Navajo Joe (1966) User Reviews

An Italian-Spanish co-production full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and lots of violence

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 27 January 2010]

For money, for pleasure, for revenge , he doesn't care why he kills or how ¡ . The sole survivor , named Navajo Joe (Burt Reynolds who wore a black toupe hairpiece), of a slaughter and atrocity executes a single-handedly revenge , as he slashes, burn , ravages and kills each person involved in the massacre . He is relentless in his vendetta , deadly in his violence . The conflict is a simple one between avenger Indio and oppressors , nasty bandits (Aldo Sambrell , among others). Meanwhile , Navajo Joe aids an unappreciated although terrorized little town called Esperanza City in the process . The town is inhabited by important people as the banker named Blackwood (Angel Alvarez of Django) , the priest(Fernando Rey of Return Magnificent Seven) , the doctor (Peter Cross) and a gorgeous mestizo girl (Nicoletta Machiavelli) , among others. Navajo is submitted a tempestuous trap and is caught up and he suffers incredible tortures .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonist Burt Reynolds and the enemy Aldo Sambrell and his hoodlums. Burt Reynolds is fine , he ravages the screen , he jumps, bounds and leaps, hits and runs ; besides receiving violent punches , kicks , lashes and is ultimately hung . Reynolds told this one is his worst film but I think it turned out to be a good Spaghetti Western . Producer Dino De Laurentiis made this with the intention of replicating the success of For a fistful of dollars (1964) after that movie had become a box-office hit . De Laurentiis wanted to find an American actor to rival Clint Eastwood's popularity. Reynolds had appeared in TV westerns and was part Cherokee Indian . De Laurentiis persuaded Reynolds to sign on. Aldo Sambrell as a cruelly baddie role is terrific , this is his only acting as starring , subsequently the would play very secondary or minimum characters . Furthermore, there appears usual secondaries Italian/Spanish Western as Alvaro De Luna , Simon Arriaga , Rafael Albaicín ,Lorenzo Robledo, and , of course , Fernando Rey in his ordinary role as priest . The film blends violence , blood , tension , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts or stunts every few minutes . There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction as Ruggero Deodato, future Cannibal Holocaust, and production designer Eduardo De la Torre Fuente who creates an excellent scenario with barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on the Indian cemetery . The musician Ennio Morricone , Lee Nichols, composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted ; it's full of guttural sounds and Indian screams. Striking cinematography by Silvano Ippoliti in Technicolor, Techniscope with negative well processed . Interior filmed at Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica, Studios Rome and outdoor sequences filmed at Torremocha, Colmenar, Guadix and of course Almeria, Spain.

Sergio Corbucci's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and too much action, other Westerns he filmed contained broad comedy . He made several Spaghetti classics : ¨ Django¨, ¨The great silence¨, ¨Hellbenders¨, ¨The specialist¨ , and Zapata Western as ¨The Mercenary¨, ¨The Compañeros¨ and ¨What am I doing in middle of the revolution¨ . In addition Sergio directed other inferior S.W. as ¨Far West story¨ ,¨Johnny Oro¨, ¨The white the yellow an the black¨ and ¨Minnesota Clay¨ .

What's Burt So Embarrassed About?

[FightingWesterner · 7/10 · 16 September 2009]

Instead of slapping you in the face for not seeing Navajo Joe, Burt Reynolds is more likely to slap you in the face if you have seen Navajo Joe!

I saw a television interview once where Reynolds spoke very flippantly about it, basically saying that he was trying to imitate Clint Eastwood's (whom he replaced on the TV series "Rawhide") path to success by going to Europe and starring in a western. He went on to say that unlike Eastwood who got Sergio Leone, he was stuck with Sergio Corbucci.

While I understand Burt's disappointment that this didn't become a hit movie or do much to advance his career, I don't understand his embarrassment as this is actually a pretty decent picture and he did get to star in a movie, which most people don't get a chance to.

Sergio Corbucci is named by many as the next best thing to Leone, whose films are being rediscovered and re-appraised as classics of the genre. I'd say he did pretty good for a TV actor! (and this couldn't possibly be worse than Driven!)

The plot involves a brutal band of cutthroats led by menacing Spanish actor Aldo Sambrell, who go from killing Indians for profit to an attempt at robbing a train, thwarted by Navajo Joe who takes the train (and the loot) to it's intended destination and agrees to save the town from the now angry rampaging outlaws.

As far as Italian westerns and Sergio Corbucci films go, this is neither the best nor worst of either. It's worth watching and has a great score by an uncredited Ennio Morricone.

Navajo Nearly No!

