God Forgives... I Don't!

Among all the spaghetti-westerns I have seen(maybe 50) this one belongs to the better ones. It has in fact a pretty complex story line with revenge, false accusation, treasure-hunt and buddy relationship elements which cannot be told in one sentence. There is even a twist and some well placed flashbacks. Terence Hill showed his talents and the "chemistry" with Bud Spencer worked so well that it wasn't their last pairing, to say the least. And I liked to see them as serious actors.

No special score and overall regular cinematography.

Noteworthy: Sandra Brennan from Allmovie Guide rated it with only 1 star, the lowest rating I found. ;)

6 / 10.

This is a review of the uncut version, not the cut 'comedy' version.

"Dio Perdona... Io No!" aka. "God Forgives.. I Don't!" is not only the first film with both Bud Spencer and Terence Hill in the leading parts, it is also one of their best movies. Although the movie has many gags and humorous parts, "God Forgives... I Don't!" is not one of the usual Spencer/Hill comedies, but a pretty brutal and rather serious Spaghetti Western.

The movie starts with a train rolling into a town. Everybody on the train was massacred and the fortune it carried was stolen. Two gunslingers, Cat Stevens (Hill), and Hutch Bessy (Spencer) realize that the whole coup looks like the work of Outlaw Bill San Antonio. The mysterious thing about it is, however, that Cat killed San Antonio in a duel several months ago. On their search for the gold, the two get several clues that Bill San Antonio only staged his own death.

"God Forgives.. I Don't!" is definitely the most serious and brutal of the Spencer/Hill collaborations. Anyway, the movie also has many of the typical Spencer/Hill movie ingredients, like the numerous fistfights in which Spencer's character uses his typical hammering one punch technique.

Spencer and Hill show that they are not only great as a team in comedies, but also in a serious Spaghetti Western. Another Highlight of this movie is the great performance of Spaghetti Western Star Frank Wolff as the evil Bill San Antonio. I also liked the score a lot, especially the part with the somehow aggressive, dynamic, classical choir.

In Germany and Austria, this movie was released under three different titles. After the uncut version was released, it was re-released as a "Django" movie, and released again in its cut 'comedy version'. Terence Hill's character is also referred to as 'Django' in the uncut German version, and his dubbed voice is different to his dubbed voice in his later comedies.

All told, "God Forgives... I Don't" is a great Spaghetti Western, not like the usual Spencer/Hill movies, but a pretty brutal and serious movie, and definitely one of their best collaborations. 8/10

I'm not sure why American-International chose to theatrically release in the U.S. this particular spaghetti western over dozens of others. Although this does the job for spaghetti western addicts (like myself), and it's never boring, it is not spectacular in any department - scenery, story, action, violence, etc.

The main attraction this movie has today is the early pairing up (before the TRINITY films) of Hill and Spencer. Spencer acts like his usual ornery self, though we do get the chance to see hill play a determined, more brutal western hero. The movie is also interesting that we see the duo in a more serious story for once. However, there are a few (mild) comic moments where you can see the rumblings of the comic characters the two were to later play. Did the TRINITY people see these scenes? I wouldn't be surprised!

I've never really appreciated the whole Terence Hill and Bud Spencer phenomenon the way that some people apparently do. I don't think they are any better as a duo than any other two random actors that could have been thrown together at that time, and as far as comedy goes, let's just say they are no Laurel and Hardy. I see no good reason for them ever having been teamed up for more than just one film. In fact, I think they've done better work when they haven't been together, especially in the case of Hill.

One saving grace for this film is that it is not one of their irritating attempts at comedy. It is a serious story with bloody violence, double-crosses, revenge, and gold. And it's told in good spaghetti western fashion. This film keeps the viewer intrigued from beginning to end, and it is accompanied by an interesting music score from Angel Oliver Pina.

The highlight of this movie is the performance of Frank Wolff, as Bill San Antonio. Wolff has appeared in a lot of spaghetti westerns playing all sorts of characters, and is one of the finest supporting actors of the genre. He really outdoes himself in this movie as the cunning, wisecracking, sadistic, backstabbing bandit who fakes his own death to make it easier for him to continue his crimes. San Antonio is one of those funny, over-the-top characters that make these movies so much fun to watch. Frank Wolff is so great in this role that he steals the show completely, and makes this movie way more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

Overall, this is a pretty decent spaghetti western that is worth watching for fans of the genre.

Even though it stars Terence Hill and Bud Spencer don´t expect this to be a light-hearted comedy flick like the Trinity westerns. Realistic clothing, dusty dark intense atmosphere and a downright good script make this one a winner. If you want every grandmothers dream, parading around in his pink shirt and right out of the laundromat jeans shooting baddies by the dozens, don´t even bother watching this one. These characters got personality and flaws just like you and me.

Buy it, Rent it or forget all about it. 8/10