A Man Called Blade (1977) Mannaja (original title)

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Sergio Martino
Sauro Scavolini

Release Date:

13 August 1977 (Italy)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | Western

Plot:

A bounty hunter arrives in a mining town and is hired to track down the missing daughter of the town's crippled mayor and learns she has been kidnapped by the mayor's corrupt right-hand-man and a band of outlaws he is secretly working for.

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Silver | Gun | Mine | Silver Mine

Cast

Maurizio Merli	...	Mannaja
John Steiner	...	Valler
Sonja Jeannine	...	Deborah McGowan (as Sonya Jeannine)
Donald O'Brien	...	Burt Craven
Salvatore Puntillo	...	Johnny Johnny - the impresario
Antonio Casale	...	Dorman - bandits' head (as Nino Casale)
Enzo Fiermonte	...	The government Envoy
Rik Battaglia	...	Gerald Merton - Mannaja's father (as Rick Battaglia)
Aldo Rendine	...	The Fat Passenger in the Stagecoach
Sergio Tardioli	...	The Saloon Barman
Sofia Lombardo	...	Mannaja's Mother (as Sophia Lombardo)
Philippe Leroy	...	McGowan
Martine Brochard	...	Angela
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enzo Maggio
Nick Alexander	...	Dorman - Bandits' Head (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Domenico Cianfriglia	...	Valler's Man (uncredited)
Alberto Dell'Acqua	...	Valler's Man (uncredited)
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua	...	Rioting Miner (uncredited)
Bruno Di Luia	...	Stagecoach Guard (uncredited)
Michael Forest	...	Blade (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Nello Pazzafini	...	Valler's Man (uncredited)
Riccardo Petrazzi	...	Valler's Man (uncredited)
Claudio Ruffini	...	Valler's Man with Whip (uncredited)
Franco Ukmar	...	Valler's Man (uncredited)
Frank von Kuegelgen	...	Valler's Man (voice: English version) (uncredited)
José Yepes	...	Valler's Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergio Martino

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sergio Martino
Sauro Scavolini

Produced by
Luciano Martino	....	producer

Original Music by
Guido De Angelis
Maurizio De Angelis

Cinematography by
Federico Zanni

Film Editing by
Eugenio Alabiso

Production Design by
Giacomo Calò Carducci

Costume Design by
Marisa Crimi

Makeup Department
Mirella Ginnoto	....	hair stylist
Dante Trani	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Pietro Innocenzi	....	production manager
Furio Rocchi	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Massimo Manasse	....	assistant director

Art Department
Adriano Tiberi	....	property master

Sound Department
Raffaele De Luca	....	sound
Bruno Moreal	....	sound mixer
Stefano Piermarioli	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Dino Galiano	....	special effects (as Cataldo Galliano)

Stunts
Riccardo Petrazzi	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Alberto Anzellotti	....	key grip
Roberto Belli	....	gaffer
Sebastiano Celeste	....	camera operator
Giorgio Garibaldi Schwarze	....	still photographer (as Baldi Schwarze)
Mario Pastorini	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luisa Buratti	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Sante Discepoli	....	assistant editor
Giuseppe Romano	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Evi Farinelli	....	production secretary
Mirella Malatesta	....	publicity secretary
Luigi Padovani	....	riding master
Riccardo Petrazzi	....	weapons master

Production Companies

• Devon Film
• Intes Corporation

Distributors

• Medusa Distribuzione (1978) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Alberto Bitelli Intl. Films (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Another World Entertainment (2007) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Breien Film (Norway) (VHS)
• Firebox (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Muntel International (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS) (as Muntel Video)
• Nacional Vídeo (Brazil) (video)
• Stomp Visual (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Supersounds Films (2010) (Finland) (DVD)
• Video Instant Picture Company (VIPCO)
• Video Tape Center (VTC) (????) (Finland) (video)

Also Known As:

"Mannaja" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

Brazil:101 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted | Australia:MA | Sweden:(Banned) | New Zealand:R13 | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM18 | USA:R (MPAA rating)

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Devon Film

Trivia:

Maurizio Merli did most of his own stunts.

Movie Connections:

References Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

MANNAJA: A MAN CALLED BLADE (Sergio Martino, 1977) **1/2

When this film was released as part of Blue Underground's "The Spaghetti Westerns Collection" Box Set with 3 other prime examples, I had actually held back from purchasing it - consequently allowing the "Limited Edition" Set to go out-of-print! - mainly because, since MANNAJA stemmed from the dying days of the subgenre, I assumed that it would be a second-rate effort. The fact that it starred Maurizio Merli - the "poor man's Franco Nero" - whom I had only watched, up till then, in WHITE FANG TO THE RESCUE (1974) added to my skepticism...but, then, the film itself turned up on late-night Italian TV: I watched it and actually liked the film quite a bit though, at the time, I was perfectly happy with the recording I made and felt no urgent need to own it on DVD! However, when I recently rewatched THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) and decided to purchase its sequel RUN, MAN, RUN (1968), I noticed that it was available as a "two-fer" with MANNAJA at practically the same price as the single edition...!

Anyway, let's get to the subject at hand: Merli here exchanges his customary modern outfit for a Western garb, but he's still the resolute - and unconventional - man of justice (even if he's officially a bounty hunter); this was his only out-and-out Spaghetti Western which is no surprise, coming so late in the game - but he cuts a good enough figure! After an arresting opening sequence (a chase through fog-ridden swamps with Merli, armed with an axe, on horseback - riding in slow-motion as if he were one of The Blind Dead! - going after a disheveled Donal O'Brien), the film settles down to being an enjoyable and stylish - if highly derivative - entry in the genre (which also happens to be director Martino's second and last such effort). Being a film from the late 70s - as was KEOMA (1976) - the color stock utilized is less garish (and, therefore, less attractive) than it was during the Euro-Cult heyday, but this actually suits the generally bleak outlook provided in these two outings!

As I said, the plot line plunders several of the earlier Spaghetti Westerns: the unusual weaponry from DJANGO (1966); the crippled landowner from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968); the traveling show from A SKY FULL OF RAIN FOR A ROOF (1968); the hero left to rot in a hole out in the sun (from DEATH RIDES A HORSE [1968]) and is then rendered temporarily blind (from BLINDMAN [1971]); the hero's backstory, revealing his thirst for revenge, presented as intermittent flashbacks (of course from any number of Sergio Leone films) - but there's no denying that all these various bits and pieces manage to blend together very well indeed! Besides, the many action sequences - augmented by a good score from the ubiquitous De Angelis brothers (although it, too, sounds awfully similar to that of KEOMA...down to the irritating male baritone!) - certainly deliver the goods.

The supporting cast is also above-average: apart from O'Brien's unusual role (he turns up again later on in the film with a hook for a hand - and who even gets his own song, characterizing his slimy 'qualities'), we have Philippe Leroy as the corrupt boss who has an account to settle with Merli but whose power is slipping away from him, a couple of girls (Sonja Jeannine - from Sergio Sollima's THE BLACK PIRATE [1976] and who reveals herself to be less innocent than one would have thought! - and Martine Brochard) and, best of all, John Steiner in one of his finest roles as Leroy's vicious lieutenant (flanked by a couple of mastiffs!) who harbors ambitions of taking over the latter's empire and bears a grudge against Merli's hero all through the film...until he receives his just desserts in another fog-laden showdown!

The main supplement on the DVD is an interesting interview with a typically down-to-earth Martino (I saw him at the Italian B-movie retrospective held during the 2004 Venice Film Festival).