Watched it five years ago, and I donāt think Iāll watch it again. Donāt know exactly why.
Well, we all have or reasons, without knowing why 
Gave this a watch after it being on my list for quite a few years now. Great movie, great camera work, fantastic use of locations and the colors are just gorgeous. Really beautiful and atmospheric movie.
Spoilers
One thing that I gotta talk about is how similar it is to 10,000 Dollari Per Un Massacro. I mean seriously itās right down to a āTā with Mannaja getting buried up to his neck in dirt and with the daughter character turning traitor for the main villain. They even end it the EXACT SAME WAY with the daughter caressing the villians dead body, the old man coming out to send Mannaja off with a funny one liner, and Mannaja looking back and going into the horizon. Small things though, and it makes sense being that Sergio Martino worked on both films.
Also anything with Philippe Leroy gets a 10/10 in my book. The man could just lay in bed and read a phone book and Iād be cool with it.
What did you think of the music?
Itās a fat pile of auld cocksmack, and Iād sooner be publicly bumwronged with a tyre inflator on the forecourt of a Tesco petrol station than ever hear it again. 
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Sure gives Keoma and Un Dollaro Tra I Denti a run for their money eh?
Iāve never been keen on this one or Keoma. I just see them as far too gothic to take seriously as or even be part of the western genre. The dark atmospheres and lighting, as well as the filming locations just become too bleak for what are supposed to be westerns. Iām not against gothic elements i spags and I love And God Saidā¦ and Vengeance is Mine, but with these two films it begins to verge on silly. Then thereās also the music which @last.caress has summed up better in one sentence than I ever could in an entire book 
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Thatās about the best response Iāve seen to anything ever.
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Nah. Itās a fine soundtrack. Put it on many a time.
āYOHHā¦ ALONEā¦ A SAWā¦ LITAā¦ RY MANā
Is it the same bloke who sang on Keoma?
You know what? I actually like it. The āYouāre a Snakeā song is fucking catchy as hell and twice as awesome. Better than the Keoma soundtrack by a long shot to be sure.
Is it the same bloke who sang on Keoma?
Yeah it is lol. I canāt remember his name but heās mentioned somewhere in this thread. Iād try and find it but my internet is spotty as hell right now.
I consider Keoma to be in my top 10 favorite films. I really love that movie so much. And yeah just like Keoma, Mannaja is a really different from most westerns and it is pretty apocalyptic and nihilistic in terms of itās image and itās ideals, but itās because of those dark themes that I think that both of these films succeed and are truly amazing. Itās a shame they sort of fell between the cracks and didnāt get more recognition.
Plus John Steiner running around wearing a cape and Philippe Leroy? How can you not like it? lol
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Whoever it is theyāre just doing a terrible Leonard Cohen impression. Only Cohen can sing like Cohen.
Mannaja is another example of a SW that I watched at Youtube after having studied the corresponding forum thread and a review, looking for more rather high ranked SWs.
My first impression is that it is OK with a nice mood, even if I watched the Spanish version and didnāt understand/hear everything they said.
The soundtrack was a bit uneven and even if I tolerated the main theme, there was also a rather irritating maybe to be called country-like pop music (around 1h, 21 - 23 min).
I guess I would appreciate an English dubbed version even more, so a purchase of a DVD/Bluray will be my next step. Maybe I later will rank it around 20-25 in my top SW list,
Heās got his own website - as an estate agent, aka realtor. These days I wonder if heās accessible for a Skype/Zoom interview.
Then again, his time may be pretty costly, if you look at the houses he sells ā¦ Completely beyond the pocket (and imagination) of this overstretched Missouri-based Brit!
He also had a stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was in the original Peter Brook production of the Marat/Sade, which is actually around on film. Thereās a DVD, though itās fetching some appalling prices these days.
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Got the idea to give Mannaja another chance, but it wasnāt worth the effort. It is still more boring than entertaining. Martino tries to give some style to the dull story, but fails so often that is is closer to Fidani than to Keoma.
Phewww ā¦ 3/10
Just watched my Scandinavian DVD (which looks superb). Really enjoyed this one. Loved the opening with the slow-mo hand decapitation and the foggy duel at the end. Merli was great - got a chuckle out of seeing him all drenched in the mud with the exception of his glistening white teeth. I personally didnāt mind the soundtrack (it was a HELL of a lot better than Keomaās) but I can see why many people dislike it. It definitely benefits from Martinoās more skilful direction with some really nice camera shots and angles.
7/10
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Oh Stanton, Iām sure this film will reach Boot Hill levels of greatness for you someday. With a few more dozen viewings, you will appreciate it as much as Max did on his first.
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This movieās page in the SWDb has been upgraded to the new āSWDb 3.0ā format. Please have a look and let us know if thereās something you can add (information, trivia, links, pictures, etc.).
Poll added. Top of page, as before.
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Iāve been enjoying a spaghetti each night, revisiting some of my old favourites. I decided to watch this one again and it still holds up. Itās a pity Merli didnāt make more westerns. Iām surprised this hasnāt been given a HD release yet.
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