With an alleged estimate of over 100 unofficial sequels and one official Sergio Corbucci's "Django" is one of the most popular and loved Italian westerns, often regarded as one of the best non-Leone ones. It forever immortalized Franco Nero as a personal favorite actor amongst fans of the genre. While Sergio Corbucci
himself was given high credit for his work. Here he demonstrates his creative skills, even through the limits of the genre he spins a violently fresh tale of racial hatred, deceit and vengeance.
Franco Nero stars as Django, a lone rough-cut gunslinger in worn-out clothes and duster. He travels through the grim, dirty badlands dragging a coffin behind him. In the opening scene Django rescues a woman from a group of men wearing red ties around their necks. He leads her back towards the nearby town, a secluded nearly ghostlike place with only the local saloon operating. It seems the town had been torn apart by countless battles between a group of racist Southerners that wear red ties as indication of their "beliefs" and the forces of a rebel self-proclaimed Mexican general. Unlike "A Fistful Of Dollars"' Joe, Django doesn't play it both ways, he makes his position clear very early on, he is after money and nothing else. There is no double play here, Django doesn't act with the same grace and precision Joe did, and he doesn't' care much for it either, Nero's character is a killing machine, and the contents of the coffin he drags show that ability of his.
First things first. When watching "Django" it is recommended that you see the Italian version. The English dub is not only corny but it also cuts a crucial portion of the plot regarding racial discrimination. So if you have a chance to see the movie in it's original language I suggest you see that version.
Anyways. There is an established consent that "Django"'s plot is a remake of Leone's "A Fistful Of Dollars" which in turns was a remake of "Yojimbo". While I agree that at some point "Django" does present a variation of the same story found in those films, I fail to agree that it is a complete remake. As noted above "Django"'s characters hold no similarity to those found in the previously mentioned movies. Further more Corbucci's own brand of story-telling tends to be a bit more brutal and violent than normal, his vision is accompanied with such acts that could leave a normal audience disturbed. One particular scene comes in mind. There a character has his ear cut off, is forced to eat it and is then gunned down. Such displays of brutality supplemented with the racist elements in the plot, greatly deviate "Django" from the movies that it's allegedly remade of.
Any negative comments on Franco Nero's performance are simply impossible, he does his job perfectly in creating Django's threatening, grim, bad-ass image and the entire movie and Corbucci's direction is focused around it. And speaking about direction, Corbucci demonstrates his style in perfect fashion. Once again as in Leone's films the sets are used as an enchanting factor during shootouts, with the great cemetery duel taking the cake for it's artistic level of detail. It is noted that Corbucci employs several elements that he would later re-use in his most powerful work "The Great Silence", for example the protagonists in both movies had their hands crippled shortly before their final confrontation with the antagonist, or their duty-bound temper that leads them to that moment. Both movies use those elements for different goal, but let's not detract on that. Unlike Curbucci's previous "Navajo Joe" here the score is supplied by Luis Bacalov, who does a commendable job with an especially catchy opening theme song.
Evidently enough Sergio Corbucci's "Django" is a one of the best Italian westerns you could find. It's rough, brutal nearly sadistic content makes it hard for most mainstream audiences, but if you have the guts and open mind and love the genre this one is a definite must.
May 4, 2011
