Well I should have seen it coming but I must have let my guard down. The final showdown had a twist ending that was a blast given what had gone before. Johnny Lowen's (Harvey Keitel) advice to 'go the other way' to his young grandson was well executed by crazy old Joshua (Jim van der Woude) in what was a cool ending for an evil David Bowie.
I have to admit, seeing Bowie's name in the credits was the main reason I tuned into this one on the Encore Western Channel. Besides that, I really didn't need another one, as Westerns are my favorite genre and I catch as many as I can. Another surprise was this one turning out to be a spaghetti Western of sorts, but instead of your classic Ennio Morricone score, the opening music more resembled something coming out of "The Godfather". So in that respect this was more like a gangster Western, especially after Bowie and his crew showed up in Basin Flats.
On the subject of Bowie as a Western villain, I had to groan a bit when he first came on screen. His voice didn't fit the character of a nasty villain, but he sure made up for it by being an equal opportunity killer. Poor Mary, there was no way Jack Sikora (Bowie) could have known about the knife, but he didn't really need a reason to shoot her given his character. Later he borrowed a page from Peter Townsend and The Who by whacking Joshua across the head with his guitar - nice touch.
I suppose I should be more critical of the picture because other than Bowie, Keitel and the colorful cast of characters, this isn't one of the better Westerns you're likely to come across. I didn't care a whole lot for Leonardo Pieraccioni as Doc Lowen; it's OK to be a pacifist in a Western but his luck would have run out if gunslinger Dad hadn't ridden into town. One suggestion I would have made in the casting, since Joshua looked so much like Keith Richards, that's the guy I would have called on for more of a rock and roll flavor. But man, you can't beat that weirdo showdown where Bowie looked like the man who fell to earth.
I have to admit, seeing Bowie's name in the credits was the main reason I tuned into this one on the Encore Western Channel. Besides that, I really didn't need another one, as Westerns are my favorite genre and I catch as many as I can. Another surprise was this one turning out to be a spaghetti Western of sorts, but instead of your classic Ennio Morricone score, the opening music more resembled something coming out of "The Godfather". So in that respect this was more like a gangster Western, especially after Bowie and his crew showed up in Basin Flats.
On the subject of Bowie as a Western villain, I had to groan a bit when he first came on screen. His voice didn't fit the character of a nasty villain, but he sure made up for it by being an equal opportunity killer. Poor Mary, there was no way Jack Sikora (Bowie) could have known about the knife, but he didn't really need a reason to shoot her given his character. Later he borrowed a page from Peter Townsend and The Who by whacking Joshua across the head with his guitar - nice touch.
I suppose I should be more critical of the picture because other than Bowie, Keitel and the colorful cast of characters, this isn't one of the better Westerns you're likely to come across. I didn't care a whole lot for Leonardo Pieraccioni as Doc Lowen; it's OK to be a pacifist in a Western but his luck would have run out if gunslinger Dad hadn't ridden into town. One suggestion I would have made in the casting, since Joshua looked so much like Keith Richards, that's the guy I would have called on for more of a rock and roll flavor. But man, you can't beat that weirdo showdown where Bowie looked like the man who fell to earth.