A MAN CALLED BLADE

A MAN CALLED BLADE
VIPCO CULT CLASSIC
DIRECTED BY SERGIO MARTINO
1977

This infamous Italian oater from respected director Sergio Martino is now available uncut on this Vipco DVD release - even the infamous eyeball torture scene is present and correct. Course the fact that there is an eyeball torture scene should give viewers an idea of what to expect from this late entry in the spaghetti western boom.

It's not a bad film, though - in fact it's rather good in a tacky sort of way.

Starring Italian action icon, Maurizio Merli as the titular hero - a bounty hunter who is just as likely to dispatch his prey with a axe between the eyes as a bullet. The plot sees our bounty hunter hero arriving in a corrupt town and immediately stirring up trouble from all sides. The fist fights are brutally realistic and all the other violence is gloriously over the top - several men are dispatched with an axe in the head.

The films full title is Mannaja: a man called Blade - the director claimed that Mannaja meant blade in one particular Native American tongue, although I never seen it mentioned which language that is.

Sure the film is derivative but it's a well placed all action classic which can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of this now sadly extinct sub-genre.


The UK Vipco DVD release features a great print of the film - the dirty streets have never looked so good - but is sadly without special features. Mind you it is available at a budget price - I picked my copy up for £2.99 in a service station.

Happy days indeed.