Silver Saddle (1978)

Wonderful character development!

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

While Italian movie director Lucio Fulci is best known for his bloody horror movies, he actually did dabble in other genres in his career. He even made a few spaghetti westerns, "Silver Saddle" being one of them. Made when the spaghetti western genre was breathing its last breath, it's been all but forgotten today. To a degree I can understand this. It does have more than its share of dull spots, and Giuliano Gemma is only adequate in the lead role. But the movie all the same has enough interest to satisfy spaghetti western fans. Fulci throws in some interesting direction at times, such as with some particular camera movements as well as how he composes what's in front of the camera. Though there isn't enough action, what action there is in the movie does catch your attention, particularly with some very bloody squibs thrown in. Gemma's somewhat underwhelming performance is made up for by the presence of American actor Geoffrey Lewis, who is amusing without being overbearing. And the music is great; you'll be humming the title song for days after watching the movie. It's no classic, but it's a respectable final effort for a genre that was breathing its last.

This fairly late entry to the western genre is fairly typical of its sort, kept lively thanks to some interesting characters and well-staged shoot-outs in the desert. The twisty-turny plot - almost episodic in nature - concerns the trials and tribulations of the bizarrely named Roy Blood, who began his life at 10 years old when he witnessed his father getting shot dead in cold blood by a crook. Picking up his father's fallen gun, he shot the man in the back and thus the legend of the "Silver Saddle" was born, a man who brings death and destruction wherever he goes.Director Lucio Fulci (taking a break from his more usual horror fare) keeps the events pacy and invests the many shootings and murders with his trademark penchant for exaggerated violence, with bullets entering faces and chests, although don't expect any of the gory special effects he brought to the crime thriller CONTRABAND. He also keeps the eye close-ups and zooms to a bare minimum, although the film is not totally lacking in them. The fast-paced story concentrates on incident over dialogue, which is a plus, and also which makes it a very easy viewing experience.The film's biggest flaw is probably the overly cheesy theme song which keeps on recurring throughout the movie, although it did make me burst into laughter every time it kept popping up. The shoot-outs are extended and well staged, throwing in imaginative props (like carbide bombs) into play along with lots of explosions and stunt work. Other unusual ingredients include a kite acting as a rescue beacon (!) and a monastery of monks getting slaughtered and hanged (what with this and CODENAME WILDGEESE, I'm beginning to think Italian directors have something against religious pillars of the community).Another problem is with the film's lead, the wooden Giuliano Gemma, who bears an uncanny resemblance in profile to James Woods. Gemma isn't that bad, but he fails to make his leading character likable, so its hard to get enthused about his actions. To make up for this, we have a strong supporting cast including Ettore Manni as a baddie, the surprisingly likable Sven Valsecchi as the kidnapped kid who has a prominent part (despite looking annoyingly cute like the kids in Fulci's horror films, he's actually not a bad actor and sympathetic with it), and Cinzia Monreale as the damsel in distress.On top of this, good ol' Dr Butcher himself, Donald O'Brien appears as a hired hand, while genre favourite Geoffrey Lewis puts in another excellent and charismatic turn as Two Strike Snake, an unlucky thief who enjoys picking the pockets of the dead. Lewis' strong turn is one of the film's highlights. Despite treading much the same ground as many other westerns, SILVER SADDLE is a fresh and entertaining movie with a plot complex enough to stay interesting yet without getting muddled, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed watching.

Lucio Fulci will probably always be best known for his gory zombie movies; but he also directed some of the best films in the Giallo genre as well as a few other gems elsewhere. Fulci only directed three films in the popular Spaghetti Western genre; and I for one am thankful for that as it was clearly not his strong point. His first attempt at the genre, Massacre Time, was an above average western, if not especially brilliant. Four of the Apocalypse was well made but frankly dull, which brings us on to this film; which is more exciting (slightly) than Fulci's last effort, but too sappy for a western and too lacking in important areas. The plot is very typical for a Spaghetti Western and focuses on a man who, as a child, witnessed his father being killed. He grows up to become a bounty hunter going by the name of Silver Saddle and naturally he wants revenge and starts plotting once he finds the people behind his father's death. However, he ends up coming across the young son instead and after thwarting an assassination on the boy, sets off for his revenge.The music is generally a very important element of the Spaghetti Western; and again it's a place where this one is seriously lacking. The score is, simply, horrible. What we get is a singer droning on about the plot of the movie and it will do nothing but make you cringe! Ennio Morricone, this isn't. The film seems all too keen to shy away from the stuff that usually makes this genre so great - namely, violence and action, and instead decides to put its focus on the relationship between the central bounty hunter character and his enemy's nephew; a young and irritating blonde haired kid. This relationship may be interesting for some; but personally I found it very boring and it wasn't what I went into this film looking for. There are a few action scenes but nothing particularly startling and the way the film moves is rather boring far too often. Prolific Spaghetti Western star Giuliano Gemma takes the lead role and is one of the film's few saving graces as he puts in a believable performance. The ending is rather decent too and wraps things up nicely; but this is not a great western unfortunately.

The third and last of Fulci's Spaghetti Westerns (coming at the tail-end of the genre) - not up to the vintage MASSACRE TIME (1966) but preferable to the disappointing and unpleasant THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE (1975) - with a distinct kiddie interest, since the violence isn't particularly graphic. In fact, even if star Giuliano Gemma (perhaps best known for two "Ringo" Westerns) is given the possibility of a couple of romances, the central relationship involves him and the young nephew of his sworn enemy! As such, it emerges as unremarkable but surprisingly engaging, with a pleasant soundtrack and able support from Geoffrey Lewis (as Gemma's sidekick, a more likable version of the slimy bounty-hunters played by Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones in Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH [1969]), Ettore Manni (as the chief villain) and Aldo Sambrell as a Mexican bandit-leader.