Euro Western Double Feature Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe/Any Gun Can Play DVD

TITLE-Euro Western Double Feature The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe/Any Gun Can Play

SOURCE-Alpha Video DVD

As a kid I hated westerns. Mostly cause we had one Color TV in the house,yea I'm that old. And many times I would be watching  something and Dad would walk in and turn the channel to usually some shitty John Wayne movie or Gunsmoke.

Over the past 20 years I have started dipping my toes into westerns. Finding ones I enjoy. And it was thanks to LCOTL over at Sleaze Fiend Magazine that I discovered this channel on YT packed with westerns. 

Late one night couldn't sleep so wanted something brainless to watch. Saw on that YT channel was a martial arts/western combo. The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe was it's title. And I watched it and loved it. Amazing widescreen print and good sound. 

Once the  film was over rushed to Amazon ordered  a pack of 8 westerns,with one of them being Shanghai Joe and his Fighting Fists. 

Got that set and the print on there is a VHS rip. Looks like ass sounds like ass. Made a note to get a better copy one day.

That day was a few months ago. Once  a week I do a circuit of the thrifts,junkstores and pawn shops locally. Buying up stuff. Found sealed at the church thrift the above pictured DVD.

The print is better than my old one. Sound is better but still not as good as what is on YT.

Shanghai Joe is a Chinese worker. He wants to find work. Ending up working for a ranch. Coming into a conflict with a gang that is enslaving latinos they get from across the border.

Basic kung Fu plot mixed with standard Western plot. The fights are what elevates this. The big bad hires a pile of assassins to kill Shanghai Joe. One of whom is the madman Klaus Kinski. 

Now Any Gun can Play is odd. I had never heard of it and before the first reel was over I realized this was a satire of the popular westerns of it's era. A decently done satire. With Edd Kookie Byrnes as a greaser looking cowboy. Yes Edd Kookie Byrnes,best known to anyone under 50 as the washed up Celebrity Peg and Al met on Married with Children,the same episode with Anthrax appearing.

Any Gun Can Play is a widescreen print. With some damage but nothing major. The sound is fairly decent.

Only  extras on this disc is a pile of trailers. For the 50 cents or buck I paid for this I was happy with 2 films.

Now time to continue the search for a good copy of Shanghai Joe on DVD or Blu Ray.

The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe gets a B. Any Gun Can Play gets a C+
 

Is it worth it Wednesdays:The Django Collection from TGG Direct

So I am trying out a new thing. Wednesdays I will do a review of DVD,Comic book,Book,etc. Then explain if I think it was worth what I paid.

Media-DVD
Title-The Django Collection
Company-TGG Direct
Price-$5

With Quentin Tarentino's "Django Unchained" being a pretty big hit I was expecting to see some cheap multipacks of "Django" films. Back earlier this year I found this DVD sitting in the Walmart $5. I have never been a fan of the Western genre. But the spaghetti westerns I have seen I did really enjoy. I glanced at the films listed on the back and thought "Shit 6 movies $5 that is less than a buck a film. If I don't like any of them I can always give it to someone that likes westerns."

1.A Man called Django AKA Viva! Django from 1971

This is your basic revenge drama set in the west. Anthony Steffen plays Django. And is decent. He is after a group of outlaws that raped and killed his wife. He teams up with a horse thief. While fairly violent and bloody,really the film didn't hold my attention much. I kept glancing at the timer to see how much longer it was.

2.Django the runner AKA Massacre Time from 1966

When I got home from buying this DVD I looked up each film. Since the back has no descriptions of the films I looked for non-spoiler plot synopsis. Seeing that this film is directed by Lucio Fulci it was the first one I watched. I knew Fulci had done some spaghetti westerns. I went in hoping for his trademark extreme gore and violence. Spaghetti western regular Franco Nero plays Tom Corbett. He is a gold prospector who has to go back to his home town. He arrives and finds it under the control of the evil Jason Scott.Tom ends up teaming up with his drunk ass brother to wrestle control of the town back from the evil Scott family.

