User reviews

"È Tornato Sabata... Hai Chiuso Un'Altra Volta" aka. "Return Of Sabata" is the third, last and sadly also least interesting of Gianfranco Parolini's "Sabata" films (if "Adios Sabata" aka. "Indio Black", which wasn't originally intended to be a Sabata flick, and in which Lee Van Cleef was replaced by Yul Brynner, is counted as a Sabata movie). While the first "Sabata" (aka. "Ehi Amico, C'e Sabata, Hai Ciuso!") of 1969 is an excellent and immensely stylish Spaghetti Western that deserves its cult-status, this "Return Of Sabata" goes far over the top with slapstick elements, and even though Parolini obviously attempted to copy the original "Sabata" in many parts, it is not really a worthy sequel. Nevertheless, "Return Of Sabata" is an entertaining Spaghetti Western, Lee Van Cleef is great as always in the lead, and the coolness of his Sabata-character saves quite a lot.

I won't give too much of the plot away, but it resembles the first movie a lot, only that its not as violent and witty, but more slapstick-ish and confusing and not as interesting. Sabata (Van Cleef) arrives in Hobsonville this time, a town controlled by a rich and religious Irishman, Joe McIntock (Giampiero Albertini). Sabata decides not only to free town from McInrock's tyranny, but also to gain some profit himself...

There are several highly entertaining scenes, some good action and many amusing gags, and, as mentioned above, the great Lee Van Cleef is always worth the time. Apart from Lee Van Cleef's performance as Sabata, one of the trickiest antiheroes of the Italian Western, the movie is sadly far away from the greatness of its predecessor. While the first movie had an excellent score, the score is one of the biggest flaws in "Return Of Sabata", the music often sounds like the soundtrack of a slapstick comedy instead of a Spaghetti Western. The body-count is also disappointing, it really takes quite a while until somebody is finally killed.

Apart from Lee Van Cleef, two other actors from the first movie are also in this one, Ignazio Spalla and Aldo Canti. Spalla's and Canti's characters resemble their characters from the first movie a lot, but they are not the same. It is beyond me why Parolini didn't just let them play their old characters, who could have had a reunion with Sabata. Still these two sidekicks for Sabata fit in very well, especially Ignazio Spalla is highly amusing and a great enrichment to the movie. Giampiero Albertini also delivers a good performance as the villain. Another character, Clyde (played by Reiner Schöne), is an attempt to copy William Berger's 'Banjo' character from the first movie, which is not too convincing either, since the role doesn't have the wit, and Schöne is not nearly as great an actor as Berger.

Overall, "Return Of Sabata" will be a disappointment if you expect another movie as great as the first "Sabata". Knowing that this is an inferior sequel, however, it should certainly be fun to watch for my fellow fans of the Italian Western. It has many flaws, and it doesn't come up to its predecessors, but it is still an amusing film and Lee Van Cleef is never to be missed. I recommend the entire "Sabata" series to a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, but one should certainly see the great original, as well as "Indio Black", before watching "Return Of Sabata". 6/10

Return of Sabata casts Lee Van Cleef back as the cunning and ruthless sharpshooter, Sabata. Similarities between the first Sabata movie where Van Cleef also played the same role are more than abundant: acrobats, comical sidekicks, greedy villains, double-crossing allies, Sabata shooting off with his cool 4-barreled Derringer and so forth. Lee Van Cleef rocks. He's as cool as ever, and all the other actors do at least fairly decent jobs supporting him.

