I’ve
watched so many unofficial Sartana rip-offs lately that I figured I might as
well give the original a shot. Well,
this isn’t the original per se as Sartana first appeared in $1000 on the Black,
but this was his first solo movie. As
far as Spaghetti Westerns go, I’d say it’s about on par with the original Django.
Gianni
Garko stars as Sartana, who gets a great introduction scene. Some bad hombres get the drop on him and
seemingly gun him down. While they’re busy
reveling, he pops up behind them with a shotgun on his shoulder. When they go to fire, he mows them down with
a multi-shot derringer he has concealed in his other hand.
I’ve
liked Garko in the various giallo and horror films I’ve seen him in, but he’s
fantastic here. He’s a total badass with a face made for Spaghetti Westerns. Sometimes, you don’t even see
his face as the brim of his hat casts a shadow that covers his eyes, leaving only
his mouth visible; kind of like a superhero cowl (or perhaps Zorro).
It’s
also interesting to see where and how the movie borrows from the Dollars
Trilogy. The most obvious is the use of
a musical pocket watch similar to the one Lee Van Cleef’s character had in For
a Few Dollars More. The plot itself
(which involves several interested parties vying for a stash of hidden gold)
also owes more than a little to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Director Frank (Sabata) Kramer does a fine
job adding unique little touches (like the split diopter shot) to make it feel
fresh.
William
Berger (who later played a Sartana-like character in Sartana in the Valley of
Death) is excellent as the slimy villain. Klaus Kinski shows
up briefly as a hit man who has a couple of neat gimmicks. (He prefers knives to guns and wears bells on
his spurs.) Too bad he doesn’t stick
around very long.
AKA: Sartana.
AKA: Gunfighters Die Hard.
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