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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Don't believe the hype!, 18 August 2000
Author: Curtis G. from Surf City, USA

I saw "Comin' At Ya!" when it was released in 1981. Remembering that it was highly entertaining, if cheesy, I happily threw down my 14 bucks for the DVD re-release. If you're thinking about buying it, three words: Don't do it.

Rhino has converted the film to the red/blue 3D process (as opposed to the polarization process--if you've seen the 3D movies at Disneyland or Universal Studios, you know what I mean), and the results are horrible. Not only does the 3D not work, the red and blue lenses ruin the color (red/blue 3D is better suited to black and white movies or monochromatic comic books). I gave up the glasses after ten minutes, muted the colors on my TV, and fast-forwarded to the fight scenes. It wasn't even worth the 14 dollars I paid for the DVD, and I'm taking it back.

I'm very disappointed with Rhino for even releasing the DVD with the shoddy 3D. It's as if someone said, "Yeah, the 3D doesn't work, but who cares? They'll buy it for the gimmick." If you absolutely must see it again, rent it or con a friend into buying it. Because it is absolutely not worth the money.

As for the movie itself--c'mon, rubber bats on wires; flaming arrows; spears bouncing along on half-taut wires as they come "right at you"? That's what 3D was made for. The director uses every excuse to throw things at the camera, and then some. Most of them defy logic. But it might make a good party game to predict what object on screen is going to come at you next.

"Comin' At Ya!" is pure 3D cheese, and I loved it. Just don't expect good 3D.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
The title says it all. More of a demo reel than a movie., 30 March 1999
Author: Terry Thome from Western PA

Made on a very low budget in 1981, Comin' At Ya! was the first successful full length 3D motion picture since Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (Or was it The Stewardesses?). It started an early 80's resurgence of 3D films that (unfortunately) quickly died due to bad, bad movies and poor projection. Believe it or not, this (along with Friday the 13th Part 3) is arguably the best of that batch.

The 80 minute plot (which, without the endless assault of blatant 3D effects, would probably clock in at just over a half an hour) is very slight. In an opening flashback, Hart and his girl Abilene rob a Wells Fargo bank, get attacked by mercenaries, get married and get attacked once again, this time by white slave traders who take Abiline and leave Hart for dead. Hart survives, though, and sets out to find her. The bad guys lump Abiline in with a group of other women that they intend to use, abuse, and sell into prostitution across the border into Mexico. Hart and his scottish preacher sidekick(?) capture the head bad guys brother and use him as leverage to get his new wife back.

Now, I don't know how seriously the filmmakers were taking this story because sometimes the film seems like it's trying to be funny and other times it's incredibly deadpan. I'd like to say it's a spoof of Sergio Leone's Italian oaters (The actor's mouths move in English, but are still dubbed over by voice over artists, the soundtrack is a complete Morricone rip off and the lead actor strives for Eastwood's man with no name personna), but I'm not completely sure of the intention. I am sure of what the film is, however. It is the most gimmicky 3D movie I've ever seen. Not 5 minutes pass without guns, daggers, arrows, sticks, spilling beans, baby asses (midway through a diaper change), rats, bats and soap bubbles flying out in your face. The last five minutes of the film are a recap of the more successful 3D effects spun together with footage of fireworks and pinwheels sparking and spinning against a black background. About 75% of it works, though. The rest come too close to the camera and causes eye strain. It's 3D movies like this that give the rest a bad name.

Don't misunderstand me. I was entertained by this film, make no mistake. It's hard not to be entertained by a film that doesn't want a single thought entering your head for its running time. It's a 3D movie equivalent to a porno film... If you've never seen a 3D movie before, don't start here (see House OF Wax first), but If you've seen the best, then it never hurts to see the rest. Oh, yeah, a six pack helps this one immeasurably.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Brilliantly restored 3D fun, 13 February 2011
9/10
Author: therealredkite from Germany

I've seen the premiere screening of the new restored version of Ferdinando Baldi's 3D western classic yesterday at the Berlinale. The film is notorious for launching the 3D revival in the early 80's but mostly disappeared from public movie consciousness with the classic 3D format almost 30 years ago. Thanks to the current 3D craze it is now finally comin' at ya again. And what a fun movie! I must say, I've never seen the original version. That was way before my time, so I can't tell how the classic 3D techniques worked out on that one, or, what actually got changed, but the new digital 3D restoration is absolutely brilliant! Even if the new version may enhance the smoothness of the 3D projection, you still have to keep in mind that the 3D effects itself were conceived and shot like this 30 years ago. Though we may now have new projection techniques, the movie is still an old one. But it is great fun to see how much inventiveness the filmmakers put in the stereoscopic possibilities of filmmaking at their time.

