$1,000 on the Black (1966) User Reviews

Decent Western about the deadly confrontation between two different brothers , both of whom played by Spaghetti stars : Steffen and Garco

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 3 April 2017]

Nice Italian Western with sad atmosphere , marvelous musical score and elements of Greek tragedy about two brothers : Cain/Abel alike . It deals with an ex-con (Anthony Steffen) out of prison and seeks justice and vengeance against his brother who wrongly incarcerated him . His sibling is called Sartana (Gianni Garco or Gary Hudson who took this pseudonym based on Gary Cooper and Rock Hudson) , a violent bandit dressed in soldier clothes and including the usual poster : ¨Wanted 10.000 dollars , dead or alive . Sartana is a leader of a nasty gang (Sieghart Rupp of ¨Fistful of Dollars¨) who carry out blackmails and massacre against various locations as Campos , Wishville, and Blackstone . The unsettling and disturbing Sartana supported by the corrupt Judge Waldorf (Carlo A'Angelo) proceeds his activities at whatever cost , acting as judge , jury and executioner . The film ends in a sentence : ¨Non Odiare Il Tuo Fratello Nel Tuo Cuore , E Non Levanti Contra Al Tuo Sangue ; Levitico XIX¨

It is a typical Spaghetti Western including common scenarios , two-fisted antiheroes , rapid zooms and strong confrontations full of shots , crossfire and violence . Nice production design shot in Elios studios and Almeria , of course , and adding a peculiar Aztec temple where the villain Sartana lives , in similar style to ¨Requiescant¨ (Carlo Lizzani) temple . Italia/Yugoslavia actor Gianni Garco or Giovanni Garkovich and the Brazilian Anthony Steffen give their ordinaries performances . Support cast is pretty well , it is filled with familiar faces from Spaghetti such as Sieghardt Rupp , Franco Fantasia , Carlo D'Angelo and Carla Calò as tragic mother . Besides , brief appearances from Sal Borghese and Riccardo Pizzuti . Evocative and thrilling musical score by Michele Lanzeranza in Ennio Morricone wake .

Being decently filmed by Colmenar Viejo and La Pedriza , Madrid , Spain and El Lacio , studios Elios Rome , Italy . This Spaghetti Western was decently shot by the Italian professional Albert Cardone . Albert was a prestigious assistant director to popular films as ¨Ben Hur¨, ¨Purple noon¨, ¨Cagliostro¨ , ¨Carmen¨ , ¨Don Camilo¨ , ¨Return of Don Camilo¨. And shot some films , most of them entertaining Westerns such as : ¨¨ Blood at Sundown¨ , ¨Kidnapping¨ , ¨Il Lungo Giorno Del Massacro¨ , ¨20.000 Dollari Sul¨ , ¨L'ira Di Dio¨ and starred by usual genre stars as Brett Halsey , Gianni Garco , Peter Martell , Wayde Preston , Fernando Sancho and Anthony Steffen . Rating : Better than average 6.5/10 . Only for Spaghetti Western aficionados .

This ¨Mille Dolollari Sul Nero¨ was first movie in which showed up ¨Sartana¨ , but this Sartana has nothing to do with true Sartana who appeared in ¨Se Incontri Sartana Prega Per Tu a Morte¨(1968) by Gianfranco Parolini or Frank Kramer , along with screenwriter Renato Izzo . Here Garco performed an unforgettable role as the ¨Mantello Nero¨ hero , as Sartana is a cunning card player ,elegantly dressed in black , he looks like a magician -Mandrake- more than a gunslinger . Parolini gives this character a ghostly style , introducing cynicism and amorality . To be followed by other Sartana (his origin name seems to be Satan) starred by Garco such as ¨10.0000 Dollari Per Un Massacro¨ (1967) by Romolo Guerrieri and ¨Per 1000.000 Dollari T'amazzo¨(1967) by Giovanni Fago . Then , Anthony Ascott or Giuliano Carmineo filmed 4 Sartana entries , such as : ¨Soni Sartana Il Vistro Becchino (69) , ¨Buon Funerale Amigos , Paga Sartana¨ (70) , ¨Sartana arrives¨(70) and ¨Sartana Vendi La Pistola E Comprati La Bara¨ (71), most of them starred George Hilton . Giuliano Carmineo shot with Gianni Garco two similar roles to Sartana as ¨Gli Fumavano Le Colt , Lo Chiamavano Camposanto¨(71) and ¨Lo Chiamavano Spiritu Santo¨ (72) . Subsequently , Sartana was played by William Berger in ¨Sartana in valley of the gold¨ (70) and Peter Lee Lawrence performed ¨A dollar for Sartana¨(71) by Leon Klimovski .

