Mannaja
Encyclopedia
Mannaja is an Italian western
film from 1977 directed by Sergio Martino
. The main role, Blade, is played by Maurizio Merli
. Other central roles are played by John Steiner
, Sonja Jeannine, Donald O'Brien
, Philippe Leroy
and Martine Brochard.
Mannaja is a western with strong influences from drama and thrillers.
in their fight against an outlaw. After a short time, Blade's reputation becomes grater, and he comes to the attention of the city's wealthy and crippled mayor, McGowan (Philippe Leroy) and his corrupt lackey Voller (John Steiner), hired to find the mayor's daughter (Sonja Jeannine) who has disappeared. Blade is not aware that she has been kidnapped by Voller, who secretly works for a gang that regularly plunders coachloads of silver from the mayor's silver mine. After a while, Blade is imprisoned, beaten up, and left to die as part of a plan by Voller and his men. However, against all the odds, he survives. Blade prepares for the final battle, but not only against Voller and his gang. He also wants revenge against those who killed his father when he was small.
The film was released on DVD in 2002 (Region 2).
, in that it contains some symbolism and emotional scenes that give the viewer the feel of an adventure or horror film, particularly in the opening scene in the swamp, and the scene in the cave. Mannaja has been compared to a contemporaneous film called Keoma
(1976). Like other spaghetti westerns it is sometimes rather brutal, and contains fairly graphic depictions of murder with an axe. It was banned in Sweden.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film from 1977 directed by Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre.Martino is the brother of producer Luciano Martino. They collaborated frequently in their respective professions...
. The main role, Blade, is played by Maurizio Merli
Maurizio Merli
Maurizio Merli was an Italian film actor.Merli got his first lead role in 1974 in the film White Fang to the Rescue due to his resemblance to the highly popular cult actor Franco Nero, who played the lead role in the first two films...
. Other central roles are played by John Steiner
John Steiner
John Steiner is an English actor. Tall, thin and gaunt, Steiner attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked for a few years at the BBC. Steiner featured in a lead role in a television production of Design for Living by Noel Coward. Later he found further work primarily in films...
, Sonja Jeannine, Donald O'Brien
Donald O'Brien (actor)
Donal "Donald" O'Brien was a French-born Italian film and television actor of Irish descent. In his near 40-year career, O'Brien appeared in dozens of stage performances and in more than 60 film and television productions.O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raised in both Northern...
, Philippe Leroy
Philippe Leroy (actor)
Philippe Leroy, full name Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu is a French film actor. He has appeared in over 150 films since 1960. Leroy has been living mostly in Italy since the 1960s and has worked extensively in Italian cinema, as well as in his native country...
and Martine Brochard.
Mannaja is a western with strong influences from drama and thrillers.
Plot
Man hunter Blade (Maurizio Merli) arrives at the mining town of Suttonville with the lawless Burt Craven (Donald O'Brien) as his prisoner. He gets noticed when he uses a tomahawkTomahawk (axe)
A tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Powhatan word.Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials...
in their fight against an outlaw. After a short time, Blade's reputation becomes grater, and he comes to the attention of the city's wealthy and crippled mayor, McGowan (Philippe Leroy) and his corrupt lackey Voller (John Steiner), hired to find the mayor's daughter (Sonja Jeannine) who has disappeared. Blade is not aware that she has been kidnapped by Voller, who secretly works for a gang that regularly plunders coachloads of silver from the mayor's silver mine. After a while, Blade is imprisoned, beaten up, and left to die as part of a plan by Voller and his men. However, against all the odds, he survives. Blade prepares for the final battle, but not only against Voller and his gang. He also wants revenge against those who killed his father when he was small.
The film was released on DVD in 2002 (Region 2).
About the film
Mannaja is an unusual spaghetti westernSpaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
, in that it contains some symbolism and emotional scenes that give the viewer the feel of an adventure or horror film, particularly in the opening scene in the swamp, and the scene in the cave. Mannaja has been compared to a contemporaneous film called Keoma
Keoma (film)
Keoma, also released in various counties under the titles Django Rides Again and The Violent Breed, is a 1976 Spaghetti Western film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Franco Nero and Donald O'Brian...
(1976). Like other spaghetti westerns it is sometimes rather brutal, and contains fairly graphic depictions of murder with an axe. It was banned in Sweden.
Starring
(utvalg)- Maurizio MerliMaurizio MerliMaurizio Merli was an Italian film actor.Merli got his first lead role in 1974 in the film White Fang to the Rescue due to his resemblance to the highly popular cult actor Franco Nero, who played the lead role in the first two films...
: Blade (Mannaja) - John SteinerJohn SteinerJohn Steiner is an English actor. Tall, thin and gaunt, Steiner attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked for a few years at the BBC. Steiner featured in a lead role in a television production of Design for Living by Noel Coward. Later he found further work primarily in films...
: Theo Woller - Sonja Jeannine: Deborah McGowan
- Donald O'BrienDonald O'Brien (actor)Donal "Donald" O'Brien was a French-born Italian film and television actor of Irish descent. In his near 40-year career, O'Brien appeared in dozens of stage performances and in more than 60 film and television productions.O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raised in both Northern...
: Burt Craven - Philippe LeroyPhilippe Leroy (actor)Philippe Leroy, full name Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu is a French film actor. He has appeared in over 150 films since 1960. Leroy has been living mostly in Italy since the 1960s and has worked extensively in Italian cinema, as well as in his native country...
: Ed McGowan - Martine Brochard: Angela
- Salvatore Puntillo: Johnny
- Antonio CasaleAntonio CasaleAntonio Casale was an Italian film actor of the 1960s and 1970s who appeared in mostly Spaghetti Western Italian films between 1965 and 1976.Although his later roles were more prominent, Casale is probably most known worldwide for his brief appearance as the dying Bill Carson in Sergio Leone's...
: Dahlman - Enzo FiermonteEnzo FiermonteEnzo Fiermonte , sometimes credited as William Bird, was a boxer and actor. Fiermonte was born on July 17, 1908 in Bari, Puglia, Italy. He married Madeleine Astor on November 27, 1933 in New York City, but was divorced on June 11, 1938. In his early life he was a boxer, but later became a film actor...
: agente del governo - Rick Battaglia: padre di Mannaja
- Aldo Rendine: uomo derubato
- Enzo Maggio: vecchietto
- Sergio Tardioli: barista
- Sophia Lombardo: Lucy
External links
- Eccentric cinema (review and pictures, English)
- Swedish video cover from 1982