The AKTIV video was the one I owned. Oddly, this has a ‘12’ rating on the BBFC website (the ‘12’ was introduced for video on 1 July 1994). It looks like the 15 rating has been stuck on rather than embedded into the VHS print.
You are correct that Today Its Me…Tomorrow You was also released on UK video by the same label.
This video I have not seen. It might be a ‘pre-cert’ (i.e., a video from before 1985 when the BBFC Video Classification system started ). It carries an ‘X’ reference but the ‘X’ rating was replaced by the ‘18’ rating in July 1982. As far as I can tell, Django the Bastard was never given an X rating by the BBFC and not released officially theatrically in the UK.
The ‘pre-cert’ videos had a charm all their own, regardless of the random artwork. The title alone may have been enough to warrant the attention of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise. Although, as it later turned out, all the Video Recordings Acts before 2010 were legally unenforceable as the EC hadn’t been notified about the original 1984 Act. However, and somewhat bizarrely, the government claimed the 1000s of prosecutions and subsequent convictions couldn’t be overturned.
That’s a very kind offer, but in truth, I’m trying to clear out a massive amount of unnecessary DVD and BD discs … just mainstream stuff that I’ve picked up from charity shops over the years, when I couldn’t resist a bargain. So I’m returning them to where they came from for someone else to hopefully enjoy.
I’m looking forward to a time when my place doesn’t resemble a DVD storeroom.
Another interesting thing I noticed is that the Italian censor report refers to Steffen’s character as ‘Johnny Shadow’ although in the Italian print he is ‘Django’. Maybe that came from a press booklet and his name was changed at the last minute?
The flashback seems more logical mid-film than pre-credits because it is triggered by Django picking up the Navy Whiskey bottle which is then shown in the flashback and the flashback flows from the visuals.
It was originally passed for 14 and over in November 1969 but the rating was reduced to one without age restrictions after an appeal in February 1970. One of the posters on the this site has the 14 rating so I guess it was released with that first and then went for the appeal to boost bo figures.
It’s really just 100 minutes of Steffen mysteriously entering the camera frame and liquidating people… well okay, at least the first half, then somewhat of a plot emerges
Could someone who knows something about army ranks and Confederate Army uniforms confirm one thing for me, please?
In the Italian, English and Spanish dubs, Django refers to Evans as ‘a soldier called Evans’, but in the German dub, he calls him Sergeant Evans. I can see that his uniform differs from Django’s, at least. So the question is, was Evans a Sergeant?
If yes, it would be interesting to mention in my BA thesis that the original dub isn’t as specific as the German one.
PS: The fact that the German dub uses the word, ‘Sergeant’ rather than ‘Soldier’ is likely just the preference of the dubbing team - Often great liberties are taken with dialogue and even storyline just to make the re-dubbing fit the lip movements - However, the word ‘soldier’ is virtually the same in all 4 languages, so it could have easily been used.
Enjoyed this film far more than I was expecting. Reminds me of “And God Said to Cain” a lot - both were made the same year if I’m not mistaken. However, and possibly controversially, I prefer “The Stranger’s Gundown” - the wraith like nature of Django in this one lends the film an element of mystery that complements the action. Also don’t recall seeing a film with so many one vs many gun fights as this one.
Story was a simple treachery and revenge one. Directing I thought was good, similar cinematography to Castelleri i.e. interesting camera angles and shots through spoked wheels etc. Pacing was good, the deliberate slowness in places helped build tension. Well made on a cheap budget. Solid.
I’ve got access to a huge newspaper archive at the moment, initially to get more info on something that happened to my great-grandfather in India. What’s surprising is the number of spaghetti westerns that were released in the UK (normally as support to the main feature) and how long they were distributed. Although some bills were laughably ill-matched, such as the pairing of ‘Carry on Abroad’ and ‘Face to Face’ in April 1973
But I could watch it all day
