Customer Reviews

They Call Me Trinity [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This is certainly one of the best Bud Spencer-Terence Hill movies. It is actually much smarter than other Spencer-Hill pictures, because it contains a lot of intertextual references in its wonderfully portrayed western (parody/homage) moments. The music is magnificent too.

I saw this film in Bosnia for the first time when I was kid and I immediately fell in love with it. In a few years I owned over 30 Bud Spencer (and Terence Hill) movies. The version I had in Bosnia (on a pirated VHS tape)had wonderful colours and was rich in detail. Anybody can guess why? Yes, you're right - because it was a WIDESCREEN copy (possibly imported from Italy). This DVD, however, is released in a horrendous PAN & SCAN edition. Many nice details are lost, there is a lot of artificial panning, and in certain action sequences you cannot even decipher what is going on. There are a few moments in which only background is seen, because the characters on both sides of the original widescreen picture (ar: 2,35:1) have been cut off. Furthermore, this DVD has terrible image resolution. Pixillation is present throughout the film (I have some Real Video files on my PC that have better picture quality than this DVD). This DVD, nonetheless, is very cheap. I bought it for 7.99 Canadian dollars (around 5 American dollars). And, of course, this is the best copy of this brilliant film that is available in North America and the reason why everybody should own it. 5 stars for the movie, 1 star for the DVD. All in all, 3 stars from me. I just wish I had my Bosnian widescreen copy.

There appear to be at least 3 different versions of this DVD for sale on Amazon, each with a different price. Some reviews say the video quality is good, some say it is terrible. It would be helpful if Amazon would indicate which version of this movie each review is associated with so that customers could decide which one to choose.

I like this movie and have seen a very nice widescreen showing of it here on New Zealand TV and back in the UK.

The quality of the DVD is worse than a worn out VHS tape. I couldn't believe my eyes. How can a DVD look this bad? Some of my 10 year old VHS tapes look better. Washed-out colour, poor sound, and worse of all, Full Screen. There should be a no star option for the rating of DVDs. This would definitely get it.

I have this and Trinity Is Still My Name and its quality is the same. One of them has a cute quiz game on it maybe even both but I can't bear to watch them after just one viewing.

What is worse is that there is no real alternative; this was not available in region 4 or 2 when I bought it. I do notice that it is now in Germany. Might check that one out.

At the risk of repeating the other reviews: this DVD sucks! I loved Terrence Hill's deadpan performance in this spaghetti western, but the DVD quality just isn't there. I've tryied playing it on a Sony DVD player, a PS2, my laptop, and even a CineVision DVD player. Only the PS2 even recognized the menu, and could partially play the movie. The burn was too faint for the other players to read at all. (No scratches on disk.)
Buy this on VHS!

I first saw this movie in the mid seventies with my parents in Beirut, Lebanon. Though I did not speak a word of English, this action packed comedy was terrific! I had been looking for this movie for many years now, and finally found it.. Understanding the language, this movie is even funnier now than when I first saw it 23 years ago..The plot and dialogue are exceptional..Of course, you must like old westerns in order to appreciate these types of movies. Terence hill is the life of this movie..Believe me when I tell you that this movie is a perfect addition to any movie library...But you must also get the sequel.."Trinity is still my name",.. in order to appreciate these two excellent classics!! Take off your boots and kick back in your favorite chair and get ready to laugh at these simple, non bloody, but funny movies..

This is a wonderfully funny movie with a great deadpan performance by Terence Hill and his straight man Bud Spencer. Beautifully shot in an over that over the top, true spaghetti western style by Enzo Barboni.
That said, the disk is completely worthless. The sound is so bad you can't hear the dialog and the color is so washed out in several scenes you can't make out backgrounds. The version I'm referring to is UPC 890328777067, the 2002, "region free" release.
If you can find a decent copy of this film, it's well worth the effort.

I vividly remember watching several Bud Spencer/Terence Hill films in the early 1980s. This Italian comedy team always provided lots of laughs with the crazy situations each of their films put them in, and these two goofballs were in a lot of different situations, from westerns to car races to cop films. Throughout it all, the formula always stayed the same: Spencer played the taciturn giant who always found himself roped into yet another misadventure by kind hearted Hill. What followed usually involved several awesomely choreographed fistfights (actually hilarious slapfests), slapstick comedy on a level one rarely sees, and a sappy ending where the two save some unfortunate soul who needed their help. I am hoping for a DVD release of "Crimebusters," but until then I will take what I can get from these two funny actors. This means watching films like "They Call Me Trinity"

"They Call Me Trinity" is really a spoof of the popular spaghetti western genre so prevalent during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this engaging comedy, Spencer and Hill play two gunslingers caught up in the harsh realities of the Old West. The film opens with a shot of Trinity (Hill) lounging on a rickety sled pulled by his horse across a baking desert (shades of Corbucci's "Django"?). Trinity arrives at a hole in the wall restaurant where he takes some guff from a couple of bounty hunters who don't like his looks. When the two thugs discover they are facing down Trinity, the fear on their faces is unmistakable because this unassuming, dirty creature facing them is the fastest gunslinger in the West, often referred to as "the right hand of the devil" due to his amazing speed in drawing an iron.

