There's style to spare in this revenge-minded Italian oater, from director Sergio Corbucci of "Django" fame. While some viewers may have difficulties accepting star attraction Burt Reynolds as an American Indian, the film does ultimately pay one back. It's stirring, robust entertainment, exquisitely designed and shot. It's quite visceral and violent, but also has a rich array of characters, and nicely executed (pardon the expression) action set pieces. Corbucci and screenwriters Fernando Di Leo & Piero Regnoli do their best to give us a memorably enigmatic main character, keeping his screen time to a minimum at first.
Burt plays the title character, whose peaceful tribe was massacred by outlaws. He stays on their trail, determined to get back at them. In the process, he also makes a deal with the citizens of a town to protect them from the outlaws, who are led by the scuzzy Mervyn "Vee" Duncan (genre regular Aldo Sambrell). The townspeople are expecting a hefty payday, and Duncans' gang has been alerted to the existence of the money by a scheming local.
Apparently, Burt is embarrassed by this one (!). He's actually done far worse, in this viewers' humble opinion, and has nothing to be embarrassed about. He does his best to acquit himself in his heroic role, and keeps his charisma dialed down, although he does get chances to show off some physicality. Sambrell tends to steal the show. Films like this often depend on the entertainment value of the villain, and he doesn't disappoint. He even gets a showcase moment near the end to explain why Vee has a hatred for Indians. The very fine supporting cast also includes Nicoletta Machiavelli, Fernando Rey, Tanya Lopert, Pierre Cressoy, Nino Imparato, and Lucio Rosato.
Ennio Morricone (utilizing the pseudonym Leo Nichols) once again proves how valuable he was to this genre, composing a typically atmospheric soundtrack with a fair amount of vocalizations as well as music.
"Navajo Joe" is not a truly great example of the Spaghetti Western, but it provides an ample amount of diversion.
Seven out of 10.
Burt plays the title character, whose peaceful tribe was massacred by outlaws. He stays on their trail, determined to get back at them. In the process, he also makes a deal with the citizens of a town to protect them from the outlaws, who are led by the scuzzy Mervyn "Vee" Duncan (genre regular Aldo Sambrell). The townspeople are expecting a hefty payday, and Duncans' gang has been alerted to the existence of the money by a scheming local.
Apparently, Burt is embarrassed by this one (!). He's actually done far worse, in this viewers' humble opinion, and has nothing to be embarrassed about. He does his best to acquit himself in his heroic role, and keeps his charisma dialed down, although he does get chances to show off some physicality. Sambrell tends to steal the show. Films like this often depend on the entertainment value of the villain, and he doesn't disappoint. He even gets a showcase moment near the end to explain why Vee has a hatred for Indians. The very fine supporting cast also includes Nicoletta Machiavelli, Fernando Rey, Tanya Lopert, Pierre Cressoy, Nino Imparato, and Lucio Rosato.
Ennio Morricone (utilizing the pseudonym Leo Nichols) once again proves how valuable he was to this genre, composing a typically atmospheric soundtrack with a fair amount of vocalizations as well as music.
"Navajo Joe" is not a truly great example of the Spaghetti Western, but it provides an ample amount of diversion.
Seven out of 10.