Le fossoyeur

"Sono Sartana, Il Vostro Becchino" aka. "Sartana The Gravedigger" aka, "I Am Sartana Your Angel Of Death" is a quite humorous Spaghetti Western with a Great Cast.

Like in all the original "Sartana" movies he stars in, Gianni Garko is once again very cool as Sartana, the genre's most well-dressed (anti-)hero. This time, bounty hunter Sartana needs to clear his name after someone robbed a bank dressed up as Sartana and he is blamed and hunted by his fellow bounty hunters. Accompanied by a fellow bounty hunter, the not so well-dressed Buddy Ben (Frank Wolff), Sartana is out to seek those who dared to blame him for their crime.

"Sartana The Gravedigger" is not exactly a 'Comedy' Spaghetti Western, but it's certainly a very funny one. Hot Dead, a bounty killer, fast shot and very unlucky gambler, played by the great Klaus Kinski is one of the ironical characters who make this film so funny. Another funny character is villainous and slightly insane bounty killer Deguejo (played by B-Movie star and regular Spaghetti Western actor Gordon Mitchell), who is, as most of the characters played by Mitchell, very exaggerated, but exaggerated in a good, funny way. The great Frank Wolff is funny in his role, and Gianni Garko is great and epitomizes coolness (as in the other Sartana movies).

The movie's score is pretty good, although the composers actually just plagiarized the work of Ennio Morricone (Kinski's theme in this movie is basically a lesser version of Cheyenne's theme in "Once Upon A Time In The West" and the rest of the film's soundtrack also resembles various Morricone compositions). It's okay to learn from the master, however.

All things considered, "Sartana the Gravedigger" is a good Spaghetti Western with great actors (especially Kinski, Wolff and Garko). Highly recommended to every fan of Spaghetti Westerns. 7/10

So Kinski is in this one too, as he was in the first official entry of the Sartana movie series. But the movie is a bit different than the first one, as is his role and his credited name (the first one listed him as Kinsky). What remains the same is the thirst for getting rich. Who can blame them? It's always about Gold or money in general isn't it? Especially in Spaghetti Westerns, where there seems to be no other motivation.

Although our "hero" here does seem to have some sort of morals. And the body count does pile up. If you like shootouts, you will like this. Setting is clear, goal is pretty simple and in contrast to the first one, this plays quite confined. There are more character moments without too much "twist" to it. It's ok for what it is, and that is what you should expect - of course if you haven't seen a movie like this before you might be and feel bewildered

Plenty of gunplay, and bodies are piled up as Sartana, played by a charismatic and stylish Gianna Garko, encounters trouble as he tries to find out who impersonated him at a bank robbery, hence getting every bounty Hunter on his tail to collect a reward. The gunplay is pretty crazy, there's an OTT element to the action, just like Sabata. Matter of fact, Sartana is like Sabata, using every trick in the book via gadgets and superior gun skills to overcome the bad hombres. Great Adrenalin-drenched western

The second film in the popular Sartana series is, on the whole, pretty entertaining ..well spun in Carnimeo's typical "Sartana" style....combining a whodunit...w/ elements of a smokey good mystery...with Spaghetti Western action & humor. More than a bit tongue in cheek...yet straining for credibility & often (but not always) hitting the mark.

"Sono Sartana......" hits the ground running...in a snappy opening...as Sartana is implicated in a bank robbery. A $10000 reward on his head insures that he's pursued by bounty hunters....many of whom are known to him already as friends, allies, competitors. There's a good amount of tension & unpredictability as Sartana tries to get to the bottom of it all, as he follows the trail of clues as to who framed him.. as well as the wherabouts of the $$$$$...all the while being stalked by bounty hunters and people trying to get their own grubby little hands on the $$$$$. Unfortunately...those remaining who can shed any light on the issue are knocked off before he can get to them.

The trail takes him to Poker Flats...a gambling town where everybody's a cheat...out for themselves...& can't be trusted. A shady saloon owner...corrupt judge...dishonest sheriff....are but 3 of the slightly twisted characters we meet in this quirky corner of 'Spaghettiville'.

Frank Wolff puts in a nice turn as Buddy Ben...although willing to lend his assistance, you never know exactly where his loyalties or motivations lie............& it's a nice performance.

Kinski delivers one of his most sane Spaghetti Western roles as the unlucky gambler/bounty hunter...........Hot Dead.

Mancuso's music/score has some nice moments...and some lesser ones. Sartana's theme is good..but tends to be overplayed...over & over & over (and over)...........Kinski's theme --> a little banjo tune --> is recognizable as "Santa Claus is coming to town." Interesting choice of melody...to say the least.

All in all...an enjoyable romp.......with enough twists & turns to keep you guessing....... Within a genre filled w / copycats & overused plots...I appreciate any Spaghetti Western that has a different style...w/ at least an attempt at an original plot. "Sono" manages to be intelligent...funny ..pretty brutal w/ a lot of action...& an entirely satisfying conclusion.

Sprinkled throughout are some great names ..Slim Shotgun...Shadow...DeGuello......some great dialogue...the bounty hunter who announces his arrival with "I am death"...& of course Sartana's quip "I'm your gravedigger".

My cherished little copy used for this review is in Italian w/ English subs..so I can't comment on the English dubbed version...nor can I be aware of any changes or differences in the English translation (and there always are differences). Spaghetti Western w/ a definite twinkle.

It's true that the spaghetti western genre isn't one to brag about originality. Movies from it often borrow thematic elements from one another and most of the time that results in one very unsuccessful imitation of the real thing. But sometimes a director is able to look past the genre's obvious limitations and instead of just trying to blindly emulate he focuses on creating something that stands good on it's own. Such is the case of Giuliano Carnimeo's "Sartana the Gravedigger".

The whole movie revolves around it's main star and character, namely Gianni Garko as the crafty, nearly legendary gunslinger, Sartana. Whom soon after the opening scene finds himself framed for a bank robbery and chased by a never-ending wave of bounty hunters. This of course prompts him to track down the people who were actually involved in the robbery and have wrongfully framed him for it. From then on this becomes a fast ride, never slowing it's pace. It doesn't try to be anything more than entertainment and it works. Garko's character is an obvious Eastwood look alike both in physical looks and in terms of behavior, but then again this has already become an accepted feature to most Spaghetti westerns and for all the good it does, Garko has captured (if only partially) that mysterious "man with no name" persona that made Eastwood famous. The support cast is equally good in their respective roles with Klaus Kinsky playing a down on his luck bounty hunter and Frank Wolf as the comedic sidekick to Garko's Sartana.

Giuliano Carnimeo directs with a strong emphasis on action rather than simply trying to copy Sergio Leone. "Sartana the Gravedigger" is indeed a fast moving picture. With a large body-count and countless firefights it doesn't stop to entertain even for just a minute. Some of the action scenes are particularly well done, with the battle in the church making the biggest impression. It is by far one of the most unique showdowns I've seen in an Italian western. There Carnimeo employs, complete darkness with the only visible light coming from aimless fire of dozens of guns that are trying to hit Sartana while he himself silently kills them off one by one. The battle is accompanied with an atmospheric musical piece by composer Vasco Mancuso that further helps in establishing a claustrophobic no escape feel of the scene.

The movie does have it's share of problems and it, as a lot of others in the genre suffer from low production values. Typical example would be the not so good costume designs, especially in the opening bank robbery where we saw guards wearing some very un-western like clothing.

All in all "Sartana the Gravedigger" is a very good spaghetti western that is sure to please fans of the genre, with it's non-stop action, good music and characters