Sequels were very popular in the world of the Spaghetti Western; more often than not the sequels were unofficial, writers or producers borrowing a popular character for their own picture. After the success of Sabata (1969), two unofficial sequels were shot in 1970 and this led producer Alberto Grimaldi to film his own 'official' sequel. Lee Van Cleef was apparently back in the USA shooting The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972) so Grimaldi managed to obtain the services of Oscar winner Yul Brynner, who had ironically gained Western fame in the Magnificent Seven role that Van Cleef was now playing. To add further confusion, in some territories, Adiós, Sabata was apparently released as Indio Black and the lead character renamed thus, but it is clear that the actors are mouthing 'Sabata' as they speak to him.
Set in the 1867 Mexican Revolution, the film opens with a competitive duel in a corral that obviously sees Sabata (Yul Brynner) walk out victorious. Here he is approached by a man who pays him to assassinate a Colonel Skimmel. On his way out, Sabata is approached by another man named Ballentine, who offers to assist him. Sabata heads for the town where a remote Mexican outpost of the Austrian Empire is run by the patriotic Colonel Skimmel who is busily trying to repress a revolution. We then move to a small Mexican village where Escudo (Ignazio Spalla) and his comrades are tasked with meeting Sabata and stealing a shipment of gold of Skimmel's. Meeting Sabata in a saloon, the group hijack the gold convoy and try to get it south of the border, avoiding attacks from Austrian killers and the frequent attempts by Ballentine to steal the cart, but eventually find that they have been tricked and that there is no gold at all. The unruly group then head back to Skimmel's headquarters to find the real stash of gold.
Like its predecessor, Adiós, Sabata is a fun film, but not one to be taken seriously. The Mexican settings, and the character of Balentine, bring to mind the smart, political Western Bullet for the General (1967), but similarities to that film are rather limited. Adiós, Sabata suffers from a rather confused plot. Sabata is initially offered money by a mysterious figure to kill Skimmel, but this is never mentioned again, similarly the opening at a monestary has no connection with the rest of the film. On arriving at Skimmel's village, Sabata is ambushed by three Austrians one of whom is thrown from a top story window, but re-emerges later without a scratch or comment. The frequent, high-risk attempts of the Austrians to recover the gold seem to be rather wasteful considering that it is a fake load - for a remotely located general, Skimmel seems to have no concerns about losing men. On which note, why Austrians? The film is set in 1867 during the last year of the French backed three year reign in Mexico of the Habsburgian archduke Maximilian. Quite why the film is set during this rather little known period I cannot say, possibly Austrian army uniforms were cheap in 1971? Ultimately though, none of this matters, the film is a pure action/trash Western, and a complex plot would only get in the way. The presence of the Austrian army does give rise to some unique set-pieces. Pacing is decent throughout, although it does slow down towards the end before an exciting climax.
Director Gianfranco Parolini (credited as Frank Kramer) returns to the Sabata series with a great mix of moving (including hand-held) camera-work, although with less zoom shots than the first film; he captures the action well throughout - including some more crazy acrobatic stunts and more balcony dives than a Ferdinando Baldi film. Bruno Nicolai gives the film a good, but pretty standard soundtrack. The strange neo-gothic vibe of the first film is sadly missing here and the Mexican-like settings will be familiar to most genre fans.
Yul Brynner performs well in his only Spaghetti Western role despite being lumbered with some horrible one-liners; like Van Cleef in this first film, he remains calm and unphased throughout even when facing certain death. The rest of the cast give fine performances as well, and it is good to see some familiar faces from the first film.
Set during a very curious period in Mexican history, this film gets plenty of unique set-pieces (where else can you see Yul Brynner take on the Mexican army?) and is well directed, but the plot has more holes than one of Sabata's victims. Recommended if you want a brainless action Western, but you can probably find better.
| Anyone famous in it? | Yul Brynner - Western star, famously in Magnificent Seven (1960), Oscar winner for King and I (1956) |
| Directed by anyone interesting? | Gianfranco Parolini - Director of the other Sabata Trilogy films, and WW2 film Five into Hell (1969) |
| Any gore/violence? | Some blood, plently of Western-style violence. |
| Any sex? | No |
| Who is it for? |
Action film and Spaghetti Western fans should enjoy this. Check out Sabata (1969) first. |
| Good soundtrack? | A standard Spaghetti Western score. |
| Visuals | Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1. Anamorphically Enhanced. Colour. (Title sequence is presented cropped on all sides, possibly from another source to the rest of the film) The picture quality is fantastic with only a minimal layer of grain and occasion print damage. |
| Audio | Original
English mono - Dolby Digital - sounds great although the opening title music seems a little muffled. French dub track is also included. |
| Subtitles | English and French. |
| Run Time | Main Feature: 1hr 45m 09s |
| Extras | The disc features:
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| Availability | This disc is only available as part of the Sabata Trilogy collection. Single disc release due from MGM/Fox on 22nd May (details unconfirmed at present). |
| Region | Region 1 - NTSC |
| Other regions? | Japanese and Italian R2 discs, none are much better, Japanese disc has original trailer. |
| Cuts? | Believed to be fully uncut. Print used is English language. Italian version of the film has some scenes re-ordered. |
