[For This edition of the Twitch Video Salute we turn to Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, the writer and director of Chilean martial arts films Kiltro, Mirage Man and the upcoming Mandrill. Despite being a mere three days away from his wedding - congratulations! - Ernesto weighs in today with a look at the films of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.]
Today I want to share with you the trailers for a group of films that taught me what a fight scene was, the "Bud Spencer and Terence Hill" movies. Don't let the names fool you, these were Italian films starring these two Italian actors who did a whole series of pictures together, all of them action-comedies playing two guys that for some reason (always a different reason) team up together and fought bad guys. The Spencer / Hill films were pretty popular in Chile when I was growing up, I would watch them when they aired on public television in the early 80s on a series called Afternoons Of Cinema.
These films were all about the fight scenes. I don´t remember any plot at all, just funny fight scenes that made me laugh with my buddies with really simple humor. Always with happy and naive soundtracks, these two guys always won and never suffered in any of those movies. They are cult movies in my country and very difficult to get. I don´t have any of them but here are trailers for five of my favorites.
All The Way Boys
Crime Busters
Double Trouble
Go For It
Watch Out, We're Mad
The Trinity movies are awesome. Bud Spencer And Terence Hill were very creative and funny.
WATCH OUT, WE'RE MAD is great, and its mix of action and comedy played very similar to the sort of stuff Sammo Hung would be doing a decade later at Golden Harvest. It's a pity it's not easier to find as my copy of it really sucks. Wonder if the US rights are still at Columbia Pictures?
i loved these movies during my schooldays. they were very popular in the cinemas here in Malaysia! they always had great, ridiculous titles. LOL
i tend to think what Sammo Hung and gang were doing has been a tradition in HK cinema since the Shaw Bros days - the same madcap feel, same craziness and inventiveness. there is this kind of looney comedy in any kind of cinema. but Bud and Terence took the western and ran with it into that territory.
Those movies had plenty of runs on tv over here in Mexico.
These were vastly popular in the Netherlands. And I remember how surprised I was as a ten-year-old when I saw "Boot Hill" and it turned out to be serious.
Aw, man, these take me back...
They might be the first movies I managed to enjoy together with my father. He's not a movie fan at all but these he did like. Whenever Bud Spencer would do that famous inner-fist swipe of his (sending some opponent spinning through the air) we'd both go "Owwww....".
These films were all the rage here in Iceland as well, saw a few of them in the cinema and a crap load of them on video later on.
A bunch of the films have been released on DVD in Germany, where they were superstars. You can find them on amazon.de, don't know if they have english language tracks though.
A few films have been released in the UK as well.
All I'll say is: SUPER FUZZ.
These films were very popular in Turkey too.
I love the one where the guy gets superpowers from a nuclear exposure, only to temporarily lose his powers when he sees the colour red!
Most of their titles are available on DVD here in Sweden but the transfers are pretty crappy. The language tracks are in english, though but that doesn´t compensate for the fact that most of these transfers are probably done from an old VHS-copy. I have the german "Boot Hill" DVD (with english) and it looks great! Same thing with the Dutch release of "God forgives... I don´t!" Absolutely amazing quality on those.
The german DVDs are all pretty good. EMS has done some nice work there.
I love these movies when I was a kid. Terence Hill and Bud Spencer were the action Abbot and Costello. Don't forget their Trinity movies which introduced me to these guys. "My Name is Trinity" and "Trinity is Still My Name". Terence Hill's signature fast hand draws a gun - holsters and slaps the guy - and redraws the gun - were always great. Trinity movies, Crime Busters, Watch Out We're Mad, and I'm for Hippopotamus are available on Amazon. Just do a search for Terence Hill Bud Spencer
I`ve seen all the movies that these guys have done,be it single or duo performances.I rented the vhs tapes like crazy in the 70`s and I still hope for a proper DVD release for all the movies.I somewhere read that the Italian DVD releases features great 16:9 widescreen picture,but sadly only has the Italian dub and NO English subtitles.They need to create extra features with the guys before they die,quite sad to see them not getting the recognition they truly deserve.
Yeah, the italian DVD release are pretty good and you can get them all for 5 euro each, but as you said no english subs and no extras.
The german DVD releases, as said before, are good too, but have the same problem.
And yes, you're right they don't get the credit they deserve.
A part from that, in Italy every week there's one of their movies on tv.
Last year they even were interviewed together in a very long time.