Unlike present 3D movies the 3D here is totally over the top and in your face. Baldi and Anthony used any possibilities they could think of to throw things at the camera, whether it made any sense in the story or not. It's 3D for the sake of 3D. The story is really just an excuse for having things moving right at the camera. "Comin' At Ya!" is as true to its title as you can possibly think of.

Obviously very often the 3D is just to much. You have things moving so close to the camera that neither the camera nor you can still focus on them and may hurt your eyes if you try. But still the effect is very impressive, mostly because it's just there for the effect - a quality (if I may say so) that contemporary 3D movies completely lack. If you watch "Tron" or a Pixar movie in 3D or 2D, it's not much difference actually. A little more space here and there, but that's it. "Coming At Ya!" will only work in 3D. There's simply no other reason to watch this film. And that's what makes it so much fun.

I won't repeat everything that the movie has coming at ya. Check the other reviews if you are curious. I just want to focus on some other aspects of the 3D in this movie that need some attention because Baldi and Anthony used some really neat tricks that modern 3D filmmakers could actually still learn from.

One is the enhanced slowness of the film. Modern cinema is very speed intense - fast movements, fast camera, fast cutting. And speed doesn't go well with 3D. The eye can't follow and you easily get a headache. That's why contemporary 3D filmmakers pull the camera back a little in action scenes. They don't want to lose the speed, but they sacrifice a lot of 3D for that. "Comin' At Ya!" does the complete opposite. There's a lot of slow motion and very slow camera pans in the film that totally enhance the impact of the 3D experience. Watch out for the extremely beautiful slow camera movements, usually close to the ground to give even more depth, making the lovely western sets so plastic even "Avatar" can't compare.

Slowness is essential to 3D, and we will probably (and hopefully) see a lot more of that in coming 3D productions. The ultra-kinetic fastness of contemporary blockbuster cinema is really not the right way to shoot in 3D. Having less to tell, like the almost non-existent plot in "Comin' At Ya!", obviously makes it a lot easier to take your time to immerse yourself in the 3D experience, what simply isn't possible with the totally over-scripted and over-dramatized Hollywood movies of today. Rarely I've seen a film that takes so much scenes an dialogue to tell so little story as "Tron Legacy". Or think of the endless talk-talk-talk in 3D animations like "Megaminds" and the Pixar stuff. I wish characters in modern Hollywood cinema, especially in the 3D films, could just shut up for a couple of minutes to let you experience. There is no dialogue in the first 15 minutes of "Coming At Ya!", and even later on you will mostly have weird sound effects, screaming and the beautiful music to accompany you while watching.

Films need to strip down their stories, take their time to really indulge into the 3D environment (which from the modern 3D films only "Avatar" mostly succeeded at) and, most of all, get a little more obvious on the 3D spectacle. Why would you want to watch a 3D movie if not for the 3D? Of course, "Comin' At Ya!" is more of a phantom ride than a consistent movie. It has more in common with the first movie experiences around 1900 when you went to a movie for the spectacle and not for the story (which often simply didn't exist), than with modern storytelling-cinema. But it's so lively, so vivid and so entertaining through its use of the 3D effects - sometimes blatantly over the top, sometimes just unbelievably beautiful composed - that it's just pure fun to watch.

I hope we will see more restored versions of classic 3D movies from the 50's to the 80's. "Comin' At Ya!" proves there is a lot to discover!

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
my first 3d movie, 9 November 2007
Author: pkalan70 from United States

I was born in 1977, and this movie was my first experience with 3d. I went with my brother (3 years older) and my dad. My dad was reading the paper and saw 3d, and he just had to take his two young sons. I was only 11 or 12, but I remember the theater guy trying to talk my dad out of it, because I think it was R, or maybe just the violence. I remember thinking it was cool, but really now only remember a scene where a topless old time prostitute shakes her boobs at the screen. And no, my dad didn't take away our glasses when that scene appeared, although I thought for sure that he would. I was reading the other comments, and know I vaguely remember arrows being shot at us and one scene where multiple knives where thrown. Man, am I glad for the internet, I have been trying to find this title for years. Maybe one day Ill take my kids.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Good stuff, 18 November 1999
6/10
Author: Superwonderscope from Brosville, France

The DVD edition in 3D, widescreen 2:35 and dolby surround is a must and gives credit to this good western.

