Django is a 1966 movie directed by Sergio Corbucci. The music, themes and style were inspirations on Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Hateful Eight, Reservoir Dogs and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Django tells the story of a mysterious drifter who drags a coffin through town and ends up in the middle of a bloody feud between Southern confederates and Mexican revolutionaries. He battles both groups, using his secret weapon of destruction. Along the way, Django rescues a prostitute and attempts to leave with a bounty of gold.
The main influence on Tarantino can be found in the most glorious theme song of all time.
Behold the grandeur….
Django has a lot going for it but this introduction is the clear high point of the movie. The song is hypnotic – it’s a grand, soaring, even powerful presentation of a mysterious drifter dragging a coffin through mud. Take the song away and you still have an intriguing visual but it loses its potent flavor. This theme is strictly reserved for a dynamic hero – which defines Django for most of the movie.
Tarantino borrows the theme song and gives it to his Django, who proves to be a more worthy hero than the original. We also see the great lettering and font in Tarantino’s version and clearly there is an homage to mud. Of course, mud isn’t exclusive to either movie – but in Django, its presence fills the background similar to snow drifts in other spaghetti Westerns.
The opening solidifies the mystery of Django – we’re not sure who he is or what’s actually in the coffin. Django is covered by the shadow of his hat and only reveals piercing blue eyes. Django’s allure grows stronger – at least until he speaks. The voice over just doesn’t fit with the character. Django is now suddenly a mysterious drifter speaking with a nasal-pitched tone.
Nonetheless, the image of Django dragging the coffin through mud, flanked by the prostitute Maria is striking. The moment has a lyrical, Luis Bunuel quality to it – I feel Robbie Robertson needs to do the score here. We later learn Django lost a former lover at the murderous hands of Major Jackson – this is coupled with a foggy metaphor suggesting Django’s past life is what is represented inside the coffin.
Django quickly proves himself a deadly gunslinger. He takes out the evil Major Jackson’s henchmen in a stylish shootout before sparing what will become his main nemesis. The scene is reminiscent of Tarantino’s version – complete with lightning fast shooting and staggered falls.
Django is at his apex here – he spares Jackson and asks how many more men he has, stating “go on and round them up. I’ll be waiting.” He’s a cool, stylized gunslinger who boasts his own mythology – the kind of cocky character a young Vic Vega is emulating. He’s both an unintentional savior and mythical figure.
And then we find out what’s in the coffin.
From here, Django transitions from a movie featuring a mysterious outsider to one who boasts a battalion slaughtering machine gun. The carnage Django’s new weapon causes is almost comical. Although Major Jackson again escapes, there’s little for Django to do after mowing down dozens of hooded hired guns.
As a result, Django becomes a movie about a machine gun for several scenes. The movie shifts again as Django joins with the rebels to steal gold, which becomes his exit plan. During this sequence, Django plays more as an homage to old John Ford wagon dramas – its original gritty and mysterious vibe replaced by campy circus.
We’re introduced to the rebel leader, General Hugo, and learn that he and Django share a common history. Django is determined to escape with his share of the gold and hatches a clever scheme – a plan that again involves the machine gun. He momentarily flees with Maria and the gold before being captured and having his hands broken by the rebels – setting up the movie’s final showdown with General Jackson.
As the movie progresses, Django increasingly shows his mortality. He struggles mightily in a bar fight, nearly drowns in quicksand and is helpless after losing the use of his hands. The invincible gunslinger is no more. However, Jose Bodalo breathes life into the story with his scene-chewing portrayal of General Hugo. He elevates what should have been a stock character – the fiery Mexican Bandido – into a main attraction. Bodalo props up Franco Nero’s withdrawn Django – his energy and expressive wrath fuels the movie until General Hugo meets his fate with a wonderfully exaggerated death scene.
Yet, the most fascinating scene in Django is a fairly nondescript conversation between Django and General Hugo. There is a brief moment when Hugo seizes his shoulders and leans into Django, really studying him – there’s a hard squint and we see the looping mustache. Exactly at that moment, I wondered if one of the dozens of videos Leonardo DiCaprio surely studied to flesh out Rick Dalton included this scene. If not, it’s a perfect coincidence.
Django takes another turn as our hero gets his hands smashed, then faces Major Jackson in a final showdown. While the initial promise of Django fizzles out, this final scene is a sort of redemption. Nero earns the audience’s empathy as his mangled, bloody hands fumble with his pistol.
The BEST – Ricardo Smooth, Bandido
Ricardo is a soldier in Hugo’s outfit but clearly missed his calling as either a hairstylist or gigolo. While the rest of the group appear muddy and tattered, Ricardo is perfectly coiffed and ready for his close up.
The BEST Part 2 -Hey, what’s going on? Can you hear that?
I’m not sure exactly where Tarantino picked up his inspiration for Mr. Blonde’s ear cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs, but Brother Jonathan – an odd one-note subordinate of Major Jackson – is subject to the same treatment by the rebels. Somehow it plays differently without Stealer’s Wheel.
The BEST Part 3 – Quicksand is a Real Threat
This is established early on when Django first saves Maria from a hanging. Later, Maria attempts to return the favor and pull out a struggling Django – all while the coffin full of gold slowly disappears.
The WORST -Maria Could Use an Agent
Maria is given the prostitute who is rescued and turns into a love interest treatment – except we never learn her backstory and it never feels like Django actually wants her around. It’s unfortunate since she is both involved and targeted by Jackson’s group and the rebels. I could have used a couple scenes to learn more about her.
The WORST Part 2 -The Random Whore Mud Fight
This scene served little purpose and wasn’t the least bit sexual – but they had the mud and the painted up prostitutes, so why not?
FOX FORCE FIVE RATING – 3.75/5
Django shows tremendous early potential. The opening song is dynamite and the main character is intriguing. However, once the veil is lifted on the coffin mystery and the movie’s tone switches, Django wobbles. It’s still a really fun movie and definitely worth a watch.
