"Il soldato di ventura" or "Soldier of Fortune" or "Hector, der Ritter ohne Furcht und Tadel" is a co-production between Italy and France in the Italian language and this film came out back in 1976, so it has its 45th anniversary this year. Of course, you can see on the film's poster already that this movie is another Bud Spencer film, but I shall get to him later. Sadly, the poster looks a lot more fun than the movie eventually came up with. But now with the basics: It runs for not much over 1.5 hours and is thus not a particularly long films. Spencer has done many longer movies and not too many shorter films. The poster as well as the title, at least the German title make it obvious that the outcome here takes place several centuries back in the past during the days of knights and damsel, even if the latter are not really featured too much in this film. Instead it ended up being about fights between guys. The director is Pasquale Festa Campanile and he was already an Oscar nominee at that point because he got in at the Academy Awards over a decade earlier. On his photo he looks a bit like Laurence Olivier. Anyway, has more writing credits than directing credits, so he is also one of the writers for this film, an amount that is higher than I expected for sure. Then again, I have seen the same on other Bud Spencer films and also on other Italian films in general. They love to have many writers I think, more often than most other countries. The director and writer here, the aforementioned Pasquale Festa Campanile, did not get lucky though. Not at the Oscars and also not later in life because he died quite some time before his 60th birthday, so did not reach an old age or anything. I also think he did not work with Spencer on other occasions or at least not too frequently and maybe this is why this movie here feels a bit of an unusual Spencer film, not only in terms of the setting. It tried to tell more of a story than it should have, especially because the story was not really great.
Okay, I mentioned Spencer several times already and I must say that he looks really young to me here, almost on the handsome side, which is definitely a bit unusual for him and his characters, but he was nonetheless already closer to the age of 50 than to the age of 40, which means that he was not that young anymore. Maybe it was his hair that was curlier than usual and maybe they also did their best with the make-up department to show him as the alpha male leader of a group of soldiers. These were a bunch of misfits though, so this is really a component not unusual at all for Spencer movies. I cannot say as much about the cast as I would like to, but most of the actors here are Italian. Some Frenchies in it too, which makes sense because the French play a vital role in this movie from the historic perspective. Enzo Cannavale is in it again too and if you have seen other Spencer stuff, especially the Rizzo movies, then you will easily identify him. He is alright. The one I personally am always more happy to see though is Riccardo Pizzuti, who is still with us in 2021 and I am glad about that. He is one I always like to see and he is very easy to spot with his physicality in Spencer movies. And he has been in quite a few of those. He is also always one of the bad guys. He may be Italian, but here he is French. I wish his part could have been bigger though, just like in other films because his role here is minimal. Blink and he may be gone. As for the rest I cannot say a lot. If you care, ask Italian film buffs or check out the cast's body of work. Many performers here have been very successful and experienced despite me not knowing them.
Another thing that can be said here is that you will almost never find a Bud Spencer movie in which he plays an actually existing character. But here he does with Ettore Fieramosca. I am not a historian, so I cannot elaborate on that any further, but I see Fieramosca did not even make it to 40 (okay, not too surprising with the tumultuous times there), so maybe that is the reason why they did all they could to make Spencer seem really young here. Spencer movies also pretty much every single tiime have a happy ending and this is also the case here as we see him above his main rival and his little team of misfit knights actually achieved glory lead by their master. The moment in which they praise Spencer's character like that also felt a bit too much honestly. Like it may be accurate, but I always prefer it when he comes off as modest and less in the limelight or at least not enjoying the glory too much, but more on the humble side, even if it may be massive glory. But despite how gruesome these battles may have been in reality back in the 15th and 16th century, you will also not see people die in here, no blood, no graphic violence. But if you have seen other stuff including Spencer, then you know that. People constantly get knocked out, but nobody is ever hurt really seriously, let alone killed. So Spencer once again delivers with his fists here for the most part. This also applies to a moment when he comes to help one of his buddies, a younger man from his squad, as he is pushed repeated underwater by one of the bad guys. This is when Spencer's character shows up and the tables are turned. Now this moment actually could have been critical if the bad guy really lost his conscience and is underwater. But I don't know. Maybe they brought him back later too to show he is okay. The actor did not have a face I really remembered.
