User reviews

¨Dollar for the dead¨is an acceptable Spanish/USA co-production with intelligent writing and slick direction by Gene Quintano . This Quintano's Western is packed with noisy action and lots of violence . American-Spanish co-production financed by Enrique Cerezo and Tony Anthony (who in the 60s and 70s starred various Spaghetti as ¨Blindman¨) full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and drama . This is a surprisingly low-key Spaghetti Western set in the post-Civil War era in which a washed-out gunslinger (Emilio Estevez) join forces with a cripple Confederate ex-soldier (William Forsythe) and taking on a variety of problems and risks with the aim to get a treasure . As two diverse characters unite forces to carry out the robbing a loot . They are being pursued by Union soldiers (Jonathan Banks) and an avenger super-quick gunfighter (Howie Long ). They find numerous complications when free a man (Ed Lauter) with part of the map to the gold which appears drawn on various cartridges holders. It all leads to an outer border small town terrorized by a Federale captain(Jordi Molla) and led a by a Mexican priest named Friar Ramon(Joaquim De Almeida) who also has knowledge of the hidden gold.

This entertaining picture contains action Western , shootouts and bits of campy and refreshing events with turns and twists . It's an improbable blending of standard Western , including Spaghetti's homage , with pursuits, high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. An interesting casting full of American actors as Estevez , Long , Forsythe , Lauter and Spanish players as Simon Andreu , Jordi Molla and Portugues as Joaquin De Almeida ; all of them make this oater well worth the watching . Delightful Western in which a violent ¨Man with no name¨ using his wits , breaking all the rules and kicking virtually every cliché in the pants realizes a killing spree , as he relentlessly robs and murders by means of some spectacular showdowns in operatic style taken from John Woo films . Amiable but sometimes lumbering Western goes on and on about the same premise , as minutes are superfluous , it has quarter hour of excess , as it packs some moments turn out to be dull and tiring . There is plenty of action and lots of stunts in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts, fights or stunts every few minutes . The musician George S. Clinton composes a nice soundtrack with catching leitmotif and well conducted in Ennio Morricone style ; it's full of strange sounds with use of harmonica , trumpets and guitar. Striking cinematography by Giovanni Fiore with barren outdoors, dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun, and outdoor sequences shot on outskirts of Madrid and LaTabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain .

Gene Quintano's direction is well crafted, here he's more cynical and violent and less inclined toward humor and packs too much action , but especially this moving Western contains broad violence . He also wrote ¨The long Kill¨ with Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Simon Andreu realized by Bill Corcoran at the same time and in similar ink . The movie contains gun-play, action Western, bloody spectacle and fist-fights . It's an offbeat , surprising and uneven Western particularly influenced by Sergio Leone from ¨One time in the West¨and Sergio Corbucci from ¨Djanjo¨ but will appeal to Spaghetti aficionados . Rating : 6 , riotous Western in which there's too much action and violence and enough excitement .

Lots of nice eye candy, but the cinematography does not compare to that in The Quick and the Dead, a film this TNT original brings to mind. The story is flimsy and too busy, but nevermind. The real purpose is for Emilio Estevez to squint and Howie Long to wear a duster while shooting up the "bad" guys in an attempt to emulate Sam Raimi or Peckinpah.

Not an entire waste of time. I was sitting at home while my wife was out of town, and enjoyed it for what it is: a non-pretentious, silly western with some gravitational tricks that would make Xena jealous.

El Gato says check it out.

Tongue - in - cheek western adventure with all the "clichés" of the genre. A lone gunfighter (Estevez) teams up with a ex - confederate soldier (Forsythe) to find gold in a little Mexican village tormented by ruthless bandits. Mr. Quintano, the director of this one, seems a bit influenced by John Woo (mainly in the scenes of shooting). Extremely predictable but otherwise effective in its purpose. A good fun for western addicts. I give this a 6 (six).

Good Eurowestern! The producer Tony Anthony is in fact THE Tony Anthony who starred in several very well made Eurowesterns including the original version of this movie known as "A Stranger In Town" Un-fortunately, Emilio Estevez is miscast in this remake,and his acting is not suited to this kind of film. The movie would have been a lot better with someone else cast in the role of "The Stranger" AKA "Cowboy"! See the original instead! It is available on video at a hefty price of $25.00, from Luminous Film and Video Wurks, but it is well worth your time and money!

