El Condor

Lee Van Cleef Collection - 9 Movie Pack	Take a Hard Ride Take a tough-as-nails trail boss (Jim Brown of THE DIRTY DOZEN and THREE THE HARD WAY), a smooth gambler (Fred Williamson of BLACK CAESAR and BUCKTOWN) and a ruthless bounty hunter (Lee Van Cleef of THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY). Add a mute martial arts master (Jim Kelly of ENTER...	Drive-In Cult Classics - 8 Movie Set Pick-Up:An off-beat story about two young women whose lives are forever changed when they hitchhike a ride in a mobile home.The Sister-In-Law:A punchy story about the sexual entanglements of four people and how their moral conflicts lead to heartache and destruction.The Stepmothe...	100 Rifles Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 05/13/2008	Once Upon a Time in the West The so-called spaghetti Western achieved its apotheosis in Sergio Leone's magnificently mythic (and utterly outlandish) Once upon a Time in the West. After a series of international hits starring Clint Eastwood (from A Fistful of Dollars to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), Leone...
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A very different Van Cleef character
Two soldiers of fortune (Cleef and Brown) attempt to penetrate the mighty El Condor, a huge Mexican fortress, to get the gold. While the story may seem familiar, this one is worthwhile just to see the fortress and Van Cleef's performance as a 'drunken scallywag' type. Cleef really shows his acting chops and creates a most memorable character. Van Cleef is probably one of the most under-used actor in history based on his potential and screen presence. A nice offbeat film shot much in the same foreign style of the rarely seen You Can't Win 'em All(aka; Soliders of Fortune) with Charles Bronson and Tony Curtis, which I also recommend. Both of these films are worth watching just to see the rarely photographed locations alone. I was VERY MUCH surprised to find that the El Condor fortress in this film was built especially for this movie and is not an authentic fortress!! It was also used in Conan The Barbarian and the James Coburn spaghetti western A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die. See pics of what's left of the the fortress here: http://garringo.cool.ne.jp/el%20condor%20special.htm It probably would have been a much better film if someone other than Jim Brown has been cast opposite Cleef - the chemistry just wasn't right. Please also note that the VHS is fullframe. Too bad this isn't available on a 2:35 widescreen DVD.....

Entertaining spaghetti western, great Lee Van Cleef
El Condor is a good, exciting spaghetti western that will keep you entertained throughout, thanks in great part to the movie's two leads, Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef. Luke is a convict at work prison camp on the southwest. Another prisoner tells him of the mythical El Condor fortress that contains millions, and possibly billions, of dollars worth of Emperor Maximilian's gold, stolen by a Mexican general, Chavez. Luke escapes and teaming up with a grizzled old gold prospector, Jaroo, joins with a group of 84, not 100, Apache warriors to lay siege to El Condor and get their hands on the gold. This isn't one of the best spaghetti westerns, but it's not as bad as some people make out. There is plenty of action, especially the final assault on El Condor, and a fair share of nudity sprinkled throughout the movie. As well, plenty of backstabbing and double-crosses to keep you guessing until the end, which features a pretty good twist that caught me off-guard. Well worth a watch for fans of spaghetti westerns, just don't expect a classic. The two leads, Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef, make the movie what it is. Jim Brown stars as Luke, the escaped prisoner who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the El Condor gold. Lee Van Cleef is excellent as Jaroo, the grizzled prospector who is in it for himself, which makes his character fun because you're never exactly sure what he's up to. Van Cleef definitely steals the movie, playing against type as Jaroo opposed to his Col. Mortimer or Angel Eyes. Patrick O'Neal is good in an atypical villain role as Chavez, the commander of El Condor who must deal with Luke and Jaroo while also defending a secret that could finish him off. Mariana Hill is good in a small part as Claudine, Chavez's woman who takes a liking to Luke. Hill has a full nude scene which caused a stir then, and it's still apparenty why now, Hill is gorgeous in her small part. Iron Eyes Cody plays Santana, the Apache chief who leads his warriors in support of Luke and Jaroo for his own personal riches. Most people know him as the Indian who shed at tear at the pollution in the US in a 1970s commercial. The VHS offers a surprisingly good-looking standard presentation, especially compared to a lot of similar spaghetti westerns. It's not a great presentation by any means, but it is a clear, pretty well cleaned up presentation. I'd love to see a widescreen dvd, I say that for most VHS movies, but for now, we'll have to stick with the quality VHS tape. So for a spaghetti western with Jim Brown, a great role for Lee Van Cleef, and plenty of action, violence, and nudity, check out El Condor!

The Spaghetti Western Comes Home.
Lee Van Cleef had become a world wide star making "spaghetti" westerns when in 1970 Warner Bros. finally had the grand idea to bring him back to the home market in this early Jim Brown vehicle. Cleef plays determinedly against type in this film: his Jaroo is an aging two-bit thief and saddle-tramp, happy to nurse his dreams of someday hitting it rich, when Brown (an escaped convict and demolitions expert named Luke) comes looking for him to help raid "El Condor," the mythical fortress where the Emperor Maximillian supposedly stored his fortune of looted gold. Brown's character is clearly modelled after the amoral "Gringo" of the spaghetti westerns but, remarkably, receives even less development. Van Cleef is more complex--a fact reflected by his growing presence as the movie progresses. The plot is predictably ludicrous, the action entertaining, and the gender politics embarrassing. ("What do you want?" Brown asks the ex-mistress of the fort's commanding officer at one point. "Whatever you want," she answers, and then falls into bed with him--after performing a striptease for the Mexican army.) Cleef's portrayal makes the film worth watching-- he even manages to grant a degree of poignancy to the requisite ironic conclusion.

My favorite western film of all!
El Condor is my favorite western of all time. This has everything you could want in a western action film. Apaches, gold, Mexican bandidos and soldiers, larger than life heroes, beautiful women and a great score by Maurice Jarre, who also did the music for Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago. There are a few details about the movie that are not logical, one of them plays a major part in the climax, so I will not reveal it, but you do not need logic to enjoy a film like this. I have watched El Condor dozens of times since first seeing it on TV as a little kid, and even in the face of giants such as The Wild Bunch and Good the Bad and the Ugly, El Condor is still my favorite western. I cannot understand how people can dislike this movie, but I have hardly ever seen a good review of it. Listen to me and not the other critics! If you like action and adventure, you will love El Condor!

super feature for van cleef fans!
This film is loaded with surprises!! Leevan Cleef is great in this little gem.Mariana hill is georgeos!! Jim brown is in top form, a bit long, but worth a look.