Navajo Joe

Navajo Joe

Yep, even Burt Reynolds made a spaghetti western. Following in the footsteps of fellow actor Clint Eastwood, who hit it big with director Sergio Leone on the "Dollars" westerns, Reynolds hoped to attain international stardom himself by working with director Sergio Corbucci (Django and The Hellbenders; both also recommended and available from the library) on 1966's Navajo Joe. But the film barely caused a ripple outside of Europe, and Reynolds, whenever asked, often spoke disparagingly of the film. (He once claimed that the film was shown on commercial air flights because audiences couldn't walk out.) That's too bad, because Navajo Joe is a terrific, violent action adventure thriller, with Reynolds (who despite his later comments about the movie is the epitome of cool here) as the Native American title hero defending a group of bigoted settlers against a gang of outlaws (whose leader, played by genre vet Aldo Sambrell, Reynolds' character has a particular hate on for, the reason why revealed in the exciting climax). Some wonderfully staged stunts, many by Reynolds himself, plus a stirring musical score by Ennio Morricone (billed as "Leo Nichols"), fantastic action sequences, a solid supporting cast and a powerful ending help give this underrated film the critical attention it deserves. Ignore Reynolds' comments and watch this film! Also with Fernando Rey and the gorgeous Nicoletta Machiavelli.
-Ed

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