Django [1966] [VHS]

One of the best and most popular of the non-Leone spaghetti westerns,a fanboy favourite with spaghetti western fans and cult movie enthusiasts the world over and inspiration to such cool,hip directors as Tarrentino.It also started a craze of imitators that spread across Europe,most of them re-titled to cash in on the name of this movie but very few could match its energy and raw power.
A Fist Full of Dollars was obviously a big influence with Django with a similar story line and leading man.In the legendary opening we meet Django,a cool,quiet but sinister figure dragging a coffin through muddy western town.After he rescues a women from a band of Mexicans,gunning all of them down and upsets the local town mayor by doing the same to a bunch of his men he stays in the town brothel and finds himself in a war between the mayor and the Mexican outlaws and very soon they find out just what is in the coffin.
Again like Fist Full of Dollars,Django has its roots in Japanese Samurai cinema such as Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo but compared to the work of Leone is far less polished.Director Sergio Corbucci filmed this rough and dirty with nearly every scene running thick in mud and the voilence as hard as you could go for the mid 60's with a death toll of hundreds and scenes of tourture that got into trouble with the censors on its initial release such as the ear slicing and the smashing of Django's hands.
For a low budget movie this is extremely well made.Corbucci didnt shoot this in scope as other western directors did which gives it a less traditional feel but manages to cram rich cinematography into the tight 1.66:1 framing and gives a fantastic claustrophobic atmosphere.
The cast are superb to with the legendary Franco Nero as Django,the best man with no name next to Clint. This film won him respect and a great many roles including big blockbusters such as Die Hard 2.
Django is available on DVD for the first in the UK,but the disc to go for is US based Blue Undergrounds region O DVD.The transfer has been taken from original vault materals and apart from a tiny amount of damage[which Blue Underground apologise for!]this is flawless.Anamorphicly enhanced at 1.66:1 the detail is amazing and colour is dead on,just check out the close ups of Django's face.Sound is as good as you can expect from a 40year old dub track and for the purists you have option of listening to the original italian mix[with English subs.
Extras consist of interviews with Franco Nero and assistant director who is non-other than Ruggero Deodato who went on to make a name for himself directing Cannibal Holocaust.
To round off the excellent package you get a bonus DVD[which is a very novel mini CD single size]of a short film staring Nero called The Last Pistolero.
Excellent and recommended to any serious film fan or lover of italian cinema.Movie-***** Picture-***** Sound-*** Extras-****
Ratings are out of five

Chances are if you're thinking of watching this you're a fan of Sergio Leone's films and the Italian western. That being the case, I'd recommend Django but suggest you manage your expectations.

First, the similarities with Leone. You see a lot of familiar faces from the Dollars films. There's also plenty of ingenious and well orchestrated violence with some very clever set pieces: the gun battle in the muddy town (overtones of WWI here?), the fist fight in the saloon where the camerawork is incredibly mobile, especially for the period. Plenty of the aesthetics are familiar too from the sound effects (the gun shot sound is exactly the same) to the sets which were designed by Carlo Simi (here credited as Giancarlo), though in the latter the differences creep in. Instead of the dust dry south-west, Django is set in the lush and wet mid-west.

However, many trademark aspects of Leone's film making are missing and here the comparisons are not favourable. The most obvious difference is that Django wasn't shot in Techniscope. It makes a huge difference to the look and feel of the film. Also absent is Leone's appreciation of grotesque physiognomy. The other sorely missed element is that the score wasn't written by Morricone. It's impossible to stress what a difference this makes. Even Morricone's less successful music, say in Once upon a time the Revolution, adds a cohesion and mood to Leone's films that is unique. That said the title track of Django is a winner!

What about Corbucci in his own right? He certainly has some moments, from the opening sequence where Django is dragging a coffin through the wilderness, to the moment when he reveals its contents and when the `red masks' invade town. Franco Nero isn't Clint Eastwood but does brings a silent charisma to the part.

Django is a must see for fans of the spaghetti western but it's very much second league in comparison to Leone - which maybe an unfair comparison. A huge number of sequels were made, though only one 'official one' (in the late 70s if I recall) though I suggest these are left to the aficionados only!

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This film certainly does not lack for originality although by todays standards it has lost the power it once had to shock. It was banned for 25 years in this country and it is hard to see why now. It was directed by Sergio Corbucci and starred Franco Nero in the title role. It propelled Nero into many more Western anti hero roles.

Django a gun runner comes into town dragging a coffin we later find contains a Gatling gun. This weapon is extremely useful in running up a much higher than average body count, which will no doubt impact on coffin prices. Django has also come looking for Major Jackson the psychopathic murderer of his wife. After killing most of Jackson's men he makes a pact with a Mexican General who looked about as scary as a glove puppet from the Sooty and Sweep show. However looks are deceiving. The two come to an arrangement where they steal a large quantity of gold. The General decides, surprise surprise, that it might be a better idea if he keeps it all. Django has issues with this and steals it back. He later carelessly loses it which really peeves the General who has Django brutally beaten in a famous scene. Will Django recover from his appalling injuries to dispense some six gun justice? We most certainly hope so!

You may have gathered already that it is a little implausible. I dont think anyone could deny that. But despite that it has a certain look to it that is quite fascinating. The sea of mud is a special feature and its restrictive use of the same sets certainly contribute to this. Aside from "Once Upon a Time in the West" I am not a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns, but I must admit I enjoyed this one despite trying hard to dislike it. Quentin Tarantino was an admirer. His ear cutting scene in "Reservoir Dogs" was inspired by a similar scene in this film. It was popular in Europe and became a cult film in the US. Overall this is a very watchable film that has many admirers and spawned a host of inferior sequels. Recommended viewing.