What else can be added? Oh yes, I think the final battle sequence was alright. It was the usual fun we can expect from Spencer/Pedersoli films. I guess many people who rated the movie 6/10 or even higher here on imdb forgot about the really, really long segments of mediocrity before that. Most of it felt downright boring because the lengthy dialogues added almost nothing and the story was not really getting the flow either. I did not enjoy it and this is the reason why this is one of my least Spencer films I believe. The costumes and sets may have been okay, but this is really not key. Luckily, towards the end, things do get a little better and, as I stated earlier, the really long battle scene was alright. It also had a touch of Braveheart or 300 (the best moments from this forgettable film) especially in the early phases of the final battle, so you could see that with this one here, they also did not go for the really light road, at least not early on. The longer it went, the lighter it became as we were heading towards the expected outcome. I mean obviously you should not expect realism here because the protagonist's gang never would have won this battle in reality, but this is maybe why it may not be the best idea to come up with a film that it is at least supposed to be partially linked to historic facts. Spencer is most fun when his movies do not take themselves seriously one bit. Oh and of course, one thing I haven't mentioned yet is that this is not a Spencer/Hill movie. Can be added because by that time they were working together frequently.
So yeah, I guess if you have seen everything else starring Spencer, then you can also give this one a watch, especially if you care for the time and conflicts depicted in here, but keep your expectations low. I personally felt that the movie frequently seemed to be moving too far away from Spencer's character and when it returned to him, it was not a revelation either. Occasionally, he does not feel as much in the center of the film as the title and imdb poster make it seem like. With way under 2,000 ratings here on imdb, this is also one of the less seen Spencer films. Or actually, there are many with even fewer ratings, but these are not from his glory days and also not as often on television as this one here. So it is pretty telling. And also pretty accurate because this is never (except here and there in the last 30 minutes) a movie you should really invest a lot of time in to find it. It is not good enough for that. Which is a pity. I am not sure if it was the director's idea to take a different path here or if it was Spencer's, but it did not work out too well. In any case, I am glad that Spencer returned to his usual route afterwards again and focused on the fun component with films that mostly took place in the now again. Or what was the now back in the 1970s and 1980s I should say. I really adore the man and I love his gigantic filmography and I am grateful that many of his movies are still on television, at least here in Germany, from time to time. Nonetheless, I must give this one a thumbs-down right now. Have seen many Spencer movies in recent weeks and months and this is a contender for the one I like the least. I really wish it could have had better focus and better writing and more fun. The music was nice though, from the very start already. Go skip the watch I'd say, unless you're a bigger Spencer fan like myself and that would be quite a challenge.
Okay, I mentioned Spencer several times already and I must say that he looks really young to me here, almost on the handsome side, which is definitely a bit unusual for him and his characters, but he was nonetheless already closer to the age of 50 than to the age of 40, which means that he was not that young anymore. Maybe it was his hair that was curlier than usual and maybe they also did their best with the make-up department to show him as the alpha male leader of a group of soldiers. These were a bunch of misfits though, so this is really a component not unusual at all for Spencer movies. I cannot say as much about the cast as I would like to, but most of the actors here are Italian. Some Frenchies in it too, which makes sense because the French play a vital role in this movie from the historic perspective. Enzo Cannavale is in it again too and if you have seen other Spencer stuff, especially the Rizzo movies, then you will easily identify him. He is alright. The one I personally am always more happy to see though is Riccardo Pizzuti, who is still with us in 2021 and I am glad about that. He is one I always like to see and he is very easy to spot with his physicality in Spencer movies. And he has been in quite a few of those. He is also always one of the bad guys. He may be Italian, but here he is French. I wish his part could have been bigger though, just like in other films because his role here is minimal. Blink and he may be gone. As for the rest I cannot say a lot. If you care, ask Italian film buffs or check out the cast's body of work. Many performers here have been very successful and experienced despite me not knowing them.
