I crudeli (The hellbenders) - Sergio Corbucci

una cassa da morto, come in Django, è una protagonista del film, il contenuto è un mistero che cambia.
la guerra di Secessione è finita, ma non tutti sono d'accordo col risultato, e poi un bel po' d'oro aspetta chi lo prenderà.
astuzie e trucchi vari, e quando non bastano ci sono le armi da fuoco, per decidere chi ha ragione e chi ha torto.
le storie di Sergio Corbucci non annoiano mai, e questo film, con la musica di Morricone, è una conferma, per chi non lo sapesse ancora.
guardatelo e godetene tutti - Ismaele

Les cruels donnera satisfaction aux amateurs de baroque italien et sera rejeté en bloc par les admirateurs du western à l’américaine…

…Une fois de plus à la tête d’un casting international, Joseph Cotten y interprète un soldat sudiste qui refuse de s’avouer vaincu et cherche à continuer la guerre de Sécession par tous les moyens. Inspiré de faits authentiques, cette histoire emprunte toutefois des sentiers hautement improbables et romanesques qui font d’ailleurs lorgner le film vers le fantastique.
Visiblement très content de son travail sur Django, Sergio Corbucci recycle certaines idées de son œuvre séminale, comme par exemple la présence d’un cercueil censé dissimuler un butin, mais aussi la présence d’un terrain boueux dans une étonnante scène de cimetière, encore une fois plus proche du film d’horreur que du western traditionnel. Enfin, le cinéaste fait une fois de plus preuve d’un sadisme outrancier qui devrait ravir les fans du western spaghetti et choquer les tenants d’une facture plus classique. Parfois gagnés par une hystérie proche de la folie, les personnages sont tous des êtres pervers uniquement intéressés par l’argent (sauf Joseph Cotten, obsédé par l’idée de reformer une armée sudiste). Lors d’un final excessif à souhait, tous les personnages se retrouveront seuls face à l’ineptie de leur quête, réminiscence de thèmes chers à John Huston (on songe au Trésor de la Sierra Madre)…

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… While his Westerns are not quite as visually dynamic as Leone's, many of Corbucci's films tend to exist somewhere between the unrestrained Italian approach to the genre and the classic American-made Western - The Hellbenders serving as a good example of this combination. To this extent, viewers hoping for the Grand Guignol violence that sets many Spaghetti Westerns apart from their American counterparts might find The Hellbenders lacking somewhat in this regard. However, despite the lack of over-the-top violence, the action in The Hellbenders, while perhaps not plentiful or gruesome, is well shot and nicely choreographed, and suits the film's narrative rather than distracting from it. In terms of the story, The Hellbenders is tightly scripted and pretty straightforward, and though it may lack the epic depth of Leone's Westerns, the film still has more than enough conflict and tension, as well as some nice twists and turns, to keep the viewer engaged throughout…

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Lo spietato colonello Jonas (Cotten) e i suoi tre figli trasportano in una bara un carico d'oro sottratto ai nordisti e viene reclutata una giocatrice d'azzardo (Bengell) per recitare il ruolo della vedova. Sara' un viaggio pieno di imprevisti,tra indiani, banditi e quant'altro. In assoluto uno dei migliori film di Corbucci, non molto nominato, ma rimane un avvincente spaghetti western con una struttura solida, sceneggiata da diverse persone accreditate per un lungo viaggio verso la morte. Ci sono tante sorprese e mantiene uno stile inconfondibile ,su tutte la figura femminile, una protagonista combattiva e tenace. Anche il finale non delude e la colonna sonora e' del grande Ennio Morricone…

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…The film is about an insane family who refuse to admit that the Civil War has been lost. Despite General Lee's recent surrender, Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten has a bloody and nutty plan--to steal a huge cache of Union money and finance a renewed Civil War! To do this, he and his three sons cold-bloodedly murder Union troops--and even of their own men! The problem is that now they have to get the money from out west all the way east where the fighting has been occurring. When their plan starts to unravel when the woman assisting them is killed, they need another female gang member because they are hiding the money in a coffin--a coffin supposedly holding a grieving widow's husband. How can this go wrong? See the film.

There's a lot to like about this one. The dubbing is far better than normal and the film looks very professional. Plus, while some similar plots were used in the 1940s and 50s (several with Randolph Scott), they never were handled like this one. While I am not usually a fan of violence, it really helps make the family thoroughly despicable--and this evil, clannish quality gives the film a very gritty (almost noir) edge. Overall, a very successful film with only one tiny flaw (the way the family reacts to a 'bum' in the desert late in the film makes absolutely no sense--especially in light of how the family behaved early in the film). Still, there's a lot to like and admire about this one.

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