User Reviews

Nando Cicero's "Due Volte Giuda" aka. "Twice A Judas" of 1971 starring Antonio Sabato and the great Klaus Kinski, may not be a Spaghetti Western masterpiece, but it is certainly an entertaining and suspenseful and vastly underrated film.One aspect that makes this movie special is the amnesia story. This is one of the few Spaghetti Westerns to include amnesia, and the only one I've seen in which the topic of amnesia is actually one of the primary aspects of the plot, which follows a man (Antonio Sabato), who wakes up with a grazing gunshot wound to his head, next to a corpse in the middle of the desert, and has no clue who he is. The first half hour of the movie is quite confusing, and that's what maintains the suspense.

Kinski delivers an excellent performance as always, and Sabato fits in his role very well. José Calvo is furthermore convincing as an alcoholic doctor. The rest of the performances are OK too, but I couldn't say that any of them were particularly worth mentioning. The film is nicely (though in no way outstandingly)photographed, and the score is also quite good (although certainly not brilliant).

"Twice A Judas" is an original and suspenseful Spaghetti Western, and although it looses some of its quality towards the end, which is, in my opinion, a bit cheesy and too fast-paced compared to the film's beginning, it is certainly worth watching and way underrated. If you're a fan of Spaghetti Westerns and/or Klaus Kinski, I recommend to give this a try. 6/10

An amnesic called Luke Barrett (Antonio Sábato) is swindled and regains his consciousness and finds himself laying in the desert dust next to a dead man . In addition , next to him is a rifle with the word 'Dingus' carved on its stock . Luke decides to investigate in order to find out more about himself . Luke wants to get even , even though he can't remember who anyone is . Through conversations with a Saloon girl (Cristina Galbó) and other townsfolk who seem to know a lot about him , Luke begins solving his past life and learning his family was killed by a ruthless renegade . That's how he finds out that he turns out to be ¨Luke Barrett¨ , and along with a rare hired killer (Franco Leo) were contacted by a stranger clad in black clothing to murder Victor Barrett (Klaus Kinski) , a wealthy land baron . But Victor results to be his brother and is holding a vote among the farmers who must decide whether to sell their lands . While Luke attempting to resolve the man who tried to murder him , he will discover he is a paid gunman too . Luke helped by Doctor Russell (José Calvo) will start recovering his memory which will prove to be both a good thing and a bad one .

The film deals with a mysterious stranger who loses his memory after a bullet grazed his head in a shoot'em up in the wild West , and he to be aware , subsequently , to be become an avenger , who vows to take down a killer who massacred his family . This Spaghetti movie gets the usual Western issues , such as greedy antiheroes , violent facing off , quick zooms , and exaggerated baddies . It packs thrills , shoot-outs , violence , and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . There is enough action in the movie , guaranteeing some pursuits , crossfire or stunts every few minutes . It is an acceptable , passable Western with several titles as ¨Due Volte Giuda" , "Twice a Judas", "Shoot Twice" , They Were Called Graveyard", "Peor que Judas" that contains an interesting and violent plot about a young amnesic called Luke who starts piecing together the facts and finds out a terrible truth about his family , and , subsequently seeking vendetta . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist against the heartless enemies formed by a brutal contender , Klaus Kinski , and his henchmen . The main starring is played by Antonio Sábato as a man who has temporary amnesia . Sábato played various thrillers as ¨Thundersquad¨ , ¨High Voltage¨, ¨Crime busters¨, ¨war of robots¨, ¨New Mafia boss¨ , ¨Black Lemons¨ and Westerns as ¨Beyond the law¨. And the popular Klaus Kinski as a suspicious owner who decides to face his brother for a gunfight , he shows up elegantly dressed and with a brilliant look , gaining a reputation for his ferocious talent and equally ferocious temper ; Kinski plays as a strange land-owner businessman who occasionally joins in on the action with his deadly guns and who also happens to be Luke's brother . Here he plays with lots of gesticulation and excessive gestures . As he is fine , as he ravages the screen with his peculiar face and using suddenly his weapons . This Spaghetti is made during his Italian period when Klaus starred a lot of Westerns , later he collaborated with Werner Herzog with whom played several prestigious films . They later collaborated on five movies : Aguirre (1972), Woyzeck (1979), Nosferatu, (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987). As Kinski starred numerous Spaghetti such as : Pray to Kill and Return Alive , Black Killer , If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death , Bullet King , Shangai Joe , Clint the solitary , The Ruthless Four , Nevada Kid , The return of Clint , and specially famous resulted to be his acting in ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨ .

