Starring
Franco Nero, William Berger, Olga Karlatos, Woody Strode, Orso Maria
Guerrini, Gabriella Giacobbe, Antonio Marsina, Joshua Sinclair,
Donald O’Brien. Directed by Enzo G. Castellari. (1976/101 min).
Review
by Mr. Paws😺
The
problem with spaghetti westerns is they're all inevitably compared to
those made by Sergio Leone, whose shadow continues to loom so large
over the entire genre that it’s difficult to assess them on their
own merits. Many directors simply cop his moves without understanding
his artistry. Others make their way overseas so badly dubbed and
edited that they’re nearly unwatchable.
So
Keona comes as sort-of a surprise.
Franco
Nero (no stranger to the genre) is the title character, a half-breed
who returns to the mining town where he was raised, only to find its
people suffering from a plague. The sick are kept against their will
in a nearby camp by Caldwell (Donald O’Brien), who runs the town
with an iron fist, allowing no one to leave – to say nothing of
bringing back medicine to cure the sick. Keoma ends up saving a
pregnant woman (Olga Karlatos) from being quarantined, raising the
ire of Caldwell and the thugs who work under him.
Keoma’s
adoptive father, William Shannon (William Berger, also no stranger to
the genre), informs him his three stepbrothers are also working for
Caldwell. The emancipated slave to helped raise him, George (Woody
Strode), has since become the town drunk. Anyone who’s seen even a
couple of westerns can probably figure out what comes next: Keoma
decides to use his considerable killing skills to try and take down
Caldwell...with a bit of assistance from William and George.
 |
| Franco belts out a showtune. |
The
plot is pretty standard stuff, but what’s surprising about Keoma
is its creative ambition. Made at a time when the reign of the
spaghetti western was nearing its end, director/co-writer Enzo G.
Castellari takes a slightly more cerebral approach to the material,
specifically the recurring presence of death - personified as an old
woman – always lurking near Keoma, who’s been a killer most of
his life. Castellari is something of a surprise, as well. No stranger
to spaghetti westerns himself, his entire career has been pretty
imitative. But here, he displays brief moments of artistry I’ve
personally never seen in the genre, such as numerous flashbacks which
share the same space as the present. Though generally pretty somber
in tone, the scene where Keoma explains the cost of bullets to four
dumb henchmen is as amusing as anything Leone put together in his
Dollars trilogy.
Not
bad for a director whose greatest claim-to-fame for American
audiences was 1990: The Bronx Warriors.
However,
another way Keoma escapes Leone’s shadow is a bit more
dubious. The music score by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis is
godawful, full of grating, tuneless songs with lyrics that often
narrate the very scenes we’re watching. The female vocals border on
hysterical, while a few numbers are almost comically grunted. In one
of the bonus features, Austin Fisher does indeed mention that the
score remains one of the most polarizing aspects of the film (Nero
loves it, though).
Other
than that, Keoma is an interesting late entry in the spaghetti
western genre. The film will definitely be of interest to Django
fans, as it’s similarly structured (in fact, it was retitled as a
Django sequel in some parts of the world). It’s suitably violent,
with well-choreographed action sequences that draw as much
inspiration from Sam Peckinpah as they do Leone. Loaded with
interesting bonus features, this Blu-ray rescues a relatively obscure
western with a great transfer and is well-worth checking out.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
NEW:
INTERVIEWS with Franco Nero, director Enzo G. Castellari,
writer/actor Luigi Montefiori, editor Gianfranco Amicucci, actor
Wolfango Soldati & actor Massimo Vanni (these are all individual
interviews, running 20-30 minutes each)
NEW:
AUDIO COMMENTARY – By C. Courtney Joyner & Henry C. Parke
NEW:
“KEOMA AND THE TWILIGHT OF THE SPAGHETTI
WESTERN” - Austin Fisher discusses the film, the era of when it
made made and what makes it unique. I don’t know who he is, but
he’s pretty well versed in the genre.
NEW:
SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET – Includes 2 essays, restoration credits,
cast & crew credits and a collection of vintage reviews.
REVERSIBLE
COVER
INTRODUCTION
– By filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man, Straight to Hell).
ENGLISH
& ITALIAN VERSIONS (There are a few slight differences).
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R. LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.
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