I generally prefer the more macabre, grim spaghetti westerns, but this one manages to strike a primarily comedic note without becoming buffoonish. It's not a surprise that it was a hit, because while wildly original in any particular way, it nonetheless feels fresh, and all the actors seem to be enjoying themselves in nicely delineated roles.
Van Cleef's smirking cool is perfectly deployed, complemented by Ignazio Spalla's Sancho Panza-like sidekick. William Berger is great as sort of a droll Wild West beatnik (his bongos are a banjo-and his banjo is also a gun) whose loyalties are playfully perverse. Main villain Franco Ressel is detestable, yet underplayed enough that he doesn't QUITE become the homophobic cliche he keeps threatening to be. And brawny stuntman Aldo Canti (who was later killed due to his apparent mob connections) is fun as a serenely mute "injun" acrobat-a role so entirely physical it's almost like a dance performance. The women's roles aren't so hot, but hey--they never are in spaghetti westerns. It's interesting how completely marginalized the leading lady is compared to the intense chemistry between Santana and both the villain and frenemy Banjo, two relationships whose smirking, who's-the-cat-and-who's-the-mouse dynamic is almost like flirtation.
In terms of action and overall style, the film isn't remarkable, but it's above-average, and as played, the characters are so engaging this is the rare spag western that actually floats on the entertainment value of those (mostly adversarial) relationships. It's also got a very good, diverse score by Marcello Giombini that both utilizes and expands the usual sonic palatte for the genre. So many of these movies, particularly by this point, feel like clock-punching endeavors in which no one thought they were doing anything special, or even halfway decent. But "Sabata" feels like everyone involved actually thought they were making a good movie, and made an effort to rise to the occasion.
Van Cleef's smirking cool is perfectly deployed, complemented by Ignazio Spalla's Sancho Panza-like sidekick. William Berger is great as sort of a droll Wild West beatnik (his bongos are a banjo-and his banjo is also a gun) whose loyalties are playfully perverse. Main villain Franco Ressel is detestable, yet underplayed enough that he doesn't QUITE become the homophobic cliche he keeps threatening to be. And brawny stuntman Aldo Canti (who was later killed due to his apparent mob connections) is fun as a serenely mute "injun" acrobat-a role so entirely physical it's almost like a dance performance. The women's roles aren't so hot, but hey--they never are in spaghetti westerns. It's interesting how completely marginalized the leading lady is compared to the intense chemistry between Santana and both the villain and frenemy Banjo, two relationships whose smirking, who's-the-cat-and-who's-the-mouse dynamic is almost like flirtation.
In terms of action and overall style, the film isn't remarkable, but it's above-average, and as played, the characters are so engaging this is the rare spag western that actually floats on the entertainment value of those (mostly adversarial) relationships. It's also got a very good, diverse score by Marcello Giombini that both utilizes and expands the usual sonic palatte for the genre. So many of these movies, particularly by this point, feel like clock-punching endeavors in which no one thought they were doing anything special, or even halfway decent. But "Sabata" feels like everyone involved actually thought they were making a good movie, and made an effort to rise to the occasion.