Josef Roesler (madwand6) Every person in the movie seemed to be an irritable jerk. Is this actually how Spaniards are like, or is this just terrible Spanish acting? Either way, it was difficult to watch. So much bickering and complaining, what a bunch of whiners. I didn't make it to halfway through before I gave up.

Oslo Jargo (Bartok Kinski) *** This review may contain spoilers ****Plot and ending analyzed* I remember when I first saw the Executioner, it was in Spain in 1965. I was working as a stuntman in Spaghetti Westerns. It's a peculiar film, I don't think of it as so much a straight out Comedy, but more of a Comedy of social interaction. Remember, the brutal dictator Francisco Franco was in power at the time, thus they had to be quite subtle. There are hilarious scenes throughout; I kept thinking to myself there's plenty of grumpy people about in it, which makes it quite commendable and hilarious because you find them in the real world. The type of people who tell you to move or get away from a desk in some store or office, or people who make rude comments for no reason.The Executioner starts out with two guys who work at the morgue, picking up a stiff at the local prison who's just been executed. They see the prison executioner, who is an old man and the young morgue guy wants to avoid him because of the stigma involved. The old man executioner forgets his workbag. Well, the young morgue guy turns in his workbag to his apartment home and meets up with his daughter. They eventually get together and have a baby and get married. In order for them to have a residential apartment, the young morgue guy has to sign up as a executioner to get state benefits, but he's reluctant since it creeps him out so much.Eventually the prison calls him up to perform, and there's the crux of the matter. At that time, prisoners were executed by means of a garrote. It's like a metal harness and used to strangle a person.I thought the ending deviated a bit from my own expectations, but still, it wasn't terribly off. The Executioner might put off some audience expectations because it is a garrulous film. It gets tedious at times, but still pulls in above average. I liked the little jokes and comments made by rude people in the film. I don't think it was really a critique of the death penalty in my estimation, but one may be able to look at it in that manner.If you like foreign films, it's definitely worth a watch. One note, the synchronicity of the audio and the actors' mouths doesn't match, I don't know if it was just made that way or dubbed later with inept equipment. The film was an Iberian and Italian co-production, so maybe they were speaking Italian.There's not many extras, just a few and a booklet.Also recommended: La caza (1966) Surcos (1951) Plácido (1961) Viridiana (1961) Calle Mayor (1956) Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953) Ensayo de un Crimen (1955)

lasttimeisaw Spanish writer-director Luis García Berlanga's eighth feature film is a Spain-Italy co-production, stars Italian matinée idol Nino Manfredi as an unassuming undertaker, José Luis Rodríguez, whose marriage prospect is not so encouraging due to his profession. Through chance meeting with a senior prison executioner Amadeo (Isbert), he gets acquainted with his daughter Carmen (Penella), who is also pestered by the same pickle, no one is willing to marry her simply because of Amadeo's job, so the two chime in instantly and apparently it is a perfect match, but soon life put José through the wringer of a series of exigencies (Carmen's pregnancy, marriage and a thorny apartment issue), his ideal future where he can get rid of this disreputable trade becomes more and more unattainable, once he has been pushed to register as a successor of his father-in-law, aka. a new executioner is born.On the horns of a dilemma, José's predicament is wittily delineated through Berlanga's delightful verve, exerts a realistic spin on the irony of life, how one's ideal having been gradually crushed by the twist of fate. Manfredi's interpretation of José affects in earnest, he is spontaneously sympathetic to establish José as a nobody, stuck in the line of work which he doesn't like, exhibits his own foibles through his marriage, and lives by his blind faith that he could still opt out against the worst-case scenario, until his melt-down when the bubble is burst.Veteran Spanish actor José Isbert plays Amadeo enthusiastically, who is decidedly persevering in tricking José to take over his mantle, so as to secure the marriage and an apartment assigned from the government, he is manipulative on top of his goody-goody persona, but we cannot blame him for his simple-mined selfishness, plainly because that's the widespread mindset among most people in the world. As for Emma Fenella, her Carmen is an uncomplicated sort, maternal, down- to-earth and forges strong protection to the men in her life.The satirical connotation of morbidness seeps through the debate over the variations of death penalty (garrotte seems to be the most civilised choice), and a unanimous bias towards a now obsolete vocation. A vignette of José and Carmen's frugal wedding right after a fancier one, and the tour in Palma de Mallorca, where the lovey-dovey luxuriates in a string concert on the creek inside a large cave, exactly in that moment, José's duty call arrives, these are brilliant instances where realism meets cinematic creation, whether they are bittersweet, heartfelt or intriguing, together they bring about vigour and pleasure to the audience and it is a telling testimony of a director's faculty.

Henry Fields Another lesson of Berlanga about how to criticize the society avoiding censorship. "El Verdugo" looks like a comedy, sounds like a comedy, tastes like a comedy... But it is actually a fierce critic of the death penalty. The final sequence of this movie is one of the most brilliant ever (you cannot tell who's the criminal and who's the executioner!!!).And what to say about the great José Isbert?? He was a character himself, with that voice, and that physique. I don't know if he was a genius, I just can say that there will never be another actor like him.Berlanga + Azcona: an unbeatable team.*My rate: 10/10