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 14 December 2013]

Navajo Joe is directed by Sergio Corbucci and collectively written by Fernando Di Leo, Ugo Pirro and Piero Regnoli. It stars Burt Reynolds, Aldo Sambrell, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Tanya Lopert and Fernando Rey. Music is by Ennico Morricone and cinematography by Silvano Ippolitti.

Though Reynolds would say it's the worst film he ever made, anyone who has followed his career will know that simply isn't the case! It's an odd Spaghetti Western that sees Reynolds play the title character, who strides out for revenge against the ragamuffin varmints who slaughtered his woman and tribe. Cue blood letting galore as Joe enacts said revenge with bloodthirsty glee as the hints of anti-racism struggle to show their heads above the pasta strewn pulpit.

Narratively there's nothing else to add, it's simplicity 101 and at times it becomes laborious. Where the film doesn't lack for interest is with the technical aspects. Corbucci hones his skills as a purveyor of brutal set pieces, each striking for entertainment purpose. Ippolitti adds his own brand of cinematography, gracing the story with a pizazz it doesn't deserve, whilst Morricone provides a wonderfully catchy musical score. As for Reynolds? He does OK. Veering close to being pantomime and showing a lack of interest, his all round brooding charisma shines bright and gives the picture a macho edge.

Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, the script is just too lazy, but it is above average and Spaghetti Western fans can find enough here to gorge on for a satisfying meal. 6/10

how good this might have been

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 30 January 2013]

Not without interest but this starts so well with some great long shots and then some startling up close violence and the story is unfolding as we struggle to keep up, and then it pretty much stops. We are introduced to a very young Burt Reynolds who looks pretty good with his horse and rifle but then we get to meet the baddie brothers and they seem far more interesting. Lovely old train but lame plot which necessitates the town's folk (who have said 'no' to guns) being able to do nothing except sit around and wait hoping that Joe will sort things out. Thing is we have to sit watching them sit. And so it plods on. There are a couple of spurts of nasty violence but the girls are wasted, criminally so in the case of Nicoletta Machiavelli and we are forced to imagine just how good this might have been.

A solid, if unspectacular, early Sergio Corbucci western

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 15 January 2014]

Sergio Corbucci is regarded as the best spaghetti western director after Sergio Leone. This is a reputation well-earned after the important and iconic Django and his later masterpiece The Great Silence, which remains one of the best westerns ever made. Navajo Joe was a film he made earlier in his career from the period when the Italian western was in its early years. In fairness, it pales somewhat in comparison to those other two films and it's a more standard spaghetti western overall.

It's probably most famous for starring Burt Reynolds. He was hardly a name you would associate with this kind of thing but in this one he plays the titular anti-hero. He resembles a lot of other lead characters from spaghetti westerns who seemed to be loners with almost super-human combat skills; however, he differs in one significant way in that he is an Indian. It wasn't very common at all for Italian westerns to feature Native Americans in any capacity far less in a lead role. Reynolds actually even looks like an Indian as well. He is okay in the role otherwise though but nothing especially great, although his character is hardly the most well-written one ever. Seemingly Reynolds has dissed this film in public which seems somewhat harsh to me as it's a decent film and he did star in the Cannonball Run films after all but then again he has also bad mouthed another of his later films, Boogie Nights, a movie that is exceptionally good. So perhaps we shouldn't pay too much attention to Burt's taste in these matters.

Like lots of other films of this type, the story is revenge themed. Joe comes to the rescue of a small town terrorised by some bandits. The criminals have hitherto been used to killing Indians for a dollar a head but have now moved onto robbing a train for a much larger sum. Despite the townsfolk having anti-Indian sentiments, Joe helps them but at a cost and also because it is convenient with his plans for revenge on these bandits. Quite frankly, the story is pretty pedestrian. It has a fairly interesting underlying anti-racism message but mostly it's unremarkable. Neither Joe nor the villains are especially interesting. The best character for me was Estella, played by the beautiful Nicoletta Machiavelli but she is pretty peripheral. There is a lot of bloody action for sure but it isn't that memorable. The most striking moment – it you can forgive the pun – was when one of the bad guys gets a flying axe embedded in his head. Like a lot of similar productions, this one benefits from a score by Il Maestro himself, Ennio Morricone. In the final analysis, Navajo Joe is a fairly workman-like spaghetti western but will certainly offer something to fans of the sub-genre.

There's a difference between being stupid and being bad

[Danimal-7 · 14 February 2003]

Is NAVAJO JOE a stupid movie? Oh yeah, you better believe it. Is it a bad movie? Surprisingly, no. To a significant degree, NAVAJO JOE makes up for its farcical plot with its great style.

