Le cavalier et le samouraï

of the three movies (a stranger in town (dollar between the teeth), the stranger returns (shoot first, laugh last), and the stranger in japan, the stranger in japan has, perhaps, the best production values and, quite possibly, the best acting. from the beginning, i have enjoyed the stranger-a parody of the man with no name-and admired the simplicity of the basic premise of the story: the stranger gets beat up in the beginning, loses his six-gun, and then, revenge bent, kills all the bad guys with a close range weapon. simple, effective, and enjoyable...so much so, that if anyone can tell me where i can buy any or all of the stranger trilogy, i would be grateful... update 11/8/2008: still need to find the stranger in japan DVD (US compatible)...

The Silent Stranger was one of the first to take the then tired Italian Western genre and transport it ot a Far East setting. More examples would follow in the early 70's. The soundtrack is great and there is much to enjoy for the followers of 'Spaghetti Western' adventures. Most unusual and stylistic. Just kinda hops along with some great and bizarre, action sequences inbetween.

Ever see "Miller's Crossing"? How 'bout "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis? Well, before either of these movies there was "The Silent Stranger". The story leaves a few questions unanswered but for the most part it is intriguing and worth watching. I recommend it if you like either Westerns or Samurai flix. The combination is not as peculiar as you might think.

I originally saw this movie at the weekend double feature drive-in (remember those). Most of the movies they showed were completely forgettable fodder. But when this movie was shown I was blown away. An interesting and unusual story line that I couldn't completely figure out before it happened. I think it was the best movie I ever saw at that drive-in in Andalusia, Al. At any rate when the Internet came along I looked for it so I could watch it again, and share it with my family. It turned out it had been shown on Turner a few times, but wasn't available anywhere for purchase. I just looked on Amazon and its available on DVD and instant view. Its now retitled "The Stranger in Japan", apparently released in 2011. I'm getting it.

I saw this movie for the first time today. THE GOOD, BAD AND THE UGLY it isn't....neither was it as bad as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE or the incredibly boring ISHTAR. Instead STRANGER was somehow strangely appealing in that quirky 'spaghetti western' style so well-known in films like TRINITY and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. The lead actor was nearly silent throughout, the Japanese ran around waving samurai swords and behaving unintelligibly, but I found the bizarre juxtaposition of a gunfighter in Shogunate Japan truly interesting.

I'd watch it again.....