MartinHafer
Many of the problems I had with "Shoot First...Ask Questions Later" (a.k.a. "Samurai") had nothing to do with the original production. The DVD I got from Netflix was among the very worst discs I have ever seen--and that's saying a lot since I have rented thousands of their films. In fact, it might just be THE worst. It appears as if someone took an old videotape and literally filmed it with a home videocamera! The picture was super-blurry and crooked throughout. Ugly is perhaps the kindest thing I can say about the DVD! As far as the film goes, it's not a good film either. It's all about some 'Japanese' folks in the West. Some might just have been Japanese but the main one was played by the Cuban-American Toma Milian and it's undoubtedly one of the most embarrassing roles he ever took. Seeing the guy in a goofy wig, mustache and kimono looked utterly stupid. Unfortunately, the film itself never rose much above this. Probably not worth your time unless you insist on seeing EVERYTHING made by Sergio Carbucci AND you can find a better DVD copy.
ma-cortes
A very funny Western about some roguish adventurers who attempt to rob a fortune of a rescue . Italian-Spanish co-production full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and lots of humor . This Spaghetti Western concerns about robbing a valuable Japanese pony from a train crossing American West and the Japan Ambassador had for gift to US . The thieves result to be some rebel Indians . Then a Japanese named Sakura (Tomas Milian), ¨the Yellow¨ along with a rogue thief Swiss(Giuliano Gemma) ¨the White¨ , and a sheriff (Eli Wallach) ¨the Black¨ team up as three unlikely heroes . This is a surprisingly low-key Spaghetti Western in which three diverse characters joining forces to find the sacred horse and rob a rescue .This amusing picture contains an entertaining plot , action Western , shootouts and bits of campy and refreshing humor . It's an improbable blending of standard Western, tongue-in-cheek and Chop-Socky . A bemusing premise , gunslingers against samurais , and interesting casting full of usual Spaghetti make this oater well worth the watching . Delightful Western satire in which the grifter Giuliano Gemma using his wits , breaking all the rules and kicking virtually every cliché in the pants , as he relentlessly deceives, plunders and robs . Amiable but sometimes lumbering Western satire goes on and on about the same premise , as a lot of minutes are superfluous ,it has half hour of excess , as it packs overblown jokes and antics and some moments turns out to be dull and tiring . Tomas Milian steals the show as Sakura, he is very fine, he ravages the screen, he jumps, bounds and leaps, hit and run , besides receives violent punches, kicks and is ultimately buried . Furthermore, appears ordinary secondaries of Spaghetti/Paella Western as Chris Huerta , Tito Garcia, Victor Israel ,Dan Van Husen, Rafael Albaicin, Lorenzo Robledo, and many others . The film mingles slapdash, pursuits, high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts, fights or stunts every few minutes . The musicians Guido and Mauricio De Angelis, compose a jolly soundtrack with catching leitmotif and well conducted ; it's full of guttural sounds and commercial songs. Striking cinematography by Luis Cuadrado in Eastmancolor with negative well processed . Interior filmed at Paolis Studios , Rome ,and Ballesteros studios ,Madrid and outdoor sequences filmed , of course , at Almeria, Spain. The film follows in the wake of ¨ Hallelujah trail (65) ¨ by John Sturges ¨ Support your local sheriff ¨ and ¨ Support your local gunfighter ¨ by Burt Kennedy and of course ¨ Blazing saddles (74) ¨ by Mel Brooks , all of them are engaging Western satire and very fun . The picture takes part of a sub-genre in which during the period of the 70s combined Spaghetti Western and art martial with original influence of ¨David Carradine's Kung Fu ¨ series , for example ¨ Karate law in the west ¨(Tonino Ricci), ¨ My name is Shangai Joe¨(Mario Caiano) and ¨ Return of Shangai Joe ( Bitto Albertini)¨, in addition ¨ Red sun (Terence Young )¨ that bears remarkable resemblance to this one .Sergio Corbucci's direction is well crafted, here he's more cynical and humorous and less inclined toward violence and packs too much action , but especially this slapstick Western contains broad comedy . The other Sergio made several Spaghetti classics as ¨ Django¨, ¨The great silence¨, ¨Hellbenders¨, ¨The specialist¨ , and Zapata Western as ¨The Mercenary¨, ¨The Compañeros¨ and ¨What am I doing in middle of the revolution¨ . In addition Sergio directed other inferior S.W. as ¨Far West story¨ ,¨Johnny Oro¨, ¨The white the yellow an the black¨ and ¨Minnesota Clay¨. It's an offbeat , muddle and uneven Western but will appeal to Corbucci aficionados . Rating : 5,5 , riotous Western spoof in which there's too much silly comedy and enough excitement
misanthropist76
Don't go into this film expecting a typical Corbucci high body count shoot 'em up. This time around the famous `other Sergio' takes a stab at the comedy/spaghetti sub-genre which was ever so popular in the waning days of the Euro Western. `Bianco, il giallo, il nero, Il' is more or less a bizarro take on the East meets wild West classic `Red Sun'. Eli Wallach plays `Black Jack Gideon', a straight and narrow lawman who reluctantly gets mixed up in a quest to recover a prize Japanese show pony that's being held for ransom by a renegade band of army deserters with a penchant for dressing up like Indians. Accompanying him on his journey are the notorious bandit and womanizer `Swiss', played by Giuliano Gemma and `Sakura' the dung handler turned Samurai played by Tomas Milian. Many unintentional laughs and moments of genuine surreal weirdness set to the equally strange Guido & Maurizio De Angelis score almost guarantee this film to delight fans of the genre and confuse and frighten the average viewer.
