Sabata viene a matar

Lee van Cleef is Sabata, yet another one of those bounty hunters and mavericks who populate the genre. During the story Sabata however interacts with people from all social classes which makes this spaghetti-western one of the most social ones. Specific to the Sabata series are the many special weapons which are not only used by Sabata himself but also by his evil opponents. Added to the rivalry of good Sabata and bad Stengel there is a third party competitor called Banjo (William Berger) who mostly helps Sabata but also wants more than his share of the bounty. Mr. Maltin (from the Guide) obviously hasn't seen this film well. Despite playing a high stake Sabata is not a gambler. This Western is fun.

Regarding the score the main theme is one of those tunes that catch you and don't give up soon. Cinematography is stylish, often with dark bluish foregrounds and natural-source(?) yellow-lighted backgrounds.

8 / 10.

Lee Van Cleef stars in the first of the Sabata films. Here he plays cat and mouse games with the leaders of a town who have attempted to steal an army payroll. Sabata stops their scheme and then attempts to blackmail them for his silence, a price that climbs with each failed attempt on his life.

This is a fun western full of great action, twists and wisecracks. Van Cleef is the perfect western hero, a man of few words (and most of them smart ass remarks) he is clearly up to something, although what it is is never fully apparent. He is enjoyably helped by Carrincha a large civil war hero who is forever broke, and his pal a tall silent acrobat. The pair make for one of the best sidekick teams I've ever run across. Also wandering through the film is William Berger as Banjo, a man of decidedly mercenary loyalties, who is Sabata's equal in cracking wise, and who is forever waiting for the right angle to act act upon.

I really liked this movie a great deal, even if it really isn't clear whats going on at times. The main flaw of the movie is that after the first twenty minutes the film simply becomes attempts to blackmail the town fathers by our hero and their attempts to kill him. There's nothing wrong with this since the see saw battle is excellently done, rather it just engenders a sense that you're missing something since you would think something more should be happening.

Definitely one of the better westerns of I've seen. This should be something that those with a desire for good action should seek out.

Sabata is another of the Spaghetti Western anti-heros & in this his first film he foils a bank robbery & then blackmails the ringleader. This is a great addition to any Spaghetti Western fans collection with all the classic elements, a good score, some great action & a cast of oddball characters. Sabatas cohorts include such characters as an acrobatic mute indian & best of all Banjo. The always excellent William Berger plays the ambiguous character of Banjo named after the instrument he always carries with him. This character is arguably more interesting than Sabata & should have had his own spin-off film. As in a lot of Spaghettis it is the interesting interplay between characters that is just as important as the plot. Sabata is no out & out hero nor is he a villain but is out for what he can get in the opportunity laden new frontier of the west. Despite this he does have his own moral code. Like many films of its type there is a vague political undercurrent, here we have the bourgeoisie at odds with the working class in the form of the corrupt rich official masterminding the crime to fund his land buying plan. This film has some great gadgets employed by Lee Van Cleef & others which I won't spoil by revealing. Van Cleef was a great actor tailor-made for the wild west & plays Sabata brilliantly here, clad in black & always one step ahead of his enemies, or is he? The only way to find out is to seek out a copy of this most entertaining Spaghetti Western.

Absolutely ridiculous, totally entertaining ultra-spaghetti western featuring one of entertainments greatest, and ugliest, bad guys - Lee Van Cleef. Here he plays one of his rare good guy roles as Sabata, the cool gunhand who toys with a huge gang, none of whom could put a slug in him. He, on the other hand easily shot and killed them by the bushel basket, using guns, dynamite, and the blade. If you like offbeat westerns with clouds of gunsmoke, and a ton of lead then this is the one for you.

There is nothing like a good spaghetti western to pass a Sunday afternoon, especially when Tiger has little chance of winning.

This one is particularly good, as it stars the great Lee Van Cleef as a bounty hunter who foils an attempt to rob $100,000 from the army.

Filled with lots of interesting characters like Banjo (William Berger), Carrincha (Ignazio Spalla), and Indio (Aldo Canti); more than a few laughs; and some amazing tricks and gun play by Van Cleef; it is just the thing for fans of the genre.

I have to note that it is a good thing that the bad guys led by Stengel (Franco Ressel) have unlimited resources, because they drop like flies at every attempt to kill Sabata.