Django Defies Sartana

I am a big fan of westerns, especially spaghetti, some are above average and i think this is one of them. It has a good, well thought out story and there is plenty of action and gun-play, ( fist fights and shoot outs ) to keep your attention. I also think the actors playing Django ( Tony Kendall ) and Sartana (George Ardisson ) are very good. The actual plot keeps you hooked and there are also a few surprises along the way. One thing i really liked was the rousing music score and the title song. There are of course many Django and Sartana movies some very good, some not so good, i have seen most of them and i think that, this is, one of the better one's and would recommend that if you get the chance,catch it.

If you are familiar with the spaghetti western genre, you have probably correctly guessed that "Django Defies Sartana" was a cash-in, naming its protagonists after the heroes of past popular spaghetti westerns. Actually, the Sartana character in this movie does have some resemblance to the original Sartana character, though the Django character does not (no machine gun, among other things.) But I didn't care if the movie was a rip-off or not, I just wanted it to be entertaining. The movie does get to a slow start, with the plot not starting until a quarter of the running time has passed. But when the plot kicks in, the movie does manage to keep some interest in the viewer, with some action and various plot twists. I'm not saying this is a GREAT spaghetti western, but fans of the genre will probably find it decent enough. And it's the closest we'll ever get to uniting Django and Sartana in the same film!

I'm a fan of westerns, this was watchable, but very average. The story does keep you interested, the lead actors are reasonably convincing, and the camera work is different.

Djangos brother is accused of helping the gunman Sartana rob the bank. The townsfolk take the law into their own hands and hang him. Django blames Sartana for the incident, and goes out to track him down. However, there is a twist to the story and things don't turn out the way we're led to believe.

Worth watching if you've nothing better to do. The music at times leaves a lot to be desired.

¨Django dares Sartana¨ was well directed by Pasquale Squitieri as William Redford . Passable Western concerning about a bank robbing , then Steve (Alvar) is suspected to have committed the hold-up . After that , a bloody vengeance takes place , as Steve is hanged by the enraged townspeople . Meantime , Djanjo (Tony Kendall) takes the law on his own hands against the killers who murdered his brother , this one was a bank clerk and while making love with a prostitute (Tania Alvarado) , he is subsequently kidnapped , mistreated and hung to take a loot . Acceptable Spaghetti dealing with usual theme : a relentless revenge . It deals with Djanjo (Tony Kendall) who seeks vengeance when his sibling is lynched and hanged ; as he carries out a cruel slaughter , and he thinks of Sartana (Giorge Ardisson) is real culprit , then it occurs the predictable battle of wits . Shortly after , Djanjo find out the true executioner of the grisly killing is a nasty band , as he joins Sartana and both of whom kill anyone they meet for blind vendetta . As Djanjo pulls off his vengeance by means of a cruel manner . He is relentless in his vendetta , deadly in his violence . The conflict is simple , one between avenger Djanjo , helped by Sartana, against relentless murderers and never hesitating to kill.

It's an exciting Vengeance western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonists Tony Kendall/Ardisson against the ominous enemies . Both of them are fine, they ravage the screen , kill , betray , hit and run , and they execute massacre and atrocity , they proceed a single-handedly revenge , and kills each enemy involved on their way ; and ultimately takes places the final showdown . This thrilling western contains a story full of violence , good dramatic pace and slick direction though packs some flaws . Enjoyable Spaghetti Western ; it follows the Sergio Leone wake , including close-up , zooms , choreographic duels and no being proceeded in American style . The film packs action , shootouts , drama , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . It's a moving western with attractive outdoors and breathtaking confrontation among heartless protagonists , and their nasty nemesis and slimy , menacing underlings . Decent action sequences with rousing crossfire and spectacularly bloody shootouts at the end . Charismatic performance for the whole casting . The notorious Spaghetti actors , Tony Kendall and Giorgio Ardisson , are good in their usual tough as well as silent roles . There appears habitual secondaries in Italian Western , here in their ordinary roles as a villains and in cruelly baddies characters , such as : RickBoyd , Fortunato Arena and Tania Alvarado .



The musician Piero Umiliani composes an attractive soundtrack , well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie , as it's plenty of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background and with agreeable leitmotif , including catching songs and ballads stunningly sung . Nice cinematography , including good sets, filmed on locations in Rome, Lazio, Italy and Elios studios . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Pasquale Squitieri , under pseudonym William Redford , though contains some gaps and flaws. Pasquale was longtime companion of actress Claudia Cardinale , who usually played his films , and father of Claudia their daughter . He is a writer and director, especially known for Atto Di Dolore (1990), Russicum (1988) and Mussolini's lover (1984). He also made another Western titled ¨La vendetta è un Piatto Che Si serve Freddo" or "Vengeance Is a Dish Served Cold" (USA title) (1971) . He wrote/ directed a lot of movies dealing with Italian Mafia such as 1988 Russicum , 1985 "Il Pentito" or "The Repenter , 1978 L'arma , 1978 Corleone , 1977 Il Prefetto di Ferro , 1975 El Ambicioso or "The Climber" , 1974 I Guappi , 1972 Camorra ; many of them starred by his wife Claudia Cardinale and notorious Spaghetti actor Giuliano Gemma

Django (Tony Kendall) is in a search party hunting down the criminal Carlos. Meanwhile, Sartana (George Ardisson) arrives in his town, and the bank owner Philip Singer (Bernard Farber) asks his clerk Steve (John Alvar), who is Django's brother, to offer three thousand dollars to Sartana for him to leave the town. Sartana does not accept the offer and Steve leaves his hotel room and meets a prostitute to party with her. When Singer and his niece are kidnapped on the road and the bank's safe is found empty, the locals believe that Sartana and Steve robbed the bank. A group of vigilantes catch Steve, hang him and leave his corpse in the rain. Then Django returns, he meets his mute friend (José Torres) and finds the body of Steve. Django buries Steve and heads with Mute to seek out Sartana. They fight each other and Django learns that Sartana is innocent and has neither kidnapped Singer and his niece nor robbed the bank. Django, Sartana and Mute team-up and look for the real thief.

"Django sfida Sartana" is a spaghetti western with a simple storyline of revenge, but very entertaining. Like other Italian western from the 70's, the edition is poor, the acting is wooden and the weapons do not need to be recharged. But who cares, the film is not bad and amuses. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Django Desafia Sartana" ("Django Challenges Sartana")