5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mama Mia! Last Charge of the Spaghetti Western, November 6, 2005
This review is from: Mannaja - A Man Called Blade (DVD)
This review refers to "Mannaja - A Man Called Blade"(DVD/Blue Underground)
I am a lover of the Spaghetti Western. They have ranged from graphically violent to campy and comedy.They have a style of filming that makes them distinguishable from any other Western. By 1977 they had seen their day come and go. So "Mannaja", was one of the last of it's kind, and gives the genre one heck of a send off! It's a brutal look at the West,and it's action packed(and even has a little romance,but just a little).
A man called Blade(Maurizio Merli), gets his name because he is an expert with a hatchet. He's a bounty hunter and catches a very valuable outlaw, by tossing his hatchet, quicker and more accurately then any gunman can draw on him. And... relieving the bad guys of body parts while he is at it. With his prisoner in tow, and one hand short, he enters a mining town, that has no lawman. The silver baron runs the show, and he's bad enough, but his foreman is the really bad Hombre in this group.Blade manages to get the better of these corrupt guys, and a bloody battle of revenge begins.
The story is surprising. There are twists and turns that you didn't see coming.The characters are interesting. The filming is wonderful. Not only is there some great vistas to take in, but Director Sergio Martino,pays homage to Sam Peckinpah. His interweavings of two very different scenes is a fascianting view. You will have the merriment of dancing girls, pleasing the crowd, while at the same time, a bloody mass murder is going on in slow-mo outside of town. Martino is superb at cutting these contrasting events together.
If you think you may not like this one, because you prefer a six-shooter to a hatchet in a Western, don't worry, Blade is plenty good with guns as well. As he puts it: he speaks more then one language!
A fabulous job by Blue Underground with this one.It is presented in widescreen, has a very nice picture, with good colors and sounds great(Dolby Mono). It may be viewed in either the Italian or English language track,and has optional English subtitles. The director talks about the film(this is a short feature, not as commentary during the film), there is a Still Gallery, and there is a nice booklet with informative notes as well.
Get out the pasta maker, enjoy with some vino, and saddle up for one heck of a going away party for the Spaghetti Western.....Laurie
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mannaja Trois!, October 30, 2004
"Blade" is a hatchet wielding badazz mofo bounty hunter who prances into a town run by a rich tyrant who has the entire town working in his silver mine. Blade's an all around do-gooder but is also looking to settle a score with this tyrant. Blade manages to piss of the villians about two seconds after setting foot in town, and the showdown begins. Needless to say this film is hardly original. When viewing this film I can't stress enough to NOT expect anything remotely like Leone. I think that's where alot of the negative reviews come from-high expectations. I went into this film with the same mindset I'd use going into Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. I expected it to be silly, violent, and most of all, fun. And it is fun! Is this soundtrack as dreadful as the reviews below say? You bet it is! It's terrible! But in my eyes that only added more laughs to the film, and I'm glad the soundtrack is as bad as it is. These lesser Italian westerns have a thing with anachronistic music. Remember Django's Tom Jones-esque theme? Mannaja's might even be funnier than that. And I can't forget mentioning a great performance by Italian film regular John Steiner(my homie Longinus from Caligula) as the villian. Don't expect grade-A entertainment and you'll have a winner with Mannaja. Think of it this way: If The Good, Bad and The Ugly is the Gremlins of westerns, then Mannaja is the Munchies of westerns. Check it out and enjoy those tunes.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Want an entertaining Italian Western...look no further!, March 1, 2006
A man is running through swampy land through mist and trees. Behind him, riding in slow motion comes our "iconic" anti-hero. The man keeps slipping but eventually turns to shoot at the slow motion hero on a horse. He barley raises his hand when our hero throws a hatchet that in turns slices the mans arm right off.
Yes, that is the opening of Mannaja (aka A Man Called Blade), and from that violent opening sequence, you know the film could only come from Italy. Oh Spaghetti films hold a special place in my heart. No other country is this no-holds-barred when it comes to violence and Mannaja is just plum full of Italian film clichés. We get an unlikable anti-hero, bad dubbing, extreme violence, a plot holed story, and a surreal atmosphere. Everything we Italian film fanatics love!
Mannaja, one of the very last Spaghetti Westerns, is actually one of the more entertaining of the genre I have encountered. It actually makes more sense than other films from the Country. Our anti-hero who is known as Blade...yes a man called Blade...travels to a small western town where he gets on the bad side of the towns crooked ruler after betting him in a bet. It ends up this guy tries to kill our antihero.....a bad mistake. Sure it's predictable but what Spaghetti Western isn't other than Leone's? This is just plain and simple Spaghetti Western fun and nothing more. If you like the genre, then you deserve to have Mannaja in your collection.
The major thing is what does the title Mannaja have to do with the movie? The word or name "Mannaja" is never mentioned in the film. How do you even pronounce it? I feel like a fool every time I try to say the name. Also, make sure and check out the theme song to the movie....ifs just hilarious.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
