The Sabata Trilogy

For all fans of Spaghetti Westerns, this trio of SABATA films (directed by Gianfranco Parolini under his nom de plum Frank Kramer) will make the perfect addition to your Lee Van Cleef collection although for the second Sabata adventure Yul Brynner took on the part of the mysterious gunslinger.

SABATA (1969), the first title in this newly restored Blu-ray trio, features Lee Van Cleef in the title role and we’re off to a riveting start when in the Texas town of Daugherty a group of bandits disguised as army soldiers steal a safe containing $100,000 in a most spectacular way – even going as far as to employ a pair of acrobats. As the robbery takes place, steely-eyed gunslinger Sabata befriends the chubby Carrincha (Pedro Sanchez) – a former Confederate Civil War veteran lamenting that for his effort he earned nothing more than a worthless medal. He’s also real handy when it comes to throwing knives and by the end of the film will have more worthy possessions than just a lousy medal. When Sabata manages to kill the robbers and returns the safe he doesn’t say ‘No’ to a generous $5,000 reward from the army but… While resting in the hotel bar he makes the acquaintance of Banjo (William Berger), a mysterious bard with reddish hair and a musical instrument which delivers more than just a tune or two. Banjo claims to know Sabata who in turn has no recollection of ever having met him. In due course he is enlisted by Sabata for protection purposes but as it turns out he’s a backstabbing scoundrel who has his own agenda. Meanwhile the real culprits – namely the sadistic and effeminate Stengel (Franco Ressel), his accomplice Ferguson (Anthony Gradwell) and Judge O’Hara (Gianni Rizzo) are peeved to say the least over the fact that the stolen safe had been returned by Sabata for it was this unholy trio who masterminded the theft all along for personal gain involving a railroad development. Things soon get a lot more complicated and out of hand when negotiations between Stengel and Sabata – aided by his friend Carrincha and his acrobatic Indian friend Alley Cat (Nick Jordan aka Aldo Canti) – lead to even more bloodshed though at the end the baddies get their well deserved comeuppance, Banjo learns his lesson the hard way and Sabata, Carrincha and Alley Cat are swimming in gold! Of course, all this is down to Sabata’s unbeatable combination of wit, foresight and awe-inspiring accuracy when it comes to using his four-barrelled Derringer.

ADIOS SABATA (1970) is the second in the Sabata-trilogy and is noted not just because here it’s Yul Brynner taking over the part of the gunslinger but the film’s violence and body-count (over 120!) led to complaints by several critics and the altogether more serious tone stood in contrast to the tongue-in-cheek atmosphere of the first Sabata flick. Dressed in black just like his character Chris Larabee Adams in The Magnificent Seven and here called Indio Black in addition to his more famous name, he is hired by Mexican guerrilla leader Ocano (Franco Fantasia) to steal a wagonload of gold from the supressing Austrian army under the rule of Emperor Maximilian I. Naturally, the guerrillas plan to buy weapons with the treasured metal. As expected, things soon take a turn for the worse when Sabata and his partners Ballantine (Dean ‘the Red Elvis’ Reed) and Escudo (Pedro Sanchez again, this time under his real name Ignazio Spalla) come to realise they’ve been had because the stolen wagonload doesn’t contain gold but sand! The actual gold was ‘liberated’ by brutal garrison leader Colonel Skimmel (Gérard Herter) – a member of the Austrian army. Unfortunately he has underestimated Sabata and his friends. In a similar concept as in the first film it’s Ballantine who pretends to be Sabata’s friend when really he tries in vain to have him over numerous times while here, the acrobatics are provided by Septiembre (Sal Borgese) and Gianni Rizzo plays another baddie. Of course, at the end Sabata, Escudo and the acrobat come up trumps.

RETURN OF SABATA (1971) is the final instalment and Lee Van Cleef returns to take on the usual motley crew of lowlife. We’re off to a surreal start in an almost psychedelic scene in which Sabata – in his usual aloof manner – bumps off several opponents while an apparent tribunal of serious looking men in top hats observe the action. Just as we begin to wonder what the heck is going on a bunch of jolly clowns come bursting onto the scene and the whole opening turns out to be nothing more than a circus act, with Sabata obviously in employed as a stunt marksman. Of course it’s not quite like that because once the travelling circus blows into the small Texas town of Hobsonville it’s business as usual: Sabata is confronted with Joe McIntock (Giampiero Albertini) – a baron and master crook who owns the town and heavily taxes the inhabitants so that he can ‘improve’ things in town. It goes without saying that this is precisely what he doesn’t plan on doing and Sabata is in the thick of it before he knows it. Add to that the fact that he’s chasing a group of counterfeiters and this quest brings him together with Clyde (Reiner Schöne), a former lieutenant and now crooked casino owner who, some years earlier, stole $5,000 from our anti-hero… no wonder he wants his money back. Clyde then pretends to be in love with McIntock’s dame Jackie (Jacqueline Alexandre) who is so smitten by him she doesn’t realize he is only using her to get to McIntock’s riches while the usually emotion-free Sabata has one of his eagle-eyes on high-class hooker Maggie (Annabella Incontrera). The usual Sabata stock characters return once more in the shape of Ignazio Spalla (as Bronco) whose drum hides a deadly secret and Angel and Bionda (Aldo Canti and Karis Vassili) – a pair of bowler-hatted acrobats who entertain with their usual antics. Also invited back is Franco Fantasia (here as the dodgy circus owner who runs off with the funds) and Gianni Rizzo is the shady Jeremy Sweeney. Despite the formula wearing a little thin and this last adventure being decidedly more camp then the previous two there’s a fair bit going on to keep the interest afloat – if you can keep up with the many twists that is.

Yul Brynner may have been the much bigger star but his portrayal of Sabata lacks everything that Lee Van Cleef delivers in the first and the third film (including Van Cleef’s amount of dialogue) – then again, this is merely a personal opinion. Whichever version you may prefer, the three films all differ in atmosphere which makes this set special and unique. Oh, and then there’s the ott soundtracks!

This explosive Blu-ray set includes the usual generous Bonus Material such as audio commentaries, video pieces on each film by author Austin Fisher, Stills galleries, lobby cards and poster images, trailers and Limited Collection booklet (first print run of 2000 copies only).