Burt Reynolds teams up with director Sergio Corbucci for the lean and mean Navajo Joe. Upgraded Blu-ray Special Edition from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Yes, yes, yes, smart guy. Navajo Joe is the film that Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood takes Rick Dalton’s “Nebraska Jim” as a reference. The film goes as far as listing the director of “Nebraska Jim” as Sergio Corbucci the director of Navajo Joe. Tarantino’s film cheekily calls Corbucci the “second best director of Westerns in Italy” which as cheeky as its play is an accurate summation.
It is no wonder why Quentin Tarantino was inspired by Navajo Joe as the film that Rick would go to Italy to make. The film is a truly ruthless piece of Western revenge. Burt Reynolds plays the title character (yes, I know Reynolds is a white guy BUT per Reynolds, he was part Cherokee) an Indigenous man chasing and killing a gang of vicious scalpers led by Duncan (Aldo Sanbrell).
The film begins as a proto-slasher film with this unknown figure murdering these men with skill and very painfully. The skill and genius of the film is in its ability to transform itself into a Shane-style siege film with Joe having to protect a town of unwelcoming and ungrateful racists. Part of the power of Corbucci’s film is survival of the vicious is the law of the land. The West in the director’s hand is a merciless void of dust, sand, and ghost towns where scalps, whiskey, and money are the only commodities.
Reynolds plays against type here as the quiet and resourceful Joe. After one watches Navajo Joe one wishes that the superstar took on these types of roles more (like White Lighting) where his loquacious nature is kept to a minimum. It is not to say that he wasn’t a good chatterbox (he was the best in the business – with the box office receipt to prove it) but Navajo Joe and the films of similar ilk in his filmography show a different Reynolds. One that was capable of depths in the silence and abyss of darkness.
Armed with a stellar Reynolds performance and ace direction by Corbucci, Navajo Joe is as cynical and thrilling a Western made in the 1960s.
The Transfer
This Transfer and the upgraded compression are nothing short of fantastic. The image is sharp and beautifully filmic. There is nary a scratch or blemish on the transfer with a healthy grain structure giving the Blu-ray the look of a 35mm projected image. The Blu-ray will please any fan of the film.
The Extras
They include the following;
- NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker Alex Cox, Author of 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director’s Take on the Italian Western
- Scene-Specific Audio Commentary by Ennio Morricone Historian Gary Palmucci
- Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Filmmaker Alex Cox, Author of 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director’s Take on the Italian Western begins the track with his ties to this particular Western and his book. Some of the details include a discussion of the personal and film history of Aldo Sanbrell; a discussion of director Sergio Corbucci – and his place of importance in the Italian Western; a discussion of producer Dino DeLaurentis; a discussion of Burt Reynolds and where he was in his career; the reason that Ennio Morricone does not show up as the credited composer; a discussion of the three Westerns Corbucci directed in 1966; the themes and views Corbucci dealt with in his Westerns – including Navajo Joe; the way that comedy can be dangerous on the set – and how Corbucci was a bit of a joker and how it affected the set on his films; a great discussion of the possibility that Cormac McCarthy seeing this film and it being an inspiration for his masterwork Blood Meridian; a larger discussion of the locations used in Spain and Italy; a larger discussion of the various actors and crew that made the film; and much more. Cox delivers another truly enlightening commentary track on an important Italian Western.
The archival Scene Specific Audio Commentary by Ennio Morricone Historian Gary Palmucci is around 18 minutes long. Gary discusses the production history; the various directors and actors of the genre at its height; the use of alternate names for Morricone in this film and others and the possible reasons why; the score itself – Morricone’s thoughts on the matter; the influence of the score and it’s appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s filmography; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Navajo Joe (1:52); A Fistful of Dollars (2:27); Death Rides a Horse(1:34); The Hills Run Red (1:34); Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (1:59); Ace High (3:26); 100 Rifles (2:56); Sam Whiskey (2:25); White Lighting (2:26); The Longest Yard (4:04)
The Final Thought
Navajo Joe is a truly great Spaghetti Western. Kino has given it a worthy Special Edition upgrade. Highest recommendations!