Navajo Joe

"Navajo Joe" is a spaghetti Western from 1966 starring Burt Reynolds as the titular Native warrior who seeks revenge on a gang of sadistic outlaws who massacred his wife and tribe.

They say Italians have been making the worst movies for a hundred years, but "Navajo Joe" is pretty good for a spaghetti oater. In an interview Reynolds admitted that he took Clint Eastwood's example (whom he replaced on the TV series "Rawhide") by going to Europe and starring in an Italian Western; unlike Eastwood who got Sergio Leone, however, Burt got Sergio Corbucci.Despite this, Reynolds was in his prime and looks robust; being a stuntman, he did all his own stunts, which is impressive when you view the movie.

Other highlights include the typically outlandish but memorable score by Ennio Morricone (pseudonymously credited as Leo Nichols), which is reminiscent of his later score for "Burn!" and raven-haired Nicoletta Machiavelli as Estella, a half-breed who takes a liking to Joe. Other than this, the typical revenge plot moves right along for a fairly entertaining 60's European Western where the dubbed voices don't match the lips. "Navajo Joe" may not be great, but it's amusing enough.

The film runs 93 minutes and was shot in Spain.

GRADE: B

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.

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.

For money, for pleasure, for revenge , he doesn't care why he kills or how ¡ . The sole survivor , named Navajo Joe (Burt Reynolds who wore a black toupe hairpiece), of a slaughter and atrocity executes a single-handedly revenge , as he slashes, burn , ravages and kills each person involved in the massacre . He is relentless in his vendetta , deadly in his violence . The conflict is a simple one between avenger Indio and oppressors , nasty bandits (Aldo Sambrell , among others). Meanwhile , Navajo Joe aids an unappreciated although terrorized little town called Esperanza City in the process . The town is inhabited by important people as the banker named Blackwood (Angel Alvarez of Django) , the priest(Fernando Rey of Return Magnificent Seven) , the doctor (Peter Cross) and a gorgeous mestizo girl (Nicoletta Machiavelli) , among others. Navajo is submitted a tempestuous trap and is caught up and he suffers incredible tortures .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonist Burt Reynolds and the enemy Aldo Sambrell and his hoodlums. Burt Reynolds is fine , he ravages the screen , he jumps, bounds and leaps, hits and runs ; besides receiving violent punches , kicks , lashes and is ultimately hung . Reynolds told this one is his worst film but I think it turned out to be a good Spaghetti Western . Producer Dino De Laurentiis made this with the intention of replicating the success of For a fistful of dollars (1964) after that movie had become a box-office hit . De Laurentiis wanted to find an American actor to rival Clint Eastwood's popularity. Reynolds had appeared in TV westerns and was part Cherokee Indian . De Laurentiis persuaded Reynolds to sign on. Aldo Sambrell as a cruelly baddie role is terrific , this is his only acting as starring , subsequently the would play very secondary or minimum characters . Furthermore, there appears usual secondaries Italian/Spanish Western as Alvaro De Luna , Simon Arriaga , Rafael Albaicín ,Lorenzo Robledo, and , of course , Fernando Rey in his ordinary role as priest . The film blends violence , blood , tension , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts or stunts every few minutes . There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction as Ruggero Deodato, future Cannibal Holocaust, and production designer Eduardo De la Torre Fuente who creates an excellent scenario with barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on the Indian cemetery . The musician Ennio Morricone , Lee Nichols, composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted ; it's full of guttural sounds and Indian screams. Striking cinematography by Silvano Ippoliti in Technicolor, Techniscope with negative well processed . Interior filmed at Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, Studios Rome and outdoor sequences filmed at Torremocha, Colmenar, Guadix and of course Almeria, Spain.

Sergio Corbucci's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and too much action, other Westerns he filmed contained broad comedy . He made several Spaghetti classics : ¨ Django¨, ¨The great silence¨, ¨Hellbenders¨, ¨The specialist¨ , and Zapata Western as ¨The Mercenary¨, ¨The Compañeros¨ and ¨What am I doing in middle of the revolution¨ . In addition Sergio directed other inferior S.W. as ¨Far West story¨ ,¨Johnny Oro¨, ¨The white the yellow an the black¨ and ¨Minnesota Clay¨ .

Sergio Corbucci is regarded as the best spaghetti western director after Sergio Leone. This is a reputation well-earned after the important and iconic Django and his later masterpiece The Great Silence, which remains one of the best westerns ever made. Navajo Joe was a film he made earlier in his career from the period when the Italian western was in its early years. In fairness, it pales somewhat in comparison to those other two films and it's a more standard spaghetti western overall.

It's probably most famous for starring Burt Reynolds. He was hardly a name you would associate with this kind of thing but in this one he plays the titular anti-hero. He resembles a lot of other lead characters from spaghetti westerns who seemed to be loners with almost super-human combat skills; however, he differs in one significant way in that he is an Indian. It wasn't very common at all for Italian westerns to feature Native Americans in any capacity far less in a lead role. Reynolds actually even looks like an Indian as well. He is okay in the role otherwise though but nothing especially great, although his character is hardly the most well-written one ever. Seemingly Reynolds has dissed this film in public which seems somewhat harsh to me as it's a decent film and he did star in the Cannonball Run films after all but then again he has also bad mouthed another of his later films, Boogie Nights, a movie that is exceptionally good. So perhaps we shouldn't pay too much attention to Burt's taste in these matters.

Like lots of other films of this type, the story is revenge themed. Joe comes to the rescue of a small town terrorised by some bandits. The criminals have hitherto been used to killing Indians for a dollar a head but have now moved onto robbing a train for a much larger sum. Despite the townsfolk having anti-Indian sentiments, Joe helps them but at a cost and also because it is convenient with his plans for revenge on these bandits. Quite frankly, the story is pretty pedestrian. It has a fairly interesting underlying anti-racism message but mostly it's unremarkable. Neither Joe nor the villains are especially interesting. The best character for me was Estella, played by the beautiful Nicoletta Machiavelli but she is pretty peripheral. There is a lot of bloody action for sure but it isn't that memorable. The most striking moment – it you can forgive the pun – was when one of the bad guys gets a flying axe embedded in his head. Like a lot of similar productions, this one benefits from a score by Il Maestro himself, Ennio Morricone. In the final analysis, Navajo Joe is a fairly workman-like spaghetti western but will certainly offer something to fans of the sub-genre.