Comin' at Ya!

"Comin' At Ya!" will not be a film to every taste. It is an energetic and enthusiastic Spaghetti Western, filmed in Spain with a mostly Italian crew and an international cast top-lined by two Americans you probably never heard of. It caused an unexpected sensation when it was first released in 1981, and its success ushered in the 3-D boom of the early 1980s, bringing us other, perhaps better films like "Friday the 13th Part III" and "Jaws 3-D."

"Comin' At Ya!" was filmed using Optimax III, a 3-D system that was capable of some surprisingly lovely imagery, when used with care and restraint. But one quality "Comin' At Ya!" surely lacks is restraint. The filmmakers cheerfully take every opportunity to hurl things through the window of the screen and into the audience, and this is what makes "Comin' At Ya!" a divisive subject even among diehard 3-D fanatics.

If you love "pop-out" effects-what the 3-D technicians call negative parallax shots-then you'll find much to amuse you in "Comin' At Ya!" But be forewarned-the filmmakers got carried away in their enthusiasm, and very often brought objects much closer to the camera than necessary to achieve the proper illusion. This means the total parallax (or left and right image disparity) is very high, and this in turn means that some scenes are not exactly the easiest or most comfortable to view.

None of this is the fault of MVD, who have in my view done a commendable job presenting "Comin' At Ya!" in this Blu-Ray disc. In addition to the high parallax values I mention above, there are other problems that just could not be fixed. Some shots have stray blobs of dust in one eye but not the other, to cite one example. But overall the image is sharp and bright, the colors as vivid as they ever were, and the elements used look reasonably clean and free from damage.

The story itself is an outrageous Western yarn involving a kidnapped bride and revenge against the white slavers responsible. One must resolve not to take it too seriously, and above all not to be too offended.

In summation, if you are a diehard 3-D fan, and certainly if you are a 3-D completist, "Comin' At Ya!" deserves a place in your collection, with the caveat that you may find your eyes getting a tougher workout than you have recently experienced in any 3-D movie. If you are a casual 3-D fan, I still urge you to consider a purchase, as "Comin' At Ya!" is historically important in the history of stereoscopic cinema. And you simply will not find a more energetic and enthusiastic compendium of off-the-screen, in-your-face 3-D shots in any other single motion picture.

I was born in 1977, and this movie was my first experience with 3d. I went with my brother (3 years older) and my dad. My dad was reading the paper and saw 3d, and he just had to take his two young sons. I was only 11 or 12, but I remember the theater guy trying to talk my dad out of it, because I think it was R, or maybe just the violence. I remember thinking it was cool, but really now only remember a scene where a topless old time prostitute shakes her boobs at the screen. And no, my dad didn't take away our glasses when that scene appeared, although I thought for sure that he would. I was reading the other comments, and know I vaguely remember arrows being shot at us and one scene where multiple knives where thrown. Man, am I glad for the internet, I have been trying to find this title for years. Maybe one day Ill take my kids.

Made on a very low budget in 1981, Comin' At Ya! was the first successful full length 3D motion picture since Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (Or was it The Stewardesses?). It started an early 80's resurgence of 3D films that (unfortunately) quickly died due to bad, bad movies and poor projection. Believe it or not, this (along with Friday the 13th Part 3) is arguably the best of that batch.

The 80 minute plot (which, without the endless assault of blatant 3D effects, would probably clock in at just over a half an hour) is very slight. In an opening flashback, Hart and his girl Abilene rob a Wells Fargo bank, get attacked by mercenaries, get married and get attacked once again, this time by white slave traders who take Abiline and leave Hart for dead. Hart survives, though, and sets out to find her. The bad guys lump Abiline in with a group of other women that they intend to use, abuse, and sell into prostitution across the border into Mexico. Hart and his scottish preacher sidekick(?) capture the head bad guys brother and use him as leverage to get his new wife back.

Now, I don't know how seriously the filmmakers were taking this story because sometimes the film seems like it's trying to be funny and other times it's incredibly deadpan. I'd like to say it's a spoof of Sergio Leone's Italian oaters (The actor's mouths move in English, but are still dubbed over by voice over artists, the soundtrack is a complete Morricone rip off and the lead actor strives for Eastwood's man with no name personna), but I'm not completely sure of the intention. I am sure of what the film is, however. It is the most gimmicky 3D movie I've ever seen. Not 5 minutes pass without guns, daggers, arrows, sticks, spilling beans, baby asses (midway through a diaper change), rats, bats and soap bubbles flying out in your face. The last five minutes of the film are a recap of the more successful 3D effects spun together with footage of fireworks and pinwheels sparking and spinning against a black background. About 75% of it works, though. The rest come too close to the camera and causes eye strain. It's 3D movies like this that give the rest a bad name.

Don't misunderstand me. I was entertained by this film, make no mistake. It's hard not to be entertained by a film that doesn't want a single thought entering your head for its running time. It's a 3D movie equivalent to a porno film... If you've never seen a 3D movie before, don't start here (see House OF Wax first), but If you've seen the best, then it never hurts to see the rest. Oh, yeah, a six pack helps this one immeasurably.

By 1981, the heyday of the Spaghetti Western was over..that golden era finished..played out...& pretty much left for dead. A few interesting stragglers trickled out..."Mannaja" in '77..Lucio Fulci delivered "Silver Saddle" in '78.. & Michele Lupo's "Buddy Goes West" in '81. The previously bustling sets in Almeria & other Spanish locations were abandoned...& allowed to fall into disrepair. Director Ferdinando Baldi & Producer/Actor Tony Anthony, who ten years earlier had collaborated on adapting & bringing the blind swordsman "Zatoichi" to the Spaghetti West..resulting in the entertaining ........"Blindman",.............decided to do it again.......... filming a loose remake of Blindman in Spain.

