Dollar for the Dead

Good Eurowestern! The producer Tony Anthony is in fact THE Tony Anthony who starred in several very well made Eurowesterns including the original version of this movie known as "A Stranger In Town" Un-fortunately, Emilio Estevez is miscast in this remake,and his acting is not suited to this kind of film. The movie would have been a lot better with someone else cast in the role of "The Stranger" AKA "Cowboy"! See the original instead! It is available on video at a hefty price of $25.00, from Luminous Film and Video Wurks, but it is well worth your time and money!

A made-for-TV feature that is paying homage (sometimes generic throwaway visual, or dialogue references) or could feel mock serious in tone... was it parodying(?) all things spaghetti westerns (right down to union soldiers, Mexican army, preacher, poor Mexican town and hidden gold). However for good measure during (most) shootouts it can become an out-of-place John Woo hybrid with flashy framing, dramatic flailing and slow-mo set-pieces. Very staged and low-budget in execution, but ridiculously daft when it escalates into trampolining gun-fu moments to enliven the Wild West formula.

Emilio Estevez is doing his best 'man with no name' impression. Steely eyed and all, but the hard boiled act isn't very convincing. While the likes of William Forsythe, Howie Long, Jonathan Banks and Ed Lauter fair much better, especially when delivering the no-nonsense dialogues.

Lots of nice eye candy, but the cinematography does not compare to that in The Quick and the Dead, a film this TNT original brings to mind. The story is flimsy and too busy, but nevermind. The real purpose is for Emilio Estevez to squint and Howie Long to wear a duster while shooting up the "bad" guys in an attempt to emulate Sam Raimi or Peckinpah.

Not an entire waste of time. I was sitting at home while my wife was out of town, and enjoyed it for what it is: a non-pretentious, silly western with some gravitational tricks that would make Xena jealous.

El Gato says check it out.

I would have liked a few more plot twists and turns but was entertained by this film for the most part. I thought the guy who played the padre & the mean Federale captain, Jordi Molla, did a very good job acting. Also good was Dulley, the one-legged companion to Estevez. The photography was pretty good, beautifull scenery & I loved the movie score that went with it. It was interesting to note at the closing credits that the whole film was filmed in Spain. I would of sworn the film took place somewhere in the southwestern United States. Also interesting was the old-fashioned "machine gun" that Dulley used toward the end of the flick. I wouldn't mind having this video in my own library.

Dollar for the Dead is a great little western experiment, and should be seen by all western enthusiasts - especially if you like Sergio Leone's western style, or almost any western with Clint Eastwood.

The movie is pretty predictable all the way, but that's really missing the point. It never tries to be a great work of art - just an homage to the old spaghetti westerns.

The style of the movie is great, it has all the right clichés, and the cast works well together - I especially liked William Forsythe in this movie. The movie is pepped up with a modern pace, hilarious over-the-top shootouts and a good dose of comic relief - which all works great. You just have to recognize the movie's almost sarcastic way of approaching the whole genre.

A must-see for all fans of the genre - 8/10