Wily top gunslinger Sartana (a typically excellent portrayal by Gianni Gark) gets falsely accused of robbing a bank. Sartana must find the real robbers in order to clear his name. Meanwhile, a bunch of ruthless bounty hunters are eager to bag Sartana in order to collect the hefty prize money placed on his head. Director Giuliano Carnimeo, working from a clever and involving script by Tito Carpi, Enzo Dell'Aquila, and Ernesto Gastaldi, keeps the crafty plot moving along at a constant swift pace, maintains a playfully quirky tone throughout, further spices things up with a nice sense of wickedly amusing sardonic humor, and stages the thrilling shoot-outs with considerable skill and brio (the opening bank robbery set piece is especially daring and exciting). The cast have a field day with their colorful roles: Frank Wolf contributes a lively and engaging performance as Sartana's loyal fellow sharpshooter partner Buddy Ben, the always interesting Klaus Kinski is a sleazy treat as slimy and effeminate luckless gambling addict Hot Dead, and Gordon Mitchell makes a strong impression as the fearsome and lightly crazed Deguejo. Giovanni Bergamini's crisp and agile cinematography boasts a lot of fierce whiplash pans and crazy tilted camera angles. The twangy and dynamic score by Vasili Kojucharov and Elsio Maneuso hits the rousing spot. A very solid and satisfying spaghetti Western.
Review of I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
