Customer Reviews

The Hellbenders

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Hellbenders is another very good spaghetti western from the other Sergio, Corbucci, that has finally hit DVD. In the months following the Civil War, a Confederate colonel, Jonas, and his three sons, the Hellbenders, massacre a Union convoy carrying over a million dollars that is to be burned. Jonas and his sons hide the money in a coffin and along with a woman pretending to be Jonas' daughter, try to drive the coach carrying the coffin to their home on the Rio Hondo River, all in hopes of reviving the Confederacy and starting the Civil War all over again. But along the way, the Hellbenders must go up against Union soldiers, posses, bandits, Indians, and even themselves as they try to secretly transport the money. And not one to disappoint, Corbucci gives an excellent twist ending. This is not your typical spaghetti western, but it still has those spaghetti touches. The movie features a trumpet-heavy score from Ennio Morricone that fits the film perfectly. Overall, its short on action, but so many scenes are dripping with tension you won't even notice. Take advantage of finally getting a DVD release of The Hellbenders and give this movie a try!

With a few exceptions, The Hellbenders does not feature any familiar faces you might have seen in other spaghetti westerns. Joseph Cotten stars as Jonas, the Confederate colonel who is trying single-handedly to restart the Civil War. Jonas is as driven as they come and will stop at nothing to get the money to safety. Julian Mateos gives an excellent performance as Ben, one of Jonas' sons who was born of a different mother than his brothers. Along the way, Ben begins to question if what they're doing is right and just how far Jonas will go. Norma Bengell plays Claire, a female gambler who unknowingly gets trapped into helping Jonas and Co. as they transport the coffin. Angel Aranda and Gino Pernice play Nat and Jeff, Jonas' other two sons who come to be consumed by greed during the journey. Spaghetti fans should look for Al Mulock, Aldo Sambrell, and Benito Stefanelli, all three have good bit parts, some more important than others. Part of the fun of the movie is those bit parts, which add some nice little touches to the movie.

The newly released Anchor Bay DVD is not great overall, but it is good to have it available in this format if nothing else. The high point of the DVD is the widescreen presentation of the movie, it looks cleaned up and has little to no scratches. The only extras are a Sergio Corbucci notes biography and a trailer for the movie. It's somewhat disappointing because other AB DVDs have had some pretty good special features, but don't let that stop you from getting the movie. The DVD is worth it just for the beautiful-looking widescreen presentation. Don't miss The Hellbenders!

Fantastic news that this is now appearing in a restored version. One of the spaghetti greats and perhaps one of the best non Sergio Leone westerns. Fabulous moody score from Morricone, a terrific plot with a twist and tragedy on a par with Greek arena stuff. Symbolism and allegory raise this above the norm, OK it's slow - but it's a spaghetti gem and the ending still brings shivers to the spine.

Joseph Cotten, along with his three sons and a female accomplice, wipe out an army convoy, steal their money and stuff it into a coffin. They plan on travelling across the country to get back home and use the cash to restart the civil war and hopefully have the South win this time. Sounds easy enough, right? Nope! Making it across the country under the guise of transporting a dead soldier for burial turns out to be no easy task, as it seems everything is destined to screw up their plans. They overcome many of these obstacles for the most part however until their newly hired "widow" starts making things more difficult. This is another satisfying western from Sergio Corbucci who gave us the great spaghetti westerns Django, Companeros, and The Great Silence. And lets not forget he made Superfuzz too!! This one is different from his other westerns in the sense that there is no lone gunslinging outlaw, but rather a determined family of murderers. This is a very entertaining western with good music, good performances(by Cotten especially) and an ending worthy of a Tales From The Crypt episode. Awesome stuff.

This film isn't really like Corbucci's ( Companeros, Django, The Great Silence )wilder westerns but it's definitely a fun good time that's worth a look. Good story, beautifully shot, great performances, great direction, and great score. This story practically gives you everything you want . In his westerns you get alot of moments that you wouldn't really expect. Some tragic moments or some incredibly almost impossible uplifting moments. It's a cool film. If you like spaghetti westerns, please check this out.

