Scott LeBrun The third entry in the "Sabata" series brings back star Lee Van Cleef, after the movie "Adios, Sabata" (which was redubbed and re-christened with the "Sabata" brand name) with Yul Brynner. This time, Sabata is working in a sideshow in the small town of Hobsonville. Hobsonville is dominated by a greedy robber baron named Joe McIntock (Giampiero Albertini). McIntock taxes his citizens for just about everything, and supposedly it goes towards making town improvements. Sabata does battle with the villainous McIntock while cultivating a tenuous "partnership" with the shifty Lt. Clyde (Reiner Schone)."The Return of Sabata" has a plot so convoluted and twist-laden that it only starts to become more clear towards the end. The viewer really has to pay attention in order to avoid becoming confused; even then, this is the kind of story that probably does command more than one viewing for the sake of understanding it. Not that it matters all that much; oftentimes the story takes a backseat to comedy. The film is at its brightest when coming up with a variety of gags, surprises, and cool gadgets. Sabata is an absolutely unflappable hero in the face of danger, and frequently catches his opponents off guard.This film looks as good as anything else in this genre: it's well designed, well shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it features a blatantly comical (and insidiously catchy) music score composed by Marcello Giombini. There are some lovely ladies to add some sex appeal, and there are occasional doses of gore as the body count rises. The acrobat characters return to dazzle us with their amazing feats.It sure is nice to see Van Cleef in a more lighthearted venture than usual, and he does appear to be having fun. The supporting cast - Schone, Albertini, Ignazio Spalla, Annabella Incontrera, Jacqueline Alexandre, Steffen Zacharias - is equally engaging. Schone is amusing as an *extremely* weaselly lowlife.Good entertainment for Spaghetti Western fans.Seven out of 10.

Agnelin This has to be one of the most entertaining, funniest and fun to watch movies I've seen in a while! As a lover of spaghetti westerns and a big fan of Lee van Cleef, I was excited about catching this on TV. Not the kind of movie you have the chance to watch usually, at least where I live. I expected just one more SW, but no -"É tornato Sabata" offers something more. It is quirky, it is sometimes bordering the realms of surreal; and it's a lot of fun to watch. But funny, also -in fact, it's something of a comedy-western, with the agreeable bit of cheesiness that you can find in some of these movies -movies made only to entertain people and provide a good time. This movie does that not only by way of the plot -the charismatic and mysterious hero Sabata arrives in a town ruled by a local tyrant who imposes abusive taxes, with the action that ensues- but also and especially thanks to the amusing dialogues and performances of the whole cast, of which I especially enjoyed Lee van Cleef -once again showing what a talented, sadly underrated actor he was, but also how much he enjoyed his work-, and Pedro Sánchez, here listed as Ignazio Spalla.Gianfranco Parolini directs the movie, paying very good attention to most of the unwritten rules or principles of spaghetti westerns, following Sergio Leone's extreme close-ups or sometimes slightly overdone facial expressions or sound effects.Going back to the plot, I have to add that it contains enough fun and clever twists to be quite original and worth watching closely.I rate this 9/10. Enjoy!

westerner357 THE RETURN OF SABATA (sequel to SABATA)Excellent score by Marcello Giombini, I'd own the CD of it if I could find it. Don't know who sings in the opening title theme, though. The credits in the film didn't list the singer.There are lot's of little tricks in this one, more so than even in the first Sabata film. Different kinds of derringers, small pistols, blowpipes and magnets are up his sleeve in practically every scene. Sabata also refuses to pay the outrageous taxes the McClintocks have imposed on the townspeople for everything from getting a haircut to the gambling & hotel tax, and almost having a showdown with the weak-willed sheriff over it.Lt. Clyde (Reiner Schone) manages to not be too obnoxious, grinning all the time, except when he's continuously caught by Sabata from stealing or ripping somebody off. He's such a slimeball that he hides in the rafters while his lover Jackie McCIntock (Jacqueline Alexandre) is gunned down by husband Joe (Giampiero Albertini) over his catching her stealing his gold.The acrobats are back too, jumping off buildings, over fences and trampolines as they help Sabata out in his quest to return the gold stolen by McClintock from the townspeople, in return for the counterfeit money McClintock was using to deceive them.There's a good shootout towards the end at the McClintock compound, using Bronco's bass drum as a hiding place for storing a lot of pistols. Plus we get a spectacular mine explosion when the McClintock's try to kill Sabata during the money exchange.The vast majority of the film takes place in the town with little being filmed out in the Spanish countryside, yet it isn't claustrophobic like some other westerns come across when the sets are that static.All in all, I enjoyed it and consider it a good example of the spaghetti western genre.7 out of 10

smiley-32 Return of Sabata marks the last outing for Lee Van Cleef.This time he's up against a slaezy Colonel who has a million dollars in gold in which Sabata pulled off from his earlier assignment.Determined to get it back, teams up with Clyde and another hordes of his team in order to fight back McLintock get his gold back.Although this spaghetti western proved almost as good as the first two, it was really entertaining, especially the amount of guns Lee had to use in this film..Well, at least Sabata rides off into the desert, but I'm hoping someday if by chance somebody might do a remake..