Comin' at Ya! (1981)

Pretty Good

hyped garbage

best movie i've ever seen.

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.

I was fortunate to be managing a theater when the second wave of 3D hit theater screens. Much like the first wave that took place in the fifties these films made the decision to use the special effect in gimmicks rather than integrate the format into the story. Items were thrown at cameras, things were dropped at them and there was even an eyeball that popped out of someone's head towards that camera in Friday THE 13TH 3D. Because the effects were gimmick related and due to the bad format being used that required glasses that gave viewers headaches it soon died. Newer technology has made the format popular again but even that is beginning to wane.The first major release during that second wave of 3D wasn't from a major studio but was actually a spaghetti western that came from Italy. COMIN' AT YA! used a tried and true story and then rounded it out with enough items aimed at viewers that many who had only heard of 3D rushed to theaters to experience it for the first time. It became an immediate hit and soon other movies followed suit only to disappear for reasons I stated earlier. But this little movie that renewed interest in the format should be included in the history of movies for that reason alone, that it brought it back to life.Now MVD has brought the film to DVD for the first time. Not only that it's being offered in 3D as well as blu-ray for those who own 3D televisions. This makes it the first time you can see the film that way since it was released back in 1981.The story is simple enough. The wedding of gunslinger H.H. Hart (Tony Anthony) and his bride Abilene is interrupted by Pike and Polk Thompson (Gene Quintano and Ricardo Palicios) who shoot Hart and kidnap his bride. The duo is kidnapping women to be sold into white slavery. What is interesting to note about this sequence is that it is incredibly obvious that Quentin Tarantino used this sequence when filming KILL BILL. At moments it seems shot for shot the same as the killing of the bride from that film.The rest of the movie revolves around Hart tracking down the bad guys and trying to retrieve his wife. When Hart discovers that the brothers are taking women from all around with the intent of selling them into the brothels of Mexico, he makes it his mission to save them all. A back and forth between his taking out men, being captured, escaping and taking them on again follows until a climactic battle that takes place in a ghost town.At only 91 minutes the first question that should be asked is is there enough of a story here to make a feature length film or is it all gimmicks? The answer is yes, the story is well thought out and lives up to the movies of the time, westerns that were slowly disappearing even from Italy. Westerns for the most part always offered up simple stories of good guys versus bad. It was a formula that worked so why tinker with it? But the amount of 3D effects in the film at times slows down what we get to see. Not only that, some of the gimmicks might leave you scratching your head as to why someone thought that was something people wanted to see. But that's because we've grown accustomed to the current wave of 3D films where the 3D is incorporated into the story itself rather than just tossed in to be called a 3D movie. The novelty has worn off and it now accentuates the story rather than propels it. Knowing that the use of it in this film makes more sense where it is used simply to show 3D.There are several ways that are used to display the effect here, some good some head scratching as I mentioned. Among the bad are seeing things like beans of coins dropped from above towards the floor where the camera is located. Better usage comes from items like a snake hanging down from a board or arrows flying through the air towards the camera. Those were eye popping moments where audiences ducked while watching the film.Tony Anthony does a great job here and should have become a bigger star than he was. Having made more than one spaghetti western, including several that involved the same character only known as the Stranger, he was a recognizable face. Why he left acting behind I've yet to discover. He did invent a low cost 3D projection lens that was cheaper than the conventional lenses being used at the time so perhaps he made enough off of that to retire early. If such was the case it was a loss to fans of the genre and of Anthony.This release offers little in the form of extras but with both a regular blu-ray and 3D blu-ray included in the mix it's worth it for fans of 3D and for collectors alike. Even if you don't enjoy the format but love those old spaghetti westerns it's worth adding to your collection. The end result is a fun film that can be enjoyed either way. Now for fans we have to sit and hope that TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS comes out as well.

