best movie i've ever seen.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

DJANGO is a Spaghetti Western film, that sets the cruelty and the violence to a whole new level. This film has some kind of a surrealist direction. Muddy streets, violent gunfight, massacre and mutilation fully correspond with the dark atmosphere and rather simple (Yojimbo) story in this film. A harsh and explicit dialogue usually ends with a violent murder. Mr. Corbucci skillfully avoids melodrama, hence this one-way street reminiscent of a war zone from which no one will come out whole. The motives like a revenge, gold, revolution and political radicalism, bordering on racism are sufficient for an energetic plot.A mysterious man named Django arrives in a Mexican border dragging a small coffin behind him. When he saves a woman who is being attacked by a group of bandits, he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between Mexican gangsters and racist Yankee thugs. The two come in a small town, which is a sort of neutral zone between the two sides. A local bartender thinks that their presence will bring more trouble to him and his prostitutes. Shortly thereafter, Django confronts with a small group of Yankee thugs. He challenges their leader to return with all of his accomplices. The barmen predicts Django's death. However, a small coffin keeps a large and deadly secret...I think, that an excessive violence destroys all credibility of the story in this film. A visual impression in combination with a very good soundtrack is very impressive. The characterization is not bad, especially if we consider an almost grotesque romance.Franco Nero as Django is a blue-eyed beauty with clear objectives. He is ruthless until the moment when he realizes that mere coincidence can change his plans. His appearance is striking, however, Franco Nero did not offer a good performance. Loredana Nusciak as María is a very brave woman who is tortured on all sides. Her emotions are muted to the limits of despair.Their support are José Bódalo as General Hugo Rodríguez who must choose between his greed and revolution, Eduardo Fajardo as Major Jackson as a racist, who is strong on words and Ángel Álvarez as Nathaniel is a bartender who witnesses the madness that surrounds him.

This Spaghetti Western is yet another take on Kurosawas Yojimbo but the performance by Nero and the non-stop violence makes this a worthy film. Directed by Sergio Corbucci (The Great Silence, The White the Yellow and the Black, Navajo Joe). Corbuccis direction in Django is both artful and brilliant along with the screen writing. Franco Nero (Enter the Ninja, Die Hard 2, Camelot). is the only actor to capture the true and powerful emotion of Django. There's the action, there is a fist-fight, a gunfight, or some random act of sadism. The ear scene was violent. (Quentin Tarantino paid homage to this in Reservoir Dog). The fist smashing scenes. The movie was indeed violent for its time. The films graveyard shootout finale is very bleak n different. Cinematography by Enzo Barboni (The Five Man Army, A Long Ride from Hell, he directed Trinity Is STILL My Name, They Call Me Trinity). Edited by Nino Baragli (Once Upon a Time in America, Caligula, Salò, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Good, the Bad and the ugly). Music by Luis Enriquez Bacalov (The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Il Postino aka the postman). One of the best films of the genre to have not been directed by Sergio Leone. Full of more interesting and stylish scenes of action. More than thirty sequels to Django have been produced since 1966. Most of these films have nothing to do with Corbuccis original film.

Shrewd, tough, and formidable ex-Yankee soldier and expert gunslinger Django (the incomparable Franco Nero in a strong and charismatic star-making performance) arrives in a godforsaken US-Mexican border town dragging a coffin behind him. Django finds himself caught in the middle of a bitter feud between the Klu Klux Klan and a gang of mangy bandits. Director/co-writer Sergio Corbucci does a masterful job of vividly evoking a dingy and dangerous dirt-caked west: The pungent atmosphere of the miserable mud-spattered hamlet where greed, vice, brutality, and amorality reign supreme along with the uncompromisingly gritty tone, the astronomical body count, and startling moments of over-the-top savage violence -- one guy has an ear sliced off and shoved down his throat! -- all give this picture an extra ferocious sting. Moreover, Corbucci not only stages the copious shoot-outs with brio and skill, but also further spices things up with a slyly amusing sense of spot-on cynical humor. Franco's potent brooding presence holds this picture together; he receives sturdy support from ravishing redhead Loredana Nusciak as sympathetic prostitute Maria, Eduardo Fajardo as the evil Major Jackson, Jose Bodalo as the vicious General Hugo Rodriguez, Angel Alvarez as amiable old-timer bartender Nathaniel, and Gino Pernice as slimy lackey Brother Jonathan. Enzo Barboni's crisp cinematography offers a wealth of striking visuals. Luis Bacalov's spirited moody score does the rousing trick. Mandatory viewing for fans of the genre.

Coming back to the original, Django after seeing the latest Tarantino I was struck by two things. One, just how fabulous this is. I thought it might look a little shabby after the big screen extravaganza but not a bit of it, indeed it struck me that my last viewing may have been on some crap video copy, for this glows with its majestic scenery and its gritty close- ups. The other thing was that I wasn't sure that Franco Nero would be adequate substitute for Christoph Waltz. How silly, sure Waltz is on cracking good form spouting Tarantino's lively and sharp dialogue but Nero doesn't even need to speak. For a third of the film, what with his collar and his hat he only shows about a third of his face and yet he commands our attention and that of everyone else in the film. Near perfect, great film that I just might watch again right now.