Gave this a re-watch the other day and though it’s director Sergio Garrone’s best entry in the genre, it’s very much the signature movie of its co-writer and star Anthony Steffen. The lead actor’s impassive style is ideal for this incarnation of Django; a ‘maledetto bastardo’ who may or not be the vengeful ghost of a Confederate soldier.
Django is back from the dead in a metaphorical or - if you take the enigmatic ending at face value - literal sense. The synopsis from the UK VHS (1995): ‘Back in the dark days of the American Civil War, a group of officers sold out their entire regiment to the enemy - who proceeded to slaughter them wholesale. Only one survived and that man was Django’. For whatever reason De Teffé and Garrone fudged the screenplay and ended up with a hero halfway between man and ghost.
Paolo Gozlino (Major Murdok) is convincing enough in an underplayed role, albeit the voice actor in the English dub does the character no favours. The main villain is overshadowed by both Rada Rassimov (Alida Murdok) and Luciano Rossi (Hugh/Luke Murdok). Alida seems a mix of scheming villainess and heroine. She taunts Murdok with the line in the Italian dub: ‘The great Murdok forced by a shadow to dance on the rope’. Luciano Rossi is given full rein as the psychotic younger brother. His exultant line ‘It’s his blood! He’s no ghost!’ to perplexed henchmen is a highlight but inconsequential in the end. A couple of noteworthy faces in the main cast include Teodoro Corrà (Murdok flunky Williams) and Carlo Gaddi (Murdok enforcer Brett). The latter features in a memorable scene opposite Django (playing solitaire) in the saloon.
A few other highlights: an archetypal SW opening complete with flashback, a macabre parade of three gunslingers returning crucified on horseback, the forced exodus of Dirty/Desert City and the killing in the chapel.
Some minor criticism: the hunting of Django tends to drag towards the end with one too many scenes involving peripheral characters; the main flashback (although cleverly framed with the whiskey bottle)
is rather superfluous and exposes the low-budget.
Despite its shortcomings it seems to be one of those titles that improve with repeated viewings.
