Outthinking your enemy. So this is about a Navajo warrior (Burt Reynolds). He is alone and pursuing a group of killers and bank robbers who massacred his tribe. Their numbers are in the dozens while he is but one fighter. How can he possibly tilt the odds in his favor? I wanted to wrap up my block of Westerns with one from the spaghetti variety that I hadn’t seen before. Since Leone’s library is so limited, I figured I would visit the other renowned Sergio director: Corbucci. I won’t mince my words here: this movie is right up my alley.
Now I wasn’t even aware that Burt Reynolds was part Cherokee, at least according to him. I thought this movie could be problematic because I was unaware of this information, but he plays the part well. I thought I was walking into a Paul Newman Hombre situation, but that isn’t the case. Even before this gets going, the music already had me hooked. It’s Ennio Morricone on the score, and you have probably heard the music before in Kill Bill Vol. 2. That should surprise no one because Tarantino is infamous for paying homage or “borrowing” from the obscure. Navajo Joe doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t need to do that. For me, this is what the Western is all about. It’s the whole package: you’ve got gunfights, grizzled outlaws, and a good vs. evil storyline. There are also showdowns, and that is the element that I don’t feel Corbucci gets enough credit for: he knows how to build anticipation so you’re on the edge of your seat, and then he gives you the payoff that you’re itching to see.
When I started watching Westerns during this stretch, this is exactly the kind of movie I hoped that I would happen upon. It’s the whole package, and I don’t have a whole lot in the complaint department. Of course, this is a spaghetti Western, and with that, you get some bumpiness around the edges. The dubbing doesn’t ever 100% sync up, but that has become something I have come to expect, and it does not bother me in these films. Navajo Joe is a diamond in the rough, and to say that I’m pleased with my selection would be an understatement.
Navajo Joe (1966) ****
– Critic for Hire
Critic for Hire 