Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

joeywhenindoubt It is widely acknowledged that the man who launched the entire Spaghetti Western genre was Sergio Leone and indeed his films are the best ones ever made in terms of operatic violence and story (The Dollar Trilogy is gripping and Once Upon A Time in the West is an epic and powerful western). So after watching Sergio Leone's films I was eager to watch some more of genre but all I watched were poor Sergio Leones rip-offs with generic characters and recycled plot lines: the clichéd and dull Navajo Joe, idiotic Sabata and unimpressive and underwhelming A Bullet for the General. I thought there wouldn't be any good ones but then a stumbled across Django (1966) which defied all my exceptions, true it reuses all the genre conventions and elements: sadistic bad guys, fallen woman, revenge theme, aggressive violence and a tough seemingly unbeatable hero but Sergio Corbucci creates an original and fresh Western that boasts lots of thrilling action, a fast paced plot, some shocking violence and some nice aspects (a coffin with a machine gun in, making the hero vulnerable and never letting the tension slag). Django (Franco Nero) arrives into desolate and muddy town dragging a coffin with him and ends up in the middle of turf war between the Klu Klux Kan and some Mexican's Bandits. Corbucci is no Leone but he handles the direction capably, the violence is not operatic but nevertheless fast and gripping, the plot is interesting making using of nice set pieces most notably when Django opens his coffin and a tense ending. The dialogue isn't going to win any prizes but that doesn't get in the way of story that delivers the action goods.I can't wait to see Corbucci's other classic cult western, The Great Silence (1968). Django may not be a Western classic but is a cult classic and is a highly entertaining ride.

Zoooma I'm not sure what to think of this spaghetti western. Franco Nero was really good imitating Clint Eastwood. His badassness shined in just about every scene. Problem with the movie is there's essentially no plot and very little action. Much of the beauty comes from the setting, a very bleak, muddy, desolate town in the middle of nowhere. Apparently quite violent for the era, getting banned in England. Funny because by today's standards it's kinda tame. There certainly were flaws including the bad dialogue and then the gang with hoods on? Very odd. Oh, and I pray this is the last time I watch a film dubbed into English. Subtitles I always prefer and they would have been nice here. The dubbing was so terrible. In any case, not the western I am used to (one filmed and taking place in the American west) but still this isn't half bad.--A Kat Pirate Screener

Robert W. I know that Sergio Leone didn't necessarily create the Spaghetti Western but he certainly could be considered the King of the Genre. Django reeks of everything you would expect from a Leone film. If you love Leone's Westerns then you will at least enjoy Django. Many reviewers will tell you that this is on par or even better than the Dollars Trilogy (I completely disagree.) Certainly, it holds its own but if this were made nowadays people would cry foul and say how obviously blatantly copied this is from Leone's work. The brooding, dark stranger, the cunning but slimy Mexican bad guy, the warring factions...so on and so forth. I think the only reason I don't think this holds up to the Dollars films is that the characters and performances were very stiff in this. A few reviewers also said that Franco Nero was no Eastwood and as a HUGE Eastwood fan I can tell you that that is VERY true. He has the brooding part down but he doesn't have any chemistry on screen. He just doesn't handle the anti-hero role quite well enough. Feels strange saying that since the film is a cult Western classic that spawned multiple sequels and iterations so obviously something was done right.Franco Nero certainly looks heroic. He is tall and dark and has those piercing blue eyes. He guns his way through the bad guys with ease. He just didn't stun me. He didn't show the type of charisma that I am used to in Westerns like the aforementioned Eastwood or Van Cleef. José Bódalo is decent in his role but as expected the role is incredibly cookie cutter. Given the genre of film, that is to be expected. He does decently though and his scenes with Nero are well done. If Loredana Nusciak has a point as Maria...is she a romantic interest, the damsel in distress...I don't know if she pulls it off. She constantly looks like a deer in headlights and shows absolutely no acting ability in her role. There is no chemistry between her and Nero and when she does belt out a scream or line, it seems cheesy. Ángel Álvarez was particularly fun as the bartender. He was sort of the sidekick and sort of the comic relief and I would have liked to have seen more from him. Eduardo Fajardo fulfilled the villain position decently. I don't think the script gave him a lot to work with but he is a decent Western villain.Sergio Corbucci obviously enjoyed the Spaghetti Western genre enough to try his hand at it. It succeeds in many ways. It isn't missing anything that a fan would need. Although described as violent I didn't think it was nearly as violent as any of Sergio Leone's films. It has a few over the top moments but certainly nothing that would make anyone cringe. Well the film hits mostly the right notes, everything also feels a little dry, a little uninspired, and without true creativity. I'm actually surprised that it has such cult status and such a high review on here. Its not a bad film, its just not a unique Western. When you have such superior film making in Sergio Leone, this one feels like a sub standard clone. 6/10