First, Sergio Corbucci knew how to make good-looking movies. Or at least, he knew how to make this one look good. He laps up the shots of the sere Western landscape (Spain, as usual in spaghetti westerns, stands in for the American frontier). He knows whose faces the camera loves and gives them lots of affectionate close-ups. He knows how to put a rose against a background that makes it look even redder, like a spot of blood on the screen. Kudos to cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti, but the cinematographer can only photograph what the director tells him to, and Corbucci knew what to shoot.

Second, Corbucci manages to keep his leading man off of the screen most of the time. Burt Reynolds is atrocious. His stuntman, on the other hand, is superb. They combine to give us Navajo Joe, one of the most athletic western heroes you'll ever see. Unlike the typical western lead who gets most of his exercise transferring his Colt .45 to and from its holster, Joe believes in getting close and personal whenever he can, usually by flying through the air, climbing onto rocks and roofs, and otherwise dealing with the situation acrobatically. The movie poster ridiculously shows Reynolds aiming a bow, which he never once uses in the movie; as any smart Indian would, Joe uses a Winchester rifle for long-range combat. But he uses even the Winchester athletically, holding down the trigger and pumping the lever action frenetically to shoot down his foes.

Third, that `Leo Nichols' you saw credited with the music is really Ennio Morricone, who, with all due apologies to Nino Rota, is the undisputed king of Italian film music. Like many of his themes it is a choral piece, apparently inspired by Indian tribal songs but reworked to fit Morricone's own standards, and it is superb. NAVAJO JOE is the only movie I have ever watched solely for the music. It is amazing to consider that Morricone did four better themes for Leone alone, while for most film composers this theme would be a career best.

Fourth, the movie exposes some of the injustices that European settlers did to American Indians without ever giving in to the modern assumption that the Indian victims of these evils must themselves have been saints.

As you can see, the elements of a classic western were there. But alas, Corbucci dropped the ball short of the goal line. For one thing, he hasn't got a clue what to do with Nicoletta Machiavelli. She's the top-billed lady, and she's gorgeous, but she doesn't get to take any part in the action. She doesn't even get to kiss the hero. It goes without saying that the characters are paper-thin, and the one who is most humanized is not Joe but Aldo Sambrell's villainous Mervyn (who has a funny scene where he tears down the `Wanted' sign for his brother and crumples it up, but carefully removes his own and puts it away for safekeeping).

Furthermore, NAVAJO JOE is a textbook example of what Ebert called the Idiot Plot; that is, a movie whose plot can only proceed if everyone involved is an idiot. The initial massacre which motivates the hero for the rest of the film depends on his wife being idiot enough to show not the slightest suspicion when an armed horseman rides up to her when she is alone and defenseless. Joe's survival is due largely to Mervyn's inexplicable decision never to send more than two or three of his thirty-or-so outlaws after him at one time. The secondary villain fails to see that, once he has guided Mervyn to the gold, Mervyn will have no more use for him. Mervyn's hard-bitten brother Jeffrey is given an invitation that has `TRAP' written all over it, and proceeds directly into the trap without the slightest suspicion. The most absurd part of all, though, is when Mervyn drags the servant girl Estella into the street, right under the muzzle of Joe's rifle, and threatens to shoot her unless Joe surrenders. Does Joe (a) shoot him through the head, or (b) surrender? You guessed it, he surrenders. Now does Mervyn, having seen that Joe will cave in to any threat to Estella, threaten again to shoot Estella unless Joe tells him where the money is? Nope, he spends fruitless hours beating the living dung out of our hero, and when that doesn't work, strings him up by his heels. He doesn't even muss Estella's hair.

NAVAJO JOE was Dino De Laurentiis' answer to A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Obviously, it doesn't even come close; FISTFUL was every bit as stylish as JOE and had a good story too. But if you measure JOE by what it achieved, not by what it tried to achieve, you'll find it's pretty decent.

Rating: ** out of ****

Recommendation: Western fans should catch it on TV.

Another good one from the other Sergio

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 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.

Decent spaghetti with a great Morricone score

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 3 July 2014]

Sergio Corbucci western with style to spare. Every good spaghetti western is a revenge story and this one's no exception. Burt Reynolds plays the title character Navajo Joe, who hunts down the men responsible for the death of his wife. Lots of violence amidst the attempts at profundity but it's all good fun. Try not to take it seriously and you'll enjoy it more. There is a cheese factor but, again, it's a spaghetti western so that comes with the territory. More so when you add Burt Reynolds to the mix. I don't care what anybody says, I love the Ennio Morricone score. I was humming "Nav-a-jo Joe Nav-a-jo Joe" for a long time after the movie ended.

