Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

fandangonoir One of the great forgotten cinematic gems of yesteryear! From 1970, a young, whipcord fit, badass Stacy Keach stars as Jonas Candide, a traveling executioner who cruises the American South with his beloved portable electric chair, pulling the switch on murderers and thieves in 1918. Keach is shockingly good as he gets caught up in a scheme to save the life of a beautiful German woman slated for execution.Keach's trademark facial scar is on full display here, not obscured by a mustache as it would be almost forevermore in later films. It adds something to the role, like a tiny crack in an otherwise perfect human statue. The film also features character actor Bud Cort in an early role. The opening and finale scenes where Keach delivers Jonas' Fields of Ambrosia monologues are some of the best in 1970s cinema, and Jonas Candide is one of the great characters of Seventies film, he's a drunkard, a womanizer, a liar, a glutton, (the massive meal Candide sits down to eat after an execution has to be seen to be believed, massive plates of biscuits, Canadian bacon and Darwin knows what else) yet beneath it all he has a heart, Jonas, like the film, is darkly funny and darkly lovable.Fantastically directed by Jack Smight, with a fine score by Jerry Goldsmith, and the seemingly only feature film screenplay credit by forgotten rebel screenwriter Garrie Bateson.If there ever was a Traveling Time Traveler, a jump back into the wayback machine could correct the travesty of not nominating this film for Oscars for Best Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture in 1970!

mark-lonsdale-1 This film was released in the UK on video as I have a copy I bought from a video seller many years ago. It is a rare film though as I'd never seen a copy for sale before and only isolated copies on amazon since, selling for something ridiculous like £85! It's an interesting film, with good music, but like a lot of the science fiction films from around this era, overall it just doesn't quite work. Would never get made now though - and certainly not like this, so perhaps I should be glad it got made at all. Keach very good in the central role. After all your good reviews, I'll give it another look. If anyone would like a copy of the film email me and maybe I could sort one out for you. mark.lonsdale@ntlworld.com

shepardjessica This hard-to-find cool little film starring Stacy Keach is really special. A great performance by Keach (along with other early films of his, such as The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Fat City, Judge Roy Bean, Brewster McCloud, and The Dion Brothers) and a fascinating study of this quirky traveling man who pushed his luck. Why is this not on video or DVD? Before Keach became a Hollywood hack (with the exception of Long Riders) he made a series of films that showed the tremendous promise he had on stage. After the TV show Caribe he seemed to slide into obscurity except for Mike Hammer. This is a charming film that slipped under the radar in 1970 and is well worth your time. An 8 out of 10.

Ténèbre Rarum (Dario_the_2nd) A short word on this marvelous rare to find movie; Well what can I say, except we find here a Stacy Keatch in what my humble opinion may be, one of his greatest roles ever put by him onto screen. He's an executioner who gets paid 100 bucks for each execution. The year we're in is 1918 South states of America. `The traveling executioner' is a black comedy love-story with a western undertone. It's the music that creates that pleasure full funny western feeling. What for sure is marvelous in this movie. The moment he's starting philosophizing to the condemned to death by his electric chair are `quality moments' in this movie. Not even to mention the funny truck he drives thru the country to visit every possible jail to for fill his task. The conversations are sometimes hilarious. Example, the moment he rents out hookers to some inmates. They each have to pay him, and on the amount they pay, he decides how much time they get.Executioner, `Well for this you get room 5 and 4 minutes'. Inmate, `What kinda cover can I shoot in 4 min?' Executioner, `Well you gat from now 4 minutes, so start shooting'.So the humor is one of a kind, and the love tale is great. `The contract killer badly in love with his victim'. The story goes on to a strange, though org. road. I try not to spoil too much, but will the executioner exchange his chair for her life, or will he even meet his own electric chair for real by trying to save her. Well it is a fact he doesn't leave any way unexplored to rescue her from her death sentence. Are you in for a funny black romantic comedy movie. With a superb, strong acting Stacey Keatch go for this one, for sure a must see!Dario/