O Dragão da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro (1969)

Second viewing; the first one was between 1983 and 1986.

International title: Antonio das Mortes.
Suggested translation of the original title: The Dragon of Cruelty vs. the Warrior Saint.

In the poor countryside of Northeastern Brazil, a gang of outlaws appears, disturbing a long period of peace for the region's rich landowner, a blind old man. The bandits, which form a community acting under the leadership of one man, are inspired by a young woman who is deemed as holy. The landowner hires a killer with a big reputation stemming from his past killings of the same sort of bandits who then ravaged that countryside. A subplot has the local sheriff having an affair with the landowner's young and beautiful wife.

Here is another film which I didn't like on my first viewing; at that time, I was watching too many movies, and enjoying too little of them. Now I aim for quality viewing, both in what I view, and in how I view it. Anyway, this film, a sequel to Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, has some things going for it. It has a respectable plot, to begin with. The leading performance is quite on the mark, very effective. The dialogue is functional and intelligent, refraining from verbiage. Visually, it has some interesting finds. The bad side is that the film has too much dead time, in the form of useless sequences or overextended ones.

Rating: 51 (up from 25)