Everything seems to be as well as in the first movie. Except that this time the plot is more complicated and filled with twists and turns (and plot holes). Unfortunately this is not entirely good thing: in time you lose track of the plot twists and begin to wonder the motives and the logic behind some of the characters behavior. Why did he do that? Wouldn't it been more logical to behave or act some other way? Much like Ocean's 12 or any other snotty "cleverer-than-thou" sequel, Return of Sabata drowns you with twists and turns just for the sake of confusing. This leads to the point that you actually have to watch Return of Sabata at least couple of times before the main plot fully unravels. Of course you do get the big picture in the end of the movie after the first watch, but in order to get all the nuances and small details in place you might want to give it another go. Not that the main plot would magically turn out to be any better: it just rewards you a little bit more since the second time you have a small grasp *why* somebody did something that seemed illogical or strange before. This time you know what's in that characters mind and you also know something about his motives. Then again, I strongly believe that these kind of character traits should have been portrayed clearer in the script (or acting) so you would have realized them during the first view time already.

In short? Return of Sabata offers great characters, but lousy and confusing plot. Still, it's worth a watch. Or two.

This follow-up deals with Sabata (Lee Van Cleef) who finds combating a mean businessman named McLintock (Albertini) . The major Sabata joins forces with a Saloon owner , the Lieutenant , (Reinar Schone). Furthermore, his misfit and strange team : two acrobats (Nick Jordan and Vassili Karis) , and , of course , the old rogue with a drummer (Ignacio Spalla or Pedro Sanchez) . Meanwhile, Sabata gets involved with a Saloon girl (gorgeous Annabella Incontrera) .

This offbeat Western comedy results to be the genuine sequel to ¨Sabata¨ (with Van Cleef , William Berger, Linda Veras and Franco Ressel) , and it's full of intriguing touches , Western action , shootouts and being very amusing . This entertaining picture gets the humorous remarks from Western parody combined to features of Spaghetti such as violent antiheroes , excessive zooms , extreme nasties and spectacular gunfight with high body-count . Appearing usual secondary actors , habitual in Italian Western , such as : Gianni Rizzo , Alberto Dell'Acqua , Rick Boyd, Fortunato Arena , Franco Fantasia , among others . And Pedro Sanchez who acted in the Sabata trilogy and he played similar roles to S. W. secondary idol Fernando Sancho. The movie was well produced by Alberto Grimaldi (Sergio Leone's Trilogy of dollars as producer). Atmospheric and adequate cinematography by cameraman Sandro Mancori. . Lively and jolly musical score by Marcello Giombini with Ennio Morricone influence . The motion picture was professionally directed by Gianfranco Paraolini who often used pseudonym Frank Kramer . It's followed by ¨Indio Black¨ with Yul Brynner , Dean Reed and Gerard Herter . The flick will appeal to Lee Van Cleef fans and S. W. buffs.

THE RETURN OF SABATA (sequel to SABATA)

Excellent score by Marcello Giombini, I'd own the CD of it if I could find it. Don't know who sings in the opening title theme, though. The credits in the film didn't list the singer.

There are lot's of little tricks in this one, more so than even in the first Sabata film. Different kinds of derringers, small pistols, blowpipes and magnets are up his sleeve in practically every scene. Sabata also refuses to pay the outrageous taxes the McClintocks have imposed on the townspeople for everything from getting a haircut to the gambling & hotel tax, and almost having a showdown with the weak-willed sheriff over it.

Lt. Clyde (Reiner Schone) manages to not be too obnoxious, grinning all the time, except when he's continuously caught by Sabata from stealing or ripping somebody off. He's such a slimeball that he hides in the rafters while his lover Jackie McCIntock (Jacqueline Alexandre) is gunned down by husband Joe (Giampiero Albertini) over his catching her stealing his gold.

The acrobats are back too, jumping off buildings, over fences and trampolines as they help Sabata out in his quest to return the gold stolen by McClintock from the townspeople, in return for the counterfeit money McClintock was using to deceive them.

There's a good shootout towards the end at the McClintock compound, using Bronco's bass drum as a hiding place for storing a lot of pistols. Plus we get a spectacular mine explosion when the McClintock's try to kill Sabata during the money exchange.

The vast majority of the film takes place in the town with little being filmed out in the Spanish countryside, yet it isn't claustrophobic like some other westerns come across when the sets are that static.

All in all, I enjoyed it and consider it a good example of the spaghetti western genre.

