''Mannaja'' (also known as ''A Man Called Blade'') is an Italian 1977

spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

film directed by

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

. The main role, Blade, is played by

Maurizio Merli Maurizio Merli (February 8, 1940 – March 10, 1989) was an Italian film actor and a star of many Italian police thrillers. Career After a decade of minor film roles, 1974 saw a breakthrough for Merli with his first starring role in a rema ...

. Other central roles are played by: John Steiner, Sonja Jeannine, Donald O'Brien,

Philippe Leroy Philippe Marie Paul Leroy-Beaulieu (15 October 1930 – 1 June 2024) was a French actor. He appeared in over 150 films between 1960 and 2019, and worked extensively in Italian cinema, as well as in his native country. After an early career as ...

and Martine Brochard.

Plot

Bounty hunter Blade (Maurizio Merli), who uses a

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

as a throwing weapon, arrives at the mining town of Suttonville with the outlaw Burt Craven (Donald O'Brien) as his prisoner. His real motive is to kill mining big boss McGowan (Philippe Leroy) who has killed his father. Blade gives up his revenge – because McGowan "is not worth it" – and instead accepts to deliver the ransom for the mine owner's daughter (Sonja Jeannine). However, this mission fails because she turns out to be the lover of her kidnapper, McGowan's foreman Voller (John Steiner), who secretly works for a gang that regularly robs the shipments of silver from the mine. Voller then kills his boss and turns his mining empire into bloody chaos by massacring the mine workers. Blade is beaten up and buried up to his neck and left to be blinded by the sun. However, he survives and returns for a showdown with Voller.

Cast

as Blade (Mannaja) * John Steiner as Theo Voller * Sonja Jeannine as Deborah McGowan * Donald O'Brien as Burt Craven *

as Ed McGowan * Martine Brochard as Angela * Salvatore Puntillo as Johnny * Antonio Casale as Dahlman *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to D ...

as the government agent * Rick Battaglia as the father of Mannaja * Aldo Rendine as the robbed man * Enzo Maggio as the old man * Sergio Tardioli as the bartender * Sophia Lombardo as Lucy

Music

The film's score was composed and performed by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, whose soundtrack has been described as " eeringunpredictability between Italian Western ballads, contemporary pop songs,

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

-led horror motifs and 1970s prog rock".

Release

''Mannaja'' was released in 1977. It grossed a 750 million Italian lire (about 1/2 million US dollars) domestically in Italy. It was released on DVD by Blue Underground.

Reception

In his investigation of narrative structures in

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

films, Fridlund ranges ''Mannaja'' among stories obeying the "Tragic Mercenary" plot where the pursuit of a monetary motive entails the killing or wounding of someone close to the hero, who then sets out on a vengeance mission. This story appears in the very influential '' Django''. In the case of Blade his economic arrangement with the man he should have killed sets off a course of action leading to him being tortured and to the death of the showgirl Angela, who loves him. The situation where a kidnapped woman betrays her savior because she is the lover of her would-be abductor also appears in '' Ten Thousand Dollars for a Massacre'' - another "Tragic Mercenary" story.Fridlund, Bert: ''The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis''. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company Inc., 2006. pp. 133–134.

Notes

References

External links

*
Swedish video cover from 1982
* {{Sergio Martino Films directed by Sergio Martino 1977 Western (genre) films Spaghetti Western films 1977 films Films scored by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis Progressive rock soundtracks 1977 drama films 1970s Italian films