Adiós, Sabata (1971)

See it -I bet you didn't know Yul Brynner was in a spaghetti western. Well this is one of my favorite spaghetti westerns, and it's as "spaghetti" as they come. You've got crazy-looking guns, plenty of camera close-ups, and even a cowboy who specializes in kicking musket balls at the enemy. An insanely fun western that will keep you entertained with its plethora of action-packed, over-the-top gunfights and battles. Brynner plays the stereotypical cowboy lead character, but the plot isn't stereotypical at all. The story takes place in Mexico, where a revolution is brewing against the Austrians. You know you want to see a movie featuring cowboys vs. Austrian soldiers! An underrated western that shouldn't be taken seriously, but should seriously be taken…home from the store…when you buy it. 5 out of 5 action rating

Adios sabata is basically an all guns blazing action movie. It is extremely high on action and the bodycout rockets. Among the action are lots of shootouts, fistfights, explosions, an ambush and an epic scale battle sequence.Yul Byrnner plays sabata this time round, but he's just as good as Lee Van Cleef. One of the best things about this movie is sabatas rifle which fires off several bullets and even houses one cigar.Adios sabata is just as cheesy as the first sabata movie, if not cheesier. The fight scenes, shootouts and deaths are spectacularly staged in spaghetti western B movie fashion.The battle between sabatas motley army and the austrian forces is one of the highlights of the film. It makes ear blasting use of cannons, rifles, dynamite and Gattling guns which is how a movie battle scene should be.The characters are very likable and are very well played. The theme tune is excellent. The best sabata movie and the best spaghetti western.This is a must see for anybody. A masterpiece

Writer / director Gianfranco Parolini's crisp follow up two years later was simply just another crack, but Lee Van Cleef wouldn't return. Instead we get Yul Brynner decked in black as our man the bounty hunter Sabata, who's quick with a gun. As much as I liked Van Cleef in the title role, a curt Brynner stuck with me more. As it's hard to take your eyes off the man. While the cold edge was there, the humane side still showed without really letting you in. This made his shady character a lot more mysterious. Although Van Cleef would return to the Sabata role in Parolini's next sequel "Return of Sabata".Hired gunslinger Sabata takes on a job to steal a wagon of gold from the Austrian army to help the fighting Mexican revolutionaries, but the job doesn't entirely go to plan. The narrative had some recurring themes that feel like they have been lifted right out of the original source. Despite the familiar staples, the pessimistic plot is never too straight-forward with its scheming, humour and there's a new gimmick or two (anyone up for stone marbles). The surprises are foreseeable, but its operatic style consists of flair and danger in a much more expansive manner. The shoot-outs (involving Mexicans and gun-runners) are mechanically staged, but there are some jarringly artistic shots, local flavour from the locations and sharp camera-work along with the bombastic music score. The way the camera presented some scenes, if would have you believing that maybe this was shot in 3D. That would have been interesting if so. The performances are spot on and fruitful in characterisations, as Parolini reuses some the actors from the original in different roles. Dean Reed works off Brynner quite well, which reminded me of the pairing of Van Cleef and Berger in Sabata. Too bad I found the latter to be better implemented though. Ignazio Spalla gives an animated turn as one of the Mexican revolutionaries and Gerard Herter is imposing as the gleefully sadistic Austrian Colonel Skimmel.Conventional, but capable Italian western."I play solo".

In his one and only venture into the pasta western, Yul Brynner finds himself succeeding Lee Van Cleef as the mysterious gunfighter Sabata who gets himself involved in Mexican politics in trying to overthrow the Emperor Maximilian. There hasn't been a film yet where the Juaristas aren't the good guys, even in Juarez where Brian Aherne made a sympathetic if somewhat naive Maximilian. It's such a clear case of imperialism.But Yul isn't a total good guy and he teams up with three partners to steal a shipment of gold from the occupiers and give it to the Juaristas ostensibly. Actually the four of them are only as good as they have to be. And they've got another along, an American played by the only American actor in Adios Sabata, Dean Reed, who has an agenda all his own who keeps a positively explosive diary.As most of us know even those who get their history from films, the Emperor Maximilian was an Austrian, but who was put on the newly created Mexican throne by the French and sustained by the French army. But here we have Austrian occupiers including an Austrian commander who also has a private agenda. I'm betting the producers were thinking that German types make so much better villains than the French.Sabata's distinguishing characteristic was a rife that he had a long holster for and drew like a revolver. This rife had a unique horizontal magazine from where the bullets came. But the last chamber always had a cigar which Yul would light up after a killing well done.I'm not a fan of spaghetti westerns and don't usually give them good reviews. It's the American genre and should be done by Americans. This one is no exception. But I will say that Yul Brynner's cynical look throughout the film is quite priceless.