A so-so screenplay with a hero exploring his dark side while he seeks revenge...but describing a bunch of helpless women screaming at the view of some poorly animated bats. A bit macho stuff, but quite professionally handled.

The essential is in the cinematography : not much dialogue but everything is on the screen, the images speak for themselves. They don't need dialogue to explain what's going on. In that way, Ferdinando BALDI is a great director: not many are capable of this.

As for the 3D, some actions are quite powerful (the explosions, the fire...) some others especially shot for the 3D experience then not necessary.

Victoria ABRIL brings a feminine touch which was really needed.

But a good entertainment indeed.

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A Fistful Of "Wo-o-o-o-oa-hhhhhhhhh", 11 May 2006
Author: boardwalk_angel from United States

By 1981, the heyday of the Spaghetti Western was over..that golden era finished..played out...& pretty much left for dead. A few interesting stragglers trickled out..."Mannaja" in '77..Lucio Fulci delivered "Silver Saddle" in '78.. & Michele Lupo's "Buddy Goes West" in '81. The previously bustling sets in Almeria & other Spanish locations were abandoned...& allowed to fall into disrepair. Director Ferdinando Baldi & Producer/Actor Tony Anthony, who ten years earlier had collaborated on adapting & bringing the blind swordsman "Zatoichi" to the Spaghetti West..resulting in the entertaining ........"Blindman",.............decided to do it again.......... filming a loose remake of Blindman in Spain.

Producer Tony Anthony decided to film it in 3-D...to give it life... to make it stand out...& that's precisely what it did. Originally called YENDO HACIA TI (GOING TOWARDS YOU) ,... Filmways picked up the film for North American distribution, re-named it COMIN' AT YA! ...it wound up making a bundle at the box office...grossing $12,000,000 in the USA...becoming the 23rd highest grossing Western ever among all post 1980-present Westerns... & sparking a modest 3D revival.

Anthony stars as H.H. Hart...who's not given any backstory but I'd project him as a former gunslinger. His wife, Abilene, is played by the gorgeous Victoria (TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!) Abril. Gene (TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS) Quintano plays the sleazy leader of the bad guys, Pike...unfortunately he plays it badly, in a terrible performance.. Quintano also had a hand in the script. Pike's fat, disgusting brother, Polk, is played by Ricardo (ARK OF THE SUN GOD) Palacios.

After an opening credits sequence in which beans spill all over the camera, bullets fire at the audience, a snake slithers out of a basket.., and hands reach out for the viewer's face... this recycled, slightly fiddled & diddled with clone of "Blindman"....... ....gets going as Hart embarks on a rescue mission after his wife is kidnapped, he lies shot & left for dead......the priest shot & killed... by the Thompson brothers (Gene Quintano, Ricardo Palacios)...in the little border chapel...as they exchange their vows...anticipating and influencing the chapel massacre in "Kill Bill".

We discover that the Thompsons & their gang have been kidnapping women all over the territory in order to sell them to Mexican brothels... taking them all down to Mexico to be sold to the highest bidder. Hart follows, carrying a pump shotgun , blasting his way through the bad guys, getting beaten up several times (an Anthony trademark...he always gets pummeled a lot). After capturing one of the brothers and giving him a beating. ..he then tracks down the other brother/rest of the gang, hoping to release the captive women...& save his wife. Release...escape..recapture..& murder ensue.

As Hart continues on his quest, we're treated to guys falling downstairs (in slooooow motion), spinning fiery pinwheels (for the five minute recap at the end), an attack of bats, spiders, scurrying (and hungry) rats, flaming arrows (the best part...& the 3D works), and even a baby's bare bottom.

As the gang kills time in a windswept ghost town waiting for Hart to show up ...it's an excuse for more gimmicks....yo-yos...paddleballs... playing cards flipped at you....as Hart, despite being greatly outnumbered... rides into town to save his wife....& exact his revenge. The explosive finale works well in 3D...or maybe I was just sufficiently cross eyed by that time.

The old, abandoned, crumbling, delapidated sets work well.......conveying an air of desolation & desperation.

Carlo Savina scored a lot of Spaghetti Westerns...all low budget "B" stuff. Here he contributes a spare, elegiac score......using ambient voices pleasingly. His best moments are during a 5 minute replay of its best 3D moments after the movie.....which I'm guessing was probably the original opening credits title tune.

