Mondo Esoterica - Tomas Milian Film Reviews

Born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez in Cuba, 1932, he moved to the USA in 1956 and unsucessfully attempted to break into acting. The rejection sent him back to his books and he studied intently on the theory of acting, this earned him several stage roles. On a performance in Italy, he was noticed, and gained his first film credits. Within a few years the actor had become hot property in Italy, and appeared in a multitude of pictures, including his first American title The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) alongside Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison. His big break came in 1966 with the rise of the Spaghetti Western, first in The Bounty Killer (1966) then cast by Sergio Sollima in The Big Gundown (1966), Face to Face (1967) and Run, Man, Run (1968). He also had leading roles in Giulio Questi's bizarre Django Kill (1967), and Mario Lanfranchi's strange Death Sentence (1968) as well as Sergio Corbucci's impressive Companeros (1970). Italian gore-master Lucio Fulci cast Milian as the lead in impressive historical drama Beatrice Cenci (1969), he followed this up, casting him in top rate giallo Don't Torture a Ducking (1972). However, Milian didn't just play the hero, and gave a standout performance as a psychopathic killer in Umberto Lenzi's Almost Human (1974) which he followed up as the murderous Chaco in Four of the Apocalypse (1975). Euro-cinema declined in the 1980s and Milian relocated to the USA, however his sucess in Europe was not to help him and Milian ended up back on the small stage. Eventually he did return to the screen and has had mid-card roles in Revenge (1990), Fools Rush In (1997) and Traffic (2000)

With over 100 films to his credit, Tomas Milian was one of the big names in Euro-cult cinema with a broad range of characters and films to his name, proving himself amazingly versitile down the years - whether it was playing straight and farce, and everything from hero to anti-hero and pure villain.

The Bounty Killer (1966) Marketing Film Germany Region 0 DVD	Milian makes his Western debut in this cleverly written and well produced film with a brutal, reactionary theme Recommended to SW fans and decent for newcomers.
Companeros (1970) Anchor Bay USA Region 0 DVD	Milian shares the lead role in a fun, action western, with a strong plot, solid cast and production values. Highly recommended for fans and newcomers alike.
Death Sentence (1968) German Koch Media Region 2 DVD	Milian has the oddest role in a very strange and original film with unique soundtrack and direction plus a decent script. Recommended to fans who have 'seen it all'.
Django Kill... If you Live Shoot (1967) Blue Underground USA Region 0 DVD	Tomas Milian gives a strong lead performance as an enigmatic stranger in this twisted SW from Giulio Questi. Recommended to SW fans looking for something 'different'.
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) Blue Underground US Region 0 DVD	A very disturbing Giallo film, focusing around the theme of child murders in a small town, directed well, let down by some effects. Recommended to Giallo fans.
Four of the Apocalypse (1975) Anchor Bay USA Region 0 DVD	Milian plays the twisted villian in this strange, twisted and viciously violent film with lots of good ideas, but poorly executed. Of interest to fans, but not recommended.
Life is Tough, eh Providence? (1972) Ripley Home Video Italian Region 0 DVD	A standout leading performance is sadly not enough to lift this rather tiresome slapstick Spaghetti Western. Of interest to Milian fans, but not recommended.
Run, Man, Run (1968) Blue Underground USA Region 0 DVD	Milian plays a strong lead role in this well made but over-ambitiously scripted film. Partially recommended to political Western fans.
The White, the Yellow and the Black (1975) DVD Storm Italy Region 0 DVD	The decline of the Spaghetti Western is evident as Milian plays a horriblly steryotyped Japanese slave in this purile film. Not recommended.

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