Return of Sabata (1971)

Lee Van Cleef returns to the role of Sabata in this the final installment of the trilogy.  Again the plot revolves around a stash of gold.  This time a ruthless man named Mcintock has pulled the wool over the eyes of a growing town.  See there is an exorbitant about of taxes being collected for just about anything you could want.  Mcintock has the townspeople convinced that this money is going to be used to build a hospital, school, and other such projects.  But in reality he has converted it all to gold and is going to sneak off with it.  The only person that is wise to what is going on is Sabata, who just happens to be in town traveling with a circus.  Good news for the town and bad news for Mcintock.

Just like the first two installments this movie has a very complicated plot, but one that does make sense and answer all the questions by the time the end credits roll.  One of the things that I’ve come to appreciate with the series is the fact that you really don’t know what is going on until the end of the movie.  That said I was kind of bummed by the fact that all 3 movies have a similar plot involving the villain trying to make off with a stash of gold.  I would have liked to seen the Sabata character in a different kind of story.  Also this movie again reuses some of the same actors in similar roles, which makes watching all the movies back to back very confusing at times.  But these are minor complaints, because in the end the Return of Sabata is an entertaining flick.  And on a positive note the movie ends with another killer epic shootout that makes the last 10 to 15 minutes really exciting and fun.  

Speaking of the gunfights lets talk a bit more about them.  They are choreographed very well here and once again Lee Van Cleef comes off as a cool customer as he is gunning down his enemies.  This movie dusts off his signature Derringer type pistol, which is a unique twist to the Sabata character and was missed in the previous installment.  Also back again and something that is pretty unique to this series are the acrobatic sidekicks (for lack of a better description).  This again is another twist to the traditional western that makes this trilogy of movies so memorable. 

There were a couple of behind the scenes bits I wanted to mention.  First up is the camera work and cinematography.  I really love the look of this movie.  The exteriors are shot pretty much like you would expect in a western and make great use of the beautiful scenery.  But what I thought was very different an cool is the way the interiors are shot.  There are lots of interesting choices in camera angles and lighting that make the movie visually interesting.  Also I wanted to mention the music, especially the theme song with plays a couple of times.  It has a very ‘60s groovy vibe to it that works with the tone of the movie and is just cool. 

I guess the bottom line for me is that if you have dug the 1st couple of movies in this series then Return of Sabata is more of the same.  Personally I did like them and am once again going to recommend this one.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2010 John Shatzer