Django (1966)
(Tubitv Streaming, July 2020) What’s in the coffin? What’s in the coffin??? From its first few moments, as a lone traveller carries a heavy coffin wherever he goes, Django strikes interest. A Spaghetti western written and directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero, this is a film more concerned about artifice than substance. The story itself (inspired by Yojimbo) is nothing special—a stranger comes to town and dispatches the bad guys—but it’s in the details that the film does better: the hero’s weapon of choice is what’s in the coffin—a machine gun! The bad dubbing does add a bit of charm to the proceedings. Alas, the film is unusually violent for the time, to the point where it’s not as much fun to watch. Still, if you’ve seen and like Leone’s westerns, this is very much in the same vein. Many enthusiasts will tell you that Django is one of the better spaghetti westerns and the good directing, steady rhythm, entertaining gimmicks, likable protagonist and rather happy ending all confirm this.