Blindman, le justicier aveugle

Ferdinando Baldi's Spaghetti take on the 'Zatoichi' films is one of the most stylish and enjoyable Spaghetti Westerns I've seen. Tony Anthony stars as the titular hero who is after a group of seedy Mexican bandits (one of which is played by...Ringo Starr!) who have kidnapped 50 women that he was supposed to take to some miners in Texas. Loaded with well-directed scenes of violence and gratuitous nudity, 'Blindman' is a must-see. Ha-ha what a knee-slapper!

This Spaghetti Western can be easily ranked as one of the top 20 of all time. T. Anthony was phenomenal for getting bad reviews and especially slandered for his acting he pulled off the blind role amazingly. I definitely agree, he is among the better actors such as Nero, Van Cleef, Kinski, and Milian. He is a better actor than Gemma and that is for sure. Blindman is a person who will not quit and is determined not to allow his handicap to get in the way with his business and that is to deliver 50 women to the miners. The movie was actioned packed throughout and kept the audience at full attention. I was honestly thinking to myself how is this plot going to be believable but it is very fun to watch and entertaining throughout. The movie added some very funny comedy to it which spiced it up a bit. I highly recommend this movie to die-hard spaghetti western fans.

It's not the first and it won't be the last spaghetti western that sees a purely iconic anti-hero roaming the sierras of Almeria in search of loot, money or treasure of one kind or the other. But it's the first and probably the last time that such a loot will have feminists and other PC characters foaming so furiously in the mouth. The titular Blindman (Tony Anthony) has a contract to deliver 50 women to the workers of a mine in Texas, only he's about to discover his cargo has been stolen by a sardonic baddie named Domingo and is being kept somewhere in Mexico.

If I use the word 'cargo' to describe the 50 hapless women, it's because that's exactly how the movie treats them; as objects to be ravaged, enjoyed or transported as the need arises. They're herded and driven tied in wagons like cattle, washed with buckets of water like animals in a stable and always regarded as a piece of entertainment. Feminists will have a ball of course but Ferdinando Baldi's movie avoids any and all questions of moral and sexist nature by taking a purely cartoonish road. Blindman does not ask the viewer regard it as a serious piece of cinema anymore than it regards itself as such.

After the half-hour mark story becomes largely irrelevant and it's all about the set-piece and the explosive action. It's more or less Blindman trying to get his 50 women while they're being taken from one place to the other – but every five minutes someone is getting shot at or something blows up.

The two most prominent set-pieces among them being first the sight of the fifty women dressed in white nightgowns running scared through the desert while they're being pursued by a dozen savage Mexicans in heat, who proceed to shoot them, tear their clothes and take them right there and then. The other is the closing shootout taking place in a large windswept cemetery that perhaps recalls the ending of DJANGO.

Another interesting angle here is that the connection between the spaghetti western and samurai cinema is furthered by having protagonist Blindman explicitly homage blind masseur swordsman Ichi from the ZATOICHI series, perhaps the single most popular serialized character in Japanese chambara. Blindman is cut from the same mold of solitary badass as Shintaro Katsu's blind swordsman and he shares the same impeccable aim despite his physical shortcoming. But that's something the avid genre fan already knows – the moment Blindman appears on screen we know he's going to kick ass and kick ass he does. He even hefts his Winchester like a two-handed sword and there's a bayonet in the rifle to further resemble the samurai sword.

"I want my fifty women!" "Blindman", a unique Spaghetti Western full of sarcasm, has one of the genre's most bizarre story lines. Clearly inspired by the Japanese "Zatôichi" films about the eponymous blind Samurai (played by Shintarô Katsu"), "Blindman" is about a blind gunman who escorts a group of fifty women to Texas, where they are to be married to miners. But he is cheated and the fifty young women are kidnapped by a gang working for two Mexican pimps/bandidos and their beautiful but villainous sister. They underestimate Blindman, a man who has to trust on his horse and his hearing, and soon have to find out that their handicapped opponent is a deadlier challenge than they might have expected. Tony Anthony is unforgettable as the blind gunman, staring into nonentity and demanding his fifty women back. The locations are great, the supporting cast includes Ringo Starr, as the younger of the two villainous brothers. Not very well known, but full of dark humor and action, Blindman, a Spaghetti Western with a very good soundtrack, is one of the genre's little treasures. Brutal, witty, bizarre, unique! Great fun film!

Your average spaghetti western gunslinger goes in search of gold, probably hidden in a grave somewhere, someplace. Or is hunting down the bad guy that has murdered a member of his family. But not Blindman - "I want my 50 women".

Yes, Blindman has a contract to deliver 50 mail order brides to a group of miners, and unfortunately he has been double-crossed by his partner, who has sold the women on to bandit Domingo.

It is worth noting that Domingo's brother, Candy, is played by none other than former Beatle and Thomas the Tank Engine narrator Ringo Starr. And, surprisingly he plays this role really well (who said he was the least talented Beatle - I couldn't imagine Paul McCartney acting so well. Actually, I know - I saw "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" once!).

The film, with its "mock Morricone" score, charges along comic book style, and is really good fun. The politics are maybe a bit dodgy in places (judging by the number of beatings and mishandling that both the Blindman and his 50 women are subjected too at regular intervals) and you have to question how a blind gunslinger could have survived so long. But maybe it is such points that make this so different from the many other Spaghetti Westerns, and help to make this a really great view.