the final shootout with the evil gang on the city streets.) But the script keeps up plenty of plot turns so viewers won't get bored. There's also plenty of focus on some of the supporting characters.

And as a bonus, there's a tuneful and lively score by Nico Fidenco. In short, there's a lot to like here. Maybe this isn't a spaghetti western to start with if you are unfamiliar with the genre, but for fans of the genre it will satisfy.

A TASTE OF KILLING is a low budget and generic spaghetti western made in the wake of the success of Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. It stars the square-jawed Craig Hill as a supremely confident bounty hunter who makes a living from bumping off bank robbers until some money-men come up with a new mission for him: to stop a planned heist BEFORE it takes place.

This movie is undistinguished by genre standards although there isn't really anything to dislike about it. Director Tonino Valerii would later go on to helm stylish efforts like MY NAME IS NOBODY and A REASON TO LIVE, A REASON TO DIE and it's clear he was finding his feet with this, his first movie. The familiar faces of Spanish star Fernando Sancho and George Martin (as the baddie) appear, and watch out for Chinese actor George Wang cast as a Mexican.

The plot and characters are rather typical for this genre and there are few twists to keep you occupied. However, the cinematography at least makes it look good, and the various action scenes are well handled. What I particularly liked was the lead's proficiency with his sniper rifle, which leads him to take down various enemies at various points throughout the movie. It's a nice little addition to an otherwise uneven outing that's only suitable for die-hard genre fans.

Spaghetti with Gazpacho Western full of noisy action , thrills , plot twists and shootouts . The movie contains typical particularities Spaghetti, as is full of fury, sadism , bloodbaths , and portentous close-ups of encrusted faces . The film blends violence , blood , tension , high body-count along with plots twists and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . This Spanish/Italian co-production results to be a very amusing Western about some roguish outlaws and a bounty hunter named Hank Fellows who attempt to rob a fortune from a safe . This fun film deals with a group of bandits (led by Fernando Sancho and Jose Canalejas) who are chasing a gold load , they then attack a military convoy and take 100.000 dollars . This Spaghetti Western concerns about robbing a valuable fortune contained into a bank stage coach and crossing from a desert to Omaha City Bank . But a dubious bounty hunter (Craig Hill) with a telescopic rifle reckoning the bandits . This is a surprisingly low-key Spaghetti Western in which diverse characters joining forces to protect the safe and others trying to rob a lot of money . The ambitious bounty hunter deals with bankers (Franco Ressell , Piero Lulli) who persuade him to accept double the reward money on his last job if he gets to insure the safe . Meanwhile , a gang led by Gus Kennebeck (Jorge Martin) who holds posters captioning ¨ Reward : Dead or alive¨ attempts to rob the Bank . Hank will prevent the threatened robbery taking place at the Omaha City Bank . Fellows seeks vengeance against Gus who long time ago killed his brother , being helped by a likable old man . There then occurs the Kennebeck son's kidnapping and he attempts to rescue him .

Italian-Spanish co-production full of action , exaggerated characters, crossfire and lots of shots . The film packs violence , shootouts , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the starring Craig Hill and his enemies , Jorge Martin and Fernando Sancho , among others . Furthermore , appears ordinary secondary of Spaghetti/Paella Western as Spanish players : Jose Luis Martin , Jose Canalejas , Frank Braña , Jose Marco , Lorenzo Robledo, as Italian actors : Piero Lulli , Franco Ressel , Rada Rassimov , George Wang playing a tough character as Machete and many others . Special appearance by Spaghetti idol , Fernando Sancho and Sancho Gracia film debut , who many years after would play another famous Spag :¨800 Bullets¨. Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors , dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on the Omaha town , including the Bank that is the same to ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨. Fine cinematography by Stelvio Massi , he subsequently turned filmmaker ; being filmed on location in Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain and Titanus Appia Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy (studio). Wonderful initial and ending song by Nino Fidenco who composes a marvelous and unforgettable musical score .

This motion picture also titled ¨Taste of killing¨ ot ¨Per Il gusto di Uccidere¨ (original title) is well directed by Tonino Valeri who was Sergio Leone's assistant . Valeri managed to make a fluid , witty and agreeable SW . Tonino Valeri's so-so direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence , lots of killings and too much action especially on its ending part . Valeri is an expert on Western as proved in ¨The hired gun ¨ , ¨A reason to live , a reason to die¨ with James Coburn and Telly Savalas , ¨The price of power ¨ with Giuliano Gemma and Van Heflin , ¨The day of anger ¨ with Lee van Cleef , Giuliano Gemma and his greatest success results to be ¨My name is nobody¨ , a classic Spaghetti produced by Sergio Leone with Henry Fonda and Terence Hill .