Idiot-Deluxe
One of the best from the late-great Lee Van Cleef, "Sabata" is a clever, stylishly staged and somewhat unusual entry for the genre, which holds up well to repeated viewings. In familiar territory as a bounty hunter, only not for Sergio Leone this time, but fellow paisano and film auteur Gianfranco Parolini, a fine talent in his own right, who, as evidenced in this film, had some original ideas of his own. This is first and probably the best of the three Sabata films, a series known for it's gripping gun-fights, high-flying acrobats and an overall high-degree of cinematic flair; and to top things off, thanks to the stellar performances of Lee Van Cleef and Yul Brynner, these films are firmly guided by the ultra-cool, swaggering presence of some of the genre's all-time best talent. In the case of the first film Lee Van Cleef's trademark steely stare and unshakable presence impregnates virtually every minute of this classic spaghetti-western, in which you'll see old Lee gun-down dozens of villainous scoundrels, with his six-guns blasting, while his screen presence works in over-time! And once the movie has roared to a close, I can't - off the top of my head - think of any other performance of his, in ANY movie, were his swagger comes through more potently then in Sabata. Lee Van Cleef's ultra-cool-grizzled-old-gun-fighter persona simply instills this film with a distinctive and pervasive quality, which of course, in this case, is the cumulative effect of his uniquely potent screen presence, that only a handful of stars can compete with. Because as most fans of his work know, Van Cleef could play both sides of the coin with a natural ease, as he was always equally adept at playing the villain. In Sabata he's teamed up with some unique characters that do a terrific job of furthering the story, while adding much to the overall variety and character of the movie as a whole. And just how many westerns do you see that prominently feature acrobats? Only in Sabata. The lead villain is of particular mention, as he's very distinctive and after a great scene in which they go mano-a-mano, that erupts into an exchange of witticisms and gun-fire, in the villains trophy room. Ultimately old Lee finishes him of literally, with the mere flick of his thumb, because after all when you've got swagger to spare and have a silver dollar in your hand, you can do things like that. From start to finish Sabata delivers the goods (most especially it's fiery finale) and should leave no one disappointed. Because along with all the great gun-fights, Lee and his gang have so many tricks up their sleeves, as a result the movie is chocked full of fun twists, flashes of sly humor and highly-stylized visual flair. Which in light of the films distinctive sense of originality and numerous off-kilter directorial choices, naturally, this creates many colorful and unusual developments within the movie, more so then most films of the genre. Musically speaking Sabata is also quite distinctive, from it's catchy main theme, to it's unusual inclusion of a pipe organ, to the way the banjo is cleverly implemented (culminating in gunfire), Sabata indeed packs in many musical highlights. While the insanely gorgeous Linda Veras provides the movies eye-candy.What this all equals up to is the cumulative effect of a star who was very much in his prime and a director who was like-wise in his element, when their inspired collaboration, that being Sabata of course, came to be. Also it's two sequels are very much in the same vein and definitely well worth checking out. The series goes in this order Sabata 69' / Adios Sabata 70' (with Yul Brenner in the role) / Return of Sabata 71'.Ultimately the Sabata series is an extremely enjoyable romp, through high-spirited realms of spaghetti-western escapism, which should easily when you over with it's innovative approach and great acting.
Leofwine_draca
SABATA is a stylish, well-made and action-packed spaghetti western, almost but not quite up there with DJANGO. The excellent Lee Van Cleef gives an assured performance as the gun-toting man in black who makes short work of various bad guys and henchmen pitted against him.The plot is simple stuff: a wide-ranging criminal gang, whose members occupy all levels of society, rob a bank and steal a sizable haul. Sabata foils the plot and returns the money, only to fall foul of the men responsible. He thinks he deserves a reward, but the only thing they want to reward him with is death. The stakes increase until an all-out war ensues.There's virtually no story in this film, just one big set-piece after another. Gianfranco Parolini handles the whole thing with aplomb, and the action is perfectly shot. Alongside Van Cleef, we get William Berger as a mysterious guitar-playing drifter, and Nick Jordan playing the amusingly acrobatic Indio. Franco Ressel makes for a delightfully slimy villain and overall there's little to dislike here; it's just an action-packed western that delivers everything you'd hope for.
TankGuy
Sabata is a gem as it is unique among other spaghetti westerns. Lee Van Cleef gives probably his best performance and the film is high on action.The action never stops as the film begins with a bank robbery, then about twenty minutes later shows sabata killing all the robbers and returning the money. A few scenes later banjo shoots dead several unknown goons who are out to kill him. Other action includes excellently choreographed fist fights and brawls, small shooting and a large shootout at a ranch. The killcount is very high.As with most spaghettis, sabata is extremely cheesy and includes several funny, comedic and weird moments. The theme tune is excellent as well.A must see for western and action movie fans.
LosDiablo
I watched this for the first time last night and really enjoyed it its the best western I've seen for a while I'm surprised it hasn,t got more of a following.it stars lee van cleef as sabata a gunslinger with a unique arsenal (how cool is that derringer) who rights wrongs done by criminal elements. along the way he meets up with a few unique characters a acrobatic mute Indian ally cat, a local bandit carrincha and an enigmatic banjo player who sabata has met before. Even the bad guys aren,t your typical western criminals. i was surprised how action packed it was. and how different some of the action was to usual gun play in westerns. this is easily lee van cleefs best work since the dollar films.A must for any lee van cleef fan
