My Name Is Trinity (1970)

- Lo chiamavano Trinità...
"Welcome, brothers!", 28 April 2008

I am by no means an expert on the 19 or so Terence Hill / Bud Spencer films. But of the handful I have been able to see, They Call Me Trinity just might be my favorite. I distinctly remember watching this movie over 30 years ago and thinking it was one of funniest, most enjoyable movies I had ever seen. Re-watching it last night, I realized that, although my opinion isn't quite as high as it once was, I still enjoyed They Call Me Trinity immensely. It's not perfect, but it sure it fun. Hill and Spencer play off each other as well as any of the better known Hollywood duos. They complement each other in both style and appearance. There are a few moments that had me laughing out loud. Their first meeting with the Mexican bandits while unintentionally disguised as Mormons is one of these moments. Hill also has some particularly funny scenes on his own. One that I remembered from my first viewing three decades ago was the scene where Hill eats the entire plate of beans. Good stuff! And who doesn't get a kick out of the dust-covered Hill being pulled along behind his horse. It's a classic image right up there with Django dragging the coffin through the mud. There's just something about both of these scenes that I find very funny.

But what I really enjoy the most is the way They Call Me Trinity makes fun of some of the better known Spaghetti Western clichés. There are several examples I could use, but I'll just cite one. In most Spaghetti Westerns, the main character is usually an expert shot. So expert, in fact, that they almost never miss. Look at Lee Van Cleef in Sabata or Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for example. Van Cleef's Sabata is able to his any target at any distance and Eastwood's Blondie has no problem hitting the rope about to hang Tuco. Trinity takes this already exaggerated ability to the absurd. As seen in the one of the bar fights, Trinity can hit targets behind his back - without looking. If you're a fan of these movies, you'll enjoy They Call Me Trinity's poke at Spaghetti Western conventions.

8/10