Review of Keoma (1976) by Brian R — 13 Feb 2008

Another grandiose and rather violent later term Spaghetti Western that somehow managed to put together an all star cast, attach a well-known Italian director, thank Sam Peckinpah for what the man did for cinema, and then wrap it all up around a pseudo-mystic/racial western narrative. That's right. You get it all here folks. Most of all, you get a top notch performance from Django himself, Franco Nero.

The whole film itself is a bit of a stretch, but since it was created during the later days of the spaghetti western, it furthers the ethics displayed by Italian westerns before it, namely: everyone is fair game, and gunshots draw blood, fire, and sweat. The composite ideas are put together to a fine point by Castellari, and save for an embarrassing Leonard Cohen imitator soundtrack, Keoma shines for all of the right reasons.

It blends solid action, with a solid cast, and doesn't rely on any new tricks that havenâ??t bee used, but instead builds upon the house that Leone built, by adding in the West itself, by paying great homage to Sam Peckinpah. Blood and Thunder, oh, and donâ??t forget Jesus. Don't forget, the mythic/religious allegories for this film are endless and add a layer of religious consciousness that didn't exist in any Spaghetti Westerns before it, save for Leone's work.

Keoma is a wonderful, yet all too late exercise in solid western concepts, death, violence, blood, thunder, and passion. Wonderful. Save for that soundtrack.