Return of Django

I know there were scores of films revolving around the character of Django (though, to be fair, many of these were considered as such merely in export versions), introduced in Sergio Corbucci's masterful Spaghetti Western with Franco Nero (and to which an official sequel was only made some 20 years later!). As far as I know, I'd previously come upon just one such effort – DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST (1966), which was okay – and two more – DJANGO, KILL...IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT! (1967) and DEATH SENTENCE (1968), both excellent if unusual – which are known as "Django" titles merely outside their native country.

This, then, is the third 'official' Django film I've watched: unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the least rewarding Spaghetti Westerns out there! As can be surmised, the narrative opens with the cowardly Jesse James-like assassination of the popular character, which leaves his kid son (who witnessed it) to avenge him as a grown-up – now played by Gabriele Tinti (later spouse of Laura "Black Emanuelle" Gemser, an extensive collection of whose dubious work I should be laying my hands on in the near future!). Typically, the Western town involved is divided between two warring factions; conveniently, both had been former associates of Django…as is the current preacher (top-billed Guy Madison – it was customary to engage the services of erstwhile American stars for this particular brand of "Euro" oater)!

The film features a reasonable amount of action throughout, but the execution is exceedingly inept (for instance, a number of shoot-outs occur during the first 10 minutes – as if the director mistrusted the attention span of possible viewers – but, given that we don't know who is getting shot by whom or why, it's all very confusing!). What, then, of his apparent need to have each and every bad guy make such a big moment of his death scene, irrespective of whether he had figured to some extent in the proceedings or not?! Also involved are a French card-sharp (with whom Tinti had shared a prison cell) and his gunfighter companion – who subsequently join the ranks of one of the rival outfits, while the brooding Django Jr. prefers to keep to himself. Female presences of any consequence are limited to a saloon hostess and the wife of a landowner whom one of the clan leaders kills in a duel (she herself unwittingly falls victim to the same man soon after when confronted by her in his room).

For what it's worth, the film's climax strives to be meaningful but only manages to be muddled – thus deeply unsatisfactory! Characteristically, then, Piero Umiliani's score also emerges as a sub-par effort overall (despite a catchy main theme).

Maybe I just got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, but this movie sucks. Lead Gabriele Tinti is wooden, bland, lacking in charisma and looks stupid in his white fur jacket. Usually Spaghetti Westerns have long, taut pauses in dialog where actors sort of glare at each other. Tinti's eyes seem glazed over in comparison, as though he was bored and just couldn't think of a one-liner worth opening his mouth for. He walks into rooms, turns around, faces the camera, nods, and walks out. Most of the time he looks like he is sulking; At least Jack Palance would have the excuse of being hung over.

I do not like Gabriele Tinti. He has never done anything to me personally of course, and while married to Euro sex symbol Laura Gemser became one of the fixtures of Euro Sleaze. He plays a sadistic creep in BLACK COBRA WOMAN and maybe it just left an impression. In any rate he is not suited for a Spaghetti Western anti-hero. But this movie was cheaply made as possible and perhaps he was all they could afford. Costumes are mish-mashes of department store threads combined with movie prop room cowboy vests. Even the ladies seem to be clad in hand-me-downs from more expensive productions that don't seem to fit them right, and the song one of them warbles for the camera is completely out of place in this production. Then again everything feels out of place; Supporting actors stand around looking like they are waiting for stage directions and the camera lingers on empty space in the canvas of the widescreen picture waiting for something to fill it. More often than not, nothing does.

The story is supposedly about Tinti in search of the killer of his father, who was named Django. The only reason to have this plot element was to tie the film to Sergio Corbucci's superior DJANGO from 1966, and the only reason to do that is because nobody would have otherwise cared about this film, and correctly so. If the combined efforts of Guy Madison, Daniele Vargas, writer Tito Capri and composer Piero Umiliani (who would later recycle his musical score for at least 2 other films, both better than this, and who could blame him) cannot add more than a momentary spark to a Spaghetti Western, you know you are in trouble.

