Navajo Joe (1966)

Another good one from the other Sergio, 1 February 2006

Joe vows revenge against a band of outlaws who have been killing and scalping his Indian brethren for bounties. Joe meets up with some folks in a town being threatened by the same outlaws. Joe sees this as his chance to get even with the cutthroats and offers his assistance to the townspeople – for a price. But can one seemingly ill-equipped Indian defeat a large group of outlaws armed to the teeth?

Navajo Joe is best known as the only Spaghetti Western Burt Reynolds made and that's too bad. Burt is okay – he neither adds much nor takes much away. Regardless of whether Burt is in it or not, it's a solid, early Spaghetti Western from the second best known Sergio – Sergio Corbucci. I've said it before, but if it weren't for Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci would probably be regarded as the best director to have worked in Spaghetti Westerns. Navajo Joe isn't anywhere close to being as good as some of his other films (Django, The Great Silence, etc.), but it's enjoyable enough and offers one of the few examples where Indian characters play even a small role in a Euro-Western. Sure, there are plot holes and characters routinely take the most stupid course of action available to them, but it's all good fun.

Ennio Morricone is, in my opinion, the greatest composer to ever work in films. His score for Navajo Joe is another winner. It may not be as well known as his work on Leone's Dollars Trilogy, but it's almost as good. Here, Morricone successfully combines Indian-style rhythms and chants with his traditional Spaghetti Western sound. I enjoyed it so much that I think I'll try to track down a copy.

7/10