Le temps des vautours

While bringing the body of an outlaw back to a local sheriff's office to collect a bounty, "Django" (Gianni Garko) comes face to face with of another hombre who has an extremely menacing look about him. It's only when he gets into town that he is informed that the man's name is "Manuel Vasquez" (Claudio Camaso) and he is worth $2000 dead or alive. Even so, Django decides not to pursue it at this time figuring that the price on Manuel is bound to increase to a much higher level in the very near future. Not surprisingly, when a wealthy man by the name of "Senior Mendoza" (Franco Bettella) has his daughter "Dolores Mendoza" (Adriana Ambesi) kidnapped by Manuel the price does indeed increase--but even then, not enough to interest Django at this particular time--but things are going to change after that. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film started off pretty well, but after the middle part of the movie things became a bit muddled, and the ending turned out to be somewhat disappointing as well. In any case, while I don't consider this to be a bad film by any means, I don't rank this as one of the better Spaghetti Westerns and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

I like spaghetti westerns - I'll watch any that cross my path and I'll almost certainly enjoy it. Though I have to admit that "10,000 For A Massacre" is one of the strangest spaghetti westerns I've seen in quite a while. There are some real surreal touches here and there, from the music to an often dreamy feeling generated by the director. The story is also unusual; while it more or less starts off with a standard spaghetti western premise, it eventually goes off in some unexpected directions. Nothing immediately wrong with that, but the story eventually gets to be a little boring , and you'll wonder why the hero doesn't just get down to business. The hero himself isn't totally likable, by the way, though he looks good compared to the villain played by Claudio Camaso (who is good.) While I wouldn't call this a GREAT spaghetti western, it may be of interest to spaghetti western fans who want to see something that somewhat different. I have to admit that despite those aforementioned flaws, it did in the end keep me interested right to the end.

Another unofficial "Django" sequel, with yet another Franco Nero lookalike reprising the role of the silent but deadly gunslinger. It's practically impossible to inventory all the Django spaghetti westerns that were made in a relatively short time span, so it's advisable to restrict yourself to the really good ones. I'm still in doubt whether or not "10,000 Dollars for a Massacre" deserves to be labeled as a good one, though. The film knows a handful of genuinely powerful moments, and the atmosphere is overall very grim and melancholic, but on the other hand the plot is also quite mundane, and I was missing the truly raw & filthy aspects that I so desperately seek in Italian westerns. It's difficult to explain, but my absolute favorite westerns (like "And God said to Cain", "Bandidos", The Big Gundown", ...) have a few things extra that make them unique. In fact, the greatest spaghetti westerns are the ones that make you want to take a shower immediately after viewing them, simply because you can literally also feel the dirt and sweat on the protagonists' faces and necks. "10,000 Dollars for a Massacre" didn't have this effect, but let's not be too skeptical, as all the mandatory ingredients are nevertheless well represented: an unscrupulous and merciless villain, numerous violent shootouts, blood feuds, hostages buried up to their necks in hot desert sand, and poker games that end with killing the cheater who hid extra cards up his sleeve. Bounty hunter Django goes after the ruthless criminal Manuel Vasquez who kidnapped a rich landowner's daughter; - initially for the large reward, but naturally the hunt becomes personal when nasty Manual also kills the dame with whom Django was planning to retire in San Francisco. It's an interesting movie for cult fanatics who are somewhat familiar with the eminent names of the Italian film industry, since "10,000 Dollars for a Massacre" is directed by Romolo Guerrieri, with Sergio Martino as his assistant. Luciano Martino produced and the multi-talented Ernesto Gastaldi is listed as one of the scriptwriters.

Django is hunting the bandit Manuel, because there's a price on his head. But when he meets Manuel, he joins his gang instead for a robbery. Yes, this the world of spaghetti westerns where the lines between Good, Bad and Ugly are thin, indeed. Manuel kills Django's girlfriend (Loredana Nusciak, known from the original "Django"), which sets Django's mind back on his original idea of bounty hunting... This movie is quite obviously inspired by "Django", although it's not an official sequel. Shot just one year later, it casts Loredana Nusciak in a similar part, and Gianni Garko looks more like Franco Nero than like himself in other movies. If you remember Garko as the screaming lunatic in "Mille dollari sul nero", or as the gambler and gunman with all the funny lines in "Buon funerale amigos", he proves to be versatile as an actor here. If you are into Italian westerns, you won't be disappointed by this movie. Only silly thing: Claudio Camaso (as Manuel) put on so much mascara like he was going to play the baddie in a silent movie.

Yet another unofficial Django sequel, or at least one of many westerns, post Corbucci's masterpiece, that have the main character named Django. Sadly, it's rather run of the mill and it failed to capture my attention in any major way. Gianni Garko, as Gary Hudson (a pseudonym representative of the creativity of the film), takes on the Django name as a bounty hunter who will learn to pay a steep price for his greed.

I was reminded of the Hitchcock/Truffaut interviews (coincidentally published that same year) where they came to the conclusion that the "better the villain, the better the film." Henry Fonda in Once Upon A Time in the West, for instance, would be a great example of this. Unfortunately for us, Guerrieri did not seem to be too familiar with this concept; had he made a quick trip to the bookstore before starting the film, he might not have thought it such a splendid idea to put more mascara on the bad guy, than on the female lead. Sadly the appearance of the villain, Manuel, was not the only laughable thing and a lot of the supporting characters are as grotesque as they are dull. Garko also makes a poor Franco Nero replacement here, even though he is usually quite good in other movies.

On a more positive note, the camera work is decent, there are a couple of fun shoot-outs and the locations are easy on the eye.