Coffin Full of Dollars (1971)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Blistering performances.

It is an entertaining Maccaroni western with lots of action , gun-play and fun . So-so Spaghetti Western with a mysterious gunman confronting vicious cutthroats . There's a frontier feud on the border of Mexico , there takes place a massacre . Feared outlaw Hagen (Klaus Kinski) and his hoodlums as Ramírez (Benito Pacifico or Dennis Colt , usual master of arms) and Tamayo (Hunt Powers or Jack Betts who carries big mustache and long hair) have killed Nevada Kid's family . American Civil War is finished , a Confederate soldier named Mark Hamilton or Nevada Kid (Jeff Cameron) arrives in his burnt farm , and finds his family murdered , he is immediately persuaded by Sam (Ray Saunders) to chase Hagen and his underlings , but some nasty brothers hot on their tail . The tough and rare gunslinger Nevada Kid becomes an efficient Pistolero , acting as judge , jury , and executioner and swears vendetta . Gunslinger Nevada Kid being supported by the Afro-American (Ray Saunders) and he gets unexpected help by a cunning , grinning bounty hunter (Gordon Mitchell) against the malicious killers and the ending settle disputes by shooting . Meantime , they save a damsel in distress (Simonetta Blondell or Vitelli , Fidani's daughter) who has been kidnapped by Hagen's henchmen .This Italian production is a moving S.W. movie starred by Jeff Cameron Hunt Powers and Klaus Kinski ; it takes on a strange gunslinger against treacherous gang : the Hagen band who are wanted dead or alive. The film deals with a mysterious stranger , become an avenger , who vows to take down dreaded outlaws . This Spaghetti movie gets the usual Western issues , such as greedy antiheroes , violent facing off , quick zooms , and exaggerated baddies . It is an acceptable , passable Western with several titles as ¨Per Una Bara Piena Di Dollari" , "Coffin Full of Dollars" , "Showdown for a Badman" that contains an interesting and violent plot about a young seeking vendetta . It packs thrills , shoot'em up , violence , and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some pursuits , crossfire or stunts every few minutes . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist against the heartless enemies formed by a brutal gang of bandits led by Klaus Kinski and Hunt Powers. The main starring is Jeff Cameron as a gunfighter really seeking vengeance and the popular Klaus Kinski as Hagen / Slander who appears elegantly dressed and with a brilliant look , gaining a reputation for his ferocious talent and equally ferocious temper ; Kinski plays as a strange killer who occasionally joins in on the action with his deadly guns . Here he plays with lots of gesticulation and excessive gestures . As he is fine , as he ravages the screen with his peculiar face and using suddenly his hidden weapons . This Spaghetti is made during his Italian period when Klaus starred a lot of Westerns , later he collaborated with Werner Herzog with whom played several prestigious films . They later collaborated on five movies : Aguirre (1972), Woyzeck (1979), Nosferatu, (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987). As Kinski starred numerous Spaghetti such as : Pray to Kill and Return Alive , Black Killer , If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death , Bullet King , Shangai Joe , Clint the solitary , The Ruthless Four , Nevada Kid , The return of Clint , and specially famous resulted to be his acting in ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨ . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as well as a lot of twists and turns , as the film approaches its climax , as in the final and the customary conclusion . Atmospheric Eastmancolor cinematography by the famous Aristide Massaccesi or Joe D'Amato , though being necessary a good remastering and filmed in De Paolis/INCIR Studios , Italy Elios studios Rome , as usual , and El Lacio . Enjoyable and thrilling musical score by Coriolano Gori (as Lallo Gori) , including catching leitmotif and attractive song at the beginning by Mark Wolf.The picture was lousily directed by Demofilo Fidani or Miles Deem , considered to be the "Ed Wood of Spaghetti Western" and husband of Mila Vitelli Valenza ,a professional costume designer and father of actress Simonetta Vitelli , both of whom worked in various films of Demofilo . Fidani directed all kind of genres in low budget and exploitation pictures . He eventually had more pseudonyms than any working director in the world , similarly to Bruno Mattei . He followed shooting these taboo-breaking films with excursions into porno film , adventure , as ¨Karzan, Jungle Lord" and specially , Spaghetti as ¨Django and Sartana's Showdown in the West" , ¨Giù la Testa¨, "Sartana, the Invincible Gunman" , ¨El Sartana... l'Ombre Ta Mort¨, among others .

I'm not a huge fan of Demofilo Fidani, but I think this is his best, and I'm writing this mainly to refute the rubbish in some of the other reviews of this one that I've seen.Can you imagine someone watching an Ed Wood movie, because it's an Ed Wood movie, and complaining about the sets being cheap??? That's pretty much what I'm seeing, absurd as it is. That and people that don't know anything about the genre. Hey, people, Spaghetti Westerns existed before that useless twerp Tarantino decided to rip them off. He ripped off the blood squibs and such from Hong Kong action cinema, not from SWs. They've never been big into that. Hand waving is good when you're doing it deliberately and you know you are. It's irritating when it's supposed to work as logic, but when you just want to say, "and then that happens" it works in a B movie. Klaus Kinski is great as ever.Simonetta Vitelli (as Simone Blondell) has to be one of the most gorgeous women that has ever walked the planet. Cheap shots about her looks??? Definitely from someone whose taste is limited to their lingual epithelium. People who aren't a fan of the genre could well give "Miles Deem" a miss. Those that love it and don't want to be disappointed by one of his would do well to watch this one, imho. It's just slip-shod enough to be Fidani, but not so Fidani that it gets in the way of being a decent spaghetti western. People that love the genre will know there's a long ways between the best and worst. Anyone comparing it with the top 10 obviously has seen about 3 of the genre.

What do you get when you take a silly revenge screenplay and add to it a lusterless cast of bad, unattractive actors and a bug-eyed, bad acting actress? You get this movie, that's what you get. Everyone associated with this mess should be ashamed. Even Kinski seems bored (as well he should be). Only the stunt men get to shine, as they twirl and do their acrobatics when they get shot (all of it bloodless and woundless). None of this makes a lot of sense. Gordon Mitchell, whom I've always liked, is wasted here, playing against type as a bounty hunter with a heart. What a waste of ninety minutes this is! Don't waste your time watching this one. I wish I hadn't.

This is another Euro-western directed by Demofilo Fidani a.k.a. Miles Deem. Like the other Fidani movies I have seen, this one isn't as bad as his movies are reputed to be. It certainly doesn't rank up there with the greatest spaghetti westerns of all time, but it's still pretty decent entertainment for people who like the genre.The acting is a bit below average, except for Klaus Kinski who puts in a fine performance. The story is good enough to keep ones interest throughout the whole film, and there is plenty of action. The stunt-work and gunfights are done quite well. Hunt Powers as Tomayo has the perfect look for a spaghetti western, and with his long hair and big mustache, appears as though he could have walked out of an actual photograph from the late 1800's.The music score isn't outstanding, but it is suitably styled for a spaghetti western, so it's still way better than any music one would hear in an American western.If you are really into spaghetti westerns, and not just the most popular ones, This is a good one for a lazy afternoon when you just want to be entertained without having to think about it too much.