User Reviews

Corbucci's fourth Spaghetti Western is likable enough, but it's still a long way from the baroque style of his subsequent example in the genre - DJANGO (1966) - much less the ultra-bleak outlook of his masterpiece, THE GREAT SILENCE (1968). Besides, star Mark Damon - made up here to look like the long-lost brother of Bob Dylan's Alias character in Sam Peckinpah's PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (1973)! - lacks the screen presence of Franco Nero, let alone the intelligence of Jean-Louis Trintignant! He still has fond memories of the film, however, since he mentioned it during the Italian B-movie retrospective at the 2004 Venice Film Festival (which my brother and I attended)!

Apart from presenting an unusual - and perhaps unlikely - alliance against the cowboys by Mexicans and Indians, the film has a healthy sense of humor: after he's insulted in a bar, Damon orders the protracted preparation of a concoction made up of some ungodly ingredients - only to then throw it in the face of his opponent!; later, facing up to three bad men without his coveted golden pistol, he blows them all away by unceremoniously throwing a bomb in their midst!; sheriff Ettore Manni's jail has a frequent customer (to the point where he has come to consider it his home!) in a pint-sized old man - told by the former that he can't stay any longer, the latter commits "wilful damage to public property" by breaking the jail's windows as soon as he exits and, turning himself in immediately, he is thus able to keep his place in jail!

The film manages to end with a bang: Damon blowing up the main street of the town (it seems that's all we ever get to see from it in any Western!) - followed by a memorable showdown (involving Damon's gold-plated paraphernalia). Carlo Savina's title tune is catchy, too: the film was originally called JOHNNY ORO and, therefore, has no relation to the two earlier "Ringo" titles made by director Duccio Tessari and starring Giuliano Gemma!

Nice SW with a strong Pasta main and support cast . It is an exciting Spaghetti containing noisy action , thrills , shootouts , horse pursuits , it turns out to be an acceptable Western and amusing enough . Bounty hunter Johnny Ringo kills three brothers but spares the fourth , Juanito Perez (Franco De Rosa) , one because he has no price on his head . However, Juanito schemes to revenge for his brothers . Since Juanito is the youngest sibling of the brothers Ringo killed , he seeks a relentless vendetta and both of whom are fighting each other for a fabulous gold . While , a sheriff (Ettore Manni) of a little town takes gunslinger Ringo into custody . The sheriff faces a blockade of Mexican and Indian attackers to keep prisoner from being brought to justice . Being helped by a half-crazed sympathetic old man whose finger itches demoniacally on the trigger every time he gets a nasty guy in his sights along with his spouse Jane (Giulia Rubini) , their child (Loris Loddi) and Ringo , of course, .

Western action , an agreeable story in ¨Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo¨ wake , shoot-outs at regular intervals , and explosion abound in this decent film whose characters are well portrayed . Enjoyable Ravioli Western that didn't impress critics at the time but its reputation has improved over the years and , nowadays , it is considered to be one of the Corbucci best-regarded . Director Corbucci made various Westerns who quickly became one of the more prolific filmmakers in the genre and here's one of the most unknown ; in addition , this adequate production delivers what it should . Realized between ¨Franco Nero's Django¨ (1966) this ultra-violent masterpiece not only signaled a move toward an even grittier as well as more nihilistic brand of Western , and the pretty good ¨Burt Reynolds' Navajo Joe¨ , both of them brought an entirely new level of stylization to the genre . Stars Mark Damon who carries likable acting on his brawny shoulders and perfectly does . It is a decent Western with a lot of blow-up , plenty of shoot'em up , gun-play and some moments results to be quite entertaining . The picture is finely starred by Mark Damon who wants to get his mitts on a crooks' gold , along with Ettore Manni as an upright sheriff . At the beginning his career , Damon starred as an extra for American films , and , subsequently , performing secondary roles and Roger Corman films . Mark , then emigrated to Italy and he once reportedly missed out on a role in a Franco Nero western because his height made Franco Nero look too short . As he performed several Pasta Westerns , such as "Un Treno Per Durango" , "Cry for Revenge" , ¨Requiescant¨, ¨Johnny Yuma¨ . Soon moved into other film genres playing good guys , bad guys , and good-bad guys and interpreting adventure movies as "Lions of St. Petersburg" , ¨Normand sword¨, and "Long Live Robin Hood" ; these parts often exploited his athletic physique by having him remove his shirt . Co-starred by Ettore Manni who also interpreted some Westerns and adventures . Support cast is pretty good , such as : Franco De Rosa , Valeria Fabrizi , Loris Loddi , Andrea Aureli , John Bartha , Fortunato Arena and Giovanni Cianfriglia or Ken Wood as Indio Sebastian .

