Now HERE is an odd egg -- a Spaghetti Western filmed in Isreal, with actual acting by Lee Van Cleef (who is usually relegated to the traditional Lee Van Cleef role of the aged wizened gunslinger). GOD'S GUN is a fascinatingly bad film: The production standards of a classic STAR TREK episode, surprisingly lurid & exploitational content, some truly brutal and graphic violence, and Leif Garrett.

But I liked the movie before being even ten minutes into it: It is depraved, amoral, uses the "religious" angle as a plot device, and raises interesting questions about what exactly qualifies a film as a "Spaghetti Western"? For my money the answer comes down to one of style & attitude. Spaghetti Westerns are more like pastiches of moments, some better than others & many culled from other sources, namely other Spaghetti Westerns. It is a re-heatable genre, and GOD'S GUN is a nice dish of leftovers that tastes better on the second day -- It took a couple to realize the film was getting under my skin, that it was interesting, that I hadn't quite seen anything like it before. It is a later period revisionist Euro Western, celebrating the conventions of the genre by presenting them on their sides, upside down or backwards. Quite literally in the form of Lee Van Cleef's performance -- Here is one of the true Gunslingers of the genre, not only putting down his gun & putting on a friar's collar to avenge his brother's murder, but doing so in a way that would be right at home in a Giallo murder mystery.

And then there is the exploitation angle: Up until the impact of Spaghetti's and Peckinpah was felt (1969/1970),Amercian made westerns tended to be bloodless, clean, throw away fun that you could plop 10 to 14 year old boys in front of for a rainy afternoon of riding herd with Doc & Hoppy. Anyone who plops their 12 year old kid down in front of GOD'S GUN deserves a swift kick in the pants: This is a western for GROWN UPS, but not in the arty & intoxicating way that FISTFUL OF DOLLARS was. The effect is more of a freak show, depicting the lurid possibilities of a western in their R-Rated glory as they had never been seen before, complete with an extended gang rape/mass mayhem scene that, once you think about it, is probably more accurate of depicting how these depraved, sex crazed & woman starved animals would behave when presented with a dozen scrumptious, freshly scrubbed saloon girls with names like "Chesty". If anything the cowboys shown raising all that hell aren't grubby & scummy enough. The same can be said for the production design: Everything looks to have been freshly built or decorated for the movie, right down to the painted signs in the town -- They are too damn neat, and look like the handiwork of a production designer rather than some hand-hewn piece of frontier artifice.

Yet in some ways this film shows a remarkable amount of self-awareness: The supporting extras were just actors & actresses, and the director + camera allows them to be so. The only people in the film who "act" are Richard Boone, Sybill Danning and Lee Van Cleef -- Everyone else is an archetype, including Jack Palance's Clayton. Anyone else in the role would have been ridiculous, and my thinking is that he did the film drunk. My favorite touch to the film are the sacks of money that the gang steals at the beginning of the film, which appear to be burlap sacks filled with socks. And unless I am mistaken they all have a big $ dollar sign on them. Like, what the heck??

The point is that the film is being honest about what it is, which is garbage, and those who come off best are the veterans of such garbage like Lee Van Cleef, Sybill Danning, Richard Boone and Palance. They were all aware that they were essentially making trash and made the most of it. Richard Boone gets to drink whiskey, swear, swagger around dressed up like Buffalo Bill and even has a couple of snappy lines: He's awesome, and was a good enough sport to participate because he loved making westerns, and movies in general. Here's some work for you, Mr. Boon -- You get to play the duplicitous, cowardly drunk sheriff in a tumbleweed nowhere we're staging in Isreal. "Where do I sign?"

I like how the film revels in it's "fakeness", with fake cowboys in this fake western town with fake saloon girls in fake saloon girl outfits, and Lee Van Cleef essentially anticipating Obi Wan Kenobi with his non-violent approach to the situation, allowing the fools to kill themselves off, whilst ministering to his young Padewan Leif Skywalker, who sadly regained the use of his voice for a subsequent career as a pop artist -- That his parents/guardians allowed him to appear in films like GOD'S GUN and DEVIL TIMES FIVE is beyond me, and evokes images of McCauly Kulken and Frodo Baggins in THE GOOD SON, another amoral, mean spirited exploitation film with children in central roles. I wonder what the 13 year old girls in love with him who went to see this film in 1976 thought of the gang rape scene, even though he isn't in it.

For what it's worth the images of young Garrett riding an adult-sized horse to the film's imaginatively derivative soundtrack is actually kind of, well, odd. I guess I sort of prefer movies that make me wonder what the heck is going on, and this one IS a riddle wrapped inside of an enigma: what WERE they thinking when they made it? Other than "Thank God for the work", I guess.

Look for this on a four movie/2 disc set called THE GUNSLINGERS in it's uncut 97 minute form. Well worth a look, and Fascinating, Captain.

This is an interesting spaghetti western that could have been done much better, but it was entertaining nevertheless.

First off, let me say that I love cheesy movies. Cheesy movies can be great! In fact, all of the greatest spaghetti westerns are wonderfully cheesy, but, like a great chef, a great director must know how much cheese, and what kind of cheese to use to create a masterpiece. This movie was not up to those standards.

The music score is a mixed bag. The opening theme is great, and very catchy. As for the rest of the score, some parts are good, but other parts sound tacky and fake, kind of like the music they use in porno movies or those awful direct-to-video films.

