Director: Sergio Corbucci
Year: 1966
Country: Italy/Spain
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Spaghetti Western
Plot:
Arriving in a remote village, a mysterious stranger arrives in a small border-town under the iron-fisted rule of a ruthless general and his men. Realizing that the town would be better off without his rule, he sets out to drive him and his men from the local villagers which he accomplishes rather easily earning the gratitude of those still living in the town. However, his friend from prison arrives in town after realizing that the general has been driven out and starts to impose his own iron-handed rule over the villagers forcing Django to decide to follow his conscience or his friend in his quests.
Review:
This is easily one of the quintessential films in the genre. As is to be expected in such a film, the central hero at the center of the film is one of the most intriguing and interesting characters in the film which is to be expected here. While at first, he seems to be a self-righteous man of few words who rarely offers anything more than a bullet in response to anything around him, the fact that we later see him work as a traitor not only with the villains in the town by going along with their plans to overthrow the town and steal the gold yet eventually double-crossing them as well. This goes along with the finale where we see that he has taken a change of heart and gone after those responsible for hurting his friends where he comes across as the desired hero who's still a prick that tried to steal stolen gold from his murderous allies. This ends up creating such an important part of the genre with the impressive central character.
The other big plus here due to this is the action to be featured. This manages a stellar mix of the various styles prominent in the scene, ranging from shootouts to bar-room brawls and horse stampedes to all sorts of spectacular gunfights that tend to spring up without warning. The first encounter in the saloon, taking out the various soldiers in exceptionally quick order, sets up his temperament and skills quite early as well as providing a big action scene to set up the absolutely spectacular revelation of the contents within the coffin he carries with him. There's even more fun to be had in the second half where the daring raid on the mission has some fantastic stuntwork with the chases and shootouts featured amongst the different scenes within the compound as they focus on the various goings-on. The iconic finale, utilizing the redemption trope so common within the genre within the graveyard has all the brutal action and pathos that could be squeezed out of this setup and again goes to a cemetery, offering the satisfaction element as well that really makes this one so fun.
As well, the film scores with its atmosphere. The general location of the town where it transpires, with the air and feel of decay throughout with the crumbling and weathered buildings rotting away in the sun, the roadways swamped with mud and water pools, and a generally overcast feeling which is perfectly utilized by the rather bleak look that's present in the village. By contrast, when it turns into a much livelier air here when the Mexicans are in control of the village and it's filled with all sorts of high-energy music, singing and dancing and a much brighter sense of life the atmosphere is much different and manages to effectively tell that different story rather nicely. Even though it's full of the same places and locations, the change is apparent enough throughout here that it creates a striking enough visual contrast that makes this so much fun.
Overview: *****/5
An essential and undeniable classic in the pantheon of the style, this fantastic entry still has plenty of top-notch elements present that keep it firmly in the upper echelon. Beyond highly recommended to fans of the style, Westerns in general, or fans of European exploitation cinema, while only those who don't appreciate the style should heed caution.
Year: 1966
Country: Italy/Spain
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Spaghetti Western
Plot:
Arriving in a remote village, a mysterious stranger arrives in a small border-town under the iron-fisted rule of a ruthless general and his men. Realizing that the town would be better off without his rule, he sets out to drive him and his men from the local villagers which he accomplishes rather easily earning the gratitude of those still living in the town. However, his friend from prison arrives in town after realizing that the general has been driven out and starts to impose his own iron-handed rule over the villagers forcing Django to decide to follow his conscience or his friend in his quests.
Review:
This is easily one of the quintessential films in the genre. As is to be expected in such a film, the central hero at the center of the film is one of the most intriguing and interesting characters in the film which is to be expected here. While at first, he seems to be a self-righteous man of few words who rarely offers anything more than a bullet in response to anything around him, the fact that we later see him work as a traitor not only with the villains in the town by going along with their plans to overthrow the town and steal the gold yet eventually double-crossing them as well. This goes along with the finale where we see that he has taken a change of heart and gone after those responsible for hurting his friends where he comes across as the desired hero who's still a prick that tried to steal stolen gold from his murderous allies. This ends up creating such an important part of the genre with the impressive central character.
The other big plus here due to this is the action to be featured. This manages a stellar mix of the various styles prominent in the scene, ranging from shootouts to bar-room brawls and horse stampedes to all sorts of spectacular gunfights that tend to spring up without warning. The first encounter in the saloon, taking out the various soldiers in exceptionally quick order, sets up his temperament and skills quite early as well as providing a big action scene to set up the absolutely spectacular revelation of the contents within the coffin he carries with him. There's even more fun to be had in the second half where the daring raid on the mission has some fantastic stuntwork with the chases and shootouts featured amongst the different scenes within the compound as they focus on the various goings-on. The iconic finale, utilizing the redemption trope so common within the genre within the graveyard has all the brutal action and pathos that could be squeezed out of this setup and again goes to a cemetery, offering the satisfaction element as well that really makes this one so fun.
As well, the film scores with its atmosphere. The general location of the town where it transpires, with the air and feel of decay throughout with the crumbling and weathered buildings rotting away in the sun, the roadways swamped with mud and water pools, and a generally overcast feeling which is perfectly utilized by the rather bleak look that's present in the village. By contrast, when it turns into a much livelier air here when the Mexicans are in control of the village and it's filled with all sorts of high-energy music, singing and dancing and a much brighter sense of life the atmosphere is much different and manages to effectively tell that different story rather nicely. Even though it's full of the same places and locations, the change is apparent enough throughout here that it creates a striking enough visual contrast that makes this so much fun.
Overview: *****/5
An essential and undeniable classic in the pantheon of the style, this fantastic entry still has plenty of top-notch elements present that keep it firmly in the upper echelon. Beyond highly recommended to fans of the style, Westerns in general, or fans of European exploitation cinema, while only those who don't appreciate the style should heed caution.
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