I had hoped that this was a badly made spoof, but alas no.

This is not a good western. Emilio Estevez simply does not look the part in the lead role. Having him being part of a group of teen bandits may have worked, but as a supposed a 'mysterious stranger' it does not.

Estevez grimaces, squints and scowls in all the right places but he just seems like a college kid on a day trip to the country. The first gunfight in a bar was quite amusing in places, though this was probably not the directors intention, as he desperately tries to paint Estevez as a highly skilled and near god-like gunman of the Wild West.

You are led to believe that Estevez can drop his whisky, pick up his gun (which seems to be some sort of automatically reloading sixty-shooter), shoot people though walls and doors with the aid of some kind of X-ray vision, and catch his whisky before it hits the floor.

The plot revolves around a chase for a hidden fortune, which is a fair basis for a western, like Sergio Leone's brilliant The Good, The Bad and the Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. Even Clint Eastwood has to reload _his_ gun once in a while.

But towards the end I wasn't involved enough to care if they ever got the money.

I'm a fan of Emilio Estevez & i like Westerns so i had to check this out, now it's nothing special but it's not totally terrible, it's a passable Action Western but made with the budget & look of a cheap t.v movie. Now low-budget B-movie's are fine & i love lots of them but at times here with "Dollar for the Dead" it really felt cheap & tacky, also one big problem was the big mistake of Estevez constantly shooting his "Six Shooters" but doesn't reload & never runs out? Even for a cheap "John Woo" type of Action Western it's too noticeable & ruins the big stylish shootout scenes!!! But the action scenes are done pretty well & slowed down for dramatic effect & it's just a Fun little western really & that's all it was made to be, so in that case it is an easy watching fun bit of entertainment with a Cool Estevez before he pretty much disappeared from films altogether & went into Directing.

The Awesome B-movie cast save the film with obviously the Cool Estevez as the quiet "Man with no Name" type of hero but equally good is the excellent William Forsythe as a one legged ex-civil war soldier who befriends Estevez's Moody Lone ranger, Forsythe is a talent & one great character actor with an intense presence & has been in tons of films like "Out for Justice" & "Things to do in Denver when you're Dead" & "Devil's Rejects" among many more!!! Also we have the great Ed Lauter (Death Wish 3) R.I.P & Jonathan Banks who starred with Estevez in the dark sci-fi Thriller "FreeJack" as well as "Beverley Hills Cop" & "48 Hours" so these main actors here make a nice little cast for this small scale Western. Estevez is good here as the quick shooting action hero & reminded me of his "Young Guns" glory days, he's a solid actor & pulls off the brooding simmering anger well here. The locations look fine like typical Westerns i suppose & i like the treasure hunt story & it's just nice at times to see Estevez & Forsythe sharing scenes together!!! The music is that old school 60's or 70's style Italian type music & it's cheesy fun like the film, but it does have some serious moments too.

Gotta say I'm a big fan of both Estevez & Forsythe, i think the great rugged & deep voiced Forsythe is such an underrated actor & he's been a part of my movie world since i was young as i grew up watching his great screen presence in films like The Rock, Things to do in denver when you're dead, Out For Justice, Dick Tracey, The Substitute, Blue Streak, Duece Bigalow & many more!!! Love William Forsythe & he's one of my favourite actors ever.

I know this is an action packed tribute to those old school Spaghetti westerns with a mix of modern day John Woo & i suppose it pulls it off!!! Just would've been alot better with a bigger budget, but all in all IT'S a fun action flick.

Dollar for the Dead is a great little western experiment, and should be seen by all western enthusiasts - especially if you like Sergio Leone's western style, or almost any western with Clint Eastwood.

The movie is pretty predictable all the way, but that's really missing the point. It never tries to be a great work of art - just an homage to the old spaghetti westerns.

The style of the movie is great, it has all the right clichés, and the cast works well together - I especially liked William Forsythe in this movie. The movie is pepped up with a modern pace, hilarious over-the-top shootouts and a good dose of comic relief - which all works great. You just have to recognize the movie's almost sarcastic way of approaching the whole genre.

