Django (1966)
★★★★½ — Django (1966)
Released in 1966 and shot largely on location in Spain (a common cost-saving measure for Italian genre pictures of the era), Django was directed by Sergio Corbucci, one of the key architects of what came to be known as the Spaghetti Western. Corbucci had been working in Italian cinema since the late 1950s, but this film, produced on a modest budget by B.R.C. Produzione Film and Spain's Tecisa, gave him his breakthrough moment. Franco Nero, then a relative unknown, was cast in the title role after Corbucci saw potential in his physicality and screen presence. The film arrived just two years after Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars had proven there was a genuine international appetite for Italian-made westerns, and Django was swift to capitalise on that opening, eventually spawning well over thirty unofficial sequels and imitations across Europe.
A movie that spawned an entire sub-genre. Django is one of the greatest westerns ever made. Franco Nero is a fantastic lead in this as the title character. The soundtrack is absolutely blistering. I found myself humming it after. Django dragging a coffin full of guns absolutely HAS to be the inspiration for the guns in the guitarcase in Desperado. It's very gory for the time but it's not gratuitous.
Rating: ★★★★½ | Year: 1966 | Watched: 2025-04-13
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Amazon Prime Video · BFI Player · BFI Player Amazon Channel · BFI Player Apple TV Channel
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Related on Movies With Macca
More with Franco Nero: The Last Alchemist (2012)
More from Italy: Nightmare City (1980) · Cemetery Man (1994) · One Way or Another (1975) · Chicken for Linda! (2023)
More from the 1960s: Viy (1967) · Persona (1966) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · Daisies (1966)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More western: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) · Rio Bravo (1959) · Ride Lonesome (1959) · The Great Train Robbery (1903)
