After The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) reached American cinemas at the end of 1967, the Spaghetti Western was nearing its apex and the success of Leone’s films ushered in a new formula for the western genre as a whole. Paramount Pictures decided to try to ride the wave of this success, first by getting Leone to direct Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) – which would become a signature film for Leone, Paramount and the subgenre as a whole – and second by taking up a second film in a trilogy by director Giuseppe Colizzi which had Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, Ace High (AKA The Four of the Hail Mary). Previously released on DVD by Paramount, Kino has licensed the movie for its Blu-ray debut.
The Production: 3.5/5
Sprung from prison – where he spent 15 years due to a double cross – before a meeting with the hangman (by one of the three men who put him there), the bandit Cacopoulos (Eli Wallach) manages to steal $300,000 from Cat Stevens (Terence Hill) and Hutch Bessy (Bud Spencer). After being left out in the desert, Cat and Hutch set out in pursuit of Cacopoulos – who proceeds to to spread the wealth generously – to retrieve their ill-gotten gains. When the trio cross paths again, they have to team up in order to get the money back as well as deal out vengeance to the backstabbers, leading to a Mississippi casino where the money will fly just as fast as the bullets.
The middle installment of a trilogy, Ace High hems to the traditions of the spaghetti western while offering up some twists to the formula. Giuseppe Colizzi – who not only directed, but also wrote the screenplay and co-produced – clearly tries to follow in the footsteps of Sergio Leone in terms of style here and manages to do so solidly. However, the addition of some comedic elements to the proceedings here to relieve some of the tension does make it stand out from others of the era. Yet, that also appears to be the film’s major issue: while not a hinderance or a distraction, the comedy is either hit or miss much of the time; the cast – who have had (or would later have) some experience in this field – do their best here. In the end, Ace High is still a nicely done movie in the spaghetti western genre that does offer a few laughs in the mix that it does make it worth a look.
Top billed here, Eli Wallach makes a fine return to the form he showed in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, here as the rascally yet high spirited Cacopoulos; he would make one more return to the Spaghetti Western genre in Shoot First… Ask Questions Later (1975), which would also be the last Spaghetti Western of Django director Sergio Corbucci’s career. Having appeared in Colizzi’s God Forgives… I Don’t! (1967) a year prior – of which this film is a direct sequel to – both Terence Hill and Bud Spencer reprise their roles as Cat and Hutch solidly; after the final film of the Cat and Hutch trilogy (Boot Hill, 1969), they would appear in 13 more films together, starting with They Call Me Trinity (1970) and Trinity is Still My Name (1971). As the gun toting high wire artist, Brock Peters makes the most of his time on screen as Thomas; in Boot Hill, the role would be played by Woody Strode. Filling out the cast are Kevin McCarthy as the double-crossing casino owner Drake, Livio Lorenzon as the Mexican “revolutionary” who also double-crossed Cacopoulos, Remo Capitani as the “revolutionary” presiding over a kangaroo court, Tiffany Hoyveld as Thomas’ wife, Bruno Corazzari as the Deputy Charlie, Steffen Zacharias as Mr. Harold, Frank Braña, Gildo De Marco and Ricardo Pizzuti as henchmen of Mr. Harold, Giancarlo Badessi as the boxing promoter and Frank Haynes (the American ex-patriate known for his longtime Paris soul food restaurant Chez Haynes) as the bareknuckle boxer Hutch fights in order to collect money for the casino scheme.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
The 122-minute US cut of the film is presented in its original 2:35:1 Techniscope aspect ratio, taken from a brand new 4K HD master of the 35mm original camera negative. Film grain, color palette, skin tones and fine details appear to be faithfully represented with minimal cases of scratches, tears, dirt or warping present; for those curious, this release – much like the 2005 Paramount DVD – opens and closes with the Hanna-Barbera animated Paramount logo used from 1975 to 1986. Overall, this release bests the previous Paramount DVD and likely represents the best the movie will ever look on home video.
Audio: 5/5
The film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a DTS-HD Master Audio track for this release. Dialogue, sound mix and Carlo Rustichelli’s music score are all faithfully presented with clarity and strength with minimal cases of distortion, hissing, flutter, popping and crackling present here. Again, this release is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video, besting the previous Paramount DVD.
Special Features: 3/5
Commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox – Recorded for this release, Cox talks about some of the themes as well as what Sergio Leone references – in terms of stylistic choices – are used by Colizzi here.
Theatrical Trailer (3:26)
Bonus KLSC Trailers – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Man of the East, A Fistful of Dynamite, Kill Them All and Come Back Alone & The Hills Run Red
Overall: 4/5
Although it came and went in American cinemas without much fanfare, Ace High is still a decently made and entertaining spaghetti western. Kino has dealt fans of the movie a good hand here, with a solid HD transfer and an informative commentary track as a special feature. Highly recommended and worth upgrading from the previous Paramount DVD.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads