Cut-Throats Nine (1973)

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

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

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

It was marketed is the goriest western ever made. It has been categorized as a horror film. It is not, and it's all the better for it. Cut-Throats Nine is indeed gory, but that is not the primary focus of the film. It has a great story to go along with it, full of intriguing characters and great visuals.But before we get off the subject of gore, let's talk about it. The gore in this film is great and it's very well-done. It's fun and exciting and gross when it should be but not overly revolting as may be suggested by the "terror mask" required for all viewers, per early advertisements. It's hard for me to say just how realistic the violence in this movie is, as I'm not an expert in that sort of thing and don't know how much a person's real life guts might look like a tin of spaghetti, but the effects are very masterfully done, look great on the screen, and get the desired reaction and then some. But the film isn't constantly violent. The bloodshed comes and goes from scene to scene. Some scenes have it and some don't, and sometimes we follow the story for a long time without any violence. It is never forced into the story for its own sake and that's what is good about it. I almost get the impression that the idea to market this film based on its gore was an afterthought, not planned for before shooting the film, and possibly only decided on when the filmmakers realized how truly well the effects had been accomplished.Moving on to the story, it's nothing that's never been done before. We've got some convicts in the old west, some bandits and a man out to avenge his murdered wife. But at the same time, the way it's all put together, it still feels fresh enough to keep the viewer engaged. And the best part about the story is how it's told. It's very well stylized, but not overly so. I love how we get a glimpse into each character's past, seeing flashes of their memories at pivotal moments. We only linger there for a few seconds and never get the whole story, but we get just enough. Sometimes we don't even see anything that directly advanced the story, but it always tells us something about the character. But the way that it's done—along with the opening narration and a few other aspects of the film—at first make it seem a bit corny, until you realize that the director knew exactly what he was doing and everything works together for the overall effect of the film.The one primary drawback for me was the film's setting. A group of convicts navigates its way through the harsh, wintry mountains, and they spend a good deal of the film in those mountains. It looks like much of it was shot on the same acre of land, using different angles to make it seem like they were going places. This sort of thing normally wouldn't bother me, but in an adventure movie with characters moving from place to place, I would like a little bit more variety.I saw the VHS cut of this film, which clocks in at 83 minutes. Much more might have felt too long, given the stale environment, but at that length it maintains a great pace and would be easy to watch again and again and to share with friends.I wouldn't suggest everyone rush out to find this movie as soon as possible, and a good-quality copy seems impossible to find, but it's worth viewing if you get the chance. I recommend Cut-Throats Nine to anyone who is in the mood for a good, fun midnight western and doesn't want to think too much. Just don't forget your terror mask!

Cutthroats Nine, one heck of a bleak movie. Coming out in 1972, spaghetti westerns were no longer at the height of their hype, as most of them became terrible parodies of themselves. Then came along this ultra violent movie by Joanquin Romero Marchent. I for one woulden't call this the most original spaghetti western or paella western (since it's Spanish), but that don't mean it has to be bad. The scenery of where the movie is set is beautiful, which helps the film have a bigger feeling of a claustrophobic tension. Claustrophobic? Why i say that? Because despite it being set outdoors for most of the time, our nine main characters are cut off from the rest of the world and they only depend on each other, in order to survive. Essentially speaking, you don't really see any good characters and even though Spain were not completely fascist during the second world war, you could tell that elements of fascism found it's way in it's script. As stated earlier, this movie has a claustrophobic vibe throughout the film and making the situation our nine titular characters are involved in even worse are most of the gruesome killings that take place throughout the film, including to the main character, played by Robert Hundar. Spoiler alert but seeing his character dying early on the film by being burned to death, leaving his daughter, played by Emma Cohen, distraught and alone and that part right there deeply affected and it made me realise "These guys have no future". Overall, the film has good performances, although the dubbing is what one would say as amateur. The soundtrack is chilling, although it does get a little repetitive sometimes and it would have been great if this was way longer then the 90 minutes and make it into an epic 3 hour movie. I know Tarantino is influenced by this movie but it don't really affect the storyline that much. Great and unknown movie to watch.

