Django (Sergio Corbucci, 1966)

I never thought about that ending, but it definitely works. It should be a bleak ending. In a sense, Django gets weaker and weaker as the movie progresses. In a weird way, I was slightly disappointed that gets the bad guys in the end.

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Congrats to @Divy for an excellent new review of the movie:

Thanks @Admin

Any remarks, feedback would be welcome

The BBFC website has a very interesting account of Djangoā€™s censorship travails in the UK, including a podcast discussion and original documents for download. I knew it was banned when first submitted but had no idea it was rejected again in the 70s.

https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/django-1967

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Cast pics added to the credits page.

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Anyone who knows if the Arrow blu-ray released in USA/Canada is region free?

This movieā€™s page in the SWDb has been upgraded to the new ā€œSWDb 3.0ā€ format. Please have a look and let us know if thereā€™s something you can add (information, trivia, links, pictures, etc.).

Poll added (top of page).

Copied from SWDb General Maintenance:

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Agree wholeheartedly about the poor English dubbing. As well as the ending, the scene in which Django has his hands smashed by Miguel is virtually silent dialogue wise in the English audio but in the Italian audio Miguel abuses him constantly calling a bastard and cursing him several times as he crushes his hands with the rifle butt. The overall effect is to make the Italian version of this scene far nastier than the English one.

It seems a lot of the dialogue differences were to tone down swearing and blasphemy.

I felt the hand crushing scene was Corbucciā€™s response to Fisful of Dollars. In Fistful, the villains beat-up No Name but they donā€™t touch his gun hand much (and stub a cigar out on his left hand). Corbucci wants to go further and have his hero damaged beyond repair. But he can still gun down Jackson.

Then of course after this the massive army of 20 revolutionaries/bandits go off to invade Mexico and get swiftly killed. And Major Jackson who hates Mexicans has hidden his treasure with them and rides with the Mexican army.

I liked the minimalist mud baked town. Itā€™s empty apart from a saloon full of prostitutes. No need for any extras.

I was puzzled over the dates - Mercedes Zaroā€™s headstone said either 1869 or 1886 I wasnā€™t sure which but the one off to the side had 1873. Even with 1869 itā€™s a bit late for Django to be returning from the civil war. It makes him a bit like Ethan Edwards - and I thought the last shot in which he disappears through the hole in the cemetery entrance was like The Searchers.

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Re-watched this one last night for the wild west challenge 2023 on letterboxd Iā€™m taking part in for task number 23, watch a spaghetti western!

This is probably the one spaghetti western Iā€™ve re-watched the most times since I first saw it around like 2016 or 2017!

Its just everything cool about the genre distilled down to a tight bloody 90 minutes, and hot take but this is a better western remake of Kurosawaā€™s ā€œYojimboā€(1961) then a ā€œfistful of dollarsā€ is! (fistful of dollars is good too btw)

So it was nice re-watching this one again after a couple of years!

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Today I tried using ChatGPT for the second time in my life. Interested in how ā€œcreativeā€ it can be, I asked it to writhe a sequel to Django. This is what he wrote:
Title: ā€œDjango Unleashedā€

Plot Summary:
Set several years after the events of the original ā€œDjangoā€ (1966), ā€œDjango Unleashedā€ follows the continued journey of the iconic gunslinger, Django (played by Franco Nero). Django has become a legendary figure, known for his deadly skills and unwavering pursuit of justice.

The story begins when Django receives news that his long-lost love, Maria, has been kidnapped by a notorious gang led by the ruthless outlaw, Blackheart. Determined to rescue Maria and bring down the gang, Django embarks on a perilous quest across the lawless frontier.

Along the way, Django encounters a diverse group of allies who share his desire for justice. He joins forces with a sharpshooting Native American warrior named Red Hawk, a skilled knife thrower named Isabella, and a former slave turned bounty hunter named Marcus. Together, they form an unlikely but formidable team.

As Django and his companions navigate treacherous landscapes and confront dangerous adversaries, they uncover a larger conspiracy. Blackheart and his gang are involved in a grand scheme to control the regionā€™s resources and exploit the local population. Their plan threatens to plunge the entire territory into chaos and suffering.