This is one of many films that was retitled to Django "Something" when released in the States. As far as I remember no one in the film is called Django. But that doesn't matter,because this was a really entertaining film. I am betting even if I didn't know before viewing it that Lucio Fulci had directed I would have been able to tell. All his directorial touches show up.

3.Hanging for Django AKA Una lunga fila di croci from 1969

Anthony Steffen returns,but he is Johnny Brandon this time. The plot is about smuggling Mexicans into the States. I am pretty sure this is another film that just had the Django name slapped on it to sell more tickets. Now it has some fairly violent gunfights. But they don't make up for how confusing the plot is. The little bit of research I have done has let me know this is a fairly hard film to find. If it was a better film then it getting a wide and cheap release would be something to celebrate.

4.Django:A Bullet for you AKA Pochi dollari per Djang 1966

Anthony Steffen is back again. I believe this is not one of the many spaghetti films that was retitled to Django for a USA release. Now this is what I want from a spaghetti western. Lots of great camera work. Piles of blood and violence. And unlike lots of American westerns,everyone in this film isn't all clean and pretty looking. They look more like people would have looked back in the old west. I can see myself going back and rewatching this film every few years.

5.Return of Django AKA Il figlio di Django from 1967

Like the previous film I am pretty sure this is a "legit" Django film. Gabriele Tinti plays Jeff Tracy. Who is Django's son. And we get what amounts to a revenge against the mob story. But set in the old west.For me it has everything I want out of this type of western. Plus Gabriele has that weathered look I always figured someone who spent lots of their time outdoors in the harsh sun would have.

6.Pistol for Django AKA Django's Cut Price Corpses from 1971

Django's lady is kidnapped. And he heads out to rescue her.The kidnappers are wanted for stealing gold from a bank. So Django teams up with a man that was hired to bring back the gold. Sadly this film is lacking action. There is long stretches with almost nothing going on. At least Jeff Cameron is called Django in this film.

So was it worth it?- Since the DVD was only $5 I would say this set is worth it.Django the runner,Django:A Bullet for you and Return of Django are all good films. The other 3 range from meh to horrible.

Strange find at the local redneck auction-Jonah Hex 76

A few months back I went to the local monthly auction. I rarely buy anything there,mainly cause I have no use for various tools,and household nicknack's. But one seller had a small stack of various comics. Ended up bidding $5 for the lot and won. This issue starts off with our "hero" Jonah out hunting. He manages to kill a nice sized buck and takes it back to were he has made camp. He gets back and some young blond lady is there. She offers to skin and dress the buck. But before she can start Jonah sees a muzzle flash off in the distance. He manages to take cover right before the bullets start flying. Jonah sneaks around and gets behind the people that were shooting at him. Turns out there is 3 of them. He shoots and kills all three,and starts to wonder why they were trying to kill him. Then we jump ahead 10 days,to a mansion in Virgina. There we meet Mr Turnbull. It seems he hired out the three men to kill Jonah. But back to Jonah,him and the girl ride into a town and get lodgings for the night. Jonah is knocked in the back of the head and falls to the ground. When he comes to he is face to face with Governor Phelps. It seems Phelps needs Jonah's help. He wants Jonah to get sentenced to a long term in the state penitentiary. This is so Jonah can be the Governor's eyes and ears on the inside. Phelps assures Jonah that he will get out in about a month and will be paid very well for his time. Jonah agrees,and goes off and robs a train. Oh course he gets caught and is sent straight to jail. We cut to a scene with Mei Ling,who if I recall correctly is Jonah's wife. Her brother shows her in the newspaper the story about Jonah robbing the train. And this causes Mei to wonder if she should have ever settled down with Mr Hex. But meanwhile Jonah is in jail,and he gets to see how the warden is cutting corners. The food that is served to the various prisoner is one small step above pigslop. And all the men seem to be in bad shape. Jonah gets upset about how one of the guards is treating a elderly man,and attacks the guard. This just causes the other guards to attack and overwhelm Jonah. And they brutally beat up Jonah. The issue closes out with Jonah thrown into the hole. The story is by Michael Fleisher with art by Dick Ayers and Tony Dezuniga. I enjoyed the book,but wished it had been a one and done story. Jonah Hex 76 earns a B.