I saw this Yul Brynner-starring spaghetti western under the title ADIOS SABATA, even though it has nothing to do with the two Lee Van Cleef-starring SABATA films. It's not as good as the first Van Cleef film but better than the second. The coolest thing about this movie is seeing Yul Brynner in a wicked '70s set up complete with black costume, open shirt, and the like. Brynner's name is Indio Black in the original, Sabata in the version attempting to tie it in to the Van Cleef series.Once again the plot centres around a gold shipment and efforts by rival parties to get their hands on it. Brynner sort of moves in and out of the story and takes care of a bunch of soldiers and henchmen along the way. The Mexican revolutionaries are posited as the 'good' characters in this film; perhaps the Italians identified with them better given that this was shot in Spain. Care is taken to make the main bad guy an Austrian rather than American. The film is well shot and written, and proves an entertaining example of the spaghetti western genre.

This was not filmed as a sequel to "Sabata", but was redubbed and retitled as a sequel to that film when it came to North America. But I don't think anyone will care one way or another, because what we have here is a coooooooool spaghetti western! It obviously had a decent budget, because the look of the movie is spot on, from the sets to the very colorful backdrops. And the production also had the money to hire Yul Brynner, who makes for a very good anti-hero, cool under pressure and tough but always striving to do the right thing. Most importantly, he gets into a lot of action, and the action sequences are exciting and have a high body count. And boy, does the movie have a lot of style, from some crazy camera-work to unforgettable moments like the "flamenco of death"! Are there any flaws in this movie? Well, if pressed, I would admit that there is one real flaw; I think the movie is a little too long. If it had been about fifteen or so minutes shorter, I think it would have moved much better. But better to be cool, stylish, and long, rather than be shorter and without passion or bite.

I don't understand that ratings on this one. The titles rave...and they give it 5 or 6 out of 10. Did someone convert the scale? This is definitely in the top 15% of the genre.What an enjoyable "Zapatista" Spaghetti Western! Yeah, I know it's not Zapata's era, but that's the style of the movie. So many great little inventive bits that are so Spaghetti Western. New to it all or an addict, I think this one would satisfy anyone that isn't an avowed hater of the genre.I suppose a lot of the negative reviews come from people that believe the title and posters. Yeah, it's not really of the Sabata filone. But just forget the hype and watch it for what it is and I think you'll certainly enjoy it.

Ok so it was supposed to be called INDIO BLACK as well as it should have been.After all, Yul Brynner played the character far differently than Lee Van Cleef did and this film really shouldn't be associated with the other two Sabata films. It's a different character look altogether with the Brynner version dressed in black buckskin and silver buckles while the Van Cleef version of Sabata settled more for the conservative Bret Maverick gambler look.Also notably stars failed American singer Dean Reed who would later die under mysterious circumstances in East Germany during the 1980s.The Bruno Nicolai score is excellent although derivative of other scores for the genre. If you like soundtracks for these types of films, then it's well worth picking up. I know I'll be on the lookout for it.Lots of explosions and gunfire in this one as Brynner & Co. battle the Austrians under Maximillian (in Mexico circa 1867) and steal their gold. There's nothing boring about it and it's face-paced with a few tricks such as the model of the ship in Colonel Skimmel's study that shoots real live ammo everytime someone opens the drawer below it. I also like Brynner's sawed-off rifle with the clip that loads from the side. He keeps a cigar in the last chamber and lights it up after every gun battle. Very tongue-in-cheek.I liked it. Too bad the widescreen version was cropped for television.6 out of 10