MovieChat Forums > El verdugo (1964) Discussion > A bit of a disappointment to me

A bit of a disappointment to me


*spoilers... but not really*

Sorry to rain on everyone's eulogies but as much as I can understand why it is a miracle that this managed to come out in Spain in '63, I think the story, although original, is a bit dull and the ending falls flat. I wasn't expecting a typical 21st century Hollywood twist either but I've seen much better films from the 60's from various countries. This is probably a very important film for political reasons but I don't really think it stands the test of time. It is still watchable and sometimes captivating but nothing unpredictable ever happens !
One I enjoyed much more about the death penalty (although a tad bit more recent) was Lelouch's "La Vie, L'Amour, La Mort" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065179). Different in every way, but more worthwhile in my eyes if you have an interest in the subject.

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This is a great movie because it shows the effect of having the death penalty on the executioner and his family rather than the condemned.

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I would say the movie got more interesting in the second half when the young man started to wait and fear for the execution call. It was a really funny to see how the executioner was even more scared of the execution than the person he had to execute. Perhaps they should have stressed that element a bit more.

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I think that that's the point of the film. Death penalty puts some kind of condemnation on society.

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Agreed. No sparks in this one. It helps if you are Spanish I guess.

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