Entertaining Pre-Django Corbucci Western

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 8/10 · 24 July 2006]

"Navajo Joe" may not be as great as Sergio Corbucci's masterpieces "Django" and "The Great Silence", but it is an incredibly entertaining and ultraviolent, Spaghetti Western that no genre fan should miss. Like most Westerns by Corbucci, Navajo Joe has a sociocritical message, as it portrays racism and the genocide of the Native American population. Predominantely, however, Navajo Joe is non-stop action-packed fun with an excellent score by Ennio Morricone.

A gang of unscrupulous bandits led by Duncan (Aldo Sambrell) ride through the American Southwest and kill every Indian they can find for the one-dollar reward on an Indian scalp. Joe (Burt Reynolds), a Navajo warrior and merciless avenger, starts haunting the scalp- hunters and soon becomes their worst nightmare.

Burt Reynolds actually fits the role fits the role of the eponymous Navajo better than one would suppose and does his action stunts very well. The ravishing Nicoletta Macchiavelli does a good job as Estella, a half Indian half white woman who lives in a white community. It is Aldo Sambrell, however, who steals the show as the villainous the scalp-hunter Duncan, a despicable man who is nothing but greed and concentrated hate. The violence is very graphic for 1966 standards, arguably more so than Corbucci's own "Django" from the same year. The score by Ennio Morricone is brilliant as always, Tarantino reused some of it for Kill Bill Vol.2. If you like Spaghetti Westerns, you have to love Sergio Corbucci. Navajo Joe is not one of his most outstanding masterpieces, but it is without doubt a more than worthwhile Spaghetti Western and highly recommended to every fan of the genre.

Burt's Spaghetti Western with Sergio Corbucci, not Sergio Leone

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 25 December 2014]

"Navajo Joe" is a spaghetti Western from 1966 starring Burt Reynolds as the titular Native warrior who seeks revenge on a gang of sadistic outlaws who massacred his wife and tribe.

They say Italians have been making the worst movies for a hundred years, but "Navajo Joe" is pretty good for a spaghetti oater. In an interview Reynolds admitted that he took Clint Eastwood's example (whom he replaced on the TV series "Rawhide") by going to Europe and starring in an Italian Western; unlike Eastwood who got Sergio Leone, however, Burt got Sergio Corbucci.Despite this, Reynolds was in his prime and looks robust; being a stuntman, he did all his own stunts, which is impressive when you view the movie.

Other highlights include the typically outlandish but memorable score by Ennio Morricone (pseudonymously credited as Leo Nichols), which is reminiscent of his later score for "Burn!" and raven-haired Nicoletta Machiavelli as Estella, a half-breed who takes a liking to Joe. Other than this, the typical revenge plot moves right along for a fairly entertaining 60's European Western where the dubbed voices don't match the lips. "Navajo Joe" may not be great, but it's amusing enough.

The film runs 93 minutes and was shot in Spain.

GRADE: B

Not Exactly Accurate But Well Intentioned

[nafps · 4/10 · 27 January 2022]

The films means well. It was obviously influenced by the civil rights movement and anti colonial struggles in Vietnam and Algeria. So the Natives are first the victims of white racists and then a Native hero takes revenge. The film begins with a Navajo woman in a Navajo village being slaughtered by bandits turned mercenaries.

That's when the film starts to sabotage itself. Yeah, that's a tipi, like Plains tribes use. Not Navajo, who have wooden and dirt hogans built into the ground. The women, obviously Italians, wear the cliched headbands to hold their horsehair wigs. The buckskin miniskirts were amusing too.

Reynolds with his moptop wig, paisley shrt, and buckskin fringe looks closer to Sonny Bono, though in obvious bad tanning makeup. Reynolds claimed it was his worst film. But at least half his films were worse than this, just awful.

NJ is not bad in some parts. The score by Morricone is great as usual. The graphic violence against the bandits feels well deserved. There are a few twists. But it sure can't be mistaken for true history.

Lock me in that prison or aeroplane!

[marc-366 · 8/10 · 21 March 2005]

By claiming that Navajo Joe was only shown in prisons and aeroplanes because nobody could leave, it is fair to assume that Burt Reynolds was not too impressed by his Spaghetti Western experience! What an understatement, he thought it was awful. Oh Burt, how very very wrong you are. Navajo Joe is a very fine Spaghetti Western indeed.

Corbucci's direction is fantastic, right from the off - a powerful scene where Duncan (played by Spaghetti stalwart Aldo Sanbrell) spies on a young Indian girl. They smile at each other before he shoots and scalps her. It becomes apparent from this moment on that Duncan is a callous and psychopathic killer - just what every good Spaghetti Western needs.

