Adiós, Sabata (1970)

Master gunslinger Sabata helps a band of Mexican revolutionaries steal a wagon-load of gold.

Director:

Gianfranco Parolini (as Frank Kramer)

Writers:

Renato Izzo (story), Gianfranco Parolini (story)

Stars:

Yul Brynner, Dean Reed, Ignazio Spalla

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yul Brynner	...	Sabata / Indio Black
Dean Reed	...	Ballantine
Ignazio Spalla	...	Escudo (as Pedro Sanchez)
Gérard Herter	...	Colonel Skimmel
Sal Borgese	...	Septiembre
Franco Fantasia	...	Señor Ocaño
Turam Quibo	...	Gitano (as Joseph Persaud)
Andrea Scotti	...	José
Nieves Navarro	...	Kingsville Saloon Dancer (as Susan Scott)
Luciano Casamonica	...	Juanito, Village Boy
Salvatore Billa	...	Manuel Garcia Otello
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	Barman
Massimo Carocci	...	Juan de los Angeles
Vittorio Caronia	...	1st Lt. Steiner (as Vitti Caronia)
Omar Bonaro	...	Jesus Rivalta

Storyline

In Mexico, during the rule of the self-proclaimed Emperor of Mexico Maximillian (1864-1867), Mexican revolutionaries and Republican forces try to bring former Mexican President Benito Juárez back to power. The United States in neutral and is going through the pains of the American Civil War. Mexican guerrilla leader Señor Ocaño hires gunfighter Sabata to steal a wagon-load of gold from Emperor Maximillian's Austrian and French forces. When Sabata and his friends, Escudo and Ballantine, finally get their hands on a wagon, they discover it's full of sand rather than gold. They suspect that the gold was stolen by Austrian Colonel Skimmel. Therefore, Sabata and his partners set out to find the gold and give it to the Mexican revolutionaries.

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Plot Keywords:

oppression | black | robbery | dust | small village | 

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Taglines:

Sabata aims to kill.

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Genres:

Action | War | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for western violence

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 September 1970 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Adiós, Sabata

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.

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Goofs

In the bar where Sabata and Ballantine meet and they start to play the piano. When Sabata walks to the piano, he lays his gun on the table. In the wide shot of both playing the piano, the gun is missing from the table.

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Quotes

[Sabata catches an Austrian agent in a snare]
Sabata: Hang around, I'll be back.
Austrian agent: [furious] I'll get you when I get down!
[Sabata shoots the rope in two with a small pistol. The agent falls head first onto an accordion, and the instrument produces a sour note]
Sabata: [looks back impassively] You played that *rotten!

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Connections

Featured in John Wayne Made Me Cry: Our Western Heros (2002)

User Reviews

In name only sequel to the first Sabata film is a very good western worth your time and popcorn

Sort of sequel to the earlier Sabata with Lee Van Cleef, this was filmed as Indio Black and is known as that in several countries. The title was changed when the distributor paid for the right to use the name Sabata from the original films producer. The result is Sabata becomes a dead ringer for Chris, Yul Brynner's character from the Magnificent Seven films (a character Van Cleef was playing in a movie shot at the same time as this).

Aren't the back stage maneuvering of Spaghetti Westerns fun? Some times the stories are more fun than the movies.Fortunately this movie is more fun than the story.

The plot has Sabata (Yul Brenner) helping Mexican revolutionaries attempting to over throw the Emperor Maximilian. Sabata is to steal some gold and then use it to buy guns to attack an evil General. However things don't go as planned and when they go to steal the gold someone else is already there. Add to the whole mix spies, greed and some odd left turns and you get one entertaining, but not very coherent movie.

Don't get me wrong I like this movie a great deal, I just wish it made some sense. Characters appear out of left field when it suits the plot, people don't do anything logical (I mean if you just stole a wagon full of gold you'd make sure that the gold was really there wouldn't you?), after a certain point its never clear if they are keeping the gold or giving it to the revolution. Its enough to drive you crazy if you let it. I didn't since a good many of the spaghetti westerns I've seen make even less sense then this one.

If you like Westerns this is one to see. Its perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon. I'm still not sure if I think of Brenner's character as Sabata, but it doesn't matter since no matter what he's called he's a kick ass hero with a smart ass mouth. What more could you want?