Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54057 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-27
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, DVD, Limited Edition, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen, Dolby, Color
• Original language: English, Italian
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
Along with Sergio Leone's Clint Eastwood trilogy, Sergio Corbucci's Django, starring Belgian hunk Franco Nero as the gritty mercenary who drags a coffin behind him, was one of the most influential spaghetti Westerns. After mowing down armies of bad guys with his machine gun (which he brandishes in classic two-fisted tough-guy fashion--from the hip), he stages a daring gold heist from a Mexican military fortress and then plots to double-cross his bandito partners. Corbucci, who cowrote the story, fashions an unrelentingly violent tale of rival gangs squeezing the life out of a muddy, bloody border town, reveling in the sadism of the genre. The film opens with a woman strung up and lashed by a group of lascivious bandits, only to be saved by even more sadistic gunmen who plan to burn her alive, and Django fan Quentin Tarantino borrowed the scene where a vindictive general slices the ear off a corrupt preacher for Reservoir Dogs. While not as stylish as Leone's operatic epics, Django pushed the borders of violence into all-new territory, and the film was banned outright in England and cut in the U.S. It spawned 20 unofficial sequels before Nero returned 20 years later for the only legitimate sequel, Django Strikes Again. In the meantime, Nero followed up this grimy antihero role with a turn as the singing medieval superknight Lancelot in Camelot! Also features a short interview with Nero. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Corbucci's best film!
Don't listen to any claims made made for Bullet For A General, Django is without a doubt the best non-Leone spaghetti Western of all time. The opening scene (blue-clad Nero carrying a saddle over his shoulder and dragging a coffin through the gooiest mud in film history)is beautiful. Corbucci's direction is more controlled here than anywhere else--less zooms, less jarring close-ups, and neater editing. And Django has to be one of the first action heroes to fire a heavy machine gun from the hip (without even pulling the trigger, no less!).

But make no mistake. This is Italian exploitation--love it or hate it. An ear is cut off, prostitutes fight in the mud, and our hero's hands are crushed in gory detail that would make One-Eyed Jacks mumble in disgust. Don't expect John Ford here. But if you're looking for something different, are curious about spaghetti Westerns but afraid to buy any because so many are horrible--then this is the movie for you!

It's Not Delivery...........It's Django
I think most people who don't care much for this movie had been spoiled by Leone before watching it. I mean, Leone really set the bar high for westerns and I don't think anyone has done it as good since. He pretty much reinvented the western and set the rules. Italian directors who followed in his wake were directors who usually did other kinds of films, but started doing westerns coz they were big bucks at the box office. Django was the first of the non-Leone spaghetti westerns, and it's a great movie. Sure, the budget shows and the acting isn't always the best, but I'm able to look past that. The look of the film is unique-Instead of the blazing hot deserts, most of this film is cloudy and muddy(I know it was shot in winter and I think it takes place in winter as well), giving it it's own look. Franco Nero is no Eastwood or Bronson, but he has the right stuff for the part and pulls it off nicely. Very violent for 1966, but we've become so desensitized over the years that it won't have you gasping in shock. It's still brutal enough though. Lots of complaints about the soundtrack again. Well, once again this isn't Leone, therefore the epic music isn't here either. But I don't see how you can hear the theme song and not laugh. You can just see Tom Jones singing this to a crowd of screaming women in Vegas. Once again Blue Underground has given another forgotten film the best possible treatment it can have. They give us an interview with Franco Nero and a very interesting short film with Nero as well. And as always, Blue Underground gives us the original poster as the cover(I love how they do that with these old flicks!). If you have any interest at all in westerns and have seen the Dollars trilogy too many times, you can't go wrong with Django-that is if you lower your expectations a tad.

Mud, Blood and Brilliance
This is a classic spaghetti western and an unforgettable film. Filmed on a low budget in the Spanish winter of 65/66, it shows an inventiveness and exuberance that takes the whole genre forward by the scruff of the neck. Hauntingly atmospheric, brilliantly designed and full of almost non-stop action, it repays endless viewings. A particular bonus with this release is the option of a subtitled Italian-language track, which means (a) that you don't have to listen to the awful English version and (b)you get a taste of the original script, which sometimes differs markedly from the dubbed version. The extras include enlightening interviews with Franco Nero and Ruggero Deodato, and a bonus 10-minute monochrome short (stylised and wordless) featuring Nero as an ageing gunslinger, which is worth a look. The main disappointment is the poor quality of some scenes due to the DVD being sourced from a damaged negative. According to the sleeve, this had been found in an Italian vault, "untouched for three decades" - but the British Film Institute was able to source a pristine version for the UK cinema and video release in 1991. Apart from that, full marks for presentation. If you want a lesson in how to make an action masterpiece on a shoestring budget then this is the film for you.