Evocative and atmospheric cinematography Francisco Marín , shot on location in Spain , Almeria , desert Tabernas , as usual . Adequate and thrilling musical score by Carlos Pes . Twisted and complex screenplay by Juan José Balcázar , being efficiently produced by his brother , Alfonso Balcázar , who financed and directed a lot of Westerns . The motion picture was professionally directed by Nando Cícero who made other westerns as ¨Il Tempo Degli Avvoltoi¨ and ¨Professionals for a Massacre¨ and several Italian Sex comedies as La Dottoressa Del Distretto Militare , W La Foca , L'assistant Sociale Tutto Pepe , La Liceale Il Diavolo E L'Acquasanta , Il Gatto Mammone , among others .

TWICE A JUDAS is a well-shot but rather routine spaghetti western enlivened by colourful cinematography and a slightly left-of-centre plot. The main character is a man who wakes up in the searing desert heat alongside a corpse. The problem is, his memory has gone, so suffering from amnesia he enters a local township and discovers problems with corrupt officials.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that Bourne-style plotting but it's the indifferent execution that lets this film down. The action scenes in particular are rather limited in scope and execution and nothing the viewer hasn't seen before. In addition, Antonio Sabato gives an exceptionally wooden turn as the protagonist, a guy you neither care about nor have any sympathy with despite his plight.

As is usual for this type of film, the best thing about TWICE A JUDAS is the dual role for Klaus Kinski. Kinski is reliably eccentric and/or nasty in his part(s) here and lifts things whenever he appears, so it's just a pity that's not all that often. Watch out for Cristina Galbo (THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE) as the love interest. As an aside, Sabato's dog steals all of his scenes.

In the great opening scene of this movie, a wounded man (Anthony Sabato) comes to among a pile of dead bodies and feasting vultures. He is suffering from amnesia, so he goes to the nearby town and ends up being hired by some greedy bankers to kill a man, who turns out to be his brother. He instead decides to join forces with his brother, but since the brother is apparently a local bully, willing to terrorize innocent homesteaders to keep them from selling out to the bank--and, more importantly, since he is played by sinister German actor Klaus Kinski--it's not clear he's necessarily the good guy in the conflict. The man then goes back to his family home to find his father and pregnant bride have been murdered, and that his mother has sunken into dementia. His brother's uncaring attitude to all this begins to make him even more suspicious.

This movie is kind of like the more recent art-house hit "Memento" (except that the character here is suffering from long-term amnesia instead of short-term memory loss). All the people he meets act mysterious at best, and at worst, seem to be trying to take advantage of him for their own purposes. And like with "Memento" the viewers are kept just as much in the dark as the protagonist. This is not nearly as good as "Memento", of course, and the final revelations are pretty seriously fumbled. Still it's not a bad movie. Sabato was one of those handsome but bland European actors (he kind of looks like a young Brando here), but he is better in this movie than in some of his other stuff I've seen. Kinski is always pretty good, but he suffers from being rather inappropriately dubbed into English. Women almost never have decent roles in these movies, but it's always nice to see the lovely Spanish actress Cristina Galbo (who headlined two classic Spanish horror movies, "La Residence" and "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie", and one of the classic Italian gialli "What Have you Done to Solange?") even if it is in a throwaway role like this.

