Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

They Call Me Trinity Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 5, 2018

Note: This film is available as part of the Trinity Twin Pack.

According to the frequently questionable Wikipedia, over six hundred so-called “European westerns” were made between 1960 and 1978, though in typical Wikipedia fashion it’s left unclear as to how many of these were so-called “Spaghetti westerns”, i.e., Italian made efforts that became legendary with the now iconic collaborations between Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood and Ennio Morricone (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). Fans of this kind of odd subgenre will probably know that many Spaghetti westerns are not exactly masterpieces, and in fact quite a few of them seem to have been made simply to cash in on the box office phenomenon created (or at least encouraged) by Leone and Eastwood’s contributions. Two of the more successful films in this particular niche, though, both in terms of audience approval and just overall sensibility, are They Call Me Trinity from 1970 and its follow up, Trinity is Still My Name from 1971. This appealing duo is considerably lighter in tone than most of Leone’s oeuvre, offering Terence Hill as Trinity, a man with a name (so to speak), but a gunslinger who has a kind of amiably goofy personality, one which tends to make both Trinity films play a good deal more comically than The Man with No Name Trilogy. The films have had a somewhat spotty history in terms of home video releases, due perhaps in part to the fact that at least They Call Me Trinity reportedly lapsed into public domain status. Hen’s Tooth Video has now released both Trinity on films on Blu-ray for domestic consumption (there are evidently some previous global releases, none of which have received very good marks from videophiles), allowing longtime fans and new “initiates” to discover a somewhat different “take” on Spaghetti western tropes.

Frank Sinatra may have famously been called Ol’ Blue Eyes, and Paul Newman arguably had the most famous set of bright blue eyes in the history of film, but for another steely intense blue gaze, one need look no further than Terence Hill as Trinity, and in fact it’s Hill’s sheer charismatic physical presence that gives the two Trinity films a somewhat more free wheeling, loosey-goosey style that is considerably different than the Leone — Eastman outings. One of the signature images of both films is Trinity being dragged around behind a horse on a contraption called a travois, a kind of cotlike assembly that is lashed to the horse. Trinity seems almost oblivious to this precarious state of affairs, and throughout this film and its follow up, the character regularly evinces a charming nonchalance even as chaos regularly breaks out around him.

The first real scene of the film quickly establishes some of Trinity’s defining characteristics, including a certain lack of social graces (he consumes an inordinate amount of food in an absurdly quick amount of time), but also his quick apprehension of what’s going on around him, something that’s coupled with lightning quick reflexes. It turns out some of the people also at the wayside where Trinity ends up may have actually been tracked there by Trinity (at least that’s the sense I have), and he quickly takes charge of a hapless and wounded Mexican man whose bullying American “chaperones” are bounty hunters.

Trinity takes the wounded prisoner (who really serves no actual function in the plot) to a town where Trinity, in true nonchalant fashion, watches as the local Sheriff, a guy named Bambino (Bud Spencer) is confronted by a bunch of street toughs who work for local villain (that’s a job description, isn’t it?) Major Harriman (Farley Granger). Trinity seems somewhat bemused to be witnessing this showdown, but much as Trinity dispatched the two bounty hunters in the first vignette, Bambino takes out three bad guys while barely batting an eyelash. Not so surprisingly, Trinity and Bambino turn out to be brothers, and one of the prime enjoyments of both this film and Trinity is Still My Name is the bantering interplay between Hill and Spencer. One of the kind of ironically funny things about the relationship between the brothers is that Bambino is supposedly the "responsible" one, though an early revelation (hinted at below, so forewarned is forearmed) shows quite clearly that the siblings have more in common than perhaps either of them think.

Perhaps because I grew up in Utah, I’ve always found They Call Me Trinity’s plot kind of amusing since it actually ends up concerning Mormon settlers who are being threatened by Major Harriman. There’s even another subplot involving a potential plural marriage involving Trinity, though the Mormons' well known industriousness might suggest that this is not a match (or matches) made in heaven, given Trinity's somewhat lackadaisical approach toward things like, you know, work. One other sidebar involves Bambino, who might be thought of as a wild west precursor to Lucas Hood in Banshee. The film has a few requisite set pieces, with Granger making for a natty and nasty nemesis, but more whimsical proclivities tend to dominate, especially when Trinity’s “slacker” instincts get challenged.

They Call Me Trinity Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

They Call Me Trinity is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Hen's Tooth Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Depending on your history with this title on home video, you might either be substantially pleased or at least partially let down by the look of this transfer. The good news and the bad news is that there has obviously been no restoration done to whatever element was used. That means that there's a generally very organic look here, with no signs of degraining or other digital tweaks (grain does occasionally look a bit on the mottled side, as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review). That also means that a variety of age related wear and tear has not been addressed, leading to manifest occurrences of flecks, specks, and other signs of damage. The palette is quite nice looking (better than some of the screenshots accompanying this review might suggest), but it still looks like things have faded slightly, with a sometimes brownish cast underlying things. Clarity is occasionally variable, and in fact it looks like there are actual focus pulling issues on display on occasion.

They Call Me Trinity Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

They Call Me Trinity features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track that has occasional slight issues with distortion and crackling, but which generally delivers the dialogue, effects and score with decent if never really overwhelming force. I'm assuming this film was completely post-dubbed, as tended to be the case with Italian cinema in those days, something that gives some of the dialogue moments a kind of surreal feeling. There's a bit of a boxy sound to some of the effects (notably things like gunshots), but on the whole this track is probably at least marginally better sounding than the one on Trinity Is Still My Name!.

They Call Me Trinity Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:58) is sourced from older video with some noticeable interlacing issues.


• Photo Gallery (1080p; 00:39)

They Call Me Trinity Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

They Call Me Trinity is lighthearted escapist fare, one that really doesn't even rely on its "wild west" setting all that deliberately to derive its entertainment value. Hill and Spencer are well matched in this tale that truly never really amounts to very much, but which is frequently scenic and just as often gently amusing (if perhaps never really laugh out loud hilarious). Video and audio both have some passing issues, but my hunch is longtime fans of this title will be generally well pleased with this release. Recommended.