Emotive as well as thrilling musical score by Carlos Savina in Ennio Morricone style , this soundtrack is one of the best parts of the film , plenty of catching and attractive sounds . The orchestra , mostly playing by trumpets , whistles , flute , and guitar music set the proper tone for a western . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini shot in Manzanares del Real , La Pedriza , Madrid and Castello di Rota, Tolfa, Roma, Lazio, and Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy . Sergio Corbucci's direction is well crafted , here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and too much action , though the character played by Mark Damonn gives hilarious and sympathetic touches , other Westerns he filmed contained broad comedy Spaghetti Western . His great hit was ¨Django¨, this picture established a lasting relationship between Corbucci and the film's star, Franco Nero . After this success , Corbucci embarked on a trail of directing more Western films . His subsequent Spaghetti Westerns , Hellbenders (1967) and Navajo Joe were filmed and released in quick succession to get a great success in Italy . His next Western was The Great Silence (1968) which referred as an "anti-Western" . Next Western film was The Mercenary (1968) , which would began his semi-genre with what he called the "Zapata-Spaghetti Westerns" , proletarian fables in Mexican sets , where the bad guys are on the right and the good guys are on the left ; along with ¨What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution¨ (1972) that is almost a parody of his Zapata Westerns . By setting the story in Mexico and fleshing out his characters with political awareness , Corbucci's intent became more clear and his political statements became more explicit . After directing the semi-successful The specialist (1969) with recently deceased Johnny Halliday and the hero moving through cold rather then heat and fighting in the mud and snow rather then sweat and dust ; later on , Corbucci re-teamed up with Franco Nero again with Los Compañeros . During the 1970s Corbucci made three more Westerns , but the popularity of the genre began to die out . Of the three , only Sonny and Jed (1972) stands out as one of the best late series genre Westerns , though it was not well received . While The white the yellow an the black (1975) is married by racial stereotypes and an excessive parody .

Ringo and His Golden Pistol (1966) is a spaghetti western that I recently watched on HBOMAX. The storyline follows Johnny Ringo trying to make some money however he can, as a hired gun or in the gold business but he doesn't take the law, or much else, seriously. Meanwhile, a Mexican and some Native Americans are about to arrive in the town Ringo is in looking for revenge for the deaths of the Mexican's brothers. An epic shootout is sure to ensue.

This movie is directed by Sergio Corbucci (Django) and stars Mark Damon (House of Usher), Giulia Rubini (David and Goliath), Andrea Aureli (The Loves of Hercules), Loris Loddi (House of Gucci) and Ettore Manni (War of the Zombie).

The settings and shootouts are the best part of the movie. The shootouts are well executed and entertaining. The dialogue is okay too; although, the comedic elements were a bit cheesy. The drunken Native American cliche was blah. This just wasn't as funny as it tried to be. The storyline could have been better, and the acting is inconsistent.

Overall, this is a very average addition to the spaghetti western genre. I would score a 5.5/10 and recommend seeing it once.

The Quick Pitch: After bounty hunter Johnny Ringo kills his brothers, a Mexican bandit joins forces with a band of Apaches to seek his revenge.