There's another name in the credits, one Demofilo Fidani. More commonly known by his Americanized moniker Miles Deem, Fidani is a name that Spaghetti Western aficionados have come to associate with cheapness for the sake of cheapness. Between 1970 and 1972 or so he directed a dozen of these things, each one cheaper than the previous, and most of them about as interesting as your average Bazooka Joe chewing gum comic. Here he was in charge of the set designs and chose a minimalist approach that sadly leaves a few too many blank spaces for the imagination to fill in. Which mind you isn't necessarily a bad method given the film's look is approached with a certain sense of style.

This movie's was not. It is an assembly of clichés and formula solutions strung together with a modestly engaging musical score, costumed in unattractive drab trappings & populated by actors who not only look like they don't give a damn but don't inspire the audience to give a damn. Even the pretty wife of the mistreated down on his luck dork rancher was only in the film to be abused on-camera as if to provide some sort of exploitation angle. You just don't care what happens to her so long as there is some sort of erotic thrill attached. And her sudden departure is the film's sole moment of surprise, yet does nothing to break the stilted, hesitant dialog, the uninspired camera-work, the clueless mugging of the supporting cast, and the inexcusably out of synch dubbing.

I love low budget Spaghetti, but this movie quite frankly is way subpar. The only redeeming quality I can see is a sort of odd visual tension due to when the film was made. 1966 thru 1968 were probably the most interesting years of the Spaghetti boom, the pre- ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST period where the lesser Italian directors were trying to find their voice in the form that Leone & Corbucci invented. This effort straddles the divide between the straightforward Euro Western approach and the Spaghetti "style over substance" method. The basic story, direction and cinematography here is Euro Western, only the content's ultra-violent depravity speaks for what would eventually become the Spaghetti approach.

What's missing is the style. The film has no sense of identity, it doesn't know whether it wants to be a cheap knockoff or a languid horse opera. A year after this was made, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST proved that the Italians could make a Western on the same level of craft & scale as that of John Ford or Peckinpah. By contrast, this film is a slacker, trying nothing new, taking no chances, not even having the decency to provide us a lead star worth rooting for. You sort of watch the action in muted anticipation, hoping that Guy Madison or one of the sleazy villains will do something interesting. Only they don't.

3/10

Gabriele Tinti, the son of Django, intervenes in a land war between a pair of rival cattlemen, in order to get revenge on the man who murdered his father and burned his house down years before, though things might not be as they seem.

Although this is about the son of Django, the plot bears a little more of a resemblance to A Fistful Of Dollars. Things start out a bit draggy, though things pick up a bit in the second half. The best line in the film occurs when the villain exclaims, "No one stays alive who accuses me of killing!"

Top-billed Guy Madison has the most interesting role, albeit only a supporting one, as a priest and friend of Django who has to pick up his gun again to help Tinti, a role he reprised in other films.

Somewhere behind the scenes is Demofilo Fidani, who later wrote, produced, and directed his own series of pretty bad Django sequels under names like Miles Deem and Dick Spitfire!

Ravioli Western with a professional Italian director and two main actors from Spaghetti : Tinti and Madison . This is an exciting film , plenty action , thrills , fights , and starking outdoors from El Lacio , Rome . This violent Western is set on dirty outdoors and evocative interiors , the star is a mysterious revenger who searches for the killer of his father , who comes to a dangerous town and taking on nasty villainous . It deals with an avenger named Jeff Tracy (Gabrielle Tinti), he gone back from a dark past to revenge his parent . Jeff searches for the killer of his infamous daddy , the implacable gunslinger Django . He arrives in a small town , a location called Topeka dominated by violent gangs . In that place there is a feared band led by Clay and his nasty gunfighters . Jeff faces off two wealthy owners Clay Ferguson (Daniele Vargas) and Thompson (Ignazio Spalla or Pedro Sanchez) , both of whom are feuding over business . Thereby involved in a war between two factions headed by former acquaintances of his father . Meanwhile , Tracy saves a damsel in distress called Jane Grayson (Ingrid Schoeller) from Ferguson's hoodlums .