This is available on one of those collections of public domain spaghetti westerns. It doesn't look great (like all public domain collections the presentation of the various films is pretty uneven), but it's still worth seeing

Film tells a mystery story about a man who lost his memory and tries to resume his past. His father and his wife got murdered and he is now looking for the murderer. Clues lead to "Dingus" but who is Dingus? Klaus Kinski is one of the 2 leads and he is enigmatic as usual. Overall the story is completely unconvincing, many people must have known Luke's past but no one tells. All characters do their best to add to the mystery. There is also a strange character shift from bad to good in Luke and the opening with the vultures(obviously archive footage) is never explained. Only recommendable for die hard fans of the subgenre and Klaus Kinski.

2 / 10.

I respect the other comment but feel as though this movie had a great story idea about a main character Luke Barrett having amnesia (Antonio Sabato). The first spaghetti western to use amnesia. I believe the camera work was great by well known Aristide Masaccesi. Victor Barrett played by (Klaus Kinski) gives a great performance as Luke's brother of course he's not he is only playing with Luke's amnesia which finally clears as the story unfolds he is actually Dingus half Indian who sets out to destroy the Barrett family. Dingus/v. Barrett plays a land baron stealing poor farmers land and using illegal Mexicans from the border to work the land.

This story could have been great if the script was changed in a few parts to catch the audience more with the unraveling amnesia mystery..

Antonio Sabato wakes on a hillside with a gun in his hand, a bullet groove on the side of his dead and no memory. Next to him lies a corpse, also clutching a gun. Last of all, there's a rifle on the ground with the word "Dingus" scratched into the butt. After being helped by a passing old man, the confused Sabato is directed towards town, where things get even more complicated.

Someone recognises him in the bar, and the next thing you know he's finding out he's been hired to kill a guy - his own brother! Played by Klaus Kinski! I'm not sure which of those revelations in more shocking. Kinski's a right arse here, taking land from the locals by force and building himself up quite a few enemies by doing so - including the local bankers who want to buy the land.

Sabato spends a lot of the film looking confused and wondering who all these people are and who the mysterious girl in the locket is (given to him by yet another mysterious girl). Sabato's mum isn't much help as she's gone insane and talks to her husband like he's not lying in a grave, but maybe that huge rifle over the fireplace will clear the air a bit...

There's a nice new angle to this one as our hero is not interested in any gold - he just wants his memory back. Quite a dark film too - the set up shots of the two inert bodies on the hill gets the following going in grim fashion, as does the landowner riding into town dead on his carriage. The only light hearted part is when Sabato's dog gets stuck into the bad guys during a gunfight. Kinski is his usual 'Crazy Frog with Hair' person.

Also starring Cristine Galbo from the House That Screamed and the forthcoming awesome Living Dead At the Manchester Morgue, and a film from the eighties called Suffer, You Prick!

Kinski, who was never one of my favourites (too much of a diva on set) has been further soured by allegations from his daughter in 2013 that he molested her. We'll never know it that's true or not, but it's certainly going to put a dampner on the next 600 Italian films he appears in.

Due volte Giuda (Twice a Judas/Shoot Twice/They Were Called Graveyard) is directed by Nndo Cicero and written by Jaime Jesús Balcázar. It stars Antonio Sabàto, Klaus Kinski, Pepe Calvo and Franco Leo. Music is by Carlo Pes and cinematography by Francisco Marin.

An amnesiac wakes up in parched land next to a dead body, he must now find out what has (is) happening and who the hell he is?!

It has something of a mixed reputation among Spaghetti Western fans, and for sure it's a tricky one to recommend with great confidence, so really you have to roll the dice and take your chance. Personally I'm glad I did.

The amnesia angle is most interesting seen in the spag-western sphere, whilst ensuring as it does that there's a huge mystery element to the narrative. For two thirds of the pic it's slow going, with a story cross stitched in near complex terms so as to ask the viewer to follow closely. Trickily there are some threads that don't really make sense since they serve no evident purpose to the story as a whole, which is frustrating even if it adds to the dreamy feel of the plot.