7 out of 10

Return of Sabata marks the last outing for Lee Van Cleef.

This time he's up against a slaezy Colonel who has a million dollars in gold in which Sabata pulled off from his earlier assignment.

Determined to get it back, teams up with Clyde and another hordes of his team in order to fight back McLintock get his gold back.

Although this spaghetti western proved almost as good as the first two, it was really entertaining, especially the amount of guns Lee had to use in this film..

Well, at least Sabata rides off into the desert, but I'm hoping someday if by chance somebody might do a remake..

Sabata returns (again) to kick a** and earn cash. Van Cleef is good and there is a lot of visual interest in this action story. I particularly liked the shots of Sabata and friends cresting various sand dunes. The acrobats and other characters from the other Sabata films are also back, once again with new names (very much like Eastwood's "no name" character who, contrary to myth, in fact has 3 names) presumably so they can be killed off again. I had a lot of fun watching it, but 3 days later I can't really remember what it was about. Well, heck, it's still a good movie!

The third and last film in the Sabata-series is only slightly better than ADIÓS, SABATA. Lee Van Cleef is back as Sabata and his presence by itself is enough to make this a better movie than the second one with Yul Brynner. Still, Van Cleef can't entirely make up for the awful script and the attempts for comedy. The "gags" in this film are total misfires. Sometimes, Van Cleef is even required to act like a clown. His clothing too isn't as cool as it was in the superior first SABATA. And, excuse me, Sabata as a circus act????????

This all reminded me a bit of the SCREAM-trilogy, with the exception that the second film there was much better than here. The superior first one and the weak third one are however very similar in both series. Why all those unnecessary sequels? Why not leave people with the memory of a good film and not with that of some bad sequels? 4/10

The plot of this film has to do with the town of Hobsonville where McIntock, a now prosperous miner and town over seer is taxing the people in order to get the money to build up their fair town into something special. Enter Sabata, who is following a trail that led him from a murder in a traveling circus to the town. Clearly there is a great deal of money at stake and Sabata smells something a miss as well as sensing that there is a buck to be made.

This is a rambling, often seemingly plot less, (comedic) western. You're a good way into the film before you realize what exactly is going on. There a good number of characters who are two timing or three timing each other and we get dragged into their machinations, and it seems that there really isn't a central story (or real villain), or at least a reason why Sabata is in the town, until the movie is about half over. Its not bad as such but towards the end of the first half you really do begin to wonder why you're watching the film.

The reason you're watching it is Lee Van Cleef. Van Cleef as Sabata is pure smart mouthed hero. He can't be beat and he knows it. He is a hero we'd all like to be, even if his motivations are questionable. Van Cleef goes along with the nonsense on screen and in the process makes it somehow okay to go along too.

Worth a look for western fans, others may want to take a pass unless they are in an undemanding mood.

A Fellini movie about the circus wandered into a Sergio Leone picture and the result is a total train wreck. I'm 30 minutes into this and I literally have no idea what the hell is going on.

Van Cleef lays another solid gold egg. Clearly putting in a better performance than as Angel Eyes in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Cleef is the perfect man to play this terrific character.

As much a poignant lament on the wrongs of high taxation and social injustice as it was a fascinating and marvelous journey into the real cost of civil war, this film will delight the open minded viewer throughout.

Acerbic complexity and deep spiritual symbolism are just two ways in which this film stands high among some of the finest films of the seventies. Consistent acting and fluid plot development combine to make this one of the top 5 westerns of all time.

The casual viewer will find this film hard to follow as he struggles to keep his mind up to speed while we race through a series of dramatic events and cutting dialogue, but with applied concentration and perhaps three or four viewings he should find it a deeply rewarding experience.

Now, altogether: "If you wanna make money. If you wanna get rich...."