A must-see for all fans of the genre - 8/10

As a huge fan of the "Young Guns" movies, I was excited when I saw Emilio Estevez once again don a cowboy hat and pick up his six-shooters. I was somehow hoping for "Young Guns III", but instead got a Looney Toons version of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". Except Looney Toons is more entertaining. And believable.

For 94 minutes I watched Emilio flip through the air like an over-caffeinated acrobat, mowing down a slew of bad guys, whether one at a time or 30 on horseback -- single-handedly. There must have been a lot of hidden trampolines on the set.

Emilio's over-the-top sharpshooting and semi-witty one-liners wouldn't have been so bad if I felt any sympathy for his character. Or ANY of the characters. Oh well, I still have my "Young Guns" DVDs.

While this film is by no means as good of a film as a Sergio Leone western from the spaghetti western heyday, it is much better than your average spaghetti western from its heyday period. They made many films when these kind of films were popularized by such films as For a Few Dollars More, Django, and Minnesota Clay comparative to the amount of B westerns that Hollywood poured out in the 30's, 40's, and 50's due to the popularity of films such as 'Stagecoach'. Think of it as a spaghetti western slapped into a Robert Rodriguez film. Its quite fun really. Estevez, Forsythe, and Long all give good performances. The script is well written, and somewhat poetic, and beautiful in the end. I would really rate the film really as a 6.5 out of 10 stars, but I gave it a 7 out of 10 since some other users apparently did not think very much of it. You will certainly enjoy it if you are a fan of Emilio Estevez, as I am. I think it is one of his more enjoyable films. He fits the character very nicely.

Ugggg. What happened to E. Esteves? This film was so bad, it bad me laugh.

Did anyone else nearly pee themselves laughing when Howie Long asks

someone if the Stranger (Esteves) had 'Hard Eyes?' A lot of comments for this film go on and on about the action.... I fail to see how it can even be considered as anything but a spoof. Believability is shot to hell, when I am reduced to counting how many shots the guy has in his 6-shooter... hint: it should only be 6! At one point he fires off over 8 from one pistol. As far as emulating John Woo, it nearly does, because his actions scenes are nearly as bad as these,... only there weren't and slow-motion shots with doves in this one.

Rent this movie only if you havn't gotten a big enough laugh at Howie Long's film career.

There is really very little to criticise in this action-packed movie, that`s pure entertainment all the way. The plot may be a little thin, but it is filmed in true Spaghetti western style: the hero remains in the grey area of good and bad and says little, but he knows how to shoot and the action scenes are fast and very `operatic`. `Dollar` is well cast: no one will replace Clint Eastwood as the mysterious cowboy with no name, but the much under-rated Emilio Estevez is an excellent choice. Estevez has the ability to say as much with a look as with words and so few actors nowadays can do this. In the same way as he previously brought Billy the Kid to life, he does a splendid job with the Cowboy. A thoroughly enjoyable movie ! Carole Zorzo/ England

In the annals of film making it's often said that Ed Woods' `Gwen or Gwenda' is the worst picture ever made. Well, it isn't. `Dollar for the Dead' is twice as bad. It has no story en no actors. It's a sequence of stereotyped phrases, stolen from other westerns. Even the music. See it if your are in a good mood and have a good laugh when Emilio Estevez kills his ennemies by the dozens, even lying on his back shooting backwards. I've never seen anything worse than this abominable picture. Enjoy it! (But better avoid it). Hans Dullaart Delft Netherlands.

In the annals of film making it's often said that Ed Woods' `Gwen or Gwenda' is the worst picture ever made. Well, it isn't. `Dollar for the Dead' is twice as bad. It has no story en no actors. It's a sequence of stereotyped phrases, stolen from other westerns. Even the music. See it if your are in a good mood and have a good laugh when Emilio Estevez kills his ennemies by the dozens, even lying on his back shooting backwards. I've never seen anything worse than this abominable Western. Enjoy it! (Or better, avoid it). Hans Dullaart Delft Netherlands.

Hi, if you remember the "Spaghetti Westerns" of Sergio Leone you gonna feel the same thing about this movie, a hybrid of A Few Dollars More and Face Off (from John Woo). Slow action, without good characters. Good for a retire men's matinee.