With the exception of Van Cleef and Palance, the acting isn't that great, but there are a few things about it that are funny. Towards the beginning of the film during the bank robbery, watch for the look on the deputy's face when he gets shot, and notice the way he falls. It's so stupid it's hilarious. An even funnier scene is when a crook who is forced to dress like a priest gets shot in the back by some members of his own gang. He looks like he is doing some funky dance moves while the bullets are hitting him. I had to play that part over again a few times. There are other similar funny parts, but I won't waste time mentioning them all. You've got to see it for yourself. The movie definitely has that "train wreck" sort of appeal. The overall story isn't bad at all, and it kept me interested all the way to the end, in anticipation of the final showdown.

It's a bit hard to accept Lee Van Cleef as a priest, but when he switches to playing the priest's gunfighter twin brother, he is great, and it adds a tiny bit of quality to a movie that desperately needs it. He is especially good during the flashback scenes that show what happened before his brother talked him into leaving town for good. I have read that Van Cleef's voice in this film is dubbed by someone else. There are parts where it doesn't really sound like him, but there are some lines where the voice sounds exactly like him. Jack Palance is hammy and over the top as the main baddie, but this is great! He is very entertaining in this role. It's like what I was saying earlier about knowing what kind of cheese is good, and Jack Palance is very good. During the final showdown, as Palance is Hamming it up wonderfully, and Van Cleef is giving him that steely, confident stare he does so well, I couldn't help wondering how it would have been if any of the three Sergios, or Tonino Valerii had directed a western with these two actors playing adversaries. There's no doubt it would have been one of the great ones.

Even with all of it's faults, the movie is definitely not boring. It manages to be interesting sometimes in spite of itself, and sometimes because of itself. I recommend that all fans of the spaghetti western genre see this movie. Others will probably want to stay away.

Dear God, really, what happen to this movie! It looks like everybody has a really bad sunburn or it's a Western film with Oranges. Everything is so bright. My copy of the film is discolored as hell and what I heard is I'm not the only one. The image quality of the movie is poor. I haven't found a great copy of the film. God's Gun also known as Diamante Lobo and A Bullet from God in some recopies is a Spaghetti-Western that is directed by Gianfranco Parolini or as credited in the American version as Frank Kramer. The movie was filmed in Israel, so this makes this another Matzoh Ball Western starting Spaghetti western legendary actor Lee Van Cleef and 1970's pop star Leif Garett who also started in Joseph Manduke's Kid Vengeance, a year later. Instead of being rivals, in this movie, Leif Garett stars as Johnny, a fatherless kid who takes turn helping run the local church with Father John (Lee Van Cleef) and then the local Saloon, with his mother (Sybil Danning). In a way, both jobs serve a purpose to the plot. It became clear that the theme of the jobs in the film is to show that the boy has to balance his life from serving what's good or entering a life of vice. It's become more a complex conflict for the boy, when a malicious group of bandits enter the town, and start making a scene at the Saloon, leaded by Sam Clayton (Jack Palance). Jack Palance felt like he was challenging his inner evil Jack Nicolson here. Palance is funnier than usual. He is brilliant in the role. He plays the bandit leader very well to the point that I wouldn't wait for the final showdown between Father John and Sam Clayton. Without spoiling too much of the film, both are fighting for the body and soul of the boy, literally. Great story. It illustrates that pacifism is unrealistic, even for Christians. Lee Van Cleef plays double roles in this film as both Father John and his brother Lewis, aka Diamante Lobo. When Father John is shot, his brother, to come north and settle the score. As it turns out, of course, the matter becomes a little more complicated as the gang can't tell the different between the priest and Diamante Lobo. This mysterious spirituous sub-plot gave the movie some deeply needed entertainment. I love how the film makes Diamante Lobo look like somewhat a revengeful fallen angel out to get the gangs for their sinful acts. Diamante Lobo was a bit creepy in this film. I honestly did the hokey 'Ahh' sound whenever Diamante Lobo shown up in the scene to confront an enemy. It's pretty awesome. Reminds me of the sound that came with Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollar Trilogy. I didn't mind the somewhat laughable wig, he was wearing and him talking to himself as another person. I have to say, Richard Boone as the Sheriff is just awful. Richard Boone walked off the film before it was completed leaving his role to be dubbed by another actor that doesn't sound like him. The reason why based by him is because the producer is an Israeli and the director is Italian and deaf, and they both don't speak. The mute thing is kinda silly. In fact, everyone in this film is dubbed by someone else, so it sounds nothing like the actors. The movie is full of action with a death count of 20. I love the over-acting when they get shot. It's full of those one shot kills that is pretty dumb. There is a few good supporting characters. The women are hated objects of lust and the men are just dogs. While, the rape scenes are tame. The movie makes it looks like they were just having fun rather than brutal. It makes it look like you can get away with attempt rape. The editing is pretty bad, as the scenes tend to go way too long, even when there is nothing going on the screen. There is a lots of tilted angles and zooms that wasn't needed. The flashbacks were blurry, and wasn't needed. I did dig the song of the last flashback scene in the movie. The music by Sante Maria Romitelli was pretty good, even if it's sounds like a bunch of hyenas laughing their head off. This is rated R for physical violence, gun violence, strong sexual violence, gore, some profanity, brief female nudity, brief male nudity, and sexual references, but it's pretty tame. Trust me. It's mostly PG-13 in these days, standards. The movie is widely available as a cheap public domain DVD. So it's easy to find in a dollar bin or find on the Internet. An astonishingly so bad, it's good film. Still, worth watching so amen to that.