Lee Van Cleef is Sabata, a cool character who is brilliant, an amazing shot as well as incredibly dexterous with his hands. In this film, he and his group of freaks enter a town where the townspeople have been paying taxes through their noses in the promise of an all-new and beautiful town. However, the town's boss is actually planning on substituting the money with counterfeit and absconding with all of it. So it's up to Sabata and his odd team to expose the lie and return the money.

I was prepared to like this movie far more than I did. The first SABATA movie was pretty good and I particularly liked watching the ultra-slick Lee Van Cleef in Westerns, as he was super-cool and menacing. Here, however, in the final appearance by Van Cleef in the Sabata series, he is pretty dull and the film seems to be more a parody of Italian Westerns instead of a serious or well thought-out film. Ultimately, the film is sunk by a horrible script--with strange and anachronistic characters, an incomprehensible plot and a lot of magical hocus-pocus that gets in the way of the characters.

So what, specifically, did I dislike? Well, the two circus performers made no sense. They could tumble and jump and spin and jump on and off roofs at will as well as shoot more accurately at great distances with a giant slingshot than anyone could with a gun and all this had absolutely no place in a Western. It was just silly and confusing. Unfortunately, too much of the film focused on them and other secondary characters and Sabata was relegated to a more secondary role. Also, the plot really, really went all over the place and it was exceptionally hard to follow. And, to top it off, the film had one of the worst soundtracks I've heard in years. Usually, with a so-called "Spaghetti Western", you have haunting tunes by the great Ennio Morricone, but here some knucklehead Italian composer came up with songs with horrid 1970s backup singers (something NOT needed in these films) and in the title song, half the words are "boom, boom, boom, boom, boom" and this is heard again and again throughout the film! Yecch! This film was listed among the chosen few in the great book "The Fifty Worst Films" (1979) and I could see why, though I don't think it was quite bad enough to make the list. It was, however, the worst Spaghetti Western ever made and perhaps helped to kill the genre. It's a shame, as some of the best Westerns ever made were made by the Italians--and many even starred Van Cleef before he agreed to appear in this sort of bone-headed film.

By the way, was it just me or did you, too, think it was pretty funny that Sabata had such a tiny, stubby little gun? I just kept thinking how Freud might have enjoyed laughing at or analyzing this movie character!

Of the three "Sabata" films, "Return of Sabata" is the weakest entry. It was included in the notorious book "The 50 Worst Films of All Time", though I don't think the movie, despite its problems, deserved that dubious honor. I've seen much worse spaghetti westerns. Though I didn't think the movie was all that great. The movie does have a few positive attributes. Lee Van Cleef still makes for an effective anti hero (though who convinced him to wear that awful hairpiece?), the musical score is spirited, and the action sequences have energy and punch. But someone should have sent the screenplay back for a major rewrite before filming stared. To put it bluntly, the movie pretty much makes no sense at all. Though I wasn't really bored at any moment, I simply couldn't understand what was going on. Also, Van Cleef's Sabata character seems in some aspects to be different than the Sabata character he played in the first film; I wouldn't be surprised if the screenplay was originally written to not be a Sabata film. While I guess the movie is essential viewing for spaghetti western fans and collectors, I think even they will find it tough going at times.

Having just sat through the 1969 movie "Sabata" and enjoying it, I opted to carry on with the 1971 movie "È Tornato Sabata... Hai Chiuso Un'altra Volta!" (aka "Return of Sabata"), which I also never had heard about or watched before now in 2025. But I needed no persuasion to watch this movie from director Gianfranco Parolini, as I genuinely enjoyed the 1969 movie.

Writers Renato Izzo and Gianfranco Parolini managed to put together a script and storyline that proved as entertaining as the script in the 1969 movie. So that was quite nice. And I was adequately entertained throughout the course of the 105 minutes that the movie ran for.

It was nice to see Lee Van Cleef, Ignazio Spalla and Aldo Canti return to reprise their characters from the previous movie. Needless to say that the acting performances were good.

The movie looked and felt like a proper Western movie, despite being a 'Spaghetti Western'.

The intro music gave me a sensation of watching the "Tailspin" animated cartoon series.