Ordinary Western follows the Sergio Leone wake , as it is proceeded in Spaghetti models more than the American Western style . It's a moving western with breathtaking gunfight between the protagonist Gabriele Tinti against the heartless Daniele Vargas and his henchmen ; in addition , a stirring ending fight in the saloon and town square . This movie is a lot of fun to watch , packing elaborate shoot-outs , moving filming , and portentous close-ups of grime-encrustred faces with bloodbaths included . It's an entertaining story with a touch of peculiarity , some offbeat as well as violent roles , and an amazing music score . The picture is a tale of justice and revenge , as a tough man seeks vendetta and his objective results to be a bloody revenge . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . The picture is well starred by Gabriele Tinti . Tinti is appropriate in his usual two-fisted character , he ravages the screen , shoots , hit and run and kills . Tinti began playing brief drama roles , in the early 50s , as "Chronicle of Poor Lovers¨ . From there , Gabriele went on acting in sword-and-sandal epics , later moving onto the Western genre , wartime , thrillers and erotic films along with his then wife , Laura Gemser , where he found his niche . The handsome , Italian-born Tinti may be a name best remembered by Soft-core aficionados , he was one of the most popular actors of the genre from the mid-'60s to 70s and 80 until his early death at 59 . Tinti performed a lot of cheap B movies , some of them , nowadays , revered cult classics . Gabriele also interpreted in support roles some international productions as ¨The flight of the Phoenix¨, ¨Guns for Cordoba¨, ¨Riders on the rain¨ and ¨Delusions of Grandeur¨. However , he never became a top international box-office attraction . His acting is often accused of being wooden , but in many manners is ideally suited to playing the steely-faced gunslinger synonymous with the genre . "Son of Django" also starred by Guy Madison , actor who had his first major role in "Until the End of Time" a drama directed by Edward Dmytryk, 1946 to then changed in action roles , mainly series B westerns , get some success with the series "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" and ends up traveling in Europe in the sixties where he made a lot of Euro-westerns , such as : ¨Duel at Rio Bravo¨ , ¨7 Winchester for a massacre¨ , ¨Bang bang Kid¨, ¨Five for revenge¨ and ¨Reverend Colt¨ , the latter he played a priest , too . Support cast is plenty of familiar faces , appearing the Spaghetti ordinary roles , such as : Daniele Vargas , Ignazio Spalla , Ivan Scratuglia , Luciano Rossi , Andrea Scotti , Roberto Messina and John Bartha . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , such as in the final gunfights . The movie gets the usual Western issues , as avenger antiheroes , violent facing off , exaggerated baddies and spectacular duels , excessive zooms , among them . The musician Piero Umiliani composes a nice soundtrack in Morricone style and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie ; as it's full of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background . The soundtrack contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, including an emotive leitmotif , and some wonderful songs ; the music score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking and atmospheric cinematography by Nanuzzi .

Osvaldo Civirani's direction is professionally crafted , here he is more inclined toward violence and packs too much action , but especially this thrilling Western contains long shoot'em up . He directed this average/passable western , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent much of the rest of his career , as he wrote/directed some Spaghettis , such as : "Rick and John, Conquerors of the West" , "Trusting Is Good... Shooting Is Better" , "Two Sons of Trinity" . Although he also directed other genres as Peplum : ¨"Kindar the Invulnerable" , "La Magnifica Sfida" , ¨The adventures of Hércules¨ and thrillers/Eurospy genre as "The Beckett Affair" , and "Operazione poker"

Why the Wild East DVD company decided that this particular spaghetti western was worth a DVD release in North America, I can't say for certain. Maybe it was because American Guy Madison was one of the actors in it, but any fans of Madison will likely be very disappointed by how he's used here. He doesn't first show up until more than a third of the movie has passed, and he doesn't get to speak until half the movie has gone by. To add insult to injury, his character really doesn't get to do that much. It's possible the movie could have still worked despite all this, but for the most part the movie comes across as an amateur effort. It looks and feels really cheap, and the feel of the movie is cold and passionless. The bad script makes everything unfold at a really slow pace. That is, when the story makes sense, since there are some really unclear and confusing portions throughout. (Just try to understand the first part of the movie!) This is one Euro western that really gives the genre a bad name.