The Ruthless Four

A group of prospectors have to work together to get the ore out of a remote gold mine, but the temptation of a bigger cut threatens to make them turn on each other before they can get the gold back to civilization. Kinda the Italian version of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with some really tense scenes, exciting shootouts and great performances from Van Heflin, Klaus Kinksi and Gilbert Roland. A quality Western.

Solid construction from director Capitani and writing from Di Leo make this a knotch above the usual western affair. Great acting from Heflin, kinski and Roland. Every scene is tense with our four people hating and seething with resentment and anger. Not a moment is lost explaining the plot or dumbing down to the audience, an tiny underrated gem of a movie.

A big surprise; this jumped straight to my spaghetti top 20. Premise reminds of Treasure of the Sierra Madre but the film becomes it's own thing. Director Capitani seems to be one of the few who created their west believable and it's a pity he didn't do more. He manages to create almost an epic feel with tight story and few locations. All 4 main characters and their relations have surprising depth. Heflin, Kinski and Roland shine - Hilton is ok. Recommended! - also for classic western fans.