Search - Blood Money on DVD

Van Cleef And Lieh, Travelin' The Madrid

R. Webb | u.s.a. | 05/12/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Blood Money or also known as "Stranger And The Gunfighter",1974,starring steely-eyed western legend ,Lee Van Cleef, and Shaw Brothers star ,Lo Lieh,this film is a Shaw Brothers production,and this film is not what you would expect it to be with these two mega stars ,with the concept and idea of splicing a martial arts and western film together. The plot is a crazy ride of women chasing,each woman is a mistress of a dead master and carry a puzzle of a map tatooed on their beautiful behinds as Van Cleef and Lieh try to fit the pieces together to solve the mystery of the lost treasure. This movie concentrates more on the plot and seems to lack the action,- gunplay and martial arts - that is needed in an Italian western like this,although this film does have an extraordinary classic moment making the film worthwhile. The DVD I've viewed is RED SUN,excellent transfer,I wouldn't recommend this (Videoasia} to anyone,to unreliable. "Stranger And The Gunfighter" or Blood Money is not the four or five star film one would think it to be. The "Fighting Fist Of Shanghai Joe" leans more on the right concept of a western/martial arts film,or "Once Upon A Time In China And America" with Jet Li."

One of my favourite Spaghetti Westerns.

M. G. Middleditch | New Zealand | 11/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first saw this when I was about 12 at a double feature in our local cinema. I hadn't seen anything like it. Mixing the Kung Fu and Western genres must have started with this movie. The story line is still one of the most original for a western. The director has a brilliant sense of humour as well, using not only one-liners and humorous scenarios, but camera and editing techniques that spice up the story telling.

My favourite character, outside of our heroes, is the religious zealot "Yangtze Hobbit" (sic). Dressed all in black with a long leather duster, gloves, and wide brimmed hat, Yangtze is just as quick to use a gun as quote passages from the bible. He has cool bad guy written all over him.

I would rate this film in my top 5 Spaghetti Westerns, alongside all the Sergio Leone titles. It's primarily a comedy but it's all solid Italian/Spanish Western with all the dirt and grit that makes a Spaghetti Western what it is. I was thrilled when I discovered it had been released on DVD.

For those, like myself, who already own a VHS copy you will notice one scene is missing. There is no "basement distillery" fight. The original scene appears poorly shot in the first place anyway so is no great loss. When you watch the DVD version, and I hope you purchase this gem, you'll see that the "distillery" fight is clearly tacked on. As the titles on the DVD are in Italian and are English on the VHS I take it the tacked on fight has something to do with the American and UK markets at the time. The price for this sharp quality widescreen DVD is also really affordable."

BLOOD MONEY

WONKA | Lexington, Kentucky | 04/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cool flick. Interesting fusion of martial arts and western genres. There are some great karate sequences combined with wild gunfighting that make for a solid classic. I'm glad BM has been re-released. Do yourself a favor and give "Blood Money" a try."