Once the character dynamics are set up - well sort of - film kicks on a pace, unfurling the flags of double crosses, greed, mistrust and machismo fuelled behaviour. Kinski (splendidly edgy and unsympathetic) Sabàto (likable performance blending cool and confused) leading the way as pic plays its hands. The action is well staged, with barn yard and canyon shoot-outs most appealing, while the addition of an awesome canine and the use of some sort of ball-bearing blunderbuss take the final third up another notch. Pat on the back as well to the stunt men, nifty work on show chaps.

Photography and musical score are safe enough, with the print I viewed on British cable in very good order. It asks for patience and forgiveness for its silly sins, but all told it's a rather good pasta piece worthy of viewing. 7/10

This a very good Spaghetti Western no question about it. I'm a big fan of the genre and have to admit that the bulk of these films are mediocre to bad and I put off seeking this film out due to the bad reviews posted here. Unfortunately the two comments left are totally unsympathetic to the quirks of the genre and the one review doesn't even describe the story correctly! - May you meet the blazing lead of Antonio Sabatos Elephant gun! The film is very well shot and directed and the score is fine also. Kinski gives a very good nuanced performance. He ends up being extremely evil but there is a question as to this which is carried through out the movie to very good effect, helped by Kinski's performance and the rather intelligent script and effective direction. Sabato is good as the lead and surprisingly you buy that he and Kinski could be brothers, they have similar face structure. Added pluses are some very well staged shoot outs. One in particular uses the Family dog to riotously effective uses in helping the hero roust the Bad guys. Very well done indeed and adds a touch of humor to a sombre reflective film. This scene alone is worth the price of the film even if the rest was a wash, its that good. For you aficionados catch the Dubbing work of Veteran character actor Walter Barnes, as the voice of the Sheriff. A hidden gem if you can get a copy!

This spaghetti western was better than I was expecting it to be. It has a very engaging storyline. The protagonist has lost his memory due to a gunshot wound to the head, and he has to unravel the mystery of who murdered his wife and destroyed his family. The movie is very well played out, with suspense building gradually to a showdown at the end.

The acting from all of the players in this film is very good, and definitely above average for the genre. Klaus Kinski is, of course, the standout in this category. He is always great to watch, and this is one of his finest eurowestern performances.

The music score is rather minimalist, but well-suited to the film. The small bursts of guitar, and the organ part really add to the mood and tension of the movie.

This is one of those rather dark and brutal portrayals of the west served up spaghetti style. There is not a shred of comedy in this movie, and that turns out to be a good thing here.

Spaghetti western lovers should definitely take notice of this one.

Despite the presence of Klaus Kinski, "Twice a Judas" is a somewhat dull spaghetti western. It does start off well, with the hero waking up in the middle of an expanse of bodies and not knowing who he is or how he got there. For the next half hour or so the movie remains engaging, as the hero tries to figure out who he is and whether he should be cautious about any of the various people he encounters. However, after that first half hour, things soon fall apart. It turns into a pretty dull mystery, with the hero for some reason afraid to ask questions that might have solved his mystery much quicker. There is also very little action, with a lot of dull talk. And Kinski, compared to many of his other movies, seems surprisingly restrained here. Far from the worst spaghetti western I've seen, but there's not much here to make it worth ninety minutes of your time.

About the Volts of Forgetting: Spaghetti Western with Antonio Sabato and Klaus Kinski

You can't afford memory loss in the Wild West. That's exactly what happens to Luke Barrett (Antonio Sabato, 1943-2021) when he comes home from the American Civil War. Nothing there is the way it used to be. What role does Luke's half-brother Dingus (Klaus Kinski, 1926-1991) play in this?

With the help of flashbacks, director Nando Cicero slowly gets to the bottom of the story. Absolutely unusual for a spaghetti western! GOLDEN GLOBE nominee Antonio Sabato (in 1967 he was nominated for GRAND PRIX) and GERMAN FILM AWARD winner Klaus Kinski (in 1979 he was awarded for his role in NOSFERATU: PHANTOM OF THE NIGHT) engage in a psychological duel in which, of course is also shot.

The film, also known as "Kugeln tragen keine Unterschrift / Bullets Have No Signature," is a successful genre contribution with psychological undertones.