Django the Bastard (1974)

Wonderful character development!

Just what I expected

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

All in all, this is a pretty good example of the spaghetti western genre. Aside from a few brief instances in my youth, I haven't really seen that many spaghetti westerns yet (apart from the more popular Clint Eastwood ones), so this was a good introductory experience for me. DJANGO THE BASTARD has the right look and feel about it, with crisp photography capturing the barren desert land and the isolated town just right. The director Sergio Garrone was an old hand at these type of films and his solid direction proves this, providing plenty of interesting camera angles (most notably in the excellent opening scene, showing a stranger walking into town via P.O.V. shots) and good editing. An excellent music score also helps, utilising the classic guitar string music associated with the genre and changing mood when needed to make things more exciting, whenever the situation calls for it.For me, the cast is totally full of unknowns, yet all cast members are fine in their respective roles. The baddies are typically repulsive, although Paolo Gozlino lends just the right touch of class as the boss. Lu Kanante, on the other hand, is a snivelling psychopath who shoots up a street full of men and women while laughing manically. His sudden death is well deserved and a welcome end for this repulsive weirdo. The woman playing his wife (didn't get her name) is also very good, and thankfully her character is a well-rounded one, a woman out for her own benefits. Anthony Steffen takes the role of Django, and while he doesn't have the same screen presence as Clint Eastwood - or, indeed, Franco Nero - he's more than adequate at carrying the film when needed and invests his role with a likability towards the end which really gets us rooting for him.There are plenty of shootouts to enjoy, although a few are poorly edited and therefore lack the necessary thrills. One gun battle between gangs of men is particularly well choreographed. The final twenty minutes are basically a protracted cat and mouse game between Django and the hired hands out to kill him, and is pretty tense. While the film isn't very violent (there's hardly a drop of blood on show), there's a neat trick involving an unfortunate victim getting impaled on a cleaver sticking through a door - you'd have to see it to understand. I also welcomed the addition of a few macabre horror elements into the brew, such as Django placing crosses in front of his victims before killing them, or a few scenes set in cemeteries. There's also an ambiguity surrounding the character of Django, who may or may not be a ghost. This makes things even better in my opinion. DJANGO THE BASTARD may not be a particularly original film, taking too much from what has come before it and relying on a strict revenge theme rather than branching out in new directions, but the execution is fine, making this an easy and enjoyable film to watch.

Confederate soldier Anthony Steffan returns, possibly from the grave, to get revenge on the treacherous former commanding officers who double-crossed and sold him and his fellow soldiers out to the Yankees.Gritty, moody, and atmospheric, this was reportedly the uncredited inspiration for Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter and does indeed bear a few similarities. Fans of the Eastwood film should definitely check this out.One of two problems I had with the movie was the unconvincing casting of Rada Rassimov in the role of the chief heavy's kept woman. To me anyway, she looks like her brother, actor Ivan Rassimov in a blonde wig and dress!Also, I really wish they hadn't stamped the movie and it's main character with the name Django. (The real Django fought for the Union, remember?) I'm sorry to say it kind of cheapened, ever so slightly, an otherwise highly original film.However, the direction and a fascinating performance by Steffan outweigh the any negatives on the part of the film.

Sergio Garrone's "Django Il Bastardo" aka. "Django The Bastard" of 1969 is referred to by many as a great, creepy and particularly original Spaghetti Western. I am a Spaghetti Western enthusiast, and although "Django The Bastard" is certainly not a bad film, it is in my opinion overrated by many of my fellow fans of the Italian Western. Furthermore it is neither the only, nor the first, nor the best Spaghetti Western with Horror elements. This film also has the reputation of being the inspiration to Clint Eastwood's great "High Plain's Drifter" of 1973, and it might be true that parts of this movie inspired Eastwood, but "Django the Bastard" does in no way reach the quality and style of Eastwood's film.First of all - "Django The Bastard" (such as most of the other unofficial 'sequels') has nothing at all to do with Sergio Corbucci's 1966 masterpiece "Django" with Franco Nero in the lead. While the original Django is a former Union soldier, the central character of the same name in this movie, which plays in 1882, has formerly served in the confederate army. "Django The Bastard" is a movie that has its highs an lows. There are some excellent, stylish and creepy moments, one of my favorite scenes in the film is right in the beginning, when Django sticks a cross with a name on it in the muddy ground of a Western town. However, the movie sometimes just gets too boring in the middle. Most of the dialogue is not too refreshing either. There is one character i loved, that is the character of Luke Murdoch (played by Luciano Rossi), the hideous and utterly insane younger brother of the local crime boss and rich landowner Rod Murdoch (Paolo Gozlino). Luke, who is desperately in love and obsessed with a woman named Alethea (Rada Rassimov) and often has a fit of extreme rage and insanity, can only be calmed down by Alethea, which is the reason why his brother keeps her locked in his mansion.Anthony Steffen (Antonio De Teffe) fits pretty well in his leading role of the creepy silent stranger, although his performance is a little too stiff. As I mentioned above, Luciano Rossi also does a great job as the crazy villain. Rada Rassimov (whom you might recognize for her small role in "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly") also plays her role pretty well."Django The Bastard" is certainly an entertaining little Spaghetti Western, but nonetheless I think it is overpraised by some of my fellow Spaghetti Western fans. Fans of the genre will certainly have a good time watching "Django The Bastard" but, in my opinion, it is not a must-see. If you want to watch a truly great Spaghetti Western with horror elements and topics like resurrection in it, I recommend Giulio Questi's surreal and excellent "Se Sei Vivo Spara" aka. "Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot!" of 1967, with Tomas Milian in the lead, before watching this. Still, "Django The Bastard" is certainly not a bad film. It does have some very stylish, and some pretty creepy moments, and it is certainly worth the time. Recommended to enthusiastic Spaghetti Western fans.

This unusual horror film is one of the best examples of the spaghetti western genre. The plot is the standard "lone stranger seeking revenge," but in this instance, it's not clear if the stranger is a man or just a ghost. This aspect of the story, which is heightened by spooky music and scenes in fog-filled cemeteries, really sets this film apart.The soundtrack is also excellent, with lots of distorted guitars and sci-fi organ music.