zardoz-13 Sergio Corbucci's third Spaghetti western "Django" has spawned at least thirty imitations. Indisputably, this ranks as Franco Nero's most memorable role, though he acquitted himself admirably in his other Corbucci Spaghettis, most remarkably "The Mercenary." Indeed, Nero cuts a striking figure decked out in Union blue, with a Gothic-looking, wooden coffin that he drags behind him wherever he walks. Django is a wizard with a six-gun. A little over half an hour into the action, Django produces a deadly machine gun from the coffin and decimates Major Jackson's ruffians. Luis Bacalov's orchestral music is as good as anything that Ennio Morricone ever composed for Sergio Leone. The thematic title song resembles something you'd hear in a 1950s era western where title tunes seemed mandatory. Rocky Roberts warbles the tune that provides biographical information about poor Django, his long-lost love, and the likelihood sunshine will follow showers. Nobody escapes fate in "Django." Women are whipped savagely by merciless brutes. Men are beaten, mutilated, and often gunned down in cold blood. One has to eat his own ear after a Mexican slices it off and jams it in his mouth. Murder seems like a reflex action. At least, as many as nine gunmen bite the dust before eight minutes have elapsed. Trust is a commodity rarely shared, unless Django is doing the sharing. Essentially, Sergio Corbucci and his brother Bruno penned the screenplay, with three other scribes, Franco Rossetti, José Gutiérrez Maesso, and Piero Vivarelli. "Django" pits racist Americans against the greedy Mexicans searching for gold to buy an arsenal of guns. Major Jackson rides herd over the Americans, while Hugo dresses like a general at the head of his make-shift army of outlaws. Django, Major Jackson, and General Hugo constitute the chief characters in this revenge-driven drama.After the opening credits sequence with our hero trudging through the mud, "Django" opens at a rope bridge over a quicksand pit at the border. Four Mexicans tie up a white woman, Maria (Loredana Nusciak of "Gladiators 7"), before they administer lashes with a bullwhip. Suddenly, as the Mexican is about to deliver the twelfth lash, five hombres with red scarves drop the Hispanics in a hail of gunfire. They cut the woman loose, and they plan to dispose of her anyway. Django guns them down before they can hurt her. One survives, and Django shoots him. The poor wretch vanishes in a quicksand pit. Django escorts Maria to town. He enters a saloon that doubles as a bordello. Nathaniel the Bartender (Ángel Álvarez of "Navajo Joe") initially refuses to let Maria spend the night. Django intervenes and pays for her room. Nathaniel describes the town as "neutral." He explains they must try to please both Major Jackson's Southerners and Hugo's banditos. "But for the privilege of staying alive we sure pay dearly." Meantime, Major Jackson (Eduardo Fajardo of "The Mercenary") abhors Mexicans. When we first see him, he is shooting Mexican peasants down in cold blood. He has them lined up in a stable and releases one at the time to run. The sadistic Jackson waits until the Mexicans have scrambled to comparative safety before he brings them down with his long-barreled Winchester repeating rifle. At the bar, Jackson confronts Django with four pistoleros. Django guns them down in heartbeat, even Ringo (José Terrón of "For A Few Dollars More") who stood behind him! Nevertheless, Django doesn't shoot Jackson. Instead, he lets Jackson live and challenges him to return with all of his men.Eventually, when Jackson returns with his army, Django pulls out a machine gun and mows them down. Jackson flees in humiliation. He falls off his horse and gets mud smeared over his face. Ironically, he is no longer white-skinned, the epitome of everybody he hates. Later, Django joins forces with General Hugo Rodriguez. They know each other, and Hugo knows Django is a desperado. The General (José Bódalo of "Companeros") requires money for guns so he can win the revolution. Django convinces him to rob the Major of his fortune and wipe out the Mexican soldiers with whom the Southerner is working. Afterward, Hugo refuses to divide the loot up with Django. Django insists Hugo hand him his share. Hugo stonewalls Django. Instead, he shows Django where the gold will be held. Later that night, Django fools everybody into believing that he is having sex with a beautiful girl while he is lugging his coffin to the room where the gold is stored. This has got to be the most unwieldy thing in this western. Django has to climb and cross roofs with the coffin in his clutches lest it give him away. This wrinkle in the plot resembles the last quarter hour of "For A Few Dollars More." Django rigs up a booby trap toward the end when he swipes the gold. He fixes the machine gun to pour out a burst of fire. Of course, the machine gun couldn't have fired as many rounds as the one in "Django." After Hugo has his men smash Django's hands, he rides into an ambush courtesy of Major Jackson and the Mexican cavalry. The final shoot-out at the cemetery is memorable.Sergio Corbucci did more things than Sergio Leone ever dreamed of with the American western. Corbucci borrows a similar script element from Leone when the hero is beaten savagely. Although the Clint Eastwood character suffered damage over most of his body, the Mexicans confine themselves to smashing Django's hands. Despite having his hands broken, our resourceful hero survives the fray. Indeed, this is no picnic for our hero who is forged in a fire. After the robbery, the plot veers toward a "For A Few Dollars More" scene. Jackson's men look truly distinctive in their scarlet hoods. "Django" qualifies as a classic Spaghetti western!