Sabata, o Homem que Veio para Matar

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.

Good, exciting western action film. Some originality that's surprising -- i.e. very good acrobats. "Banjo" is obviously Johnny Guitar, but it's still refreshing to see in an Italian western. Van Cleef is brutal and excellent as Sabata, a bounty hunter on the make, and the story is pleasingly ironic, humorous, and without sentimentality or moralizing. Pleasing fun for fans of the genre.

Gianfranco Parolini's "Ehi Amico... C'è Sabata, Hai Chiuso!" aka. "Sabata" is a stylish and excellent Italian Cult Western starring one of the greatest Western icons of all time (THE greatest in my book), the incomparable Lee Van Cleef. Van Cleef is a blessing for any movie, and "Sabata" is, besides "For A Few Dollars More", "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", "The Big Gundown", "Day Of Anger" and "Death Rides A Horse", one of the most important films starring this great actor. Although this film is was followed by only two sequels (one of them starring Van Cleef, the other starring Yul Brynner), the "Sabata" series could very well be described as the most important series of Spaghetti Westerns alongside the "Sartana" series starring Gianni Garko and, of course, the "Django" series (which isn't really a series, since "Django" of 1966 was followed by dozens of unofficial "sequels" that mostly had little to nothing to do with the original).

Sabata (Lee Van Cleef) is a typical antihero of the Italian Western, who longs for money and his own benefit more than for anything else. After killing a whole gang of outlaws and bringing their loot back for the money, Sabata stays in town for a while, in order to make some more money. He soon has two sidekicks, Carrincha (Ignazio Spalla) and Indio (Aldo Canti), and he furthermore runs into an old acquaintance, the constantly relaxed banjo player Banjo (William Berger)...

Lee Van Cleef is the perfect cast for Sabata, and delivers a great performance in the lead as always. Another highlight of this movie is William Berger, who is coolness incarnate as Banjo. Franco Ressel is great as the villain and Ignazio Spalla and Aldo Canti make two great sidekicks, especially Spalla is funny as hell. The movie is perfectly photographed in the Spanish Alméria, the greatest location for a Spaghetti Western, and very stylish from the first minute. The score is great, especially Banjo's theme, which he constantly plays on his banjo, is a great piece of soundtrack and a very catchy tune that I'll never forget. "Sabata" is an essential Spaghetti Western and a great film in any aspect, and fans of the Italian Western can not afford to miss this. Highly recommended.

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.

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.