I've seen the premiere screening of the new restored version of Ferdinando Baldi's 3D western classic yesterday at the Berlinale. The film is notorious for launching the 3D revival in the early 80's but mostly disappeared from public movie consciousness with the classic 3D format almost 30 years ago. Thanks to the current 3D craze it is now finally comin' at ya again. And what a fun movie! I must say, I've never seen the original version. That was way before my time, so I can't tell how the classic 3D techniques worked out on that one, or, what actually got changed, but the new digital 3D restoration is absolutely brilliant! Even if the new version may enhance the smoothness of the 3D projection, you still have to keep in mind that the 3D effects itself were conceived and shot like this 30 years ago. Though we may now have new projection techniques, the movie is still an old one. But it is great fun to see how much inventiveness the filmmakers put in the stereoscopic possibilities of filmmaking at their time.Unlike present 3D movies the 3D here is totally over the top and in your face. Baldi and Anthony used any possibilities they could think of to throw things at the camera, whether it made any sense in the story or not. It's 3D for the sake of 3D. The story is really just an excuse for having things moving right at the camera. "Comin' At Ya!" is as true to its title as you can possibly think of.Obviously very often the 3D is just to much. You have things moving so close to the camera that neither the camera nor you can still focus on them and may hurt your eyes if you try. But still the effect is very impressive, mostly because it's just there for the effect - a quality (if I may say so) that contemporary 3D movies completely lack. If you watch "Tron" or a Pixar movie in 3D or 2D, it's not much difference actually. A little more space here and there, but that's it. "Coming At Ya!" will only work in 3D. There's simply no other reason to watch this film. And that's what makes it so much fun.I won't repeat everything that the movie has coming at ya. Check the other reviews if you are curious. I just want to focus on some other aspects of the 3D in this movie that need some attention because Baldi and Anthony used some really neat tricks that modern 3D filmmakers could actually still learn from.One is the enhanced slowness of the film. Modern cinema is very speed intense - fast movements, fast camera, fast cutting. And speed doesn't go well with 3D. The eye can't follow and you easily get a headache. That's why contemporary 3D filmmakers pull the camera back a little in action scenes. They don't want to lose the speed, but they sacrifice a lot of 3D for that. "Comin' At Ya!" does the complete opposite. There's a lot of slow motion and very slow camera pans in the film that totally enhance the impact of the 3D experience. Watch out for the extremely beautiful slow camera movements, usually close to the ground to give even more depth, making the lovely western sets so plastic even "Avatar" can't compare.Slowness is essential to 3D, and we will probably (and hopefully) see a lot more of that in coming 3D productions. The ultra-kinetic fastness of contemporary blockbuster cinema is really not the right way to shoot in 3D. Having less to tell, like the almost non-existent plot in "Comin' At Ya!", obviously makes it a lot easier to take your time to immerse yourself in the 3D experience, what simply isn't possible with the totally over-scripted and over-dramatized Hollywood movies of today. Rarely I've seen a film that takes so much scenes an dialogue to tell so little story as "Tron Legacy". Or think of the endless talk-talk-talk in 3D animations like "Megaminds" and the Pixar stuff. I wish characters in modern Hollywood cinema, especially in the 3D films, could just shut up for a couple of minutes to let you experience. There is no dialogue in the first 15 minutes of "Coming At Ya!", and even later on you will mostly have weird sound effects, screaming and the beautiful music to accompany you while watching.Films need to strip down their stories, take their time to really indulge into the 3D environment (which from the modern 3D films only "Avatar" mostly succeeded at) and, most of all, get a little more obvious on the 3D spectacle. Why would you want to watch a 3D movie if not for the 3D? Of course, "Comin' At Ya!" is more of a phantom ride than a consistent movie. It has more in common with the first movie experiences around 1900 when you went to a movie for the spectacle and not for the story (which often simply didn't exist), than with modern storytelling-cinema. But it's so lively, so vivid and so entertaining through its use of the 3D effects - sometimes blatantly over the top, sometimes just unbelievably beautiful composed - that it's just pure fun to watch.I hope we will see more restored versions of classic 3D movies from the 50's to the 80's. "Comin' At Ya!" proves there is a lot to discover!

The DVD edition in 3D, widescreen 2:35 and dolby surround is a must and gives credit to this good western.A so-so screenplay with a hero exploring his dark side while he seeks revenge...but describing a bunch of helpless women screaming at the view of some poorly animated bats. A bit macho stuff, but quite professionally handled.The essential is in the cinematography : not much dialogue but everything is on the screen, the images speak for themselves. They don't need dialogue to explain what's going on. In that way, Ferdinando BALDI is a great director: not many are capable of this.As for the 3D, some actions are quite powerful (the explosions, the fire...) some others especially shot for the 3D experience then not necessary. Victoria ABRIL brings a feminine touch which was really needed.But a good entertainment indeed.

Made on a very low budget in 1981, Comin' At Ya! was the first successful full length 3D motion picture since Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (Or was it The Stewardesses?). It started an early 80's resurgence of 3D films that (unfortunately) quickly died due to bad, bad movies and poor projection. Believe it or not, this (along with Friday the 13th Part 3) is arguably the best of that batch.The 80 minute plot (which, without the endless assault of blatant 3D effects, would probably clock in at just over a half an hour) is very slight. In an opening flashback, Hart and his girl Abilene rob a Wells Fargo bank, get attacked by mercenaries, get married and get attacked once again, this time by white slave traders who take Abiline and leave Hart for dead. Hart survives, though, and sets out to find her. The bad guys lump Abiline in with a group of other women that they intend to use, abuse, and sell into prostitution across the border into Mexico. Hart and his scottish preacher sidekick(?) capture the head bad guys brother and use him as leverage to get his new wife back.Now, I don't know how seriously the filmmakers were taking this story because sometimes the film seems like it's trying to be funny and other times it's incredibly deadpan. I'd like to say it's a spoof of Sergio Leone's Italian oaters (The actor's mouths move in English, but are still dubbed over by voice over artists, the soundtrack is a complete Morricone rip off and the lead actor strives for Eastwood's man with no name personna), but I'm not completely sure of the intention. I am sure of what the film is, however. It is the most gimmicky 3D movie I've ever seen. Not 5 minutes pass without guns, daggers, arrows, sticks, spilling beans, baby asses (midway through a diaper change), rats, bats and soap bubbles flying out in your face. The last five minutes of the film are a recap of the more successful 3D effects spun together with footage of fireworks and pinwheels sparking and spinning against a black background. About 75% of it works, though. The rest come too close to the camera and causes eye strain. It's 3D movies like this that give the rest a bad name.Don't misunderstand me. I was entertained by this film, make no mistake. It's hard not to be entertained by a film that doesn't want a single thought entering your head for its running time. It's a 3D movie equivalent to a porno film... If you've never seen a 3D movie before, don't start here (see House OF Wax first), but If you've seen the best, then it never hurts to see the rest. Oh, yeah, a six pack helps this one immeasurably.