Trinity easily deals with these two bounty hunters and continues on his journey to meet up with his half-brother Bambino, played by the inestimable Bud Spencer. Bambino is a taciturn giant of a man, seemingly slow to anger but capable of out shooting the most dangerous outlaws in the land. He's so fast they call him "the left hand of the devil." When Bambino doesn't feel like putting a man in a coffin, he merely slaps them unconscious with a quick blow to the head. Bambino is less than enthused about the arrival of Trinity, and for good reason: his brother always manages to embroil him in dangerous situations. Since Bambino is actually an outlaw himself hiding behind a sheriff's badge, he does not need the attention Trinity always manages to bring wherever he goes.

This wouldn't be a real western without some ornery villain whose sole purpose in life is to cause misery to everyone in town. In "They Call Me Trinity," that villain is the Major, a southern dandy who raises horses. Major and his gang of miscreants have taken a special disliking to a group of Mormon farmers settling in a nearby valley. Problem is, Trinity takes a liking to two blonde Mormons and now decides to give them a hand, all the while dragging the reluctant Bambino into the resulting fracas. Every attempt Major makes to dislodge Trinity and Bambino fails, often with hilarious results. When Major decides to join forces with some ridiculous hombres in the region for a final showdown with the farmers, the results are quite amusing.

There are at least two sublime joys one gets from watching a Spencer/Hill film. One is the facial expressions and vocalizations of Bud Spencer and the other is the slapstick scenes in each of the duo's films. Bambino is an absolute hoot to watch, always grunting and shrugging with barely repressed disgust as Trinity drags him into yet another problematic situation. Bambino's people skills are sure to draw a chuckle. For instance, on at least two occasions friendly passersby throw out a "howdy, sheriff" only to hear Bambino growl "shut up" while he keeps on walking. In one scene, Bambino discovers Trinity is in a bad situation and asks hopefully, "Is he dead?" only to look crestfallen when informed that his brother is not yet six feet under. The bear like Spencer is a marvelous contrast to the rail thin Hill.

Then there is the omnipresent slapstick. This usually translates into a huge fistfight/slapfest where Spencer and Hill lay waste to huge crowds of enemies. The final fight in "They Call Me Trinity" is probably one of the largest in a Spencer/Hill production. There must be fifty guys wailing away on each other for about ten full minutes, with furniture, boards, and fists all delivering punishment in rapid fire succession. The fight scenes in this film aren't as funny as the one in "Crimebusters" where Spencer puts a pair of bowling shoes on his hands before beating the tar out of a gang of mafia hoods, but it's still satisfying to watch.

The DVD of "They Call Me Trinity" is a mixed bag. This film really deserves a better treatment than the one offered here. The picture quality isn't all that bad, but you can tell there was no restoration performed on the print. In fact, the picture is barely above VCD quality. The audio isn't great, either, with significant background hum between dialogue sequences. As for extras, there is a lame trivia quiz and short biographies on Spencer and Hill. A commentary by Bud Spencer and Terence Hill would be a nice touch, too. Still, the movie is more than watchable and serves as an excellent introduction to the antics of these two funny comedians. I can't wait to see more Spencer/Hill productions come out on DVD.

First, let me explain the three stars are for the DVD, not the Trinity Boys (they are 5 star all the way). What we need is a digital restoration of Terence Hill movies. The Spaghetti Western genre relied on several gimmicks: obtuse plots, quirky characters, superhuman heroes, great music, and lastly INTENSE,VIBRANT COLORS. Unless you catch them on the Western Channel, almost all home video versions of these movies are faded travesties. This dvd is better than most, but is nothing compared to the original. This is even more true of Boot Hill.If you've never seen the intensity of Terence Hill's blue eyes set into his impossibly tan face, then you can't begin to realize how much the color has faded. I remember watching Terence Hill in Boot Hill back at a drive-in and thinking "my gosh, he's darker than Woody Strode!"
As for Trinity, it holds up wonderfully 30 years later as a classic parody of Spaghetti Westerns. The two brothers are straight out of the more humorous work of Max Brand: gifted with extraordinary skill bordering on the supernatural with which they better their adversaries in outlandish ways. The sequel was just as good and I wish they had made ten more of them. Lacking that, somebody please restore these wonderful films!

Great movie, extremely poor quality of conversion between film and DVD. Video quality appears overexposed, washed-out. Audio is also very poor. Claims to be Dolby, but it's mono. Claims to be widescreen, but it's not. The VHS version has a much better color resolution. Sad.

Terence Hill became an international superstar with this superb film, and so did Bud Spencer. They play gunslinging outlaw half brothers who end up trying to help protect a Mormon settlement from a band of Mexican desperado's. While the Mormon's turn the other cheek, the desperado's quickly learn the Trinity brothers will not. They follow the eye for an eye tooth for a tooth teaching. But it's not just the Mexican's who want the Mormon settlement, another band of cut throats want it too, and eventually team up with the desperado's to try and take it. With all these outlaws what's the two Trinity brothers to do? Well, I won't say, but I will tell you that this movie is packed with lots of hilarious comedy, great action, and a taste of suspense. One interesting twist to this movie is that Bambino (played by Bud Spencer) is sheriff of the nearby town. How he got the job is a laugh riot in itself. This is a movie the whole family can watch and enjoy, and the sequel (Trinity is still my Name) is equally entertaining .