Navajo Joe

Not without interest but this starts so well with some great long shots and then some startling up close violence and the story is unfolding as we struggle to keep up, and then it pretty much stops. We are introduced to a very young Burt Reynolds who looks pretty good with his horse and rifle but then we get to meet the baddie brothers and they seem far more interesting. Lovely old train but lame plot which necessitates the town's folk (who have said 'no' to guns) being able to do nothing except sit around and wait hoping that Joe will sort things out. Thing is we have to sit watching them sit. And so it plods on. There are a couple of spurts of nasty violence but the girls are wasted, criminally so in the case of Nicoletta Machiavelli and we are forced to imagine just how good this might have been.

Instead of slapping you in the face for not seeing Navajo Joe, Burt Reynolds is more likely to slap you in the face if you have seen Navajo Joe!

I saw a television interview once where Reynolds spoke very flippantly about it, basically saying that he was trying to imitate Clint Eastwood's (whom he replaced on the TV series "Rawhide") path to success by going to Europe and starring in a western. He went on to say that unlike Eastwood who got Sergio Leone, he was stuck with Sergio Corbucci.

While I understand Burt's disappointment that this didn't become a hit movie or do much to advance his career, I don't understand his embarrassment as this is actually a pretty decent picture and he did get to star in a movie, which most people don't get a chance to.

Sergio Corbucci is named by many as the next best thing to Leone, whose films are being rediscovered and re-appraised as classics of the genre. I'd say he did pretty good for a TV actor! (and this couldn't possibly be worse than Driven!)

The plot involves a brutal band of cutthroats led by menacing Spanish actor Aldo Sambrell, who go from killing Indians for profit to an attempt at robbing a train, thwarted by Navajo Joe who takes the train (and the loot) to it's intended destination and agrees to save the town from the now angry rampaging outlaws.

As far as Italian westerns and Sergio Corbucci films go, this is neither the best nor worst of either. It's worth watching and has a great score by an uncredited Ennio Morricone.

...Navajo Joe...directed by Sergio Corbucci.

I'd rate Navajo Joe a "must see"...for Spaghetti-heads, at least....although I wouldn't place it in my top 10 SW. Somewhere in my top 20's more like it.

It's certainly one of the least 'cartoonish' SW...the themes touched on in the movie are well chosen & well done....the score is soooooooo good............Reynolds is good in the part (he's half Cherokee Indian, by the way)........Joe is not your run of the mill SW character--> it's refreshing to have a hero (as opposed to hero/anti-hero) for a change...he's an 'assassin', & a good one...wiping out 40+ guys is no small feat.

The ending was handled well..& slightly ambiguously...there is room for speculation as to Joe's ultimate fate in the movie....although w/ a little thought...it's pretty clear...& adds to the film's quality & richness. The usual atrocious dubbing....occasionally some excellent dialogue will poke through.

Good one.

This movie was Burt Reynolds's second lead role in a theatrical feature film. This movie is also one of Quentin Tarantino's Top Twenty favourite spaghetti westerns.

Plot In A Paragraph: An Indian warrior called Navajo Joe (Burt Reynolds) seeks revenge on a gang of sadistic outlaws who has massacred the people of his tribe.

Aside from Reynolds the acting in this film is pretty mediocre. There s also pacing problems Burt Reynolds only agreed to make this film because he was under the impression that Sergio Leone would be directing. When he found out it was Sergio Corbucci he tried to pull out, but the contracts had already been signed and it was too late.

As a side note this is the first time Burt wears a wig in a movie, but that's more to do with him playing an Indian than the actual role.

Sergio Corbucci western with style to spare. Every good spaghetti western is a revenge story and this one's no exception. Burt Reynolds plays the title character Navajo Joe, who hunts down the men responsible for the death of his wife. Lots of violence amidst the attempts at profundity but it's all good fun. Try not to take it seriously and you'll enjoy it more. There is a cheese factor but, again, it's a spaghetti western so that comes with the territory. More so when you add Burt Reynolds to the mix. I don't care what anybody says, I love the Ennio Morricone score. I was humming "Nav-a-jo Joe Nav-a-jo Joe" for a long time after the movie ended.