Django (1966) / Western

MPAA Rated: Not rated, but probably R for violence
Running Time: 91 min.

Cast: Franco Nero, Loredana Nusciak, Eduardo Fajado, Jose Bodalo
Director: Sergio Corbucci
Screenplay: Sergio Corbucci, Bruno Corbucci
Review published October 4, 1999

A loner with a talent for guns in the Old West has a scheme to get a coffin full of gold by pitting warring factions of Confederate soldiers against Mexican rebels.

This spaghetti western, while paling in comparison to the classic Sergio Leone "Dollars" trilogy, still was a very influential film in its genre, spawning as many as fifty unofficial sequels. It's quite violent yet still entertaining, with Nero (Enter the Ninja, Die Hard 2) maintaining good screen presence even if he is no Clint Eastwood.

If there is a major detraction of this film, it comes from the god-awful dubbing, with the hokiest voices and the weakest music.  However, it's hard to gripe too much about it from a review context, as the makers of the film have no control over that aspect, so it's hard to fault them outright.

Fans of Quentin Tarantino should note this film's influence on the famous "ear cutting" scene used in Reservoir Dogs, though it is taken to new lows in this film. Not a great film, but still entertaining enough for fans of spaghetti westerns.

-- Followed by Django Shoots First (1966), Return of Django (1967), Django Prepares a Coffin (1968), and Django Strikes Again (1987)

Qwipster's rating:

©1999 Vince Leo