Adios Sabata (1970)

Original title: Indio Black, sai che ti dico: Sei un gran figlio di...

Director: Gianfranco Parolini

Writers: Gianfranco Parolini, Renato Izzo

Composer: Bruno Nicolai

Starring: Yul Brynner, Dean Reed, Ignazio Spalla, Gerard Herter, Salvatore Borghese, Franco Fantasia, Joseph P. Persaud, Andrea Scotti, Nieves Navarro

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Sabata Aims to Kill

Plot: Gunslinger Sabata is hired by Mexican revolutionaries to rob a transport of Austrian gold, but is tricked by the colonel of a local garrison who keeps the gold for himself, underestimating the lengths to which Sabata will go to get his pay.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

I remember this one being less fun than the other two Sabata pictures with Lee Van Cleef but now I find it just as fun.  It's probably because Yul Brynner is so damn serious and self aware.  It's like he poses for every scene he's in.  He rarely looks anyone in the eye and instead gazes off into the distance when spoken to.  It's an unintentionally hilarious performance but I love it.  The supporting cast is fun, too.  Dean Reed (as Ballantine) looks like he's having a lot of fun.  I'd swear he's smiling in every scene. Look up his bio on IMDb.  He was a really interesting character.  Then there's the two helpers of Escudo, Gitano (Fantasia), who does the Flamenco dance of death (LOVE IT), and Septiembre (Borghese), who literally has steel balls of death.  Those silent cats were fun.  Bruno Nicolai's main theme and score rank up there with some of the best in the Spaghetti Western genre.  Director Parolini throws in a lot of really cool camera shots that don't seem all that flashy considering everything else that's going on.  Fun flick.