This brotherly love sure ain't mutual.

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 1 January 2007]

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.

Very Solid Pasta Oater

[adrianswingler · 7/10 · 13 December 2015]

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.

Euripides on the Range

[boardwalk_angel · 20 April 2006]

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.

Oh brother...

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 19 January 2017]

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.

Spaghetti western looks good but lacks depth

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 22 November 2016]

$1,000 ON THE BLACK is a fairly early spaghetti western made midway through the success of the Man with No Name trilogy. Thus the overarching storyline is more inspired by classical themes and ideas than the spagwest staples that would dominate the genre in later 1970s-made films. The story is in essence brother against brother, as the film's put-upon hero comes out of jail only to discover that his evil sibling is running the local town with an iron hand.

Plenty of action ensues, and this is a colourful and fast-paced moving picture that nonetheless seems to lack a little something. The performances seem a little too shrill, the violence a little too exaggerated, the mannerisms a little too overbearing. Director Alberto Cardone makes this a film that's good to watch but hard to get really involved in.

The unusual step is taken of pairing two well-known spaghetti western actors as the brothers. Anthony Steffen is the stock hero who doesn't have much of a character. Gianni Garko, who would himself become typecast in the genre in later years, is the scheming, slightly psychopathic bad guy, named Sartana here (the character name would become a mainstay of the genre). Euro starlet Erika Blanc has a minor role amid all the shooting and chaos.

Best movie of Anthony Steffen and Gianni Garko

[unbrokenmetal · 8/10 · 10 June 2001]

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.

Brooding, Violent, Languid Mini-Masterpiece.

[Steve_Nyland · 8/10 · 6 January 2006]

One of the aspects of Spaghetti Westerns that most fans take for granted is the element of HUMOR, and like Sergio Corbucci's MINNESOTA CLAY here is an example of one without a genuine lighthearted moment in the proceedings. Oh sure, the store clerk character is there to get a couple of chuckles, but he isn't funny by a long shot and almost every Spaghetti of importance at least has some unintentional comic effect. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ON THE BLACK is about as funny as breaking your ankle.

Johnny Garko and Anthony Steffen play two prodigal son like brothers of a powerful, rich matriarch (Carla Calò, looking like she was ready for MACBETH) in some nowhere tumbleweed Hellhole. Steffen is the Good Son and Garko -- in a startling, rare turn as the villain -- is the insane, cackling, bi-polar Bad Seed who sets up his brother for murder to weasel him out of the power structure. And sort of resents having Steffen turn up 10 years later looking to settle the score, set things to right, and redeem his family's honor even if it kills him. In other words the usual stuff, but what makes this entry special is the unceasing, overbearing feeling of dread, inevitability and hopelessness that slowly builds over the course of the film. One of them is going to end up dead.

I won't reveal how it turns out except that my fellow commenter is correct: This is the stuff that Shakespeare made 350 years ago & it still works. Steffen and Garko may be the lead actors but the real star is Ernesto Gastaldi's epic screenplay, which forgoes the usual breezy comedy that Sergio Leone and company made an integral part of the Spaghetti formula. It's tempting then to label this as a "Euro Western", a cowboy movie that just happened to be filmed in Spain with an Italian & Spanish cast, but there is more going on here. The film is all style and image, some of which doesn't work as well as the rest but it's all Spaghetti, the only difference being that there is some substance to the plot. It's not just people shooting flies and offing one-liners.

