Keoma
by Enzo G. Castellari
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DVD details
Actor: Franco Nero, Olga Karlatos, William Berger, Woody StrodeDirector: Enzo G. Castellari
Brand: WEA DES Moines Video
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-03-27
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: 1085
Studio: Blue Underground
Product features:
- Franco Nero (Django, The Fifth Cord) is Keoma, a half-breed gunfighter weary of killing as a way of life. But when he returns to his troubled childhood home, Keoma is caught in a savage battle between innocent settlers, sadistic bandits and his vengeful half-brothers. In a wasteland gone mad with rage and pain, can one man massacre his way to redemption? Keoma is an extraordinary combination of
DVD Reviews of Keoma
DVD Review: 3 1/2 Stars -- "Everyone deserves to be born"
Summary: 3 Stars
Disclaimer: The version of 'Keoma' that I watched is included in the Gunslinger Western Collection - as such I cannot comment on the quality of the DVD offered on this product page. Instead, this review is concerned with the entertainment value of the film only.
Well-liked by fans and well-respected by critics, this late entry from the heyday of Italian westerns stars genre icon Franco Nero as a half-Indian, half-white soldier returning from the Civil War to find his hometown in the grips of a plague and controlled by a ruthless gang of ex-confederates. To make matters worse, his three half brothers have thrown in with the gang's leader, Caldwell, and Keoma's return only reawakes the hatred they feel for him. Perhaps for himself as much as the townspeople, Keoma defies the gang and his brothers, rescuing a pregnant women and guarding her as she prepares to have her baby, as well as destroying the power of the gang.
Director Enzo Castellari explores several different themes with this film - I might be tempted to say TOO many - though I think most obviously, 'Keoma' is a comment on the struggle against fate. Packed with symbolism and conventions from tragedy, and mixed with super-stylized violence and western stereotypes, Castellari risks pretentious silliness against making an epic, insightful character study. Popular opinion indicates a positive reception - although after watching the first time, I disagreed. After another viewing, I'm not so sure.
Beyond a doubt, there are isolated elements to this film that, examined separately from the total experience, seem ridiculous and unflattering. Most reviewers mention at least something about the soundtrack, which, like a Greek chorus, has its singers who narrate onscreen events as they are happening --but even worse is the style in which they are sung. This rather bizarre experiment has to be heard to appreciated -- and even though it actually grew on me while watching it again, it's tremendously awkward the first time around. Another odd aspect, especially from the jaded position of contemporary times, is how serious this film takes itself. Symbolic messages such as the redeemer who is crucified by the crowd in exchange for worldly gain, or the birth of a baby to suggest the re-birth of a society, or even of the outsider with his physical differences to cement his 'apartness' from the norm -- depending on how they are presented -- can seem played out or at least less effective through over-use. And whether or not Castellari 'borrowed' the idea of super-slow motions death scenes from the Peckinpah school of filmmaking, it still seems excessive. As a statement or as a stylistic choice, it strikes me as an element that exists within the film only for its own sake. Along with the way that Nero dresses in the film, they seem like reflections of what the filmmakers thought would be really super-duper to have in their movie.
Those were my objections at first, and I still hold to them, even after watching again -- yet there is also an odd sense that these different elements work together better than I first thought. Picking them apart as I have done doesn't take into account the gestalt effect: It isn't so much a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, it's that any isolated 'part' could actually be considered a subtraction from the whole, and the audacity of including so many of them together in one film propels the storyline into 'Epic' territory, where modern filmmakers seem afraid to go for fear of being laughed at. 'Keoma' is an attempt at a serious statement - albeit using techniques that we've grown used to seeing parodied, or used like self-deprecating in-jokes by the director too tentative to stand by his design.
Ultimately, this viewer is still trying to decide whether 'Keoma' is as pretentious and silly as he first thought, or whether it is an interesting statement gained through unusual means. With it's many variations, the Italian western genre eventually defies reductionism, but one aspect I've always enjoyed was a distinct refusal to peer inward at its characters, relying instead on the implications of their outward actions. We may get a glimpse of their motivations by observing individuals, but rarely do the scripts call for exploring any psychological underpinnings. Yet that is exactly what 'Keoma' is about - in fact, one might say that is _entirely_ what it is about.
The rest of the cast turn in fine performances -- I like William Berger and Donald O'Brien better here than in other films of theirs that I've seen -- and Nero and Woody Strode are on par with their usual work. Production value is better than most early Eurowesterns, and while some of the minor characters are dubbed in, the principals -- even Nero -- speak English. But in the end, I can only give this film a moderate recommendation, as I have a feeling that it's appeal will be highly individualistic. I will say that if the film disappoints initially, it may be worth your time to watch it again at a later time, as I found that once I was prepared for some of the quirkier elements, I could better appreciate the story's depth.
The version I watched which is included in the Gunslinger collection was put out by Pop Flix. There are no extras, but the transfer was clean in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It might well be worth the cost of this collection, either in thisformat or in this one, just to first determine your interest level in the film. I'm happy enough with the version I have that I feel no need to upgrade, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate to go with this copy put out by Blue Underground, as I have some of their other DVDs, and have no complaints.
Description of Keoma
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