I saw this Italian western under the title I AM SARTANA...YOUR ANGEL OF DEATH, which I suppose is just as good a title as SARTANA THE GRAVEDIGGER. It sounds very much like a dark and violent DJANGO rip off, but this spaghetti western is surprisingly light hearted. It's watchable enough as entertainment, no classic but a nice film to pass the time.
As is usual with this genre of film-making, it's the supporting faces who add real entertainment value. Gianni Garko is the heroic lead, a gunslinger who finds himself set-up by the villains so goes on a mission of revenge accompanied by his larger than life buddy, played by Frank Wolff. Late into the film comes Klaus Kinski in yet another genre appearance, playing a gambler, and rest assured he's as bizarre as always. There's also a strong turn for former peplum star Gordon Mitchell playing a typical bad guy character with aplomb. Expect plot twists galore, plenty of action, and a score that sounds suspiciously like Morricone...all par for the course, then.
As is usual with this genre of film-making, it's the supporting faces who add real entertainment value. Gianni Garko is the heroic lead, a gunslinger who finds himself set-up by the villains so goes on a mission of revenge accompanied by his larger than life buddy, played by Frank Wolff. Late into the film comes Klaus Kinski in yet another genre appearance, playing a gambler, and rest assured he's as bizarre as always. There's also a strong turn for former peplum star Gordon Mitchell playing a typical bad guy character with aplomb. Expect plot twists galore, plenty of action, and a score that sounds suspiciously like Morricone...all par for the course, then.