Django . Weekly Alibi . 06-20-97

Django

DIRECTED BY: Sergio Corbucci

REVIEWED: 06-20-97

Emily's dad and I (it's a bonding thing--Emily being out of town 'n' all) popped Sergio Corbucci's Spaghetti Western classic in and immediately found ourselves knee-deep in mud, blood and sweat as Django, the gunslinger so tortured he drags his own coffin around with him, stumbles across some bad fellows whipping a red-headed frontier gal. Emily's dad thought it would be easier for Django to wheel his coffin around on some sort of hand truck, but I felt his current method is the only way, as he needs his hands free for gunslinging. At any rate, before Django can act, a horde of red-hooded (not headed) bad guys arrive, gunning down the other bad guys. These red-hooded gentlemen intend to set the red-headed gal on fire, which Django takes issue with. He shoots the men, but shooting alone isn't good enough for one of the bad guys--Django shoots him a second time, whereupon he falls down a hill and sinks in quicksand. Django and the gal enter a saloon nearby, populated by the most flamboyant prostitutes ever committed to celluloid, where they learn of the war between a band of Mexican outlaws and the red-hooded guys. Before you can say A Fistful of Dollars (or Yojimbo or even Red Harvest), Django is stirring the fudge to serve his own needs. I don't wanna give away too much, but y'see, Django's got his sights set on a mess o' gold, and he needs some help to get it. ... By the end of the flick, we've seen tons of shootouts, bad guys so bad they make a guy eat his own ear, a Tender Moment for Django, and our hero's hands crushed by a rifle butt, then stomped by horses! And after a gunfight, Django says, "You can clean up the mess now--but don't touch my coffin." A must-see. (Magnum)

--Scott Phillips

Capsule Reviews
Django

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