The film opens with Django (Terence Hill) in unusual form; happily married, he is assistant to
a newly election council man David Barry (Horst Frank). He
leaves Barry and heads of to escort a massive shipment of gold
between banks, but on the way he is ambushed by the Lucas (George
Eastman) gang and left for dead while his wife is killed. However, what
he does not see (but we the audience do) is that the Lucas gang is
operating under the orders of Barry himself. Five years later and we find Django working as a hangman, although
he is not killing the men as tasked, instead he keeps them alive, and
sends them to an remote encampment where he is building an army. The
men are not guilty, but have been illegally convicted of stealing gold
under the orders of Lucas, in order to distract attention from the fact
that it is he who is stealing the gold. Django sends the men to
terrorise those farmers who testified against them and then sends them
to defend the latest gold shipment and capture the Lucas gang. But
Garcia (José Torres) sees a chance and betrays Django, leading
them men to ambush the gold train and steal the gold themselves. Django
is captured by Lucas, but hears about the betrayal from a survivor and
sets out to track down Garcia as well as getting his revenge on Lucas
and discovering the truth about David Barry.
Writer and director Ferdinado Baldi is best known for his more unusual Spaghetti Westerns, from the plot focused Texas Addio (1966) and Gunmen of Ave Maria (1969) to the bizarre Blindman (1971) and the genre-parody musical Little Rita nel West (1967). Here he seems to have set out to create a much more 'normal' genre entry, and his own version of the already classic Django story - that he had expertly parodied in Little Rita.
The story is rather typical - a man thought dead, coming back to get
revenge on those who killed his wife, although here he doesn't actually
know who was completely responsible (while we found out at the start).
There are a few plot holes (the old man seems to know what Django is up
to, yet is surprised when one of the 'dead' men arrives back in town)
but generally the story is solid and builds to an effective climax with
a good ending.
Direction
is pretty solid, Baldi uses very quick camera angle changes in his
fist fights to good effect (much more assured than in Texas, Adios
(1966)) while the action scenes look great, some splendid but realistic
stuntwork on display. The production is good - the sets and
exteriors look great and are well populated by extras, while a
set-piece in a blazing saloon in fantastic. Like in most Spaghetti
Westerns there is a good opening song but this is followed up with
instrumental versions of the same track to suit the action or lack
thereof in selected scenes, most pictures in the genre re-use the same
track ad nauseum; the rest of music is also very varied with mix of lively piano and solemn guitar.
The
experienced Euro-cult cast all do very well. Having made a name for
himself in several of the popular German Karl May Westerns, and
impressing in Baldi's musical Western Little Rita nel West (1967),
Terence Hill gives a very solid performance as Django, and mimics
Franco Nero's performance to perfection,
especially the patented look under the brim of the hat. While he is
better known for this Western comedies, his performance here
is straight up and convincing and he shows off some very good
gunplay.
German character actor Horst Frank is sufficiently menacing as the
chief villain, without going over the top, while George Eastman looks
suitably threatening. A variety of familiar faces crop up throughout.
In
all, this is a
very entertaining Spaghetti Western with an decent plot boosted by a
great soundtrack, production, direction and some great lead
performances. Although not as remarkable as the Leone films or the best
of Corbucci, it is one of the best of the rest and a highly
recommended film for any
Spaghetti Western fans. Genre newcomers might well find this of
interest and it is a great place to start exploring the more obscure Euro-Westerns.
In Brief:
It it a sequel?
No, this film is unconnected to Sergio Corbucci's Django (1966) or the other Terence Hill Westerns.
Anyone famous in it?
Terence Hill - star of many Euro-cult films from the 1960s onward. Including the Trinity series of Westerns. Horst Frank - played Dr. Braun in Dario Argento's Cat O'Nine Tails (1971) George Eastman - notiorious as the killer in video nasty Antropophagus (1980)
Plenty of standard Western shootouts, nothing especially violent.
Any sex?
No.
Who is it for?
Recommended to all Spaghetti Western fans.
Good soundtrack?
Typical Spaghetti Western title music and theme, with some interesting incidental music.
The DVD
Visuals
Original aspect ratio - 1.78:1 anamorphic wide-screen (some slight hints of cropping at the top of the print). Colour. The image is good with some minor damage in places. [Note: the film was not shot in 2.35:1 as IMDB reports, but in a 1.66:1 ratio and shown in 1.78:1 in Italy and the USA.]
Audio
English and
German language dubs - Dolby digital 2.0 mono. The German track sounds
slightly canned, the English track sounds great.
Subtitles
None
Run Time
Main feature - 1hr 28m 33s (PAL)
Extras
The disc includes:
Original German Language Cinema Trailer, low picture quality. 2m 37s
Original German language 8mm version (precursor to home video). Low PQ, fullscreen. 15m 40s
Lengthy on-screen German language cast bios.
28 frame Slideshow of promotional artwork for the film, with music from the film.
5 trailers for Terence Hill and Bud Spencer comedy films (4 of them Westerns), German language (11m 58s).
Trailer for Defiance (2002), modern Western. English language. (2m 10s)
Availability
DVD Title: Django und die Bande der Gehenkten
Menus
All German, but easy to navigate.
Region
Region 2 (UK and Europe) - PAL
Other regions?
None known.
Cuts?
The film is believed to be fully uncut. The film is from the Italian print, so titles and credits are in Italian.
Summary
Surprisingly original and good looking Django follow-up film, with some impressive set-pieces
Good looking print and audio, although sadly lacking any interviews.
All text in this review written by Timothy Young - 18th July 2005 and 4th February 2006.
Text from this review not to be used without authorization.
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