Reynolds dialogue is brief, which is very fitting for his character. And he plays the role superbly. The story powers on at great tempo and contains all the trademarks of a Corbucci movie - lots of deaths, a spoonful of unjust and some great camera work - all to the soundtrack of a powerful Morricone score.

Life in that Prison seems quite comfortable to me, Burt!

A Fistful of Burt Reynolds

[slightlymad22 · 7/10 · 6 January 2015]

This movie was Burt Reynolds's second lead role in a theatrical feature film. This movie is also one of Quentin Tarantino's Top Twenty favourite spaghetti westerns.

Plot In A Paragraph: An Indian warrior called Navajo Joe (Burt Reynolds) seeks revenge on a gang of sadistic outlaws who has massacred the people of his tribe.

Aside from Reynolds the acting in this film is pretty mediocre. There s also pacing problems Burt Reynolds only agreed to make this film because he was under the impression that Sergio Leone would be directing. When he found out it was Sergio Corbucci he tried to pull out, but the contracts had already been signed and it was too late.

As a side note this is the first time Burt wears a wig in a movie, but that's more to do with him playing an Indian than the actual role.

Very Cheesy

[martin-dearlove-564-397785 · 3/10 · 21 September 2013]

Aside from Reynolds, the acting in this film is pretty mediocre. The dialogue is one dimensional as are the characters. None of it is helped by it being dubbed.

Aside from a few notable exceptions, Spaghetti westerns do little for me. From the unrealistic gunshot sounds and stereotyped characters to the over acting and obvious story lines, they are generally low quality products. This Western is not one of the exceptions. I have a feeling that the growth in Spaghetti Westerns was one of the main reasons that Westerns virtually died out.

It isn't the worst film I've seen, not even the worst Western. But it's certainly not one I'd bother with again.

"A man who knows what he wants is worth a lot."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 28 January 2007]

I would have lost a bet on whether Burt Reynolds ever appeared in a spaghetti Western, but you know what, this is actually a fairly entertaining flick once you get past the unbelievable body count by Reynolds' title character, Navajo Joe. My unofficial count was twenty nine by the time the film was over, and when you throw in what had to be a dozen or so by the soldiers defending the money train, bandit leader Duncan (Aldo Sambrell) lost more guys than he started out with.

I got a kick out of the scene when the Duncan brothers ride up on a pair of posters showing the reward for their capture, dead or alive. For Jeffrey Duncan (Lucio Rosato), the two hundred dollar reward included 'murder, robbery, and other acts against the people of the U.S.' Kind of makes you wonder what Mervyn Vee Duncan must have done to deserve a thousand dollar bounty. Incidentally, it was pretty cool how the elder Duncan crumpled up his brother's poster, but neatly secured his own after he took it down.

Other reviewers on this site give high marks to the Ennio Morricone soundtrack, and it does have a catchy Indian themed spaghetti score. But I couldn't help noticing the repetitious 'Na-Va-Ho-Jo', 'Na-Va-Ho-Jo' refrain, which if you think about it, would be a great scat line for a Howard Johnson in Arizona.

Keep an eye on the opening scene when Duncan reaches to scalp the Indian woman he killed; her eye twitches slightly before the camera cuts away.

I managed to pick this film up on a four disc Western DVD set put out by Direct Source Special Products, a neat little package with additional films starring Telly Savalas, Martin Sheen and Clint Walker. Check your local Walmart bargain bin.

Underrated Corbucci western

[jameselliot-1 · 28 August 2004]

Burt Reynolds has goofed on this movie several times during guest spots on TV talk shows. Even so, Navajo Joe is a worthwhile Euro-western, several degrees darker and brutal than other oaters released during the same year and a much better, more stylish film than Burt's later westerns Sam Whiskey and The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing. What's missing is the repeatability factor of the Leone films, the Sabata series and Corbucci's other westerns such as The Big Gundown. It's fun on a lazy evening to pop in a DVD of the Good, The Bad and The Ugly or Any Gun Can Play, and cue up a chapter. Navajo lacks this element. There are no moments that really stick in the mind, except the hatchet in the head shot, pardon the expression. Unlike many other titles in the genre, the writers had the guts to ambiguously kill off its vengeance seeking hero.

Looks great, touches all the Spaghetti Western bases, but has plotting problems

[lemon_magic · 6/10 · 16 July 2012]

I have to get this out of the way first: Everyone who reviews this movie falls all over themselves to praise Morricone's score, but to tell the truth, I thought the main theme was overused, overwrought, and mixed way too loud. (Most of the incidental music is fine). It's not bad, of course - Ennio is incapable of creating a bad soundtrack - but it's decidedly less quirky and compelling than some of his classics like "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly".