Another thing that can be said here is that you will almost never find a Bud Spencer movie in which he plays an actually existing character. But here he does with Ettore Fieramosca. I am not a historian, so I cannot elaborate on that any further, but I see Fieramosca did not even make it to 40 (okay, not too surprising with the tumultuous times there), so maybe that is the reason why they did all they could to make Spencer seem really young here. Spencer movies also pretty much every single tiime have a happy ending and this is also the case here as we see him above his main rival and his little team of misfit knights actually achieved glory lead by their master. The moment in which they praise Spencer's character like that also felt a bit too much honestly. Like it may be accurate, but I always prefer it when he comes off as modest and less in the limelight or at least not enjoying the glory too much, but more on the humble side, even if it may be massive glory. But despite how gruesome these battles may have been in reality back in the 15th and 16th century, you will also not see people die in here, no blood, no graphic violence. But if you have seen other stuff including Spencer, then you know that. People constantly get knocked out, but nobody is ever hurt really seriously, let alone killed. So Spencer once again delivers with his fists here for the most part. This also applies to a moment when he comes to help one of his buddies, a younger man from his squad, as he is pushed repeated underwater by one of the bad guys. This is when Spencer's character shows up and the tables are turned. Now this moment actually could have been critical if the bad guy really lost his conscience and is underwater. But I don't know. Maybe they brought him back later too to show he is okay. The actor did not have a face I really remembered.
What else can be added? Oh yes, I think the final battle sequence was alright. It was the usual fun we can expect from Spencer/Pedersoli films. I guess many people who rated the movie 6/10 or even higher here on imdb forgot about the really, really long segments of mediocrity before that. Most of it felt downright boring because the lengthy dialogues added almost nothing and the story was not really getting the flow either. I did not enjoy it and this is the reason why this is one of my least Spencer films I believe. The costumes and sets may have been okay, but this is really not key. Luckily, towards the end, things do get a little better and, as I stated earlier, the really long battle scene was alright. It also had a touch of Braveheart or 300 (the best moments from this forgettable film) especially in the early phases of the final battle, so you could see that with this one here, they also did not go for the really light road, at least not early on. The longer it went, the lighter it became as we were heading towards the expected outcome. I mean obviously you should not expect realism here because the protagonist's gang never would have won this battle in reality, but this is maybe why it may not be the best idea to come up with a film that it is at least supposed to be partially linked to historic facts. Spencer is most fun when his movies do not take themselves seriously one bit. Oh and of course, one thing I haven't mentioned yet is that this is not a Spencer/Hill movie. Can be added because by that time they were working together frequently.
So yeah, I guess if you have seen everything else starring Spencer, then you can also give this one a watch, especially if you care for the time and conflicts depicted in here, but keep your expectations low. I personally felt that the movie frequently seemed to be moving too far away from Spencer's character and when it returned to him, it was not a revelation either. Occasionally, he does not feel as much in the center of the film as the title and imdb poster make it seem like. With way under 2,000 ratings here on imdb, this is also one of the less seen Spencer films. Or actually, there are many with even fewer ratings, but these are not from his glory days and also not as often on television as this one here. So it is pretty telling. And also pretty accurate because this is never (except here and there in the last 30 minutes) a movie you should really invest a lot of time in to find it. It is not good enough for that. Which is a pity. I am not sure if it was the director's idea to take a different path here or if it was Spencer's, but it did not work out too well. In any case, I am glad that Spencer returned to his usual route afterwards again and focused on the fun component with films that mostly took place in the now again. Or what was the now back in the 1970s and 1980s I should say. I really adore the man and I love his gigantic filmography and I am grateful that many of his movies are still on television, at least here in Germany, from time to time. Nonetheless, I must give this one a thumbs-down right now. Have seen many Spencer movies in recent weeks and months and this is a contender for the one I like the least. I really wish it could have had better focus and better writing and more fun. The music was nice though, from the very start already. Go skip the watch I'd say, unless you're a bigger Spencer fan like myself and that would be quite a challenge.