Watch The Grand Duel For Free

As Good As It Gets

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

A grizzled ex-sheriff (Lee vanCleef) helps a man framed for murder to confront the powerful trio of brothers who want him dead.There is a bit of history for the people involved. The film was directed by Giancarlo Santi, who had previously worked as Sergio Leone's assistant director on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West". So that's good. Also, the film's music was composed by future Academy Award winner Luis Enríquez Bacalov; the title score was later used in Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill: Volume 1".As far as spaghetti westerns go, it is decent. Not great, not terrible. Probably not very memorable. Personally, I really like Lee VanCleef, and I think his presence is the film's saving grace. As with many Italian films, the dubbing is cheesy and it is strange to hear VanCleef dubbed when he obviously speaks English. But that's the fun of these films.

Ernesto Gastaldi ("My Name is Nobody", "Torso") wrote this very fine film that neatly combines the Spaghetti Western and murder mystery genres. Alberto Dentice plays Philipp Wermeer, a man desperate to know the identity of the man who shot his father. Philipp himself is accused of murdering the evil Patriarch of a desert town, and escapes from prison. Assisting Philipp is leathery former sheriff Clayton (Lee Van Cleef), who believes Philipp to be innocent. On the other side are the Patriarchs' angry sons, one of whom, David (Horst Frank) is a power hungry madman.Director Giancarlo Santi was Sergio Leones' assistant director on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West", and it's obvious that he learned all the right lessons. He gives "The Grand Duel" a very operatic feel, enhanced in no small part by the majestic soundtrack composed by Luis Bacalov and Sergio Bardotti. It's a score good enough to compare favourably to the best work of Morricone. The widescreen photography is simply gorgeous. The story is well paced and entertaining, no matter if the viewer figures things out before the climactic revelation or not. One very nice touch is the way that Santi shoots the flashback sequences (in which Frank also plays the Patriarch), in atmospheric black & white. The stunts are impressively acrobatic and the action is first rate. The final showdown of the title is over fairly quickly but that doesn't make it any less effective.Van Cleef displays a quiet cool, as he always does, and the rugged Dentice is engaging as the murder suspect. The performances across the board are quite hearty, especially from the likes of Jess Hahn, as Bighorse the stage driver, and Antonio Casale as nefarious bounty hunter Hole. Klaus Grunbergs' effeminate performance as Adam Saxon, a young man clearly not that happy at the thought of marriage to a woman, is amusing.A solid example of the genre overall, recommended to its devotees.Eight out of 10.

This is a western vengeance with a young named Philip Wermeer (Peter O'Brian) wrongly accused of killing a patriarch and going after those whom murdered his father . He lives for one purpose to avenge his death but is also pursued by cutthroat bounty hunters and the sheriff of Jefferson named Clayton (Lee Van Cleef) . Philip is besieged and shot dead but he emerged firing his gun and made his escape . But Clayton helps him and during a series of fire-fights , Clayton contrives to help Wermeer getaway from attacks of enemies . Together form an alliance to vanquish the three Saxons brothers (Horst Frank , Klaus Grunberg). Both of whom , Wermeer and Clayton , making a dynamic duo , combining raw untamed youth and the experience only a veteran sheriff can offer . Together, the two make their way to Jefferson , where they can confront outlaws . Weermer is caught and convicted of murdering and sentenced to be hanged . At the end is revealed the amazing truth about who killed The Patriarch .It's one of the numerous European Western (this time co-produced by Italy, France , Monaco, Germany) posterior to Sergio Leone ¨boom¨ and follows the Spaghetti Western models . Thus , there are violent confronting , harsh and brutal villains , rapid zooms , spectacular and bloody shootouts, and musical score with Ennio Morricone influence . Features appearance by stalwart Spaghetti , Lee Van Cleef , he plays his usual role , even wearing similar black clothes of former characters as Colonel Mortimer , Sentenza and Sabata . It appears known secondary actors from European films as Jess Hahn (Topkapi) and the usually baddie Horst Frank (Vengeance of Fu Manchu) . Special mention to Klaus Grunberg who plays a cruel gay killer . Atmospheric and enjoyable music by Luis Enrique Bacalov , subsequently Oscar winner for ¨The Postino and Pablo Neruda ¨. The direction by Giancarlo Santi is uninspired and predictable although gets a surprising ending . Santi was usually direction assistant to Sergio Leone . The flick will appeal to Lee Van Cleef fans and Spaghetti western buffs .

The best English version on DVD is the Wild East release. The Italian print has been released on Japanese DVD by Imagica. Contentwise, these versions appear identical. Both run 90 minutes, give or take a few seconds, attributable to print damage and abrupt reel changes. The 'bloody hand print' shot present in the US trailer is missing from both versions. Presumably, the director or producers felt it was too hokey. Given the bloody gunfights, it's unlikely the shot was cut for being too gory. The film was shot in English - albeit without direct sound - making this the preferred audio choice. While Lee Van Cleef and Jess Hahn dubbed themselves, the rest of the cast have the usual 'spaghetti' dubbing, with some English accents thrown in. The Wild East DVD is taken from a faded, battered print, with plenty of dirt and scratches. Curiously, the credits are in Italian, apart from the awkwardly inserted title card. The Imagica DVD has superior picture quality, despite some heavy print damage early on. The image is sharper, the colours stronger. Question: what's the shoe-banging scene all about?