I've always liked Anthony...although he never achieved the status of a Nero, Eastwood or a Garko ... he always gave a good performance...was one of the most likable SW "heroes"..as well as being a talented writer & producer.....& Baldi...never accorded the reverence of a Leone, a Corbucci.. always delivered the goods.......never afraid to take chances.

When presented in the theater...........viewers used polarized (gray lenses) to gain the 3-D experience. The DVD utilizes Anaglyph 3-D, centering around the wearing of glasses with red and blue lenses...to effect the illusion of depth. It's best to view the movie in a fully darkened room with the red lens over the right eye...as it appears to be Reverse Anaglyph. The close, foreground shots don't work too well...........the foreground objects that are supposed to loom out at you are always breaking up & tend to produce a "ghosting" effect, which ruins the overall illusion. ..The 3-D actually works best............producing pretty good depth effects, in the regular shots...the medium & background shots.

Could it stand on its own...w/out the 3d...something to be watched & watched again? No. The story...pretty much paint by numbers, point a--> point b--> point c.............doesn't warrant repeated viewings. That being said...I'll watch it again........not for the story..but for the 3D.

In 1983...Baldi & Anthony collaborated on another 3D movie.."Treasure of the Four Crowns "....which marked the final on-screen performance by Tony Anthony, though he continued working for a time as a television producer. From his experience working on the 3D film techniques for this movie, Tony Anthony now manufactures specialized lenses for the medical industry.

Grab some buttered popcorn......a Giant Coca-Cola...an x-large box of Junior Mints...& check it out.

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Nobody Make's Em Better Than Tony Anthony, 1 July 2009
10/10
Author: Van Roberts (zardoz@bellsouth.net) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Imagine what a vintage Spaghetti western bloodbath with sadistic dastards pitted against a savvy lone wolf hero who is a crack shot and then add 3-D, you've got the best adrenalin-laced western 3-D shoot'em in director Ferdinando Baldi's "Comin'At Ya" with "Stranger in Town" star Tony Anthony. This is one 3-D movie that lives up to its title. Baldi literally throws everything at you in this 91-minute western showdown. This is 3-D as it should have been done for the get-go. Unfortunately, Rhino Video got their fumbling fingers this masterpiece of atmospheric frontier violence and botched it as a DVD. I saw this movie in Jackson, Mississippi, when it came out in 1981 and it was terrific! Basically, Tony Anthony plays 'the Stranger' again but his wardrobe has improved. Anybody that loves Spaghetti westerns, Tony Anthony movies, and 3-D actioneer will crave this oater.

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2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Great Western in Great 3-D!, 14 February 2004
10/10
Author: dmc102 from Belfast, Northern Ireland

This film has to be seen in its original 3-D form. I loved it! It's a very undemanding film with a very simple story. The whole film is basically a veichle for 3-D effect after 3-D effect. Some of them are better than others. I particularly enjoyed the "flaming arrows" sequence and the "beans" shots. I immediately like Tony Anthony in the lead roll and Gene Quintano as the deliciously slimy villain. The movie is obviously low-budget, the dialogue is multi-lingual (there is a fair amount of dubbing) but the film is still convincing. I believe the film was shot in Spain, passing itself off as Mexico. It is usually sucesfull. In conclusion, this is a must see for all 3-D movie fans. So bad its good? So good its good!

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2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
The Movie that Started the 3-D craze in 80's!, 20 August 1999
Author: William (williamnorton316@hotmail.com) from Seattle, Washington

I don't know what sad ending the reviewer was talking about, for the bad guy Gene Quintano got what he deserve in the end. Tony Anthony (American who made a name in Italy in the Spagetti western days) plays a tough guy who's is shot at his wedding day at the church and his wife is kidnapped by outlaws lead by Gene Qunitano and gang. He goes on a one man crusade (with a help of a old irish guy) to go after the bad guys. Baby's bottom, bats, guns, and other stuff pop out of the screen with an excellent 3-D effect. There is a bonus in the end, where we see the highlights including a firework and a little kid blowing bubbles for some strange reason to make use of the 3-D effect. Filmways pictures did a strange commerical for the film that showed no footage of the film. The film had an early performance by Victoria Abril.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A movie with good 3D effects, 21 March 1999
Author: strider-12 from Pittsburgh, PA USA

This "polarized required glasses" movie has the best 3D effects that I have ever seen. I have seen it once back in the summer of '81 with a bunch of friends, and have been waiting for it to come to video. Some of the 3D effects will take you out of the storyplay at some points at times. I remember it had a sad ending, but overall, I did like the movie. If this movie comes to video, please leave a comment here.

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