Bandidos

Although very obscure and unsung, this is truly one of the best spaghetti westerns I ever saw! Massimo Dallamano's "Bandidos" has a good and compelling plot, albeit working from familiar western themes like blood vengeance and dueling gunmen, and most of all, it's unrelenting, mean-spirited, vile and extremely violent! First, a word of advice that I sadly must mention in too many of my user-comments: do not read the plot synopsis that is described here on the website! You are not supposed to know from beforehand who the protagonists of the story are and what connects them! The synopsis bluntly gives away why the three lead characters (Richard Martin, Billy Kane and Ricky Shot) hate each other's guts, but only in the final act of the film the pieces of the puzzle fit neatly together.

Everything obviously revolves around the extremely bloody train raid at the beginning. This is undoubtedly one of the cruelest massacres in western history! Relentless gangster Billy Kane and his fierce gang rob a driving train, steal all the passengers' belongings and then nihilistically execute everyone on board. Well, everyone except one, the meticulously sharp-shooting Richard Martin, whom Billy Kane clearly knows from a previous life. Kane shoots holes in both of Martin's hands, though, so that he can never operate a pistol again. Years later, Martin desperately tries to make a living out of training young gunslingers into masterful shootists and perform live-acts at town squares. His pupils keep getting killed by jesters, however, but then he meets a handsome and mysterious young stranger. Martin's intention is clearly to train his new pupil to be capable of murdering Billy Kane for him, but the clever Ricky Shot has his own secretive reasons for wanting to confront Kane.

"Bandidos" certainly hasn't stolen its title! It's full of loathsome, egocentric, double-crossing and furious men whose lives aren't worth more than the price of the bullets that kill them. The three relatively unknown lead actors give away terrific performances and Dallamano's direction is downright stupendous. I don't know what it was about this man, but practically every genre that he touched turned into gold! His "What have you done to Solange?" is my all-time favorite giallo (and I've seen more than 120 of those) and his "Colt .38 Special Squad" is one of the better Poliziotesschi thrillers out there. With "Bandidos", he also nailed the Spaghetti Western genre! As I watched the film in its original version, my sole complaint is that the characters' names sound ridiculous when pronounced in Italian.

The film starts with a train robbery where all but one passengers are killed. The rest of the film consists in a complex plot where basically the many bandits all kill each other. The 2 honest heroes who have a buddy relationship hardly contribute to the body count. All the leading actors give a good performance, specially Salerno playing the resentful Martin. Cinematography is good but not outstanding and the sets are often quite detailed. On the downside there is the lack of a real focus and too many senseless killings. Finally even bandits need some honest people to steal from. If you want you can call that nihilism as well.

Certainly above average Spaghetti Western. The German budget DVD could have a better image quality.

6 / 10

This is one of those films where the running time flies by because the film you are watching is so good. This Spaghetti Western was directed by the guy who made What Have You Done To Our Daughters, stars the cop from Bird with the Crystal Plumage, so it makes sense that contained within the first scene is a giallo-like clue to what happens later in the film.

You also get a sense straight away that the guy behind the camera knows what he is doing - check out that beautiful tracking shot of all those dead folk lying in and around the train following Venantino Venantini's massacre. The whole film plays out like that.

Yep, this one starts with a train robbery and a massacre, and the only man left alive is, or was, a sharpshooter named Martin. Shot in both hands but left alive for some unknown reason, Martin seeks revenge against those who robbed the train, and for other reasons that aren't explained at this point either. What he finds first is a young potential trainee sharpshooter, but as this film is full of mysteries, he may not be what he seems either.

So, gorgeously filmed, fully of inventive camera-work, great actors in front of the screen, loads of twists and turns. This one has it all and is one of the better Spaghetti Westerns out there (and that's me saying that! I love most of them!). There's plenty of shootouts too and the final duel is very creative, only eclipsed for me by a more emotional shootout a wee bit earlier in the film. Enrico Salerno has a certain aura about him in every film I've seen him in - I can't put my finger on it but he's probably the best thing in this.

This first movie by Dellamano is an above average western flick, stylishly photographed. Dellamano would go on to later make a name for himself in the giallo(police procedural/thriller) genre. This movie shows off the great character interaction, and memorable shots that would go on to become his trademark. a recommended movie.

This is really worth watching: Excellent cast (pity Salerno and Venantini didn't do more Western), good story, turns and twists, fine camera work (no wonder: Dallamano has control). Brilliant opening scene. Highly recommended.