Erika Blanc is excellent & still fresh-faced as the revenge minded daughter of the man killed a decade before, Carlo D'Angelo is appropriately despicable as a duplicitous judge, Roberto Miali comes off well as the emotionally scarred basket case spurred to action by the cruelty he sees, and good old Franco Fantasia gets to play the sheriff who finds he can't just stand back and watch it happen anymore, even though he'd rather. Everyone in the cast is wounded, desperate, thirsty looking and unable to do anything about the plague of madness that grips the town as Garko's Sartana goes completely to pieces & descends into fits of slavering homicidal insanity between shaking down the local bigwigs for protection payments. This could have been a Mafia movie or a psycho killer cop action flick, maybe even a costumer involving a crazed Lord of the land who holds the serfs below him in a grip of terror. The only ones who seem to be able to stop him are his brother & his mother, and the only reason he doesn't just kill them is because you can pick your friends but not your family. Blood is thicker than blood.

It's Garko and Steffen's show and they have probably never been better -- Anthony Steffen's Johnny may have been patterned after Clint Eastwood's Monco character but is far more brooding and regretful. He can take a beating like a man & dish out the cold justice for sure, but he'd rather not, and if anyone messes with his family they had better make sure he doesn't find out about it. And Johnny Garko's Sartana may be a bit histrionic and over the top, but that's exactly what the idiom called for, and unlike Gian Marie Volonte's Indio the insane loco weed puffing Pistolero, Garko is acting rather than just inflecting behavior on screen. His Sartana is as pained by what he sees himself doing as anybody else. The only difference between he and Johnny is the difference between good & evil, and something will have to give.

Garko's Sartana is very interesting in particular because in 1968 director Frank Kramer launched a series of "Sartana" films that were at least as good as anything attributed to the "Django" movies. Anthony Ascott picked up the reigns and turned the franchise into a series of uproariously excessive cartoons for grownups with Garko's Sartana emerging as a James Bond like hero, popping off glib comments & using at times ridiculous contraptions or gimmicks to do his dangerous work. Leave it as saying this is a totally different Sartana that just happens to be played by the same actor which bears no relationship to the later character. Gianni Garko played so many heroes that it's fascinating to see him as a truly evil, despicable cretin. The man had the range, and this is one of the films which proved such. It deserves to be seen again.

The ending is powerful for this kind of stuff. It's worthy of Peckinpah or Bergman, and perfectly understated in the ordinary way it's depicted. Good and evil must eventually confront each other but that doesn't mean one will necessarily win. And the way our world is going to Hell the message is still just as poignant forty years later, with the film only suffering from an extremely low budget and subsequent clunkiness in handling certain moments. But the rest of it is riveting and in a way heartbreaking, and how often can you say that about a Spaghetti Western. Usually they conclude with a twisted, morbid little joke or some kind of gag to ensure that the audience at least shuffles out with a smile on their faces. I needed a drink when this one was over.

8/10

Superior spaghetti Western

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 23 February 2010]

Decent and morally upright Johnny Liston (an excellent and sympathetic performance by Anthony Steffen) gets out of jail after serving twelve years. He vows to get revenge on his evil and ruthless despot brother Sartana (robustly played with deliciously vicious aplomb by Gianni Garko), who framed Johnny for murder and stole his girlfriend Manuela Holt (lovely Angelica Ott). Director Alberto Cardone, working from a dark and uncompromising script by Ernesto Gestaldi and Rolf Olsen, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, does an expert job of creating and sustaining an extremely tough and gritty tone, milks the potent sibling rivalry theme for all it's worth, and stages the rousing rough'n'tumble fisticuffs and stirring shoot-outs with considerable gusto. Steffen and Garko do sterling work in the lead roles; they receive able support from Erika Blanc as the fiery Joselita, Robert Miali as hapless browbeaten mute Jerry, Carla Calo as the bitter, boozy Rhonda Liston, Franco Fantasia as the weak, ineffectual sheriff, Sieghardt Rupp as the nasty Ralph, and Carlo D'Angelo as the crooked, slippery Judge Waldorf. Gino Santini's sumptuous cinematography offers plenty of bold and startling compositions (the sweeping panoramic shots of the dusty and desolate desert are especially striking and impressive). Michele Lacerenza's twangy and harmonic score likewise hits the flavorsome spot. But it's the film's remarkably hard and harsh no-nonsense mood which in turn gives this movie an extra jolting edge: the villains are truly hateful and sadistic, the outbursts of violence are quite savage and shocking (even women and children aren't spared from the copious brutality), and the climactic bloodbath is both wild and exciting. Well worth seeing.