Second: Everything about the movie looks great. I can't fault the director and cinematographer on this - visually the landscape and the sets and the costumes and the setups pull the viewer completely and hypnotically into the bloody, nihilistic vision of the classic Spaghetti Western.

Where the movie falls short is with the plot and with Burt Reynolds. Now, this isn't to say that I don't like Burt - I'm a fan of even his lesser work, and he and his stuntman certainly combine to make a character who is a force of nature. But he's just not a natural choice for an Indian, and he doesn't disappear into the role. You see that face, and you can't see past the fact that it's Burt Reynolds. (Not a problem with a movie like "Stick" or "Smokey and The Bandit, definitely a problem here.) That pops me right out of the movie that the rest of the visuals work so hard to pull me into.

As for the plot - the screenplay lacks the gallows humor and wry machismo of the best SWs - Navajo Joe is just a vengeance machine with a code of honor, and the bad guy is just an utterly despicable psychopath. And every character is an idiot - no one acts logically or with a moment's thought as to the implications of the plot points. (For instance, when the Dr. opens the safe expecting a $500,000 payoff inside, and it's empty, the lead bad guy never seems to consider that only a masochist desiring death would deliberately try to cheat him this way, and shoots the man in spite of his protestations.)

Still, "Navajoe Joe" is a good example of 2nd string SW filler - not a classic to go out of your way to see, but worth catching if it pops up on cable.

"I want a dollar a head"

[Steffi_P · 6/10 · 1 August 2007]

One of the better known spaghetti westerns, directed by Sergio Corbucci, probably the most prolific director of spaghettis. While it was Sergio Leone who made the masterpieces, Corbucci carved out his own little niche and made several important contributions to the genre. Navajo Joe is also known for featuring the up-and-coming Burt Reynolds in one of his earliest roles.

Unlike Sergio Leone, Corbucci seems to have had a really passionate agenda for making what he saw as inflammatory anti-westerns. Here his mission is to restore the balance of treatment of Native Americans in the Hollywood western. He wasn't being quite as radical as it at first appears though, seeing as Robert Aldrich had done the same thing ten years earlier with Apache, starring cinema's other famous Burt (Lancaster). Joe is an interesting character compared to the usual spaghetti anti-hero though, as his extortion and cynicism are continually influenced by this higher purpose he has of seeking justice.

Italian westerns were really becoming big business by this point, and Navajo Joe has somewhat bigger production values than Corbucci's earlier films. The dubbing is of a much higher quality than that in Django, although it's still not great. Nothing can cover the weakness of the plot - aside from the Native American angle it's a fairly basic train robbery story. There's a half-hearted attempt at injecting some mystery and suspense into it with the Doctor Lynn character doing an inside job, but this never really gets off the ground. The actual dialogue is terrible too.

Corbucci showed promise as a director in Django, but in Navajo Joe the direction is nothing special. Whereas Django made great use of interiors and dark spaces, Navajo Joe is in 'scope and mostly set outdoors, but Corbucci really has no feel for landscapes. He gives a great rough and ready feel to the action scenes, but overall there are just too many zooms and pointless camera moves.

Although he would later become a big star back home, Burt Reynolds isn't particularly good here. He moves fairly well, and gives Joe just the right note of self-absorbed nonchalance, but when he opens his mouth terrible things happen. He puts in these little pauses, as if trying to deliver lines like John Wayne, except he falls well short. He actually manages to do the seemingly impossible and do an unconvincing job of dubbing himself. The only acting performance really worth noting is that of Aldo Sanbrell. Sanbrell was one of the most prolific spaghetti character actors, playing third-bad-guy-on-the-left in dozens of pictures. Here is a rare chance to seem him in a lead role, and he's actually not bad. Not good, but not bad either.

Burt Reynolds once stated that this was the worst film he ever made. It's probably not, (as anyone who's seen the Smokey and the Bandit sequels will testify) but it is a fairly bad one, and if Reynolds wasn't familiar with exploitation cinema he no doubt wondered what the hell he was doing. Corbucci had already made one of the best loved spaghettis (Django) and would go on to make some real classics (The Mercenary, The Great Silence), but Navajo Joe was a real step backwards in his career.

what it lacks in engrossing spaghetti-western style it makes up for with a great heap of absurd entertainment

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 7 February 2007]

