3/5. I need to watch this one again sometime. After watching the 4 Sartana movies I was expecting greatness from this, and it didn’t deliver. It’s fun but it didn’t thrill me like the first Sartana movie. On the positive side the US bluray is excellent quality.
This is great:
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This movie’s page in the SWDb has been upgraded to the new “SWDb 3.0” format. Please have a look and let us know if there’s something you can add (information, trivia, links, pictures, etc.).
New poll at the top, guys. 
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Rewatching this after a long time. Better than I remembered (I think I remember mostly the slapsticky trickery parts of the sequel). And the Eureka disc looks quite good
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Finally watched this one today for the first time start to finish!
I found it to be a better then average non-leone spaghetti western with Lee Van Cleef, a good amount of acrobatics, shoot outs, and a banjo rifle!
The story of this one might be utter nonsense but I respect the commitment to the whole “western anti-hero meets hyper violent live action cartoon character” bit this one goes for!
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Is the title a double-entendre? Does Sabata not mean ‘Saturday’ in Italian or a derivation thereof so the title means ‘Hey amigo, it’s Saturday, your finished’ (as in finished work?). Or am I talking nonsense?
I noticed several missing scenes or shots:
- There’s a still of Sabata showing Stengel that the inside of his jacket is packed with dynamite sticks which is not a scene in the movie. I guess that originally must come before (or after) the dinner conversation between the two men, which explains how Sabata has got there unmolested and is why Stengel tries to kill Sabata with the knife inside his cane rather than a pistol.
- Banjo has some form of nightmare when he is in Jane’s bedroom. The camera zooms into his eye and then we cut to him sweaty and rolling about on the bed. It looks as if a flashback should bridge the two scenes. But there is no flashback. The nature of Banjo’s nightmare is never discussed afterwards either.
- After Banjo awakes from his nightmare, we see Jane getting dressed after a bath and we see her naked back before she puts some clothes on. There is a still of Jane standing in the bath (prior to dressing) which is not in the movie. I watched the UK Blu Ray which was the English print. I also checked out an Italian print on You Tube but this had an even shorter version of the scene which cut out her dressing as well and began with her already dressed. Is there a longer version of this anywhere?
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‘It’s Sabata, you’re closed’ , as in to be closed down, finished etc.
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SPOILERS
I watched Sabata at the weekend for the first time. It is a fun movie that moves along well with some good action and nothing too deep. I liked the bank robbery and then the bar scene with Sabata shooting the dice. Lots of villians in this one and none of them too menacing. Stengel has a good smug and slightly camp demeanour about him. Good sets and a large number of extras in the town scenes which are done well. No expense spared on horses either. The gadgets and trickery made are engaging. I did find the Johnny banjo character a bit tedious after a while.
Overall a solid 3 stars.
“You lice breeder you!”
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I love ‘Sabata’…great fun, and one of my earliest SW experiences… 
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‘Sabata’ premiered in the United States in San Francisco, September 2 1970. The Van Cleef sequel ‘Return of Sabata’ was first shown in Philadelphia and Los Angeles in early October 1972.
Source below: (1) (San Francisco Examiner, September 3, 1970)
In the UK, ‘Sabata’ opened on 15th April 1971 and was screened up and down the country for the next 12 months. ‘Return of Sabata’, released on 1st November 1973, was seemingly an even bigger hit, playing regularly in cinemas into the late 70s. ‘Sabata’ first aired on television on Thursday 9th August 1979 (BBC2 21:20 - 23:05). ‘Return of Sabata’ made its TV debut on Saturday 3rd September 1983 (BBC1 22:50 - 00:35).
Source below: (1) (Evening Standard, 15th April, 1971)
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I wonder if my Dad saw it there…I’ll have to ask him. He’s not into spaghetti’s the way I am but he is a big fan of The Dollars Trilogy so maybe it caught his interest.
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Credit page has been added…
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