Go ahead and order this if youre debating the purchase. It's one of the best Italian westerns I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them. The plot, acting, and direction are great, especially for this genre. There is a gritty "pulp" feel to the story, which is original and unlike most westerns I've seen. The Hellbenders is a real gem among turds and I'm surprised it's not more popular with cult film hounds.

Joseph Cotten gives us the centerpiece performance, adding a kind of credibility to the picture that draws the whole together. Another reviewer states that he seems tired and probably only took the job for the money. I agree, but given the character he plays here, I think the fact that you can see he's aging and tired really adds to this character's believability.

The print is pretty clean and presented in widescreen format. Definitely worth owning, this has become a favorite in my large DVD collection.

Anchor Bay deserve congratulations for bringing this neglected film on to DVD widescreen. Not all superior Italian Westerns were made by Sergio Leone and this one is an accomplished work of Southern Gothic seen through the eyes of one of the most iconoclastic directors of this genre whose other work such as THE GRAND SILENCE needs to be seen by enthusiasts.

A lot of the plot devices are a little too convenient and dialogue often comes off kind of and stagey and over-enunciated, but if you can see past that, The Hellbenders takes a few less than likable characters on some occasionally unexpected turns and may be enjoyable for its 1967 spaghetti western vibe. By the end of the movie I felt it had fairly captured something unique in Western poetic pathos. Thus a 4 instead of 3-star rating. I deliberated, beleive me.

This movie is one step up from B western movie fare, but only a step - still, fans of the era might find it worthwhile.

Set just after the civil war, a murderous ex-confederate general and his sons assault and steal a large sum of money from the cavalry in order to re-start the Southern war effort against the Yanks.

What an awful movie. I had such high hopes with this one. I'm a huge fan of the Western, and the spaghetti Western is one of my favorites. Reading the synopsis, I couldn't wait to get into this one. It started out good, with Joseph Cotton and his family slaughtering the Union soldiers, then it just fizzled from there. To me, it borrowed too much from Django; like Sergio Corbucci couldn't think of anything else and decided to add another coffin. If you're looking for something like Hellbenders to watch for the first time, I highly recommend Django or Keoma. Other reviewers will tell you Keoma has a really bad score, but you get used to it and it's a really cool movie, as well.

For years, I had a dupey washed out copy of this film and finally Anchor Bay has given us the definitive release of this underrated Spaghetti Western. Directed by the great Sergio Corbucci, 'HELLBENDERS' is a harrowing look at the deterioration of a surviving family after the Civil War clinging to the beliefs that the confederacy can be reborn through a million dollar robbery. Veteran actor Joseph Cotten in a demonic performance plays Jonas ,the head of the family trying to transport their booty to his version of the promised land. By blackmailing a saloon girl into playing the role of a soldiers widow, they conceal the money in a coffin and travel throughout their destination ambushed by thieves and the union cavalry searching for their bullion. Norma Bengal who also starred in Mario Bava's 'PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES' is excellent as the captive woman. Cult favorite Aldo Sambrell also appears to get the juices going. Fans will note that the films credits are sprinkled with genre greats behind the camera. The photography is by Enzo Barboni who will take the name E.B. Clucher and go on to direct the 'TRINITY" films, The assistant director is Ruggiero Deodato who sparked the Italian cannibal film craze in the early seventies, the production is headed by Alfredo Antonini also known as Albert Band who had his hand in two other great spaghetti's 'THE TRAMPLERS" also starring Cotten and 'A MINUTE TO PREY, A SECOND TO DIE and the superb music score is by Ennio Morricone using the alias Leo Nichols supposedly because he was composing so many soundtracks at that time. He used the same name for his other excellent spaghetti musica for 'NAVAJO JOE' that same year. This film is a must for every Western fan and deserves a better reputation.