Driven by a burning desire for vengeance and fueled by his unwavering moral compass, Django leads his team in a series of intense gunfights, daring heists, and strategic assaults against Blackheartā€™s gang. Along the way, Django faces personal demons from his past and grapples with the sacrifices he must make to achieve justice.

As Djangoā€™s journey reaches its climax, he confronts Blackheart in a final, epic showdown. The battle tests Djangoā€™s resolve and pushes him to his limits, but with the support of his allies, he unleashes his full fury, determined to save Maria and bring an end to the tyranny of Blackheart.

In ā€œDjango Unleashed,ā€ the themes of justice, redemption, and the fight against oppression are explored in the gritty and violent world of the spaghetti western. The film pays homage to the original while expanding upon Djangoā€™s character and the legacy he leaves behind.

Note: This fictional sequel is not based on any official plans or announcements. It is created solely for the purpose of imaginative storytelling.

Clearly it can gather info, and in this case it has given us a film with traditional spaghetti tropes. However, despite this being an adequate ā€œscriptā€ (I know it isnĀ“t a script, more like a plot summary), there is nothing unique here, only recycled elements. While every film, hell, every artist borrows something from others, there is nothing unique in this plot. For good films, AI are not going to write creative scrips. Sure, you can follow the formula for superhero movies, but not for creative ones. CorbucciĀ“s Django borrows a lot from other films, but is entirely unique. For instance, Django has a character dragging a coffin with a machine gun! While this plot summary doesnĀ“t delve deep into the plot of Django Unleased, there is clearly not a lot of actually creative things ChatGPT can do.
(By the way, sorry if I posted it in the wrong thread)

I will add some more Amazon links as they become available
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Django/BluRay#UK

Happy Django UK 4K release day

Here is a review

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In addition to the on-disc extras, the included booklet is also a great read with contributions from Nero himself as well as assorted other academics.

In view of Franco Neroā€™s previous academic examination of his own work ā€“ ā€œFranco Nero + Corbucci = successā€ (Ā© aldo) ā€“ I can hardly wait to read this. :grinning:

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Pretty great it seems, thatā€™s good. Seems like itā€™s more or less just the Arrow transfer but with no HDR and a few minor improvements. Iā€™ll probably go for the Arrow release if I ever upgrade from their standard blu ray but itā€™s nice to have an option here in the UK too.

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odd ā€¦ not sure if I like that idea

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So letā€™s wait what Plaion Pictures will do next yearā€¦ I hope theyā€™ll put out the ultimate combination of the two editions so farā€¦all they have to do is package all the CultFilms and Arrow Video stuff onto one edition and add German audio and subtitlesā€¦ and now they need to make a choice whether to use the Arrow or CultFilms video file :slight_smile:

I have had the Arrow 4K disc for a looong while without ever checking it out, I just finally did. Since a few weeks ago I even have a large 4K screen with HDR so I can appreciate whatever gets thrown at it. In this case I have to say (just did some spot checks really, nothing in depth): it looks quite fantastic, and even if the colors seem a bit underbalanced sometimes (reds looking not just poppinā€™ but a bit unrealistic), I wouldnā€™t wanna miss that HDR for the world. Those muddy streets in the sunset, wow, never seen this movie look that goodā€¦

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I enjoyed Django (English dub) very much on Friday night having not seen it for a number of years. Great dark 90 minutes with sadistic nastiness from the start and brutes appearing all round. Even one of the ā€œsaloon girlsā€ has a terrible cough - nasty. Major Jackson a great senior antagonist, appearing intermittently: extorting, shooting Mexican peons out of the holding pen, great performance. General Hugo is boorish and his revolutionaries are all unpleasant individuals. We learn a little more about Django and Maria as it progresses but no time or need for character development here - there is enough going on
Great action scenes and iconic scenes. The mud is great and the nasty hoods. The saloon fight with Ricardo is just great.

The English dubbing comes in for stick but there are some great lines all the same. I plan to watch the Italian language version.
I must also say there is no real connection with Django and Django Unchained. Tarantino uses the same theme, Franco Nero appeared in a cameo, the protagonists have the same name and thatā€™s it. Tarantino likes some spaghetti westerns and ā€œpays tributeā€ to them, which is nice. Django is a western that nobody has seen anything like it before when seeing it for the first time.

Can you hear this! - 5 stars.

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