Overall, Ringo and His Golden Gun is a good, but not great, Spaghetti Western. I may have gone in expecting way too much as the movie was directed by the great Sergio Corbucci. His films Django, The Great Silence, and Companeros are among my favorites of the genre. Ringo and His Golden Gun doesn't quite measure up to that standard. Ringo and His Golden Gun is not as dark and brutal with the over-the-top violence found in many of Corbucci's other films. It almost feels like a standard, run-of-the-mill American Western. Not that that's a bad thing, just not what I was hoping for. I found the first third of the film very entertaining - meeting Ringo and getting the basic story of what's to come. But somewhere in the second act, things started to drag a bit. The grand gunfight during the film's finale should have been a highlight, but it lacked that something special to make it memorable. Most of the acting was solid, including Mark Damon as Ringo. Though I must admit that his ridiculous looking mustache and eyeliner made me chuckle a time or two. Other positives of note include Riccardo Pallottini's cinematography and, especially, Carlo Savina's score. Savina's work on Ringo and His Golden Gun is eerily reminiscent of Ennio Morricone. I've often said that if it weren't for Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci would probably be better known. I'll add to that by saying that if it weren't for Morricone, Savina would no doubt be better known.

6/10

If Johnny Ringo hadn't stuck to his principle of only hunting killers wanted officially for gold there wouldn't have been a pile up of bodies at the end of film. In the beginning of the film he kills the one of Last of the Perez family member and his brother wants to get even, and threatens the sheriff to attack his town with Apaches - rare appearance in a spaghetti western- if he doesn't hand in Ringo ( the sheriff had arrested him for blowing up some guys in self defence) but the sheriff refuses to. It's an interesting western, starts slow, meandering a little, but it gradually builds up to a crescendo neatly topped by an excellent action sequence at the end of film. Mark Damon is really good as the golden pistol toting bounty Hunter, cutting a cool figure in black.

Johnny is pretty materialistic. Without a piece of gold he won't move a limb. Early in the story he could have killed bad guy Perez - but without the dime no kill. Story develops into a lonely-sheriff-versus-the-bandits one where the sheriff demonstrates his iron will to maintain law and order. Added to this familiar plot there is the element of temptation: if the town dwellers deliver Johnny to the outlaws the town would be saved. Unfortunately this sideline isn't well developed. In the end we get a good portion of action with explosions etc. Score, cinematography(too many studio shots) and acting are adequate. Was made in the same year as DJANGO with very different maverick heroes.

5 / 10.

Despite being directed by the legendary Sergio Corbucci, who worked on some classic spaghetti westerns like "Companeros" and "The Great Silence", this particular foreign oater is one of his lesser efforts. It's not really a bad movie, since it's never boring, but all the same it generally feels low key and not a real grabber. The background scenery isn't all that spectacular, there isn't a lot of action (though the climatic action sequence is exciting and spectacular), and there is far too much routine and predicable talk and plot turns. The worst thing about it is the depiction of the hero, who comes across for the most part as really smug and arrogant. Still, the movie doesn't manage to overstay its welcome in part due to a fairly lean running time. So in the end, the movie is kind of a mixed bag. People who dislike westerns (spaghetti or not) will probably despise it. Those who enjoy westerns (particularly in the spaghetti style) will find it more tolerable, but even they will probably admit that it's not a movie to actively seek out.

That is the question and the answer is usually no! This bit of western, Italian Style, lives up to the genre perfectly. You can't judge these the Sergio Leone's masterpieces (although with this director you actually could) but you can throw it in with the dozen upon dozen that came after. Sergio Corbucci was one of the directors that managed to put out some good to excellent westerns with a mixture of fast gun play, interesting (usually) plots & a good dose of humor. He statarted as a film critic, even writing for the "Stars & Stripes" during WW2. He was a know as a efficient & a capable filmmaker. His claim to fame early on was doing small budget action scenes look like they were done with a big budget. He was a second unit director for Mr. Leone, who was a friend & that they came up with the idea for the "Spaghetti Western" while working on the sword & sandal "The Last Days Of Pompeii." He did his first western in Spain just before Mr. Leone's "A Fistful Of Dollars." Wavy Spaghetti Western aficionados will recocognize him as the director of the genre changing "Django." He also did "Navajo Joe" which put Burt Reynolds on the star map. This followed soon after "Django" but did not make its American actor, Mark Damon, a household name. But, it does do a good job of making two somewhat villainous characters heroes. Throwing in a Gary Cooper style sheriff for good measure. You will figure out who lives & who dies early. But you can't fault Sergio for pulling out all the stops. He knows what he's doing. A good soundtrack, following the Morricone School, with some silly songs, especially the theme song that probably sounds better untranslated into English. A winner from a winning director

