A Batalha Final dos Apaches

Before a peace contract with the natives will be signed, Captain Bradley and a bunch of outlaws try and sabotage it by faking Indian attacks on settlers. Old Shatterhand and Winnetou start searching for the members of this conspiracy.

It is a little bit strange that the movie doesn't really click, because it has all the ingredients of a typical Karl May western of that period, plus a perfect cast with Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, Daliah Lavi and Ralf Wolter as the good guys, facing excellent villains (Guy Madison, Rik Battaglia). It is somewhat too long with two hours for a rather straight story, and with its occasional brutality (even murder of a child) and carelessness for detail never develops the sense of magic that was typical for the best contributions to the series. Ultimately a disappointment.

To my mind, it s the best movie about Winnetou. It's less romantic than Harald Reinls films about Winnetou. It's more realistic. But it is unforgettable. Pierre Brice's Winnetou is fascinating. It's simple, but noble and very convincing. Especially the scene in which he find his dead son Tujunga, is very touching. His antagonists are strong characters. Guy Madison, Rik Battaglia Mirko Ellis. Sam Hawkens (Ralf Wolter) is a vivid character as always. Daliah Lavi is exotic as Paloma. Lex Barker isn't a very interesting actor, but he has a right figure and face for Shatterhand. This movie have the very best 2 man's fighting scene (Winnetou and the Comanche's's chief) and the best big battle's scene in Winnetou movies. Only the music isn't so good as music of Peter Thomas ("Winnetou and sein freund Old Firehand") and Martin Boettcher (other Winnetou movies).

As other reviewers have already pointed out, this sure is not the best movie in the series. The cast is actually with the usual suspects and a refreshing Dalilah Lavi. And she is the one who gives us a first in the Karly May movies, she shows some fur and takes a nude bath ;-)

Unfortunately this movie is very bad. It is written poorly by people who have never read Karl May. It is filmed pretty badly, too. After the success of "Winnetou I" the other big german producer, Brauner, wanted to make some money out of this "milkcow", too. But like all the other movies he then made after books of Karl May (and I have seen them all), the movies were hastily produced and turned out to be worse than those of his competitor. Even the costumes seem to be made for a dude ranch. There's only one or two scenes that are fun to watch, the rest is just boooring. Take my advice and spare yourself the time. Watch "Der Schatz im Silbersee" instead.

The striking character of this film is its visual beauty and stylish quality of art. Pierre Brice as Winnetou makes an impressing character for his nobility and integrity from beginning to end, and Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand matches him well enough. All the other actors are good as well. It's a grim story, there are some atrocious incidents with bloodsheds and nasty treasons on the way, but the loveliness of the landscapes and photography make the film more than enjoyable all the way in spite of the nastiness of the foul play of the white man. Karl May the author was one of the first to side with the Indians against the white man as he wrote his great Winnetou novels in his 50s in the 1890s, and they are still unique and impressing for their moral paragon of nobility. Seldom has the desert of the Apaches been so beautifully filmed as in this classic of an odd and much underrated western film.