Perfect cast and a good story

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Apparently THE RETURN OF SABATA made the 50 Worst Films Of All Time book by Michael Medved but does it really belong there ? From a analytical film student point of view you can claim it's no different from the films of Sergio Leone in that it contains a Marxist slant as to what is the root of all evil . From the outset the audience are told via one of those songs so terrible and yet so infectious it stays in your mind for days:" if you want to make money if you want to be rich you have to be a son of a Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb " Wow what a great idea it would be if we abolished currency , wealth and conditioned people in to not being greedy . What's that you're saying ? It's been tried and it didn't work . Ah yes I remember . One other thing that doesn't work is the plot mechanics of this movie which left me totally confused as to where it might be going . Something to do with an Irish gang wanting to get their hands on some gold and Lee Van Cleef as Sabata trying to stop them because he wants the gold . Why should Sabata get the gold instead of the Irishmen ? I have no idea The difference between this and Sergio Leone is in the use of humour . At least Leone could make use of black comedy . Here there's no similar feel and it has an overbearingly silly light hearted air to it including a couple of circus acrobats . In many ways it resembles one of those Westerns featuring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer rather than gritty spaghetti Western fodder . It is watchable which stops it from being one of the worst films ever made

This has to be one of the most entertaining, funniest and fun to watch movies I've seen in a while! As a lover of spaghetti westerns and a big fan of Lee van Cleef, I was excited about catching this on TV. Not the kind of movie you have the chance to watch usually, at least where I live. I expected just one more SW, but no -"É tornato Sabata" offers something more. It is quirky, it is sometimes bordering the realms of surreal; and it's a lot of fun to watch. But funny, also -in fact, it's something of a comedy-western, with the agreeable bit of cheesiness that you can find in some of these movies -movies made only to entertain people and provide a good time. This movie does that not only by way of the plot -the charismatic and mysterious hero Sabata arrives in a town ruled by a local tyrant who imposes abusive taxes, with the action that ensues- but also and especially thanks to the amusing dialogues and performances of the whole cast, of which I especially enjoyed Lee van Cleef -once again showing what a talented, sadly underrated actor he was, but also how much he enjoyed his work-, and Pedro Sánchez, here listed as Ignazio Spalla.Gianfranco Parolini directs the movie, paying very good attention to most of the unwritten rules or principles of spaghetti westerns, following Sergio Leone's extreme close-ups or sometimes slightly overdone facial expressions or sound effects.Going back to the plot, I have to add that it contains enough fun and clever twists to be quite original and worth watching closely.I rate this 9/10. Enjoy!

I saw this movie on cable television. It played right after The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Talk about day and then night.When I saw that it starred Lee Van Cleef, and heard the catchy theme song, I thought, hey, maybe this will be good.But alas, Lee Van Cleef went from the Bad to the Bad Movie. As far as I am concerned, there are only three Spaghetti Westerns, and Return of Sabata is a perfect example why. These imitations don't measure up.Van Cleef makes a valiant effort as the cool cat Sabata who always finds a way to win. But as he is not countered by any competent antagonist, his efforts are wasted. The movies' arch-villain McKintock is evil enough, but hapless (why doesn't he just have a bunch of guys with shotguns assassinate Sabata?) and surrounded by clownish lackeys with no sand.These themes are established early: Sabata always knows what's going on, and Sabata always wins. It seems half the film consists of McKintock's men challenging Sabata to one gambling contest after another, then trying to trick or cheat him, only to find that Sabata cheats better. Many of these scenes end with Sabata pulling a gun at some clever time, including a small-caliber barrel hidden up his sleeve. Somehow no one ever decides to draw before he does, and time and again, a roomful of armed hostiles is mysteriously cowed. Van Cleef wears a Cool Hand Luke air throughout, but the effect is to turn him into a kind of god-figure. He can get the drop on dozens of men at once? Who can challenge him, then, in this town full of cowards? Yawn. The non-gambling parts of this film seem to be inspired by the director belatedly realizing that it needs to involve more than just harping on Sabata's gambling prowess. Even the positive comments on this page admit that the plot is unfathomable in a single viewing. It's worse; it's as though they shot a bunch of random western-themed scenes, then tried to edit them into a movie. The characters are shallow Western clichés with no substance, and their motives are mostly "I'm-with-Sabata" or "I'm-with-McKintock." And what is going on, and why, is rarely explained. At one point, Clyde suddenly jump into a horse-drawn cart and make off with the loot. But he doesn't get far before his cart loses a wheel and Sabata is there to coolly chide him for his impish treachery. What, Clyde was planning to steal the loot? Why did the wheel fall off? How did Sabata know he was going to do it?The entire film is one take after another of Someone Tries to do Something Against Sabata, leading up to Sabata Wins, Hands Down. Even when the movie bothers to explain just HOW Sabata wins, it wears too thin to hold the attention. Kind of like Superman in the Wild West, with no super-villains or Kryptonite. If you've seen one scene, you've seen the whole film. See it if you like bad movies that critics whitewash as "rollicking." But see it for free, it's not worth paying for.

The plot of this film has to do with the town of Hobsonville where McIntock, a now prosperous miner and town over seer is taxing the people in order to get the money to build up their fair town into something special. Enter Sabata, who is following a trail that led him from a murder in a traveling circus to the town. Clearly there is a great deal of money at stake and Sabata smells something a miss as well as sensing that there is a buck to be made.This is a rambling, often seemingly plot less, (comedic) western. You're a good way into the film before you realize what exactly is going on. There a good number of characters who are two timing or three timing each other and we get dragged into their machinations, and it seems that there really isn't a central story (or real villain), or at least a reason why Sabata is in the town, until the movie is about half over. Its not bad as such but towards the end of the first half you really do begin to wonder why you're watching the film.The reason you're watching it is Lee Van Cleef. Van Cleef as Sabata is pure smart mouthed hero. He can't be beat and he knows it. He is a hero we'd all like to be, even if his motivations are questionable. Van Cleef goes along with the nonsense on screen and in the process makes it somehow okay to go along too.Worth a look for western fans, others may want to take a pass unless they are in an undemanding mood.