The striking character of this film is its visual beauty and stylish quality of art. Pierre Brice as Winnetou makes an impressing character for his nobility and integrity from beginning to end, and Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand matches him well enough. All the other actors are good as well. It's a grim story, there are some atrocious incidents with bloodsheds and nasty treasons on the way, but the loveliness of the landscapes and photography make the film more than enjoyable all the way in spite of the nastiness of the foul play of the white man. Karl May the author was one of the first to side with the Indians against the white man as he wrote his great Winnetou novels in his 50s in the 1890s, and they are still unique and impressing for their moral paragon of nobility. Seldom has the desert of the Apaches been so beautifully filmed as in this classic of an odd and much underrated western film.