Se sei vivo spara (1967)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Giulio Questi

Writers:

Franco Arcalli (screenplay)
Franco Arcalli (story)

Release Date:

3 May 1967 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Western

Plot:

Various factions including a Mexican Bandit, a gang of Homosexual Cowboys and a Priest feud over stolen gold in a surreal town.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Desert | Gay Cowboy | Christ Allegory | Dead Boy

Cast

Tomas Milian	...	The Stranger
Ray Lovelock	...	Evan (as Raymond Lovelock)
Piero Lulli	...	Oaks
Milo Quesada	...	Templer
Roberto Camardiel	...	Mr. Sorrow
Miguel Serrano
Ángel Silva
Sancho Gracia	...	Willy (as Félix Sancho Gracia)
Marilù Tolo	...	Lori
Mirella Pamphili		(as Mirella Pamfili)
Francisco Sanz	...	Hagerman (as Paco Sanz)
Patrizia Valturri	...	Elizabeth

Also Known As:

Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (USA) (DVD title)
Django, Kill! (If You Live Shoot!) (USA)
Oro hondo (Italy) (video title)
Oro maldito (Spain)

Runtime:

100 min | UK:90 min | Italy:117 min (original version) | West Germany:112 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 | Finland:(Banned) (1968) | Spain:18 | UK:X | UK:15 (2004) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

GIA Società Cinematografica

Trivia:

According to the actors and director, producers decided to release the movie in countries outside Italy as, "Django, Kill!" as a way to take advantage of the success of a prior release, Django (1966) starring Franco Nero. In reality, "Django" had nothing to do with "Se sei Vivo Spara."

Quotes:

Mr. Zorro: Pancho, you idiot, you didn't have to kill him, did ya?!
Pancho: I'm sorry sir. But all my life, I've searched for gold. And this man is full of it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Das geheime Kino (2007)

Shock horror euro-western delivers on all fronts

The Stranger (Tomas Milian) arrives in the town known by the local Indian tribes as "The Unhappy Place" to see the bodies of his recent partners in crime hanging in front of him. Flashbacks have already revealed that he had been betrayed and left for dead by the gang, led by Oats (Piero Lulli), following a theft of gold from the army.

The two most prominent townsfolk, Tembler (Quesada) and Hagerman (Sanz) have split the stolen gold between them, and are keeping it hidden from Sorrow (Camardiel), a larger than life bandit whose "muchachos" dress all in black and, lets say, presumably enjoy the pleasures of men. Throw into the pot the mysterious figure of Hagerman's imprisoned wife, who beckons the Stranger from her cell window, and you have a very strange, yet apt, setting for this highly entertaining and frankly bizarre movie.

In fact, this film is straight out of horror territory, from the Stranger's first screen appearance - clawing his way out of an open grave - until its bitter ending. The mood is ably assisted by Ivan Vandor's score, which adds suitable suspense and tension, particularly during the scenes portraying Hagerman, his wife and her relationship with the Stranger.

The cast is quite superb, particularly Sanz in the part of the treacherous Hagerman. Milian meanwhile plays the Stranger role competently but fairly static without the mysterious charisma of a Nero or Eastwood. I am a huge fan of Milian, but much prefer to see his characters portray a little more humour (as he does so brilliantly in Face to Face and the Big Gundown, to name just two performances).

At times graphic (like the notorious scalping scene, or the sight of Oaks' body being torn apart by the locals desperately clawing at the gold bullets within his barely alive body), at times obviously low budget (such as the scene in which the Stranger is tortured, by being subjected to blood sucking bats and other creatures), but captivating throughout. One of the "must view" euro-westerns, in my view.