Let's face it, there aren't that many ways that the Italians could make westerns into art- that is unless they decided to go for even more than broke and turn a B-movie in an epic (Leone)- but it's fun to see the directors try. One of them is Sergio Corbucci and here with his somewhat obscure action 'drama' Navajo Joe. It stars Burt Reynolds, I think in his first actual theatrical performance, and he acts like the true-blue hero for all even if there's really whacked out judgment going on. There's a very large posse in town, and they all want to get at the money at the bank- but find that it's been emptied following a botched train robbery. So now some heads are gonna roll, the lead will fly, and Reynolds's Joe will be fighting with the fury of his forefathers (whom, he reminds one of the townspeople, who happens to be of Scottish descent, that he's a real American as his father before him and his father before him and so on and so on). Meanwhile, any significance in plot or character is thrown by the wayside, save for a ridiculous moment where the villain- Aldo Sambrell's Duncan- reveals his motivations for doing what he does right before killing a priest.

So don't go into the picture looking for the amazing, stoic art that came out of Leone's films. Actually, the most glaring flaw comes through Corbucci trying to rip-off a lot of Leone's tricks (unless it was just his way of going about the western genre too, I haven't seen enough of his work to comment), and is at best a competent, crazy director of action scenes. What he does get right is to let the ludicrousness of the situation(s)- of Reynolds playing an Indian named Joe who somehow is like a super-assassin with his knife &/or gun, as we see hilariously when he takes on a train full of bandits- take over completely, and it's always fun in the most guilty pleasure sort of way. Trashy? Violent? Explotivie of genre and stereotype to the Nth degree? No doubt, but it works all the same for what Corbucci is able to achieve. The biggest plus, however, even through Reynolds's posturing and Sambrell's one-sided bandit leader, is the musical score by Morricone (scuse me, Leo Nichols, ho-ho), where the anthems and bombastic, hard, thrivingly doomed songs (later brilliantly recycled for Kill Bill 2) are totally welcome and make many moments more appealing. The ending, for example, would've been just standard without Morricone on the soundtrack, yet with it low-grade pulp entertainment gets the boost, and the cheesiness pulls together with the operative intonations.

Do I recommend it then? If you're on this page, then you're probably already interested in over-the-top, goofy violent spaghetti westerns, or into seeing less available Corbucci, so I'd say go for it if that's the case. Those expecting a fascinating early Reynolds star vehicle might be a little befuddled, however, unless if you're expecting the unexpected. It's a dumb B-movie matinée flick, and proud of it.

One of the great spaghetti westerns

[MoonDawg-3 · 8/10 · 14 August 1999]

As in Django, Corbucci has here created a memorable loner anti-hero who dispenses his own brand of justice. Great job by Burt Reynolds as Navajo Joe; great soundtrack by Morricone (recently sampled as the "shock music" in the movie Election).

Fans of the Spaghetti Western will dig it.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 25 June 2017]

There's style to spare in this revenge-minded Italian oater, from director Sergio Corbucci of "Django" fame. While some viewers may have difficulties accepting star attraction Burt Reynolds as an American Indian, the film does ultimately pay one back. It's stirring, robust entertainment, exquisitely designed and shot. It's quite visceral and violent, but also has a rich array of characters, and nicely executed (pardon the expression) action set pieces. Corbucci and screenwriters Fernando Di Leo & Piero Regnoli do their best to give us a memorably enigmatic main character, keeping his screen time to a minimum at first.

Burt plays the title character, whose peaceful tribe was massacred by outlaws. He stays on their trail, determined to get back at them. In the process, he also makes a deal with the citizens of a town to protect them from the outlaws, who are led by the scuzzy Mervyn "Vee" Duncan (genre regular Aldo Sambrell). The townspeople are expecting a hefty payday, and Duncans' gang has been alerted to the existence of the money by a scheming local.

Apparently, Burt is embarrassed by this one (!). He's actually done far worse, in this viewers' humble opinion, and has nothing to be embarrassed about. He does his best to acquit himself in his heroic role, and keeps his charisma dialed down, although he does get chances to show off some physicality. Sambrell tends to steal the show. Films like this often depend on the entertainment value of the villain, and he doesn't disappoint. He even gets a showcase moment near the end to explain why Vee has a hatred for Indians. The very fine supporting cast also includes Nicoletta Machiavelli, Fernando Rey, Tanya Lopert, Pierre Cressoy, Nino Imparato, and Lucio Rosato.

Ennio Morricone (utilizing the pseudonym Leo Nichols) once again proves how valuable he was to this genre, composing a typically atmospheric soundtrack with a fair amount of vocalizations as well as music.

"Navajo Joe" is not a truly great example of the Spaghetti Western, but it provides an ample amount of diversion.

Seven out of 10.

So Bland!

