A coffin-dragging gunslinger (Franco Nero) and a half-breed prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a Klan of Southern racists and a band of Mexican Revolutionaries.Intended to capitalize on and rival the success of Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars", Corbucci's film is, like Leone's, considered to be a loose, unofficial adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo". Indeed, many people have called this an homage to Leone, which may be only half right.In many ways, this film may have been even more influential than the Leone trilogy. There have since been many, many films that have borrowed the name Django, often with no connection whatsoever to the original film. The Eastwood character, on the other hand, was never blatantly ripped off as frequently.

I think for its time, Django would have been great, but a lot of the style and ideas have been copied by a lot of look-alikes, that it probably doesn't look at edgey that it did at its time.Clearly, the copy cat films made after it, by directors other than corbucci, show that it was something that had an impact, and was successful that other people wanted to emulate it.Production values (as with many Spaghetti Westerns) aren't great, and clearly made on a low budget. One of the shots in the western bar fight has a camera crew clearly in shot, and the sets are minimal.Storyline wise, its fun and a bit out there, though a bit similar to "a fist full of Dollars", released 2 years before. The dialogue (though possibly better in its original Italian, as I've only seen the English dub) is a bit clichéd and basic. Watching the main deal with situations having to lug around a heavy coffin is certainly not your average plot device.Franco Nero does a great job as the hero, and is a solid actor, only let down by some of the dialogue he has to work with.Overall, worth a watch, but in the Western Genre, not in the same league as the classic Ford Westerns and, I'd put him next best to Sergio Leone "Man with no Name" series.

A classic spaghetti western yarn which proved to be so popular that it spawned at least two dozen sequels, remakes and rip-offs all of which traded in on the mysterious central figure of Django, a very visual character with a wide-brimmed hat, grey scarf, and long black overcoat, who drags a coffin through the mud behind him. Plotwise, the film is nothing new but another remake of the Japanese classic YOJIMBO, already made once as A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. The two remakes, although both within the genre, are very different movies. Whereas FISTFUL was a film with strong characterisation, witty and quotable dialogue and good acting, Django has none of that. Most of the characters aren't developed at all, aside from Franco Nero and a couple of the leads, the acting is merely acceptable, the dialogue unmemorable.Where director Sergio Corbucci comes into his own is with his unique visual style. Instead of employing the same camera tricks as the one and only Sergio Leone, Corbucci instead creates a colourful movie in which the brightly-clothed characters stand out against a grim backdrop of mud, scum and ruin. There are some truly memorable and classic images in this movie, whether it be Django using his machine-gun to mow down dozens of red-hooded religious fanatics (who seem to be an early version of the Ku Klux Klan!), or the standout finale which sees Django - his hands now useless, raw and bleeding - attempting to load and fire his gun at the hit squad which has come to destroy him, all set in a down-trodden cemetery.Each character has his own unique colours and appearance to distinguish him from the rest making for a very visual movie to watch. While the music is a bit over-the-top and a far cry from Ennio Morricone, the shoot-outs are staged in a no-nonsense manner with plenty of style. Franco Nero - after supporting parts in the likes of THE WILD, WILD, PLANET - gives a tough, impassive and spooky performance in the title role which established him as one of Italy's top actors for years to come. Angel Alvarez shines as the friendly bartender caught up in the mayhem, as does Loredana Nusciak as a prostitute who falls for Django after he saves her from a whipping. Meanwhile, Eduardo Fajardo makes for a truly despicable villain as he shoots Mexicans for sport in the back as they run away.What makes this film so memorable is the legendary violence - something which caused it to be banned outright in the UK (so what else is new?). The scene every body remembers is where a man gets his ear sliced off in bloody, unflinching detail which easily gives a similar moment in RESERVOIR DOGS a run for it's moment. Other "highlights" include a man being shot in the face, and Nero having both of his hands mercilessly beaten to a pulp. As the film progresses, so does the death toll, and sweeping views of valleys littered with corpses are largely impressive. Most of the cast ends up dead by the time the film ends. DJANGO is a highly watchable movie with plenty of style and visual splendour to recommend it, one of the big boys of the genre.

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!