The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Gems: Django (1966)

How do you choose what to watch on all those streaming services you have access to? There are so many options that it is just overwhelming. These services constantly release new content and overshadow all the great films from the past that are already there and ready to watch. Now there is The Wasteland Gems! Here is a great film on streaming right now that you should check out this weekend:

Django (1966)

Do you love Quentin Tarantino’s modern spaghetti western Django Unchained? This is one of his most successful films and captures so many of Tarantino’s influences all rolled into one. When you look at the initial scene where our titular hero meets the monstrous Calvin Candie, you see Jamie Foxx’s Django engage with an older Italian gentleman who makes a winking comment about the “D” being silent. Who was this man? The original Django himself, Franco Nero! This revelation that Django draws from an actual spaghetti western only makes sense in the context of Tarantino’s career and the rich homages that pepper every film. Django stands as one of the most beloved of spaghetti westerns (especially outside of the works of Sergio Leone).

How does Django embody that style of the spaghetti western? Director Sergio Corbucci channels all the expected traits of what you would define this subgenre to be. The violence. There are buckets of it. Visceral. Bloody. Brutal. Every scene where the bullets start flying is wild and erratic. It is thrilling and suspenseful yet delivers a fast-paced and kinetic energy. This is a dusty and dry experience that definitely does not look like a western in the West. This feels European in look and feel and captures that specific flair. Not only does this feel like a spaghetti western but it tells a tale that had already been defined in the spaghetti western landscape. Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo unexpectedly became a huge influence (along with other Kurosawa films) on westerns. Samurai and cowboys…perfect cinematic parallels. Leone (unofficially) adapted Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars…then Django does the same thing.

What is the biggest selling element of Corbucci’s film? This film is so damn crazy and entertaining. There are a few cinematic visuals as the steely Django dragging a coffin behind him as he enters this small town. But what is inside is even more memorable and iconic. There are few bursts of violence quite as iconic and thrilling as Django taking out a whole army of men with a mini gun that appears to have unlimited ammo. The finale of the film is just as cool and impressive for our titular hero. Bloodied and beaten, Django can barely use his hand. Then you have him push through anguish and pain to pull off one of the most unexpected “Last Stands” in all of film. Corbucci is not here for realism…he is here to deliver a bloody and wild good time.

Is Django the most original spaghetti western out there? Certainly not. Corbucci and the company borrow quite a bit from Kurosawa and Leone. The characterization might not be the most original either, but Django is still an icy cool anti-hero to follow along. Nero channels an intensity and brutality that makes him dangerous to anyone who crosses his path. His steeliness and cold stare channels Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name perfectly. His outfit and choice of weapons is just as iconic as well. The voice performance is also “Eastwood-esque”. Nero might not be Eastwood…but he plays him well in this bloody, brutal, and thoroughly entertaining western with a hard edge.

Does Django cast a wide net for its audience? Not quite. This is not necessarily a film made for those who don’t like westerns. But the brisk pace, high energy, and lean runtime is a big sell in a genre where so many films are epic in not only scale but also in runtime. Nero makes for a cool and exciting hero. Corbucci packs in plenty of style and flash for the audience to take in. The story might be familiar but there are some truly iconic scenes that will stick with you after watching this quality spaghetti western.

Django is streaming on Peacock.