Mannaja (1977)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Sergio Martino (writer)
Sauro Scavolini (writer)

Release Date:

2 January 1980 (France)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Arriving in the mining town Suttonville, after claiming the bounty of a outlaw known as Burt Craven...

Plot Keywords:

Mine | Gun | Death | Hatchet | Bounty Hunter

Cast

Maurizio Merli	...	Mannaja
John Steiner	...	Valler
Sonja Jeannine	...	Deborah McGowan
Donald O'Brien	...	Burt Craven
Salvatore Puntillo	...	Johnny Johnny - the impresario
Antonio Casale	...	Dorman - bandits' head (as Nino Casale)
Enzo Fiermonte	...	The government Envoy
Rik Battaglia	...	Gerald Merton - Mannaja's father (as Rick Battaglia)
Aldo Rendine	...	The Fat Passenger in the Stagecoach
Enzo Maggio
Sergio Tardioli	...	The Saloon Barman
Sofia Lombardo	...	Mannaja's Mother (as Sophia Lombardo)
Philippe Leroy	...	McGowan
Martine Brochard	...	Angela
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Franco Ukmar	...	Valler's Man

Also Known As:

A Man Called Blade (USA)

Runtime:

Brazil:101 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA | Sweden:(Banned) | New Zealand:R13 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Devon Film

Trivia:

The reason the exteriors have so much fog and smoke was because the filmmakers were trying to hide the fact that the studio, Elios Studio near Rome, needed to be renovated.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Spaghetti West (2005) (V)

An excellent knock-off of "Keoma"

In the early 70s, Spaghetti Westerns were going through a dry spell. Countless crappy parody films had flooded the market and strangled the life out of the genre. Then Italian crime maestro and occasional Spaghetti director Enzo G. Castellari came along and directed the psychedelic, action-packed masterpiece "Keoma". Gone was the cynicism and nihilism that seperated early Spaghettis from American Westerns. Instead there was an injection of emotion. The silent hero of the past was now a heartfelt warrior who wasn't above crying in between bouts of ass-kicking. Needless to say, it revived the genre briefly and led to a few knock-offs. "Mannaja" is probably the most obvious with it's similar visual style and music score, but Sergio Martino's keen visual sense (though not as good as Castellari's) and Maurizio Merli's excellent performance allow the film to stand on it's own two legs. There's a lot of well-staged slow motion shootouts and a fistfight in the mud here and there, along with an interesting if not compelling plotline. All in all, this is a great knock-off that has just enough originality to be a good stand-alone piece. Recommended.