i must have seen a different film!!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Quite wonderful, doom laden, totally focused, Gothic horror, spaghetti western, extraordinaire. The revenge story is as simple as could be and indeed is more or less told to us in seconds three quarters the way through the film, but the manner of the telling with the oncoming storm and the tolling bells, and the matter of the lead actor. Sometimes Klaus Kinski disappoints because you expect so much from him and it is sad when for one reason or another, bad dubbing, bad direction or simply lazy Kinski, things don't quite come together. Well, they do here and my only hesitation in recommending this wholeheartedly to everyone is that not everyone enjoys spaghetti westerns and for those that do, this is certainly not a typical example. Still, if you fancy a real treat this is engaging from the very beginning, with all the bleakness of the chain gang and their rock breaking, to the sensational finale complete with a great Lady of Shanghai multiple mirror effect and general conflagration. Immaculate, but do find a decent print!

This is a very unusual Western Film which has more scenes in the dark with a great deal of difficulty in seeing just what is going on. However, there is a tornado which is expected and you do hear all kinds of high winds. This story is concerned about a Gary Hamilton, (Klaus Kinski) who is seeking revenge against Acombar (Peter Corsten) for framing him with a crime he never committed and eventually causing Gary Hamilton to serve ten years in prison. Gary Hamilton has been released and is riding on a stagecoach along with Dick Acombar (Antonio Cantafora) who is the son of the man Gary Hamilton wants to kill. Once Gary Hamilton realizes Dick Acombar is riding with him, he tells Dick to tell his father he is going to meet with him very shortly. It is from this point in the film when it becomes quite interesting and you could call this Western a Horror Film. Enjoy.

Versatile Italian director Antonio Margheriti appeared as much at home on the range calling the shots on westerns as he did at breeding goose bumps in his horror chillers. Not only did Margheriti helm at least five westerns during his career, including "Dynamite Joe" (1967), "Vengeance" (1968), "And God Said To Cain" (1970), "The Stranger And The Gunfighter" (1974), and "Take A Hard Ride" (1975), but he also made a number of horror movies, too, among them "Horror Castle" (1963), "Castle of Blood" (1964), "Web of the Spider" (1971), "Seven Deaths in a Cat's Eye, " (1973) and "Cannibal Apocalypse" (1980). Mind you, Margheriti did not redefine the western either like Sergio Leone of "A Fistful of Dollars" trilogy or Sergio Corbucci of "Django" did, but he worked within the bounds established by the two Sergios and made some above-average oaters. Margheriti managed something that neither Sergio attempted; he combined western elements with horror elements. All five of Margheriti's westerns are also examples of solid craftsmanship. "And God Said to Cain" stands out as one of his best sagebrushers. This represents the best example of the invincible western hero this side of the grave and spawned Clint Eastwood's supernatural sagebrusher "High Plains Drifter."The Spaghetti western "And God Said to Cain" is a straightforward but powerfully told revenge yarn and its invincible hero wields death with the same finality that Jason and Michael Myers did in the slasher horror movies of the 1980s. This western casts perennial villain Klaus Kinski as its hero. Gary Thompson has been wrongly imprisoned; he has spent ten years of a life sentence in a brutal prison before the U.S. President gives him a pardon. Kinski's performance as a Union officer framed and convicted for a crime he never committed is a portrait in restraint. Since he is the hero of sorts, his dialogue is typically monosyllabic. He totes a Winchester repeating rifle, wears a red shirt, dark pants, boots, and a large black Stetson tilted back on his head like an historic gold rush forty-niner. The Kinski hero here is as inexorable as death itself; his Winchester serves him like the scythe serves Death. He sets out to kill only the bad guys, and he never deviates from his objective. Although he is severely outnumbered, Thompson displays no sign of fear. Somehow, because he is the hero, Gary Thompson manages to be in all the right places at all the right times. He emerges out of nowhere like a Jason or a Michael Myers on the prowl for their next victim and kills without a qualm. Indeed, the West Germany title for "And God Said to Cain" is "Satan der Rache." In the Giovanni Addessi & Antonio Margheriti screenplay, Thompson has payback in mind for Acombar (Peter Carsten of "Dark of the Sun"), the double-crossing polecat who framed him for robbing a stagecoach during the Civil War. While Thompson sweated away in prison, Acombar lived in the lap of luxury. He owns a sprawling house, has an army of henchmen on his payroll, and has enough money to buy off anybody no matter how seemingly influential that they may be. Thompson meets Acombar's son Dick (Antonio Cantafora of "Baron Blood") on a stagecoach and we learn that Dick is fresh out of West Point Military Academy. Young Dick knows nothing about his father's devious past. Once Thompson starts knocking off Acombar's minions, the son discovers that his dad was evil incarnate. From the moment that Thompson launches his attack on Acombar, he never makes a wrong move and he dispatches the villains in cool ways. He exploits the Indian burial caves under the town to appear anywhere and kill. Meanwhile, Acombar earns his villainy. He shoots an unarmed preacher twice in cold blood. He is a son of a bitch. Addessi and Margheriti employ symbolism to good effect. A tornado predicted to be the worst ever experienced sweeps into town about the same time that Thompson arrives; this serves as a metaphorical reference to the inexorable potency of our hero. After Thompson enters town, he jangles Acombar's nerves by having the church bell toll until the white-hat wearing villain is about to go berserk. The bell tolling here is Acombar's conscience just as the heart ticking away to the killer in the famous Poe short-story. These two touches enhance the dramatic value of the film. Furthermore, Margheriti shuns the traditional bells, whistles, and whip crack music that accompanied virtually every Spaghetti western made. The musical cues belong to a horror movie as do the consistently dark interiors and exteriors. Although Kinski is the hero of record, the end credits suggest something entirely different, and the Australian VHS title is "Cain's Revenge." This implies that the heroic Thompson is an anti-hero destined to wander the Earth for an eternity. The chief problem with "And God Said to Cain" is that the DVD versions available in America are abominable. This movie came out as a widescreen film, but the full frame DVD version ruins the artistry of the compositions on every shot. Moreover, the picture quality is abysmal. The action occurs predominantly after dark and the images are so muddy that only the close-ups register with any clarity. If you watch this DVD movie with the lights off, you may not see anything for long stretches. These significant technical flaws aside, "And God Said to Cain" still ranks as a worthwhile western.