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 6 December 2017]

A Native American warrior called Navajo Joe (Burt Reynolds) seeks revenge on a gang of sadistic outlaws who has massacred the people of his tribe.

If this film is known for anything, it is just how much Burt Reynolds hated working on it. The story, in its simplest form, is that he thought he would be working with Sergio Leone and instead got Sergio Corbucci. Beyond that, his protests seem a bit over the top. Yes, this is a bad movie. But is it really the worst one he ever did? Ultimately, it does not really seem terrible in a technical way. Just bland, boring, nothing really special. If Reynolds was not in it, it would be forgotten. The worst part is actually the soundtrack. The Navajo Joe theme is played way too many times and is not very good the first time.

I would rather watch Navajo Joe over six feet under

[steeplejack17 · 8/10 · 18 March 2006]

Daniel Baker pull your head out of you know what! First off Burt Reynolds had to leave during filming of Navajo Joe for a commercial, which infuriated Corbucci. Reynolds thought he was going to become a huge star doing a spaghetti western and believed he was going to work with Leone. I believe deep down in his little heart he knows this was one of his better roles he has played.

The opening scene was great with Aldo Sambrell (Mervyn Duncan)smiling at Joe's wife (Cristina Sani). I didn't think (Indians) feared anyone especially Navajo..Answering Daniel's second intelligent remark! It shows Duncan's hatred for his own being half blooded Indian and during his childhood being called a halfbreed. He collects Indian scalps for a dollar a head. Which is funny how Joe makes a deal with the townspeople for a dollar a head. When Duncan learns that he has a bounty on his head he sacks the local town and make's a deal w/ Dr. Lynne in stealing the train carrying $500,000 on board. One by one Joe eliminates the Duncan Gang and Dr. Lynne is killed by Duncan. It is a great final showdown with Merv Duncan and Joe in the Indian Burial ground of his ancestors. Like Corbucci's style the hero is killed off unlike Great Silence were the hero dies and the villain lives. The hate for one another destroys each other it is a cool Ax to the head scene which is edited in most versions. When you see Joe's horse ride into town with the money we know Joe has died....Niccoletta M. plays a small role in this film as a half breed as well but the opposite to Duncan's character.

Ennio Morricone uses an unusual alias as Leo Nichols. Great music, great camera work and great acting. It is a shame Reynolds only contribution to this genre. The saddest part is it never gave Aldo Sambrell a chance to play a lead role only more smaller parts. It is rumored to have a full version were Joe is visited by Nicolleta M before he dies in the burial grounds bullet ridden.

Navajo Joe is a vehicle to Burt Reynolds exposes his athlete's skills on overaction Spaghetti!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 2 September 2023]

According own words of Burt Reynolds which he reposts as half-breed Cherokee-Italian roots then in Navajo Joe he plays himself, after made thousands series as guest star, Burt decides going to Europe to follow the tracks of Clint Eastwood aiming for give an upgrade at its career, there thru his skills as football's athlete allowed him a stunning performance on the role as Navajo Joe, impressing the producers and the audience as forthcoming Hollywood star.

As said a Italian producer once "Western on America is fair veritable, instead spaghetti western is pure fantasy", it somehow applies here, a half-breed Indian Navajo Joe conducting a train, asking reward money and so for, he tracks down the scalps hunters lead by the butcher half-blood Mervyn "Vee" Duncan (Aldo Sambrell) who hates their both sides of its provenance, he leads a huge gang, that settle a train robbery with a covered informer, Navajo Joe warned by the Indian Estella (Nicholetta Machiavelli) about he upcoming robbery, he enters in the game to hinder the assault and delivering the train with box on board with the money to Esperanza city thru their politicians, Sheriff and Bankers, in exchange he asking a reward for Duncan's head and one dollar for each citizens,.

Then Starting a game of cat and mouse, meanwhile Navajo Joe struggles alone against thirty or so of Duncan's gang, Navajo Joe's guerrilla warfare tactic quite often ambush one by one on the shadow, slowly Duncan's gang in reduction process until the showdown at Indian Burial ground when Navajo Joe faces Duncan at last, here the scene explain why Navajo Joe seeking Duncan, aside all noticeable mismatches the craftsman director Sergio Corbucci overcame himself in a breathtaking scenario, lavish sets to make up for its incongruities displayed along the picture, let it see easy of the great Burt Reynolds.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1981 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.

Good hard working Italian Western

[wh-3 · 5/10 · 9 November 1999]

Great soundtrack by Moriccone. "Navahoe Joe" defends town against a murderous band of Indian scalp hunters who are enlisted by a mysterious man to rob a town of it's money.Nothing surprising here but it's good watching for Italian western fans.