Mark Damon is gold-loving bounty hunter Johnny Ringo. He annoys a fellow whose brother he has killed and much spaghetti-westerning eventuates.

Director Sergio Corbucci worked in a lot of genres, but is best remembered for his horror movies, and for being one of the inventors of the Spaghetti Western. His first movie of the genre, MASSACRE AT GRAND CANYON, beat Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS into the theaters by three and a half months.

Although the idea that westerns could be shot in Europe may seem groundbreaking, there were many European westerns before this. In the silent era, French westerns were called "Westerns-Camembert". I have seen westerns produced in Britain and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.

The most interesting features of this movie are the lived-in appearance of cinematic world, with doorways chipped, and Carlo Savina's brass-heavy score.

Well I think this really isn't so much worse than Sergio Leone's best movies.

Music is really great and i am sure Ennio Morricone would gladly sign under it. There are many themes and very nice "mandolin and trumpet" combinations.

Yes it's true synchronized sound is somewhat funny but it doesn't spoil the authentic filling.

There is some serious acting present by nearly all main characters. I decided to check more of Corbucci's work if i can find it somewhere. Is this movie was shot in Italy or America?

A must see movie for all spaghetti fans.

The mexicans and the native americans team up to take on johnny ringo (mark damon), bounty hunter. He shows up when there's gold offered for criminals, and the locals resent it. So when the sheriff is killed, and johnny is put in jail, they use the opportunity to attack the town. Shooting, whistling, and galloping. So much whistling, like a clint eastwood film. A couple of (loud) silly, player piano songs, that pretty much only belong in what used to be called spaghetti westerns. That was the nickname for westerns made later, in italy instead of southern california. The script is silly, and the action is pretty silly. But i guess that's the definition of a spaghetti western. Filmed in italy, for mgm, by sergio corbucci.

Dubbed movies are, at least for me, difficult to watch in part because the speech always seems out of synch -- and of course is.

This film, known variously as "Johnny Oro" and "Ringo and His Golden Pistol," almost overcomes that difficulty because of very good acting, great scenery (supposedly Italy), many and superlative stunts, and an excellent score.

And even good acting from the dubbers, something I have found rare in the past.

As to that score, I wonder if composer Carlo Savina influenced Ennio Morricone, or if Morricone influenced Savina. There are similarities in their scores, as witness this one and any of the Clint Eastwood "spaghetti Westerns."

But the story here is both unusual and clever. Written by Adriano Bolzoni and Franco Rossetti, "Ringo" presents many and varied characters as well as an involved story of Gringos and Mexicans and Apaches, back-stabbing, cowardice, courage, honor, and, yes, foolishness.

In addition, the chief villain, slimily played by Franco De Rosa, is surely one of the most evil ever portrayed on film.

Mark Damon might have appeared in a better light without a dubbed-in performance, but by and large he made a good ... well, "hero" might not be the correct term here, but as a strong protagonist Damon was quite watchable.

There is an interesting print at YouTube, with the dubbed English and Greek subtitles. I enjoyed it, and can recommend it.

Just when we thought cowboy movies had gone belly up, along came this operatic horse opera with a black outfit hero with a droopy mustache and a gilded side arm who goes about offing the clean cut family for the price on their heads - well they were murdering bandidos but still!

All the energy and flamboyance that the plodding dollars films lacked and concepts that belonged in Italianate literature. Mark Damon stopping off between Roger Corman and being a corporate heavy was something new in movie heroes and, after blowing up the town, there he was facing an adversary who tells him "Smile at me Ringo, for I am death." How long had this been going on?