"Continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità" is an Italian movie from 1972, so this one actually has its 50th anniversary this year and this shows you how old it really is. Sadly, this also means that the majority of people working on this one here is gone by now, but at least they left us their art. This includes mostly writer and director Enzo Barboni who was in ahrge here using an American alias. Still I think these films never really made it big in the United States and today not too many remember them anymore over there, but where they are still seen is here in my country Germany because Bud Spencer is still very famous. However, he is not really seen as the protagonist. The Italian original title references Terence Hill's character and Hill is also the one you see on the poster and the one whose name is on top on said poster as you can witness here on imdb. Kinda fitting though that for the German title they used something that includes both protagonists because (no offense to Hill), Buddy is simply the much bigger name here and probably also was back then. But maybe not in Italy. Anyway, before I get to the actors, let's have another look at the people who made this. Barboni I mentioned already and I find it pretty strange that each and every single directorial effort from him goes with the name E. B. Clucher. He was an increibly prolific cinematographer in the entirety of the 1960s, but went on to directing afterwards and the films he made there are what he is known for today, even if he has many more credits as a cinematographer. This is of course also because he worked on several Spencer/Hill films, not just this one here. Barboni was under the age of 50 when he made this one here. His co-writer was Gene Luotto and even if the name does not sound like it (at least the last name), Luotto was mostly in charge of coming up with the English-language dialogues for this film that is Italian in the original. Still it includes some English as well and even some Latin verses because of the church background we got here. I will get to that later.
I already mentioned something about the German title earlier and how there was less focus on Hill than with the original title, but you can also see how popular the duo was/is in Germany from the fact that this one here won another Golden Screen, the awards for movies that are seen by a really, really high amiunt of people in theaters here in my country. Anyway, the Italian original title also makes it obvious that this film is a sequel indeed to a movie that came out a year earlier and the ending is so smooth in the first film and how the second film picks up on it that I am sure Barboni had plans right away that there would be a second movie. Oh and this is a spaghetti western obviously, one of several that feature Hill and Spencer from a time when western movies (at least the serious ones) were already definitely on the declined. Admittedly, these lighter westerns probably did not help either in reviving the genre. So no surprise that the famous duo we have in here focused on other genres afterwards, especially Spencer in those many movies in which he was the one and only lead in the years following this one here. Not really (too m)any German actors in here as you know it from other Spencer films, but I think this happened later when he was a bigger star already. Interestingly enough, the biggest female character is played by a (then) young Finnish actress. She is still alive today and so is the one who played her mother. Another one still alive today would be Riccardo Pizzuti. He is one who has been in really many Bud Spencer films and every time playing one of the bigger antagonists, but rarely the biggest. I like him, glad he is still with us now closing in on 90 and I hope he still has a few good years left. Really nice recognition value and he is always a delight when on screen, like how his character here wins the fight with the other thugs, but Hill's character is long gone when he realizes and wants to get his reward.
Speaking of female characters, those are never really prominent in these films. The Finn I mentioned is the love interest to Hill's character and he is there to save her and support her (and her parents) several times. Hill's character frequently have a little bit of romance in these films, but him basically getting ready to hug it out as we see in here (and some kiss action too) is already much more explicit than what we usually get. It's about the guys and mostly about the comedy, even if there are some slightly more serious moments here and there. But even with those, you can never be sure. Just take the example of the one who is supposed to be our heroes' father and his little performance as if he was a dying man. He seemed really too young anyway, not just for death, but also to be the dad perhaps. Anyway, let's not look for flaws here, it's all in good spirit. Otherwise, we could also say for example that on several occasions clearly the characters are not hitting each other when it is implied that they knock each other out. Instead, let's focus on the good. Maybe the funniest moment for me was when Spencer's character is ready to extinguish the fire on the plate because he has no idea that it is supposed to be part of the cooking process. That was hilarious. They so did not belong into this exclusive society. I was also a bit surprised at the joke on the word "member" as I thought I invented that one, but apparently the writers here were fasted and honestly I am curious how they did with this language-wise in the Italian original. I watched the German dub of course. Not sure what the running time in my version was, but I think there are several versions out there, the longest running for over two hours even, but other ones staying fairly comfortably under the two-hour mark. I must still say that here and there it had a few lengths honestly, but then there were also fun moments like the introduction with the group of thugs running into the two brothers one after the other. Or when another group of gangsters is ready to leave jail, they run into our two heroes right when they are about to leave the sheriff's place. That sheriff is as corrupt as they come by the way. Many criminals from all perspectives in here, even priests it seems. Our heroes' mother would not have been happy at all about that. But she also would not have been happy about responses like "we're on our own" to statements like "may the Lord be with you".
There you have a bit of the religion component that is used in the German title. I will not quote it here. If you are from my country, you know it anyway and otherwise you don't need to understand. I guess I will just do some brainstorming for the rest of my review now, so forgive me for a bit of a lack of structure and chronology here. Just gonna elaborate on scenes and moments that stay in the mind for me because they felt memorable or were just funny. In general, this applies to Spencer's character clearly not being too happy about Hill's character's company, but that we have seen in many movies. One quote that was a good example here is when he said that working alone is already enough of a nuisance (I agree!), but even worse with a lazy bum like his brother, which I actually found really funny because it made clear that he was just as lazy. Then the scene where they are playing cards. Now that was a bit absurd of course with how good everybody's cards were, but it's okay. These films are not about realism. The scenes in which Spencer's character constantly has to pay for the kind-hearted family were also fine. He is not too happy about it, but knows it is right and Hill's character just wants to impress the girl, but these scenes also make clear how impossible they are as gangsters as they constantly lose money instead of robbing it from others. Anyway, it also happened to be these small moments that made this movie count, probably much more than the key story. If there even is something like a key story here. I think it's much more about individual sequences and how entertaining they were honestly. I could give a dozen examples, but I am sure you will know what I mean when you see it. Like take Hill's character's super speedy hands on one occasion when he asks the guy if he wants to see it again because not too many grasp it on the first occasions. And in order for this film to not take itself too seriously, they got in Spencer's character's unimpressed reaction when he complains about the noise from these tricks. So everything for everybody to get entertained I suppose.
Finally, I also want to emphasize once again the great quality of the dubbing and dialogue translation writing. The voices are perfect as always with these Spencer films and the brute language they possess also works really well. They should not talk the way noblemen do. The best example is basically the family meeting relatively early on. It's not only the way they talk there, even if we know where they got if from, namely their parents, but all the interactions. The only think that basically makes them different from animals is the way the mother (also very young) wants everybody to pray before eating, but when this is over, then she basically eats just like an animal, like a pig herself, although this may be a bit unfair to pigs. What a mess this was. But truly entertaining nonetheless. This film delivers a lot of comedy with how it goes over the top and I think they did fine there. I mean we even hear babies fart later on and it does not feel desperate or try-hard or cringeworthy. It's all in good spirit. And there is a certain charm to these brutes without a doubt. I have to dig pretty deep to find true weaknesses here. I guess it's easier from a general standpoint. The lack of a real story makes it difficult to see more in this film than comic relief. It's never a great film. Good enough though and easily a positive recommendation. Go see this one.
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