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.” But for whatever reason De Teffé and Garrone 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. However 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. 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: a great Italian western opening complete with flashback, the 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, and 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.
Did I miss something or are there really no DVDs or BluRays of this film with Italian audio & English subtitles?
I really need it for my BA thesis There’s Django il bastardo on YouTube, but it doesn’t exactly give legit vibes. I might end up in trouble due to copyright if I only use that as a source.
I’ll still have to buy an Italian audio DVD or BluRay anyway. Would be nicer if it had English subtitles
The Cecchi Gori DVD has Italian subtitles. The picture quality is pretty bad but the subtitles (although slightly condensed) are an accurate transcription of the dialogue. As far as I know, there are no legit releases with English subtitles for the Italian audio.
Where are you based? To my knowledge no jurisdictions classify merely streaming it on youtube as copyright infringement (you are not the infringer, the uploader is) and copyright has nothing to do with academic citation practice. The latter would merely require you to cite correctly. The unavailability of the film via legitimate sources may in fact be an interesting side fact.
I’m in Finland. My teacher was a bit unsure when I asked if it’s okay to use YouTube videos as source material. She said it might be in the grey area.
We’ll have a lecture on copyright and stuff later, so I think I’ll bring it up there
even in Finland, I think whether you’re supposed to cite pirated youtube materials in an academic work, and whether watching it is a violation of copyright, are two entirely different issues, that’s what I was getting at. The one is a matter of department policy or academic guidelines, the other is a mater of national (and/or European) copyright laws. I think it should be fine, as long as you make it very clear what you quoted and maybe a footnote explainer that the film in a version you would have preferred to use as basis for your research is currently unobtainable on the legal market.
Stupid question, but is it really Rod, Luke and Alida Murdok with K? Isn’t the surname supposed to be Murdoch?
I know it’s written on the cross with a k, but maybe Django just made a typo. Maybe the people who did the film messed up the spelling They weren’t native English speakers, right?
The very idiosyncratic spelling of English names is one of the many delights of the Italian western If they’re not too silly I’m fine with it. Although in mitigation, the extent of proficient English speakers in 1960s Italy was nowhere near as widespread as today.
I already checked from the film’s database page, but I just wanted to make sure:
Is it true that neither of the two German releases have German subtitles?
I really need them I don’t understand all the lines I need because the characters speak so fast and I’m not fluent in German. The auto-subs on YouTube aren’t being exactly accurate either
Got the VCI DVD which runs 97m36s and is slightly cut. You Tube versions of both Django Il Bastardo and The Stranger’s Gundown run 99m2s.
Going on an earlier post I checked out the scene of Ross writing in his ledger at about 11m onwards up until we see Django. The VCI print is missing about 40s from this scene which is about half of the time difference. There are two cuts - the first comes after he sits down and the second comes later. I am not sure why this was cut as other English language prints are uncut.
In both English and Italian prints the flashback massacre is in the same place. Neither one has it pre-credits which calls into question whether it ever was pre-credits. I’ve seen some English versions of European films where they have moved flashbacks to pre-credits (eg Tombs of the Blind Dead) but not vice versa. Was this flashback ever pre-credits?
The Stranger’s Gundown has a 1973 copywrite which suggests that’s when the USA release occurred. If true, this is after High Plains Drifter which was made in 1972. I’d also add that the person who matters in whether HPD borrowed from Django Il Bastardo is Ernest Tidyman rather than Eastwood as Tidyman wrote the script. Eastwood usually films a script written by someone else and doesn’t create the material himself.
Hang Em High was filmed June-August 1967 which was before The Great Silence was filmed although released in Summer 1968 when TGS was finished but unreleased.
I used to have that VHS as well but got rid of it many years ago when upgraded to DVD.
Although this never had an official UK theatrical release, I am sure I saw this at a UK reperatory cinema in London, the Scala, in the 1980s or 1990s. Not sure where they got the print from.
I assume the UK VHS is this one, I can’t check as my video recorder has gone rogue and may chew it up. It was released in 1995, and part of a series by AKTIV which included (in widescreen): ‘A Bullet for the General’, ‘Face to Face’, ‘Kill and Pray’ and ‘Vengeance’.
There’s Django il bastardo on YouTube, but it doesn’t exactly give legit vibes. I might end up in trouble due to copyright if I only use that as a source.
If they’re not too silly I’m fine with it. Although in mitigation, the extent of proficient English speakers in 1960s Italy was nowhere near as widespread as today.
