Les colts de la violence

I'm beginning to think that if a movie is not in wide distribution that you can take one point off the IMDb rating. Look at the reviews for this one. One six and everyone else giving it a 7 or 8, but the IMDb rating is 6.3. That's the only reason I'm writing this. It's better than 6.3. lol Not that my "7" really expresses that, but we have to use integers. I'd give it 7.5, and there's LOTS of the genre between 6.3 and 7.5.

I loved the music score, it's a solid story and there's a great edginess about everyone and everything. Sets are good, gun play is solid. I think fans of the genre will want to see it.

Steffen and Garko have been in a lot of awful movies, no doubt about that, so "Sartana" can easily be considered a climax in their careers, respectively.

It's the story of two brothers fighting each other, Steffen playing the straight and honest one, Garko portraying a sadistic, screaming blond loony. Their mother tries to stop him. Intense pictures, intense emotions, the director even alluded to Shakespearean tragedies a few times, but you needn't take that too seriously. All in all, well done, spaghetti western above average.

After returning from twelve years in jail for a murder he did not commit, a man returns to his home town to confront his brother Sartana who he knows framed him for the crime. Sartana now rules over the area with the help of his gang of thugs but not only that, he's also stolen his brother's woman. The good brother sets about putting this right.

This is quite notable for being a more serious minded spaghetti western than was the norm. Despite this, it's still a fast-paced and entertaining affair. The plot-line is still fairly typical for the genre and by the end of this you can't say it doesn't deliver the usual spaghetti goods. Ultimately, though, it boils down to a tale of two brothers, with Anthony Steffen playing good one and Gianni Garko the one who's psychotic.

Johnny Liston has just finished his twelve-year term in prison and returns back to his hometown to find out his brother Sartana rules the nest and has married his woman. Knowing that his brother framed him, Johnny with the help of his old girlfriend's mute brother Jerry, goes about trying to restore the justice to the ramshackle towns.

The typical staples show up prominently in this surprisingly well-made and rather hard-boiled showcase of spaghetti western bravado. A bit of everything is chucked for good measure in this baroque and rather intense soap opera, which oddly enough has a bemusing amount of developments going on. As its always incident packed (some quite bizarre too), where the high stakes never really take a backseat. Its rough around the edges, but this only enhances that grand guignol splendour of grit, dirt and being soaked in sweat. Albert Cardiff's kinetically snappy and surefooted direction engineers some cracking visuals and paints a very atmospheric mood (like the cracking final confrontation that was meant to be). He makes sure it quickly moves on without bogging us down. Gino Santini, who gets many actively singular zooms and earthy framework shaping it, brightly photographs it. The bone dry and rocky surroundings gave it a real rough edge and Santini milks it accordingly. Michelle Lacarenza's crackerjack soundtrack with that harmonious awe could up the neurotic flair at anytime. Those three facets really gave this production its added bite and overall striking competence. The clunky story is more than a simple revenge formula (well like mentioned by other IMDb reviewers; also a Shakespearean tragedy element streams through it and that of the closeness of family that moulds the town). Flourishing throughout are hilariously campy dialogues and uneven performances. There's dry jokes and subtle humour there about in the script, but it's never over-used. A real mean vibe is chalked up here, as its violent (with its constantly bruising brawls), but not terribly explicit with little blood spilt. At times it can come off as unintentionally silly and Roberto Miali takes the brunt of it with his over-exaggerated performance of the mute, Jerry. Gianni Garko gracefully hams it up as the insane, viper-like villain, Sartana and does an excellent job of it too. Antonio De Teffè is a steady head as Johnny and the stunning Erika Blanc is perfectly cast as vengeful lady Joschita. Franco Fantasia and Carlo D'Angelo are equally good in their parts. Every main character has a complex situation eating away at them that gives them all a little more weight. The dubbing for them is just plain atrocious that I had wish I saw it in its original format.

A fun and real spirited low-budget spaghetti western that can be a stylish and often poetic treat for fans of the sub-genre.

The sound of a plaintive solo trumpet.......a tight shot of Anthony Steffen as ex con Johnny Liston... introduces this slightly mad..somewhat fascinating...often bad but never dull Spaghetti Western from 1966. After spending 12 yrs in prison for a murder he didn't commit, he encounters a deadly ambush as he returns to town ........only to find it under the boot of a gang of vicious thugs...led by none other than his brother, Sartana (No..not THAT Sartana)....a loony self styled 'General' commanding the forces of a brutal protection racket. Johnny also discovers his former lover, Manuela, in his camp...(which looks kinda like a combination Aztec temple/fort built into the side of a mountain..) He visits his wacked out mother.....living in what looks (architecturally) like a Greek Temple...the "queen", if you will..of the town..deluded & under the spell of luxury & power...anointed by her mad son's butchery.

Quite a morning...huh?

Directed by Alberto Cardone..a/k/a Albert Cardiff...best known for his work as assistant director on "Ben-Hur"..& second unit director on "Barbarella"...., this was Gianni Garko's first Western...and it's quite a debut. You've never..& never will again..see Garko like this...as a cruel, crazed, , psychotic maniac....with 3 entire towns under his domination......whose citizens are forced to pay tribute.........in return for his "protection".

Oozing with classical themes & references...elements of Greek tragedy...Shakespearean drama....high Italian opera..( I half expected to see someone break into an aria at any moment... a Greek chorus commenting on the action wouldn't have been a surprise, either)....Oedipal themes...religious parables (Cain & Abel)...A Christian passion play of resurrection & redemption......all stirred and whipped into a very 'Italian' melodrama. ..and quite violent (babies, women..all's fair game here) Western.

As far as I know...this was the only pairing of Steffen & Garko, who star as the conflicted brothers..............and probably the first use of "Sartana" as a character's name.

As Sartana's 'troops' march into a nearby town to collect their booty....Johnny declares "this town's under my protection", setting up some gun battles, which are basically boundary & limit defining contests......leading up to the inevitable confrontation..brother against brother...... & a starkly surreal & well filmed (best in the movie) ending......including, (but not limited to) the fires of Hell.......with the main street of the town acting as the river Styx' path to the Underworld...a biblical quote from Leviticus as we fade..with the heavens darkening & grumbling...(Zeus didn't make an appearance...but that doesn't mean he wasn't in the vicinity......)

Composer Michele Lacerenza was a trumpet player on the Fistful of Dollars score...& manages to come up with a serviceable soundtrack...including the melancholy trumpet theme...numerous Morricone rips--> electric guitar & flute..., organ music...and what sounds like incidental opera music.

While there's no shortage of things gone a little wrong here...there are ridiculous shots of the sun accompanied by cheesy organ music... some absurd dialogue..bad dubbing..... silent film style- like overacting.....& some intense closeups of maniacal laughter...which we all know & love from countless SW...I would never dismiss this as one to avoid.

There's a lot going on here..& while much of didn't work...some of it did...& can be quite a hoot if viewed w/ the right spirit.

It could qualify as a somewhat campy...fascinating failure of a stewpot of themes & references...& w/ the 'Wow' factor of Garko's Spaghetti Western 'debut'...the pairing of Steffen & Garko.... It can be a somewhat bizarre...weirdly entertaining hour and a half or so.