Rafael Vaquero Movies
- 1992
For Astarlos, living in Madrid at the time of the troubled rule of Isabel the Second in 1868, fencing is not an outmoded method of personal combat, but it is a way of life. It teaches lessons about comportment, attention, responsiveness to others, and taking responsibility for one's own life. Further, it is an aristocratic art, and the heart of aristocratic sentiment (no matter what one's station of life at birth) is to take responsibility for those who are less fortunate than oneself. Noblesse oblige. In this drama, the fencing master seeks to remain true to his values during a turbulent time which imperils his student's lives. One student is a beautiful and mysterious young woman, another is a handsome lad of aristocratic birth. Among the outsiders impinging on their lives are a police inspector and a passionate revolutionary. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omero Antonutti, Assumpta Serna, (more)
- 1976
On long summer weekends, Juan (Alfredo Landa) is in the habit of hopping on his motorcycle in Madrid and driving for many hours to Torremolinos, a popular hangout for foreign tourists. There, he indulges in his fondness for romancing foreign girls. In this movie, which won a Gold Prize at the 1977 Moscow Film Festival, the people he meets on his journey form a microcosm of modern Spain. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfredo Landa, Paco Algora, (more)
- 1974
What Changed Charley Farthing stars Doug McClure as a wayfaring sailor stopping over in Havana. In the tradition of The African Queen, the sailor becomes a reluctant hero when he is hired to give safe passage out of Cuba to a young woman (Hayley Mills) and her father (Lionel Jeffries). This involves stealing a boat, ducking the authorities, and avoiding bullets. David Pursall and Jack Seddon adapted the screenplay from a novel by Mark Hebdon. What Changed Charley Farthing has been run repeatedly on American television under its alternate title The Bananas Boat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
In this spaghetti western, based on the Marvin H. Albert novel The Bounty Killer, a bounty hunter swears he will bring in a notorious Mexican outlaw. The outlaw is captured, but then, with the help of a pretty lady, escapes and goes to his hometown. There he enlists the aid of the locals and gets his old gang back together. The bounty hunter eventually catches up, but he is immediately captured and tortured by the outlaw who then robs and kills a few of the hapless townsfolk. This causes the woman to reconsider her actions. She frees the bounty hunter, and a violent shoot-out ensues. In the end, all of the bad-guys are slain, and the bounty hunter finds himself a rich man. There are no likeable or heroic characters in this film that is unfortunately marred by poor English-language dubbing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Wyler, Tomas Milian, (more)
In this spaghetti Western, Joseph Cotten stars as Jonas, an ex-Confederate soldier who robs a Union freight train in order to re-ignite the Civil War. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Cotten, Norma Bengell, (more)
Sergio Corbucci crafted one of the most popular and widely imitated of the Italian "spaghetti westerns" of the 1960s with this violent but stylish action saga. A mysterious man named Django (Franco Nero) arrives in a Mexican border town dragging a small coffin behind him. When he attempts to save a woman who is being attacked by a group of bandits, he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between Mexican gangsters and racist Yankee thugs, with the innocent townspeople and a fortune in Mexican gold stuck somewhere in between. Django becomes a force to be reckoned with when it's discovered his coffin actually contains a Gatling gun. Django proved so popular in Europe that over 30 sequels and follow-ups were produced, though Franco Nero would not return to the role until 1987's Django 2: Il Grande Ritorno (the only sequel endorsed by Corbucci, which proved to be the last film in the series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, Loredana Nusciak, (more)