Cut-Throats Nine (1972) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Spanish Spaghetti Western has a large cult following but in the end I was pretty much letdown after reading all the hype. Seven hardened criminals are heading to a prison camp being led there by a man (Claudio Undari) who is also taking his daughter (Emma Cohen) along for the trip. Soon the seven men bust free and of course set their eyes on freedom and the daughter. This film has a somewhat legendary following due to some gore that is sparkled throughout the film. This gore is certainly the highlight of the movie but it also somewhat takes away from any atmosphere or plotting. I think the biggest problem I had with the film was its story, which I found to have an interesting concept but the final payoff really wasn't there. I also thought the dialogue was rather weak and since there are all sorts of dialogue scenes this just made the film slow down and at times drag. I think the biggest goof in the plot is the fact that this man would take his daughter with him on a trip that contained seven deadly men as well as incredibly bad weather. This plot point might not bother most but it got on my nerves as it meant the daughter was just there for some nudity and to be attacked. Even with all that said, the film is still somewhat entertaining due to a strange and surreal tone that runs from start to finish. The film has a really low budget and I think this also helps things well. The performances are also rather good and I really enjoyed Undari as the father.

Conedandos a vivir (1972) was and is marketed purely as a violent exploitation film. Viewers approach it that way and either find it terribly vacant and crude or enjoy those aspects of the movie that are hyped up by hucksters. As the euro-western was widely marketed as violent and cynical, this advertising tactic that often blinds viewers to what is actually occurring on-screen. This is unfortunate as this movie is actually a well thought out and decently executed western that provides the nihilistic capstone to an interesting series of Spanish westerns made in the mid-to-late 1960s and early 1970s. Viewed in that tradition, as the terminal point in a genre narrative that began much earlier in films like Joaquin Marchent's own El Sabor de la venganza (1963), it is a moving and fascinating movie.Contrary to the reputation of the "Mediterranean westerns" made in Italy and Spain in the 1960s and 70s, these movies are not simply absurd and extreme distortions of the original American genre somewhat like Red River (1948) or Rio Bravo (1959) projected into a hall of mirrors. Instead of warped conventions without significance, these movies contained their own views of society and morality. Many of the westerns written or directed by Spaniards have a very interesting perspective of the nature of violence that is central to plot and character. Violence is a contagion that consumes everything and everyone in it's vicinity. In movies like El Hombre que mató a Billy el Niño (1967), El Sabor de la venganza (1963), or Garringo (1969) victims are transformed into victimizers through the alchemy of good intentions in a corrupt society. There is always a character who has a close personal relationship with the victim-turned-victimizer who both opposes the political corruption and also it's products, including their friend or brother/son. Outlaws are portrayed in bestial terms, a pack dominated by the most brutal one. These movies always end with an ambiguous sacrifice to necessity.With Condenados a vivir, this formula reaches it's fullest development. Isolated in the wilderness, there is nothing to stall the corrosive assault of brutality. Every member of the group is degraded and virtually every on-screen character is dead by the final credits. Sarah Brown (Emma Cohen) is the only character who opposes this effect in any way, though her response is ambiguous as it involves a hopeless and absolute nihilism. In this series of movies, the typical genre ending of a shoot-out in the street or synonymous act becomes endlessly complicated. The exorcism of violence by violence must, according to the logic of these narratives, only perpetuate the contagion – an inescapable circularity.This movie has a sort of resurrection of the dead hero in the manner of the Italian brand of western, but here it occurs in the delusions of an insane fugitive. However, whereas in the Italian movies this return-from-the-grave is followed by a sort of liberation of a community, in this movie this is only a guilt-ridden and confused hallucination.As in most of these Spanish movies, the technical execution lags far behind the narrative sophistication. The "gore-effects" will strike you as laughable if you are in the right mood. However, all-in-all, this movie is a successful and sincere b-movie, and as such I recommend it. With El Sabor de la venganza, this is Joaquin Marchent's best western.Top spaghetti western list http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849907Average SWs http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849889For fanatics only (bottom of the barrel) http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849890