In the old west, a professional gunman (played by Tony Anthony) has been hired to escort 50 women to a Texas mining town. The gunman is known as Blindman, precisely because he is a blind man. He is also a fast and deadly with a gun and has an apparent psychic connection with his horse. Unfortunately, for Blindman, it turns out that his partners double crossed him and sold the 50 women to a Mexican bandit. Blindman must go to Mexico to rescue the women from the ruthless Domingo (Lloyd Battista) and his crazy younger brother, Candy (Ringo Starr).
You read that correctly. This is not only a Spaghetti western about a blind gunslinger who owns a seeing-eye horse. It’s also a Spaghetti western that co-stars the man who replaced Pete Best. Of the four Beatles, Ringo was always the best actor and he is surprisingly convincing as a psychotic Mexican bandit. As for the rest of Blindman, it can not compare to the best Spaghetti westerns but there’s enough novelty in the idea of a blind gunman that it is still interesting to watch. Tony Anthony may have been one of the lesser known Spaghetti western stars but he probably gave the best performance of his career as Blindman. Along with being a violent, bloody, and nudity-filled western, Blindman is also a comedy. Most of the jokes are delivered by Tony Anthony, who spends a lot of time talking to himself and who, despite being blind, stares straight at the camera while doing so. (Most of the jokes were also written by Tony Anthony. He’s one of the credited screenwriters.)
Why does Blindman do what he does? As he puts it in the movie, “To be blind, with no money, now that’s a bitch!”
I’ve been under the weather since the day after Christmas (and you probably don’t want the details though they can be found on twitter because my twitter account is my place to be all TMI) so I fear that I’ve been running behind when it comes to posting on this site. Not only have I not written my review of True Grit and Rabbit Hole, but I haven’t written anything about that video of the beaver opening up the box of tampons yet.
So, wyle ah work on gittin mah purty lil self all caught up here (and attempt to phonetically recreate my natural country girl accent), here’s the final 2010 edition of Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers.
I love how all the imported, soft-core films of the early 70s were always advertised as being sensitive, coming-of-age stories. Christina Lindberg later starred as the iconic One-Eye in Thriller, A Cruel Picture (a.k.a. They Call Her One-Eye.)
Yes, the trailer’s in German and no, I don’t speak German. I speak French which I guess means I’d have to surrender if this trailer ever tried to enter me. BUT ANYWAY, this is actually an Italian film. Tony Anthony plays a blind gunslinger who is hired by a bunch of mail order brides to free them from a sadistic bandit played by Ringo Starr. Yes, that Ringo Starr.
If, like my friend Elly, you live in Australia, you can watch this movie on DVD. Unfortunately, outside of “region 4,” this movie is unavailable. I’ve never seen it though I read about it in Bruce Dern’s quite frankly weird autobiography. (I say weird with affection because, seriously — how can you not love Bruce Dern?) Anyway, Dern says that in the sex scenes in this movie, he and Adams were actually doing it. Apparently, the film itself is a take-off on The Collector — Dern kidnaps Adams, covers her body in tattoos, and then has sex with her. It actually sounds like kind of a disgusting movie, to be honest and the prospect I might see it is making me reconsider my plans to eventually relocate to Australia (sorry, Elly).
As for the trailer, I just think it’s really nicely atmospheric, especially in the slow-motion sequence at the beginning.
This is the old school slasher film that I always wish I had been around to be cast in. Why? Because of all the costumes, of course! If you’re going to be a victim in one of these movies, you might as well get to play dress up beforehand.
There are two trailers for this movie. This is the mainstream version and it is a heavily cut — and I mean HEAVILY CUT — version of the one that played in the grindhouses. You can find the uncut version on Stephen Romano’s Shock Festival. Anyway, this is one of those wonderfully satirical 70s films that was marketed as a standard grindhouse film. William Smith plays an FBI agent who is sent to Peckham, California to discover why the town’s men are being fucked to death. Actually, just looking at the men of Peckham, California — they should probably be happy with what they can get.
What better way to end 2010 than with the one and only Dario Argento? This is the trailer for his first worldwide hit, the classic giallo Deep Red. This is also the film where he first met and romanced Daria Nicolodi. Plus, this movie probably features the best performance ever from the late and underrated David Hemmings (who would end his career playing a small role in Gangs of New York, a film which also features Giovanni Lombardo Radice.)
As a sidenote, I’ve really enjoyed sharing these trailers through 2010 and I look forward to sharing more in 2011. Je te donne tout mon amour, mon lecteur.
In the old west, a professional gunman (played by Tony Anthony) has been hired to escort 50 women to a Texas mining town. The gunman is known as Blindman, precisely because he is a blind man. He is also a fast and deadly with a gun and has an apparent psychic connection with his horse. Unfortunately, for Blindman, it turns out that his partners double crossed him and sold the 50 women to a Mexican bandit. Blindman must go to Mexico to rescue the women from the ruthless Domingo (Lloyd Battista) and his crazy younger brother, Candy (Ringo Starr).
Through the Shattered Lens 