Spaghetti Western Double Feature: Twice a Judas (1968) / Savage Guns (1971)

TWICE A JUDAS (1968):Luke Barrett awakes in the desert next to a corpse. Having no idea how he got there or who the dead man is, he journeys to a nearby town to find some answers. There he is offered a large sum of money to kill an innocent man. Still groggy with amnesia, Luke accepts the hit - only to discover that the target is his own brother, Victor. Refusing to pull the trigger, Luke asks Victor for help regaining his memory. But as questions lead to more questions, Luke begins to wonder if Victor is truly the man he says he is...

A Spaghetti Western precursor to Christoper Nolan's Memento (2000), this tale of an amnesiac man struggling to put the pieces of his life back together features stunning cinematography from Joe D'Amato. His always interesting camerawork graced countless cult movies, including Emanuelle in America (1977), Beyond the Darkness (1979) and Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1982). German actor Klaus Kinski is best known for his work with director Werner Herzog. Some of their collaborations include Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982). He was also a regular in Spaghetti Westerns, playing a villain in For a Few Dollars More (1965), among numerous others. Co-star Antonio Sabato is the father of model/soap opera star Antonio Sabato, Jr.

SAVAGE GUNS (1971):Sadistic bandit Mash Flannigan learns that a saloon owner has ratted him out to the authorities. Rather than go into hiding, he and his gang simply go to the bar and slaughter everyone there. The only survivor is Sam Wallash, who was drinking there with his brother. Now Sam embarks on a one-man revenge spree to take out every man responsible for his brother's murder...and he doesn't care if he dies trying

Savage Guns director Demofilo Fidani has been referred to as "the Italian Al Adamson of Westerns." Using multiple aliases (including Dick Spitfire, Dennis Ford, Sean O'Neal, Alessandro Santini, Slim Alone, Lucky Dickerson, Diego Spatara and Miles Deem) he made a dozen Spaghetti Westerns. Star Robert Wood (alternately billed as Robert Woods) started out in Hollywood as a stand-in for George Hamilton. He moved to Italy in the mid-60s where he found greater success in the burgeoning Spaghetti Western genre, usually as a leading man.

• western