Les Tueurs de l'Ouest

This one starts out slow but gets good. It is reportedly Tomas Milian's first western. He turns in one of his best performances as an escaped convict who returns home, where the "bounty killer" of the title lies in wait for him. The townsfolk side with their old friend Milian, only to watch his behavior degenerate into that of the miscreant he's become. Soon his entire gang of freaky looking b**tards (the alternate title is "The Ugly Ones") has trickled into town and the villagers are at their mercy.

This film is the ideological opposite of "The Great Silence" in that everyone hates the bounty hunter, but in the end he turns out to be right. Just the same it's quite entertaining when it gets going and features the best "outlaws terrorizing the townsfolk" sequence of any western I've seen. Rivals the one in the first "Mad Max," which isn't even a western. One of the terrorizing outlaws is the drunk from "Cutthroats Nine." Actually, the cast all around is great, with more than one familiar face. The musical score works well once you get used to it, though it sounds a lot like a cross between a Morricone rip-off and something by that guy who did the "Brady Bunch" music. Eugenio Martin's direction, while it has some slow spots and flaws, shows true inspiration.

All in all, worth seeing for genre fans and a must for those of Tomas Milian.

Great opening and closing shots, and everything wonderful in between as the camera captures both the wide open spaces and the claustrophobic confines of the station and its various buildings where much of the action in THE UGLY ONES takes place.

For a change well drawn characters rather than a catalogue of stock figures that you expect in a western. Unusually the female lead is a strong individual; the villain of the piece remains the most interesting and complex, and thankfully the bounty hunter does not succumb to becoming a romantic lead.

This film is violent for its time and I enjoyed the reliance on fisticuffs, rather than just gun-play.

The soundtrack is exceptional with a score by STELVIO CIPRIANI that exemplifies the unique qualities of the Euro western.

This is a film I would recommend to any film-goer, and equally important, certainly one that I would watch again (8 out of 10 for this genre).

¨The ugly ones¨ is a terrific example of the spaghetti western genre from Spain. Offbeat Paella-Spaghetti Western co-produced between Spain and Italy . The band ( Tito Garcia, Hugo Blanco) of a nasty Mexican frees Jose Gomez ( the Cuban Tomas Milian ); he and his bandits trespass the frontier and occupy a village .Escaped Jose Gomez goes back to his home town chased by a bounty killer . The towns people protect Gomez, unaware, at first, that he is changed and become an evil gunfighter . Our hero named Luke Chilson (Richard Wyler) is a bounty hunter riding on a robust horse and hunting outlaws . Gomez returns his ranch and seeks vengeance against Luke , while his hoodlums kill , mistreat countrymen . Meantime his former girlfriend (the Eurobabe Zalowska)double-crosses his friend .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking gun-play between the protagonist Richard Wyler against the heartless Tomas Milian and his hoodlums . Milian is fine, he ravages the screen, shoots, hit and run and kills . In the film premiere attained quite success and nowadays is well valued and I think it turns out to be a good Spaghetti Western. This movie is a lot of fun to watch. It's a fascinating story with a touch of peculiarity, some great characters, and an amazing music score.The picture also titled ¨The bounty killer¨is a tale of justice and revenge, as a man returns home to his village after his breakout and mistreats the townspeople . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare, but what makes this movie stand out is its style. Richard Wyler's performance in the movie is a bit wooden for the role of such an interesting character, but the fantastic performance by the always great Tomas Milian as the slimy, menacing outlaw and gang leader Gomez, make up for it. Appears as secondaries the habitual in Spanish/Italian Western such as Jose Canalejas , Luis Barboo, Ricardo Palacios , Mario Brega and Frank Braña , usual in Leone films. Special mention to Tito Garcia in his ordinary role as fatty Mexican bandit and in a cruelly baddie role , he is terrific, and bears a hysterical and mocking aspect , subsequently he would play similar characters .

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. There is a very odd implementation of zoom shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax. Rather than the usual sustained, intensity-building close-ups that Sergio Leone was so fond of, the filmmaker here uses a rapidly zooming in and out camera for a more unsettling effect. The movie gets the usual Western issues, such as avengers antiheroes , violent facing off , quick zooms, exaggerated baddies, soundtrack with Morricone influence , among them . Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on the manor . The musician Stelvio Cipriani composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie; as it's full of strange sounds and haunting musical background . The opening theme is one of my favorites, and is one of those unforgettable tunes that will play in your mind over and over long after the movie is realized. The soundtrack contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, including an emotive leitmotif, the music score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking cinematography by Enzo Barboni , ¨Trinity and Bambino¨ films director though is necessary a correct remastering . Outdoor sequences with barren exteriors filmed in Spanish places located on desert of Tabernas , Almeria . This motion picture produced by Jose G Maesso (Gringo , Django, Tarantos) is professionally directed by Eugenio Martin and won prizes conceded by Spanish Spectacle Syndicate. Martin is a horror movies expert ( Hypnosis, A candle for the devil , The fourth Mrs Anderson ) and Spaghetti Western ( Requiem, for a gringo , Pancho Villa , The ugly ones , Bad man's river ). Rating : Acceptable and passable Spaghetti Western , well worth watching .

The film stars Richard Wyler as a 'bounty killer'--a term I can't recall having ever heard except in Italian westerns (the correct American term is 'bounty hunter'). He's looking for José Gómez (Tomas Milian)--a guy who has escaped thanks, in part, to assistance from his girlfriend (Zalewska). She believes he's an innocent man and does not realize he's really a two-bit murderer.

Having seen a lot of Italian westerns, I find a certain sameness to many of them. Sure, the plots are a bit different--but not remarkably so. It's not a bad western but it also doesn't stand out in any particular way. The music is nice, the action decent and the story reasonably interesting. But, on the other hand there is a certain 'sameness' to the film--as if I'd seen a lot of other films like it. Plus, although Halina Zalewska is absolutely gorgeous in the film, she looks right out of 1967--with lipstick, hair and makeup that you'd never have found on a woman of the late 19th century. Also, while I don't want to see gallons of blood, this was an odd film because you see absolutely none--and this made little sense. Nor, now that I think of it, did the escape--as there is no way all these federal agents could be killed without the bad guys (who were outnumbered) even losing a single man.

Escaped outlaw Jose Gomez returns to his home town pursued by bounty killer Luke Chilson. The towns people protect Gomez, unaware, at first, that he is now a changed and dangerous man.

The Ugly ones, based on Marvin H Albert's The Bounty Killer, is an above average Spaghetti western with a good plot, nifty camera work, excellent cast , gritty action and some good atmosphere- the isolated station is well depicted adding to the tension. The protagonist and Antagonist are different as night and day, one is very thorough in his job as a Bounty Hunter, questioning every stranger and the other looks innocent one minute and then giggles when he gets psychotic urges - the premise of town folk thinking that a bandit is just an innocent victim of circumstances is interesting. The finale is quite tense and action-packed.