Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

JasparLamarCrabb There are some really terrific ideas in this violent movie that, if executed clearly, could have elevated it from Spaghetti-western blandness into something special. Unfortunately, A TOWN CALLED HELL is one of the worst edited movies imaginable! Scenes start and end abruptly, characters leave for long stretches, the performances (and accents) of the actors are pretty inconsistent, etc.Robert Shaw is a Mexican(!) revolutionary who, after taking part in wiping out a village, stays on to become a priest(!)...ten years later the village is being run by "mayor" Telly Salavas. Stella Stevens arrives looking for revenge on the man who killed her husband. Colonel Martin Landau arrives looking for Shaw. They all yell at each other A LOT and they all shoot each other A LOT. Fernando Rey is in it too (as a blind man). The performances aren't bad, but they are mightily uneven. Savalas has an accent sometimes as does Landau (who is really grating here). Shaw and Rey prove that they are incapable of really embarrassing themselves and Stevens looks pretty foxy (if a bit out of place amongst the sweaty filth).

les-119 When I see a late night film with 'bastard' in the title, I'm inclined to tape it and find out what it's about. (I've taped this twice and lost both, found it on DVD, seem to have lost that too). Yes it was listed as "A Town Called Bastard" by the BBC.If you're one of those people who think a good Western needs Mexicans (e.g. The Wild Bunch) this has plenty: sombreros, moustaches, guns, tortilla-preparation, cruel laughter etc. A lot of these Mexicans die, perhaps somewhat gratuitously. So if you like guns and death in sunny Mexico, and you'd like to see Telly Savalas as the Mayor of a town called Bastardo - you'll love this.e.g. "Who killed my husband?" demands the pale blonde: cue an old woman to shout the name from a high building - gun out, excellent shot (like shooting ducks at a fairground), another one bites the hot dry dust...The rest has already been well covered by other user comments, worth watching if this is your sort of thing.

Coventry An early 70's western, entirely financed in Europe (more particularly Spain) AND starring Telly Savalas as a sadistic crook?? Yes, please! It already starts out terrific, with a merciless massacre of an entire town by vile looking bandits. Without knowing why, you see how women, elderly people and even a priest get butchered in a small church! What an intro!! The story continues with eerie images of how a young beauty (Stella Stevens) lying in a hearse is driven into the same town by a deaf-mute gunslinger… The coffin she brought with her is reserved for the person who killed her husband, but she still has to find out who that is. "A Town called Hell" is a western in the purest sense of the term. It's rough and ugly looking, the unbearably hot climate reflects through the screen and it's filled with despicable characters that cannot be trusted. Everyone in this town (also referred to as "Bastardo") betrays everyone and the smallest conflict is resolved with a gunfight. Telly Savalas is excellent as the bandit without a conscience, but even the whiskey-addicted priest (great role for Robert Shaw) and the greedy colonel (Martin Landau) are prominent madmen. As the story develops, "A Town Called Hell" becomes very complex and messy and it's likely that you'll be more confused than satisfied when it ends. Yet, it remains fascinating because the character drawing is disturbing like you've never seen it before in a western. This definitely isn't a movie for the squeamish, as the camera zooms in on vile hangings and nasty bullet wounds every five seconds. Too bad that most of the editing and elaboration is so bloody awful; otherwise this would have been a most wanted gem among western fanatics.

Theo Robertson I'm not going to write a synopsis for this movie because 1 ) Unlike many reviewers I don't normally write a synopsis 2 ) I'd have to understand a movie in the first place The problem with A TOWN CALLED HELL is that lot of things happen but none of them seem to tie in with the plot . The film opens with a bunch of Mexican revolutionaries attacking a town in 1895 then the story jumps forward to the same location ten years later where the revolutionary leader is now a priest and someone who the audience has no knowledge of rules the town in a similar manner to Mr Kurtz in HEART OF DARKNESS . A woman arrives offering a bounty for the body of the man who killed her husband . Other things happen that make little sense and the story is made even difficult to follow by characters continually appearing and disappearing . For example did Don Carlos live or die ? Your guess is as good as mine . We are also shown a lengthy flashback sequence and it only becomes obvious that it's a flashback after the fact This is a badly developed , badly edited and confusing movie but not one that is unwatchable . Indeed it's a fairly entertaining movie if you can stomach the sadistic attitude and what a lesser film this would have been without Telly Savalas executing everyone who gets in his way with the most memorable sequence being the hanging scene . Just a pity we never find out his fate for certain . Also of worthy note is the sentry getting killed via barbed wire and LOVEJOY's side kick revealing himself to be a mean assassin . Does this all sound very silly ? Of course but it's also entertaining in a morbid sense As a footnote this movie was often screened on British television under the title A TOWN CALLED BASTARD and the town is referred on screen as " Bastardo " so that title would be more accurate but I guess TV companies get a lot of complaints and now call it A TOWN CALLED HELL to save on the switchboard staff