And God Said to Cain...

After 10 years in prison, Hamilton (Klaus Kinski) swears revenge to those who betrayed him. The Showdown actually begins after only 30 minutes. After the introduction of the characters, the whole film plays during the stormy night of revenge. The most remarkable thing about this film is Margheriti's unusual visual interpretation. It lets this Western look like a horror film, with typical small effects like windows suddenly opening, curtains blowing, or birds screaming when the name Hamilton is called. Kinski's appearances have got a kind of supernatural touch, he seems to appear or disappear like a ghost. Nevertheless a natural explanation (darkness, caves, a sandstorm) is always provided. The darkest Western ever made takes place at night for two thirds of its running time. And as a stark contrast, it ends in a bright mirror room. Kinski usually played one of the bounty hunters in his spaghetti westerns. In this case, he was cast as the hero (well, anti-hero) which turned out to be a clever move. Extraordinary for the genre!

Antonio Margheriti's "E Dio Disse A Caino" aka. "And God Said To Cain" is a very dark and excellent Spaghetti Western with a great leading performance by Klaus Kinski in an untypical role. Kinski, who was usually typecast as a crazy and/or extremely cold-blooded villain plays the (anti)hero in this, an innocent victim, who becomes a merciless avenger.

Innocently imprisoned, Gary Hamilton (Kinski) is pardoned after 10 years of heavy labor in a stone pit in the desert. After loosing ten years of his life for a crime he did not commit, Gary only has one thought on his mind - to take bloody, pitiless revenge on those responsible for the crime he was charged for and who blamed him for a crime they committed.

Klaus Kinski (once again) delivers an excellent performance in the lead, and although the role of Gary Hamilton is unusual for Kinski, I could hardly imagine anybody else to fit in this role as perfectly as he does. Peter Carsten also does a very good job as the villainous Acombar, and the supporting cast contains Gino Lollobrigida, who fits into his role as one of Acombar's sidekicks very well, and beautiful Marcella Michelangeli, who is lovely to look at and who also plays her role well (allthough it did not require a lot of acting). The movie has a lot of horror influences and the atmosphere in "And God Said To Cain" is a very dark one, and resembles the atmosphere of a Horror flick at times (unsurprisingly, since director Margheriti is best-known for his horror movies). The score by Carlo Savino is very good, it mixes the Spaghetti Western sound with a sound that resembles the soundtrack of Thrillers and Horror movies. Furthermore, the score contains a stylish, chanted gospel-style song in the beginning. I usually prefer soundtracks without singing in Spaghetti Westerns, but I have to say that this one fits very well in the opening scene in the desert prison. The cinematography is also very good and quite original, as it underlines the dark atmosphere and intensifies the suspense.

"And God Said To Cain" is an excellent, dark and very suspenseful Spaghetti Western that I highly recommend. Spaghetti Western and/or Kinski fans can't afford to miss this.

This is a story of Gary Hamilton (Kinski) set up for a crime he did not commit. After 10 years he is freed on behalf of a Presidential pardon. What is nice this is a full performance on behalf of Kinski which is quit uncommon. Kinski does a fabulous job in this one. It shows how greed took over a rancher who decided to steal the goldmine that Gary Hamilton had in order to make a better life for himself and for his family by ruining the life of another. Antonio Margheriti does a great job on this one. He has been slandered for years on how bad the night scenes are on this film. Well if guys like Weisser and other reviewers used common sense maybe they could have figured the film video which they viewed came from bad stock. I have seen the DVD version which all the night scenes were cleaned up and what do you know it is clear as day!!!

The movie overall had great performances on behalf of Kinski and Peter Carsten(Ackbar) Well Mr. Weisser check out on ebay and get the cleaned up copy of this movie and it will not be frustrating anymore. Maybe then people will give the film a descent review.

"And God Said to Cain..." (1969), a Saghetti Western directed by Antonio Margheriti, stars Klaus Kinski, Peter Carsten and Marcella Michelangeli and is the recipient of a startling, innovative script by Antonio Margheriti and Giovanni Addessi that has a hero who prefigures Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter" by being a ghost (or is he?). Even in the transcending, transgressive, aggressive genre splicing of the world of Spagheetti Westerns, this is surprising stuff.

The plot has all the hallmarks of tightly-knit Greek tragedy: it takes place in a twenty-four hour time frame as Guy Hamilton (Kinski) mysteriously seeks revenge against the rich, powerful Acombar family.

Crows shriek out whenever Hamilton's name is spoken and an ominous storms broods over the landscape; this is not so much a Western as a Horror Western. The explanation, the motivation for Hamilton's insane night of bloodletting is cursory, almost as if the filmmakers felt obliged to try to explain the unexplainable. For the film to succeed then, it has to rest on the strength of Kinski's performance, which is marvelous, a million miles away from his phone-in cameo role in the previous year "If You Meet Sartana, Pray for Your Death". The rest of the cast are admirable and the cinematography by Luciano Trasatti and Riccardo Pallottini and direction are both superb.

A Gothic Horror Western that is utterly unexpected, this is diamond that should be displayed much more than it is.

This is a really cool film. It is directed by Italian horror director Antonio Margheriti, and the Euro-horror influence really shows. Margheriti really creates some atmosphere with this one.

This is a very dark tale of revenge. There's nothing even remotely resembling comedy in this film. It's the tale of a man named Gary Hamilton, who was betrayed and framed for a crime he didn't commit. It's time for him to wreak havoc on those that wronged him. The bulk of the story is told with great style on a dark night with the wind howling. Hamilton has his enemies so terrified that just the mention of his name seems to make windows fly open, or birds start screeching. He stalks and outwits his enemies under cover of darkness and dust, using their own fear against them. It's a very intense, uncomplicated story.

Klaus Kinski is excellent in this film. He is well-suited for the role of Hamilton. He has a look that can be sympathetic and frightening at the same time. I would have liked to see what this movie would be like if Kinski had dubbed his own voice. If they were worried about his accent, they could have just given his character a German name. I think it would have made the role even better.

Carlo Savina comes through with a very good score for this movie. The opening theme is one of the most memorable of all the spaghetti western songs with vocals. The use of organ music adds to the Gothic atmosphere, and there is a great recurring trumpet melody that stays in your mind long after the movie is over.

This Euro-western is one that should not be overlooked. It deserves more recognition than it gets, and it's a must-see for spaghetti western fans.