Burt Reynolds stars in this 1966 Spaghetti Western about a Navajo Indian whose tribe is slaughtered by a wild group of commancheros. The movie was directed by “the other Sergio”, Sergio Corbucci, who you may know from films like Django, Il Mercenario and Companeros.
This film was supposed to make Burt a big star like the Leone films did for Eastwood, but since the film did poorly in the theaters, Burt had to keep making movies in America. In 1972 he became a superstar after his riveting performance in the backwoods thriller Deliverance.
Navajo Joe isnt the best Spaghetti Western, but aficionados will want to check it out. The score by Morricone is one of the main attractions. You can hear parts of it in Tarantino’s Kill Bill as well.
The Native Americans look a bit off, Navajo Joe & his wife are supposed to be Navajo but their village has them in tipis, (Navajo’s lived in hogans, completely different) and the tipis props look like a series of sticks with cloth between them aranged in a open topped cone circle with the tops (sticks) not quite meeting, lol.
I do have the japanese disc and I believe it is a great spaghetti, nomatter what historic flaws are there…If you find the italian disc more affordable this one is a must have!
I just read Cigar Joe’s specific details about the movie and Im laughing my ass off. Hes describing the flaws like it was supposed to be a historically correct film. Dude, its a freakin Spaghetti Western made in Spain by Italians!!
I picked this from http://www.sundances.net/spaghetti/ (very good site by the way)
Navajo Joe (Italy, De Laurentiis DVD)
-italian and english version mono 2.35:1
-interview :Burt Reynolds, Ruggero Deodato, Nicoletta Machevialli…
-location comparisons
-trailer
-gallery
But according to what I’ve heard there wont’t be Nicoletta Machiavelli interview on the disc.
By claiming that Navajo Joe was only shown in prisons and aeroplanes because nobody could leave, it is fair to assume that Burt Reynolds was not too impressed by his Spaghetti Western experience! What an understatement, he thought it was awful. Oh Burt, how very very wrong you are. Navajo Joe is a very fine Spaghetti Western indeed.
Corbucci’s direction is fantastic, right from the off - a powerful scene where Duncan (played by Spaghetti stalwart Aldo Sanbrell) spies on a young Indian girl. They smile at each other before he shoots and scalps her. It becomes apparent from this moment on that Duncan is a callous and psychopathic killer - just what every good Spaghetti Western needs.
Reynolds dialogue is brief, which is very fitting for his character. And he plays the role superbly. The story powers on at great tempo and contains all the trademarks of a Corbucci movie - lots of deaths, a spoonful of unjust and some great camera work - all to the soundtrack of a powerful Morricone score.
Life in that Prison seems quite comfortable to me, Burt!
Well, I think there’s quite a bit of show biz talk in Burt’s remarks. Somebody once told me that Reynolds is quite fond of NAVAJO JOE and even talked a SW fan into giving him a poster or a lobby card of the movie iirc.
"I just read Cigar Joe’s specific details about the movie and Im laughing my ass off. Hes describing the flaws like it was supposed to be a historically correct film. Dude, its a freakin Spaghetti Western made in Spain by Italians!! "
I guess I have a different criterior, Leone came up with characters that were believable on sets that were loaded with what looked like historical detail regardless of being Italian or shooting in Spain. SW’s that are highly thought of here in the US.
Navajo Joe suffers from lack of believability which if you are not familiar with the Southwest or NA’s can easily be overlooked, Najaho Joe and his tribe could just as well work as stranded Martians, lol
If you’re looking for realism there’s not going to be much for you within the genre. Heck, even Clint Eastwood’s “mule” is actually a horse ;D
I think one of the reasons I like the SWs is because they have that sort of offbeat twist on the US Westerns by Ford, Hawks etc. I actually dont want to see everything exactly historically correct in them. I like seeing them through the eyes of people who arent American.