My rating of director Gianfranco Parolini's 1971 movie lands on a six out of ten stars.

An army major during the American Civil War, Sabata is now reduced to performing tricks in a circus. One day the touring show arrives in Hobsonville where the acrobatic hero meets someone who owes him 5,000 dollars. Pretty soon trick bullets have given way to the real thing....

Lee Van Cleef reprises his role as the black- clad derringer toting Sabata, and though the gun trickery is inventive (albeit OTT), the killer opening sequence sets the scene, and the production is top notch, Return of Sabata pales in comparison to the classic first film ( a favourite of mine). To be fair, Sabata (1969) is one tough shoes to fill. But the problem is that Return of Sabata is loaded with too much comedy, and is little too ambiguous in characterisation and plot. It's more about style but lacks the storytelling of the first film. However, having said that, Lee Van Cleef makes it watchable, squinting his way through the film with that tongue in cheek aplomb. Plus there's some good action sequences and a tense finale.

"Return of Sabata" is ridiculous every step of the way. It's like comedy but it's not funny. It's just stupid. There is, however, one terrific stunt. One of the cowboys jumps off a second floor balcony while looking at the camera.

I recently revisited the spaghetti western Return of Sabata (1971) on Tubi. The story unfolds in a small town controlled by the McIntock gang, taking advantage of the locals while falsely claiming to improve the town. In response, the townspeople enlist Samara to rid themselves of the leech known as McIntock.

Directed by Gianfranco Parolini (Sabata), the film stars Lee Van Cleef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Reiner Schone (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation), Ignazio Spalla (Sabata), and Annabella Incontrera (The Ambushers).

While the entire Sabata series is entertaining, this third installment stands out as both fun and underrated. Lee Van Cleef's performance is consistently awesome, with terrific delivery of dialogue and compelling mannerisms that make his character easy to root for. The dialogue strikes a nice balance between comedy and action one-liners, and the plot is straightforward yet enjoyable. Moments like the "taxes" conversation add a layer of hilarity. The fight and action scenes are well-executed, with occasional clever use of a trampoline. The spaghetti western soundtrack complements the film perfectly.

In conclusion, Return of Sabata is an underrated gem in the spaghetti western genre, a must-see for fans. I would give it a 7/10 and strongly recommend it.

I have to be honest and say I didn't really like the first Sabata film, but I decided to see this one anyway. I would say that, actually, The Return of Sabata is slightly better than the first film in the series - although slightly is the operative word as both are rather poor Spaghetti Westerns. It's obvious that this film wasn't meant to be completely serious - as shown by the opening score, which is rather silly. The plot focuses on gunslinger Sabata. He rides into Hobsonville and discovers that the locals are being taxed by a man named McIntock. Sabata don't pay taxes to no man, so he decides to do something about it. The plot is not really all that interesting and there doesn't seem to be a great deal of point to it either. The film is also rather strange and features plenty of things you wouldn't expect to find a film like this; which is great for originality, but not so great considering most of it doesn't work. Naturally it's Lee Van Cheef as the master gunslinger who is the main standout, and he provides the best thing about the film with his role; although I'm not surprised he didn't come back to do the third film. Overall, this is a rather poor Spaghetti Western and I wouldn't recommend this - or the first one - to anyone (unless I didn't like the person, in which case I'd recommend they skip Leone and see these films!).

Try to convince me the opening scene in this movie isn't an homage to Fellini. I mean, the clowns bursting in seals it, doesn't it?

Or maybe they were going for a tribute to Hammer horror films starring Peter Cushing. That coffin thing at the beginning would suggest so.

The title sequence suggests it might be some kind of cross between a hippie movie and bl3cksploitation.

It's certainly not Sergio Leone. Even on his worst day he never descended this far into farce.

Lee Van Cleef deserved better, frankly. The guy was such a stud, and an under-rated actor. What a shame Hollywood couldn't figure out what to do with the guy.