Funny thing but I think Keoma is great film because of all these things you seem to hate. Yes, it is quite theatrical but thatās usual in spaghettis. I found the flash backs very inventive and I love the music too (at least itās very different and not just usual wanna-be-Morricone-soundtrack) The absence of comedy is
usual to these late spaghettis and no wonder as people were already bored of all those comedy westerns of early seventies. But I gotta agree that Franco Nero looks more like hippie than half-breed indian. 
What?! Castellari has always been famous as a action director. Just check out some of his crime films, like Big Racket or Street Law. Theyāre awsome.
I liked Keoma the very first time I saw it many years ago, and I still think it is a really good film, as I find new things I like about the film every time I see it.
The Woody Strode and William Berger characters are interesting to watch, and especially like Strode on the way his character becomes more like his former self again many years ago.
The music is a split affair, and I actually do not mind it, but I can understand why some people may not like it.Well I have had the soundtrack to the film for years, and I still enjoy listening to it.
And Franco Nero is always a very interesting actor to watch, and underated actor aswell, and seems a nice guy in real life aswell. It always surprises me the amount of films this actor has made, especially in the 1970ās and early 80ās, and usually get to see a couple of films I have never seen of his every year.
The action works for me in the film, and like someone has previously said he has copied Peckinphah, but he does not fully understand the full concepts behind this process I think, and vastly over used this idea to much in the 1980ās with his futuristic films like the Bronz Warriors.
I am looking forward to watching some of the directors earlier westerns in the future, and to see whether they match up to this one.
Castellari is at best famous in the circle of trash film fans. In all books about film history or in āseriousā lexica he is not even mentioned. And the film critics like low budget directors who make unpretentious actioners with imagination.
But Castellari reputation is that of a cheap director of cheaply made action flicks.
In my opinion his better SW ( Johnny Hamlet ; Any Gun Can Play ; Kill Them all ā¦ ) are all marred by his weak action scenes. And these are his more ambitious SW. But look at this Colonel Blake film, itās extremely bad and boring. A talented action director should have done ,even with a very low budget, at least a presentable film.
A pure action movie like Kill them allā¦ shows clearly his limitations.
But tastes are different, and all is subjective.
i couldnāt agree more, Castellari without a doubt is a top class action director (what is stanton thinking?) and in my opinion Keoma is one of the last great spaghettis. 
I can see this film has quality, but it just didnāt appeal to me that much. Besides that, I find the story pretty cliched, but not with western cliches. To me it almost looks like an audiovisual country & western song. The pregant woman annoyed me and so did the former slave. People use derogative terms in his face and piss on his shoes and he doesnāt do a thing about it. Then out of the blue he decides to shoot people? The only other Castellari movie Iāve seen so far is Any Gun Can Play, which maybe wasnāt as good (and is a The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ripoff) but a way more fun ride. I will watch Johnny Hamlet as soon as Iāll manage to get some subtitles (any help?) Anyway, maybe thatās my problem with Keoma, that it is no fun. Iām not saying Castellari should have put Terence Hill stuff in, but he could have made a less dry movie than this. (perhaps by cutting down on the drama elements that didnāt quite convince me).
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What version of this movie do you have?
If you have a German DVD of Johnny Hamlet it has Enlish subtitles but they arenāy choosable from the menu, flick through the subtitles when the film is playing and you should be able to access them unless. 
from Koch MEdia ,isn`t it.Somebody should tell them that they would sell more dvds if theyv write all their Subtitiles on the dvd cover
i think it is a licencing issue, i donāt think the subtitles are supposed to be there but have put them on there disreetly so we can see them, look at it as a bonus
Never mind, I found some. Now I only need some for the Price of Power (an .srt or .sub file, that is)
This is the case with almost all Italian genre directors. Some of the most famous are mentioned like Leone, Corbucci, Bava and Argento but they donāt get that good criticism either usually. Directors like Castellari, Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi and many more donāt get any attention in traditional film history.
Oh, but Leone is now one of the gods of popular films like Peckinpah, Ford, Hawks, Fuller etc.
Corbucci could be famous if he had stopped filming after The mercenary or maybe Companeros.
Bava was recognised because there were some films which shows a certain talent.
The others probably deserve their fan only status because of the lack of inspiration in their works.
But even Sollima has a low reputation, he is known only in the SW world.
But in the end the only thing that counts is if you (or I) can enjoy a particular movie, and not what somebody has written about it.
Very poetric 
back to the movie.I enjoyed the movie ,for me , the music is the strangest and best thing about it.The text of the songs are always very realted to the scenes and i think this movie is one of the first Spaghettis who asks why do somebody help strange peopleā¦(<- a line in the text)
First of all, donāt get me wrong, I really like the movie. It has a really cool look. And for a change the slowmotion is really handled well. After Peckinpah it has become such a tired cliche. Most of the time you just like Monty Python wanna shout: āget on with it!ā. Has anyone watched the end of hilariously bad movie āThe Car?ā I rest my case. This movie and anything by John Woo (in his HK-years that is) is an exception. I think itās way over the top in its seriousness though. Somebody sometime must have laughed in that village. Maybe just at the way Nero looks. Hey, I like it, but as we know, opinions on fashion tend to differ. And these people arenāt exactly broadminded. Just like the music (Leonard Cohen in a very depressive mood) in the end it becomes funny. At least it had that effect on me. Yes, the music comments on the action but we can see the action so why shouting at us what we see. Itās the same in āFour of the Apocalypseā. I think that movie would have been so much better with a ātraditionalā spaghetti western soundtrack. One of the great everlasting joys of a spaghetti is its unusual music. Thatās my opinion and Iām sticking with it.
In my honest opinon apart from Peckinpah there are 2 other directors who expertly use slow motion to full effect. Enzo G Castellari and Walter Hill[flash=200,200][/flash] 
Point taken, but Walter Hill not all the time. My favourite W.Hillmovies: āThe Long Ridersā (great slowmo and brothers), āSouthern Comfortā and off course urbanyouthgangkitschmovie āThe Warriorsā. That last film would make an excellent double bill with āEscape from New Yorkā. It wonāt be sponsored by the Tourist Board of NYC though. My favourite slowmotionsequence is still: The samurai that after been struck, stands still and then slowly collapses in Kurosawaās āSeven Samuraiā.
Castellariās THE BIG RACKET has some excellent slow motion scenes also.
I have the Big Racket to watch, looking forward, as not seen before.
Have you seen the Herion Busters, also by same director and also stars Fabio.
Good movie, Iām going to go with *** - which I consider to be very good. I probably have to watch it again to understand more to the little meanings in there. Franco did his own dubbing, which is commendable, but his accent is a little distracting because it contradicts the character. The scenery in the beginning is absolutely amazing. Maybe after I watch the commentary, Iāll wish I gave it four stars.