This "spaghetti western" wannabe is long on style, and short on story, with mixed up casting. The action scenes are so stylized with slow motion and cartoon like violence that any impact is completely lost. Emilo Estevez is severly miscast as the mysterious stranger. He certainly lacks the mystique of Clint Eastwood, and his sidekick, William Forsythe is no Eli Wallach. The greatest strength of "Dollar For the Dead" is in the supporting cast, but they are criminally underused, and barely have any screen time. Ed Lauter is a fine character actor, and he outshines Emilio Estevez in every scene they share. Jonathan Banks barely has any lines at all. When the only one in the entire movie who comes close to nailing true laconic "spaghetti western" acting is Howie Long, you know you have a problem. - MERK

I would have liked a few more plot twists and turns but was entertained by this film for the most part. I thought the guy who played the padre & the mean Federale captain, Jordi Molla, did a very good job acting. Also good was Dulley, the one-legged companion to Estevez. The photography was pretty good, beautifull scenery & I loved the movie score that went with it. It was interesting to note at the closing credits that the whole film was filmed in Spain. I would of sworn the film took place somewhere in the southwestern United States. Also interesting was the old-fashioned "machine gun" that Dulley used toward the end of the flick. I wouldn't mind having this video in my own library.

I would have to say that this is the best Western, I have ever seen. It reminds you of the old Clint Eastwood movies, the stranger without a name. The only thing I seen wrong was the fact that the stranger never seemed to run out of bullets. But it is still a ten.

A cowboy, whose name is unstated, is being hunted by a group of Regulators because he shot the wrong man's son. An early encounter leaves many Regulators dead; this impresses Dooley, a former Confederate sergeant who is looking for a partner. He has a quarter of a map that indicates the location of half a million dollars' worth of Confederate Gold. Each part of the map is on a holster; to find the gold they must get the three other holsters. This won't be easy; the only man knowing the location of one is in a Mexican prison awaiting execution and another is in the possession of the leader of a group of Kansas Red Legs, a militia which fought for the Unionists in the Civil War. Ultimately this will lead The Cowboy, Dooley, Regulators and Red Legs to a Mexican village where the final confrontation is destined to take place; if this weren't enough there are also Mexican troops there!

This film is a delightful homage to the classic Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s; the laconic, morally ambiguous hero; numerous antagonists; over the top shoot-outs and a great final confrontation. Emilio Estevez does a fine job as The Cowboy; a character who is unbelievably skilled with his guns and William Forsythe impresses as Dooley. The rest of the cast are solid too; playing things straight even when the action is distinctly over-the-top. The action is impressively choreographed and not at all gory meaning this isn't unsuitable for younger fans of the genre. I didn't realise it was made for TV when I watched it as it has such a cinematic feel. There are some flaws of course; most notably the six-shooters that don't seem to need reloading. Overall though this film is well worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.

I didn't really like this film. The gun fight scenes were cleverly done, and really rather amusing, but the film doesn't seem to get anywhere fast.

Emilio Estevez, much better in "Young Guns" 1 and 2, seems quite weak here, and although he is a talented actor, in this film he looks lost a lot of the time. It is an entertaining film to watch, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.

Brooding Young Gun, Emilio Estevez is a taciturn treat as the Leone Wolf, lightning-fast, coffin-draggin' nameless outlaw in director, Gene Quintano's super stylish Spaghetti savoured shoot 'em up! Robust widescreen performances from, Ed Lauter, William Forsythe, Jonathan Banks, a rousing, playfully Morricone'd score by, George S. Clinton, bone dry badinage, an abundance of slo-mo bullet-blasted action makes the entertainingly rough n' tumbleweed 'Dollar For The Dead' (1998) worth its weight in gold! While this is quite plainly a loving tribute to maestros, Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Leone, Quintano's witty, hugely likeable western has a dynamite personality all of its very own, and it was additionally lovely to see Euro-cult legend, Simón Andreu as slick hombre, Akers. A feature-packed Blu-ray restoration of this kinetic western is LONG OVERDUE as its ignominious relegation to bargain-binned DVD collections is wholly undeserved!!!

Possibly the worst TV western ever made. The gun fight in the saloon was hilarious. Is this the best Emilio Estevez can get?