WATCH NOW
I was ecstatic when I heard that Kino was coming out with a Blu-Ray copy of A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (1968). This is one of my favorite spaghetti Westerns, and I was curious if it was going to feature the original uncut 118 minute international print. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as this version only runs for ninety-nine minutes. This means that this version is the US theatrical cut of the film. Similarly, with the previous MGM DVD release that claimed to have a runtime of 118 minutes, this version was unfortunately only ninety-nine minutes. It is important to note that I am not trying to make an overly detailed analysis regarding Kino releasing this vivid and striking 4k scanned print accompanied by a bold soundtrack. To the best of my knowledge, all of the available uncut prints of this film are in tragic condition.
“A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die” is the type of movie that is easy to criticize. However, it is likely a waste of time. This is such an awful, poorly constructed, idiotic film that it is unworthy of an attack. This is so stupid of a movie, it seems to not pass the common sense bar, yet it is intriguing to the extent that it could be paid attention to for more than pity’s sake. It may appeal to a small segment of the population, but it lacks sufficient depth to sustain any kind of coherent discussion over it.
Like many of these Italian Westerns, it is made for people who do not have a lot of intelligence. If you are smart enough to understand them, it is highly questionable whether you will be entertained or not. Some people dismiss these masterpieces as overly complex. On the contrary, they do not rely on complexity at all. They rely on a series of situations to form a plot. Each sequence in fact resembles a color cartoon. Every situation has the hero menaced and threatened with some sort of violence. At times, the t these torturers manage to overpower him. At others, he plays them like a puppet and gets the upper hand, which makes for the more satisfying and anticipated conclusion.
To add insult to injury, very little dialogue is written (to make things easier for the dubber) while gallons of fake blood gets used.
In the average Western Italian, you might notice that the number of deaths ranges from 50 to 75 people. I assure you, unlike Tom and Jerry, they don’t come back alive. In fact, you’re more than likely to see human heads in burlap sacks as well as some priests shot at an altar, torn body parts, and even a lot of spit!
These writers don’t even need imagination due to how established these formulas are. Characters in Italian Westerns like in cartoons and pornographic novels lack depth. They are dolls you can control, and their purpose is solely to kill and maim. Any further planning is done with no credit given to the original source from better Westerns. The main gimmick in \”A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die\”, for example, is that the main character has a bullet lodged in them that pinches a nerve and causes paralysis. This brilliant idea is lifted from Howard Hawks’ “El Dorado,” which was a great film.
The audience of these films barely cares about the details at hand. A few weeks ago, I went to United Artists to watch another Italian Western called “A Stranger in Town,” and I was hardly able to sit through two attempts of it. “Stranger” raked in almost 250 thousand dollars in its Loop and the neighborhood runs. There certainly is a demand for such rubbish. I cannot explain why.
To watch more movies like (A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
