This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

A man who looks just like Sartana robs what has been - up until now - impossible to steal from. Now, bounty hunters are trying to cash in on the bounty on our hero's head.Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris, Exterminators of the Year 3000) takes over the directorial reigns from Gianfranco Parolini with this film.Sartana becomes less of an angel of death and more of a magician here. Yet he still seems supernatural. Surely he's been shot so many times that only a dead man can survive having that much hot lead pumped into him!The movie takes places in Poker Falls, a town devoted to gambling, and the bank robbed at the beginning actually has a gang of killers that seek out potential thieves and kill them before they get the chance to try to take money from them. Throw in Klaus Kinski as a card shark named Hot Dead and you have quite the pickle for Sartana!This is the only film where Sartana has Buddy Ben as his assistant. Also known as Sartana the Gravedigger, this one didn't grab me as much as the original. It's certainly anything but boring, but I really liked the darker tone of the first one. Also, the theme music seems to reference "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" but in a Western banjo way, which seems quite odd to me!

I saw this Italian western under the title I AM SARTANA...YOUR ANGEL OF DEATH, which I suppose is just as good a title as SARTANA THE GRAVEDIGGER. It sounds very much like a dark and violent DJANGO rip off, but this spaghetti western is surprisingly light hearted. It's watchable enough as entertainment, no classic but a nice film to pass the time.As is usual with this genre of film-making, it's the supporting faces who add real entertainment value. Gianni Garko is the heroic lead, a gunslinger who finds himself set-up by the villains so goes on a mission of revenge accompanied by his larger than life buddy, played by Frank Wolff. Late into the film comes Klaus Kinski in yet another genre appearance, playing a gambler, and rest assured he's as bizarre as always. There's also a strong turn for former peplum star Gordon Mitchell playing a typical bad guy character with aplomb. Expect plot twists galore, plenty of action, and a score that sounds suspiciously like Morricone...all par for the course, then.

This Sartana movie gets the usual Western issues , such as greedy antiheroes , quick zooms , exaggerated baddies and musical score with Morricone influence , among them . When a bank is secured with the help of group of bounty hunters , it takes a special man to rob it : Sartana (Garco) . The gang members wear the same clothes as the bounty hunters contracted to defend it . Their leader pretends to enter the bank to collect the reward of a bandit he has murdered . Is the leader really Sartana ? . Of course , he isn't , he is only dressed like him , but the hoax is so effective that a reward is put on his head and he is soon pursued by some of his earlier colleagues bounty hunters , among them : Shadow (José Torres) , Deguejo (Cameron Mitchell) and Hot Dead (Kinski) . Then Sartana is falsely accused of robbing a bank , and must find the real robbers and clear his name . Alarmed , the dark , elegant hero named Sartana begins investigating with the help of a friend , a dubious and ragged man called Buddy Ben (Wolff) . The trail leads them to the town of Poker Falls , where the gambling flourishing and crime is rampant . The expert card player Sartana arrives in a small city where various bounty hunters attempt to kill him . It follows the seemingly endless adventures of Sartana in search of the true guilty . At the end takes place the inevitable confrontation , a showdown in which Sartana contends against all . This is a Western all'Italiana post-Sergio Leone era , this period received a big boost with Sergio Corbucci's very influential Django . However in the following years use of irony and cunning became more prominent . This was seen in ulterior Westerns with their emphasis on unstable partnerships . In the last phase of the SW with the Trinity movies , the Leone legacy had been transformed almost beyond recognition , as terror and deadly violence gave way to harmless brawling and low comedy . It contains an interesting but twisted plot , double crosses , shoot'em up and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . At the beginning takes place an outrageous and ambiguous opening scene in which we witness the robbery of a bank that is thought to be impenetrable . There is plenty of action , guaranteeing thrills , decent body-count or stunts every few minutes . SARTANA is a fundamental archetype in Spaghetti/Paella genre as well as James Bond in spy-genre , here Gianni Garco-Sartana stars an entertaining SW with lots of action , gun-play and fun . As always , the mythic personage appears elegant and dressed in black and with a killer look . Sartana is the standard by which every spaghetti antihero is measured along with Lee Van Cleef's Sabata and Franco Nero's Django . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist Gianni Garco against the heartless enemies formed by various bounty hunters , judge , sheriff and bankers . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as well as a lot of twists and turns , as the film approaches its climax , as in the final and the unusual conclusion . German Gianni Garco or Gary Hudson is good in this Sartana Western , he is fine ; as he ravages the screen , brawls , shoots , run and kills . The cast is standard with lots of Italian b-movie heroes , there appears usual actors from Spaghetti such as John Bartha , Federico Boido or Rick Boyd , Samson Burke as Judge's right hand , Ettore Manni , Renato Baldini , Sal Borghese ; of course , the great Kinski and special mention to Frank Wolff who early committed suicide . Atmospheric Eastmancolor cinematography by Giovanni Bergamini though being necessary a remastering and filmed in Elios studios , as usual . Enjoyable musical score by Vasco and Mancuso , including catching leitmotif . Sartana himself is like a crossover between Clint Eastwood's The Man with no Name and ¨Django¨, a black-clad amoral anti-hero ; adding the special characteristics from James Bond , his quirky gadgets , elegance and dressed in cloak . Sartana character is in equal parts mysterious , cool and deadly ; he is not out there to chase the bandits like a simple bounty hunter , he is just out for money and blood . His quirky gadgets often bring to mind the other similar character , Sabata played by Lee Van Cleef and Yul Brynner . The first Sartana was ¨Gunfighters Die Harder" or "If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death" a trend-setting film by Gianfranco Parolini with Garco , Kinski and Fernando Sancho . The best Sartana are directed by Giuliano Carmineo , alias Anthony Ascott, he realized various with George Hilton who replaces to Garco . Hilton played more natural and roguish than Garco who was cold and peculiar . They cooperated in some Westerns in the late 60s/early 70s, most remarkable is the "Sartana"-Series. The later "Sartana" movies directed by Anthony Ascott became increasingly cartoonish and humorous . It was followed by director Alfonso Balcazar with ¨Sartana non Perdona or Sonora¨ with George Martin and Gilbert Roland . Miles Deem directed two Sartanas deemed lousy and cheesy . Furthermore , a string of sequels and rip-offs with other Z-series directors. This ¨Sartana¨ movie perhaps is not a Spaghetti masterpiece , but a watchable and sometimes unusual movie nonetheless .This is definitely one of the best Sartana-Movies ; tough, cynical and with a lot of humor, seasoned with all herbs of a cool Spaghetti. I had a lot of fun with this one and it's worthwhile it more than one time .

This is the third Sartana played by Garko film I have seen and while I found the first two to be mediocre at best this one hit me positively. Sartana is falsely accused and is searching for the real bank robbers. The evolving story consists of many little entertaining episodes and whenever you think that the real bad guy is already revealed there is one more twist. In his quest Sartana is assisted only by Buddy Ben who is well played by Frank Wolff, the rest of the characters is hunting the bounty put on his head. No problem for Sartana who kills them all, most of them with his Derringer pistol. Kinski with more screen time than usual shines in his role as an addicted gambler. The lead characters are having their own and nice scores. Cinematography is above average but I've seen already better. The German budget DVD is OK and has even the original Italian soundtrack.7 / 10 (**1/2)