Skip to content

Blu-ray Review: DJANGO (1966)

Written By:

Paul Mount
django-blu-ray-review

Review: Django / Cert: 15 / Director: Sergio Corbucci /Screenplay: Sergio Corbucci, Bruno Corbucci / Starring: Franco Nero, Loredana Nusciak, Eduardo Fajardo / Release Date: Out Now

Released on Blu-ray to capitalise on the success of an entirely unrelated but similarly named new movie (we don’t need to remind you which one, right?), Sergio Corbucci’s Django is regarded as one of the keystones of the Spaghetti Western genre. Even now, forty-seven years after it premiered, it’s easy to see why. The passing of time may have diluted the impact of its graphic violence – the film was banned in the UK until finally classified in 1993 as an 18 certificate and downgraded to a 15 certificate in 2004 – but this is still a very bold and striking movie, worlds away from the jolly cowboys ’n’ Indians fare of the traditional Hollywood Western.

Drifter Django (Nero), dragging a coffin behind him, wanders into a near-abandoned town and quickly clashes with his old enemy Major Jackson (Fajardo). He then teams up with some bandits and together they plot to steal a sackload of gold from a Mexican army fort, but all does not go swimmingly and Django finds himself in deep peril and all but defenceless…

Whether or not Westerns are generally your thing, there’s no denying that Django is tough, stylish and richly rewarding. Corbucci’s decision not to clean up after winter weather turned their one-horse town set into a virtual mud bath contributes massively to the film’s grubby, grimy authenticity, while Nero’s Django comes across as the big brother of Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name. The blood-letting, flamboyant though it is – one character is force-fed his own ear – may seems a little tame by contemporary standards, but this is a brutally amoral film: no one’s really the good guy here and everyone’s out for what they can get. Corbucci’s direction (crisply captured on this HD transfer) is full of disorientating zooms and long shots, and he creates an edgy sense of menace – witness the moment when Jackson’s men troop into the town, faces hidden beneath Klan-like red masks.

Django went on to spawn literally dozens of cheap imitators but this is the real deal, the only Django you need in your life apart from the one currently unchained by Mr. Tarantino.

Extras: Alternative opening sequence / Conversation with Franco Nero / Introduction by Alex Cox / Trailers

Paul Mount

You May Also Like...

chinese remake of anaconda drops trailer

ANACONDA Trailer Grants First Look At Remake Of 1997 Horror Flick

Three sequels and a spinoff-crossover film wasn’t enough for the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, which not only has a new movie in development, but is getting a Chinese remake! From
Read More
black widow star scarlett johansson in talks to lead new universal jurassic world film

Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Join JURASSIC WORLD Film

Another MCU star appears to be taking up the reins for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie: two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to lead the franchise that
Read More

Exclusive Reveal! Titan Comics to Deliver Prehistoric Hysterics in First 2 DUMB DINOS Collection

Titan Comics have exclusively revealed to STARBURST that they’re gearing up to publish the first-ever collection of the hilarious cult digital comic strip 2 Dumb Dinos, and we’re not the
Read More

New Dates For Lovecraftian Key of Dreams

Key of Dreams has announced new spaces for its titular immersive luxury horror event. The critically acclaimed company is known for its overnight experiences that dunk you into a strange
Read More

FAB Café to Host Free Film Screening of New Indie Comedy SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY

We’re well known for our championing of truly independent filmmakers here at STARBURST, so it’s doubly exciting to be writing about one of our own! After joining the crew in
Read More
colin farrell returns as oswald cobblepot in the penguin series trailer

Colin Farrell Returns In THE PENGUIN Trailer

Colin Farrell returns as Gotham City’s answer to Tony Soprano in the first trailer for Max series The Penguin, which spins out of the world of the 2022 DC film
Read More