Producer Tony Anthony decided to film it in 3-D...to give it life... to make it stand out...& that's precisely what it did. Originally called YENDO HACIA TI (GOING TOWARDS YOU) ,... Filmways picked up the film for North American distribution, re-named it COMIN' AT YA! ...it wound up making a bundle at the box office...grossing $12,000,000 in the USA...becoming the 23rd highest grossing Western ever among all post 1980-present Westerns... & sparking a modest 3D revival.

Anthony stars as H.H. Hart...who's not given any backstory but I'd project him as a former gunslinger. His wife, Abilene, is played by the gorgeous Victoria (TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!) Abril. Gene (TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS) Quintano plays the sleazy leader of the bad guys, Pike...unfortunately he plays it badly, in a terrible performance.. Quintano also had a hand in the script. Pike's fat, disgusting brother, Polk, is played by Ricardo (ARK OF THE SUN GOD) Palacios.

After an opening credits sequence in which beans spill all over the camera, bullets fire at the audience, a snake slithers out of a basket.., and hands reach out for the viewer's face... this recycled, slightly fiddled & diddled with clone of "Blindman"....... ....gets going as Hart embarks on a rescue mission after his wife is kidnapped, he lies shot & left for dead......the priest shot & killed... by the Thompson brothers (Gene Quintano, Ricardo Palacios)...in the little border chapel...as they exchange their vows...anticipating and influencing the chapel massacre in "Kill Bill".

We discover that the Thompsons & their gang have been kidnapping women all over the territory in order to sell them to Mexican brothels... taking them all down to Mexico to be sold to the highest bidder. Hart follows, carrying a pump shotgun , blasting his way through the bad guys, getting beaten up several times (an Anthony trademark...he always gets pummeled a lot). After capturing one of the brothers and giving him a beating. ..he then tracks down the other brother/rest of the gang, hoping to release the captive women...& save his wife. Release...escape..recapture..& murder ensue.

As Hart continues on his quest, we're treated to guys falling downstairs (in slooooow motion), spinning fiery pinwheels (for the five minute recap at the end), an attack of bats, spiders, scurrying (and hungry) rats, flaming arrows (the best part...& the 3D works), and even a baby's bare bottom.

As the gang kills time in a windswept ghost town waiting for Hart to show up ...it's an excuse for more gimmicks....yo-yos...paddleballs... playing cards flipped at you....as Hart, despite being greatly outnumbered... rides into town to save his wife....& exact his revenge. The explosive finale works well in 3D...or maybe I was just sufficiently cross eyed by that time.

The old, abandoned, crumbling, delapidated sets work well.......conveying an air of desolation & desperation.

Carlo Savina scored a lot of Spaghetti Westerns...all low budget "B" stuff. Here he contributes a spare, elegiac score......using ambient voices pleasingly. His best moments are during a 5 minute replay of its best 3D moments after the movie.....which I'm guessing was probably the original opening credits title tune.

I've always liked Anthony...although he never achieved the status of a Nero, Eastwood or a Garko ... he always gave a good performance...was one of the most likable SW "heroes"..as well as being a talented writer & producer.....& Baldi...never accorded the reverence of a Leone, a Corbucci.. always delivered the goods.......never afraid to take chances.

When presented in the theater...........viewers used polarized (gray lenses) to gain the 3-D experience. The DVD utilizes Anaglyph 3-D, centering around the wearing of glasses with red and blue lenses...to effect the illusion of depth. It's best to view the movie in a fully darkened room with the red lens over the right eye...as it appears to be Reverse Anaglyph. The close, foreground shots don't work too well...........the foreground objects that are supposed to loom out at you are always breaking up & tend to produce a "ghosting" effect, which ruins the overall illusion. ..The 3-D actually works best............producing pretty good depth effects, in the regular shots...the medium & background shots.

Could it stand on its own...w/out the 3d...something to be watched & watched again? No. The story...pretty much paint by numbers, point a--> point b--> point c.............doesn't warrant repeated viewings. That being said...I'll watch it again........not for the story..but for the 3D.

In 1983...Baldi & Anthony collaborated on another 3D movie.."Treasure of the Four Crowns "....which marked the final on-screen performance by Tony Anthony, though he continued working for a time as a television producer. From his experience working on the 3D film techniques for this movie, Tony Anthony now manufactures specialized lenses for the medical industry.

Grab some buttered popcorn......a Giant Coca-Cola...an x-large box of Junior Mints...& check it out.

This special-effects Spaghetti Western is focused on the audience, and how to deliver as many shock & awe moments as could possibly be shoved into the story-free script. It's like watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show, with the big difference that The Rocky Horror Picture Show has a dynamite story, and many other reasons why it will always be a 10 Star cult classic. It's unlikely that anyone would want to have repeated viewings of this lackluster wanna-be-Western.

There are only so many shot guns shoved in your face, snakes rattling at you or drunken saloon patrons tumbling your way, before the formula wears off. If you've never experienced a 3-D movie, and this could be your only chance to check it off your bucket list, by all means, go for it. I've been there, done that back in 1981. Maybe I'll dig up one of the 1950s Classics in 3-D, but once was enough for this one.