Antonio Margheriti's "E Dio Disse A Caino" aka. "And God Said To Cain" is a very dark and excellent Spaghetti Western with a great leading performance by Klaus Kinski in an untypical role. Kinski, who was usually typecast as a crazy and/or extremely cold-blooded villain plays the (anti)hero in this, an innocent victim, who becomes a merciless avenger.Innocently imprisoned, Gary Hamilton (Kinski) is pardoned after 10 years of heavy labor in a stone pit in the desert. After loosing ten years of his life for a crime he did not commit, Gary only has one thought on his mind - to take bloody, pitiless revenge on those responsible for the crime he was charged for and who blamed him for a crime they committed.Klaus Kinski (once again) delivers an excellent performance in the lead, and although the role of Gary Hamilton is unusual for Kinski, I could hardly imagine anybody else to fit in this role as perfectly as he does. Peter Carsten also does a very good job as the villainous Acombar, and the supporting cast contains Gino Lollobrigida, who fits into his role as one of Acombar's sidekicks very well, and beautiful Marcella Michelangeli, who is lovely to look at and who also plays her role well (allthough it did not require a lot of acting). The movie has a lot of horror influences and the atmosphere in "And God Said To Cain" is a very dark one, and resembles the atmosphere of a Horror flick at times (unsurprisingly, since director Margheriti is best-known for his horror movies). The score by Carlo Savino is very good, it mixes the Spaghetti Western sound with a sound that resembles the soundtrack of Thrillers and Horror movies. Furthermore, the score contains a stylish, chanted gospel-style song in the beginning. I usually prefer soundtracks without singing in Spaghetti Westerns, but I have to say that this one fits very well in the opening scene in the desert prison. The cinematography is also very good and quite original, as it underlines the dark atmosphere and intensifies the suspense."And God Said To Cain" is an excellent, dark and very suspenseful Spaghetti Western that I highly recommend. Spaghetti Western and/or Kinski fans can't afford to miss this.