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Title-The Django Collection
Company-TGG Direct
Price-$5
With Quentin Tarentino's "Django Unchained" being a pretty big hit I was expecting to see some cheap multipacks of "Django" films. Back earlier this year I found this DVD sitting in the Walmart $5. I have never been a fan of the Western genre. But the spaghetti westerns I have seen I did really enjoy. I glanced at the films listed on the back and thought "Shit 6 movies $5 that is less than a buck a film. If I don't like any of them I can always give it to someone that likes westerns."
1.A Man called Django AKA Viva! Django from 1971
This is your basic revenge drama set in the west. Anthony Steffen plays Django. And is decent. He is after a group of outlaws that raped and killed his wife. He teams up with a horse thief. While fairly violent and bloody,really the film didn't hold my attention much. I kept glancing at the timer to see how much longer it was.
2.Django the runner AKA Massacre Time from 1966
When I got home from buying this DVD I looked up each film. Since the back has no descriptions of the films I looked for non-spoiler plot synopsis. Seeing that this film is directed by Lucio Fulci it was the first one I watched. I knew Fulci had done some spaghetti westerns. I went in hoping for his trademark extreme gore and violence. Spaghetti western regular Franco Nero plays Tom Corbett. He is a gold prospector who has to go back to his home town. He arrives and finds it under the control of the evil Jason Scott.Tom ends up teaming up with his drunk ass brother to wrestle control of the town back from the evil Scott family.
This is one of many films that was retitled to Django "Something" when released in the States. As far as I remember no one in the film is called Django. But that doesn't matter,because this was a really entertaining film. I am betting even if I didn't know before viewing it that Lucio Fulci had directed I would have been able to tell. All his directorial touches show up.
3.Hanging for Django AKA Una lunga fila di croci from 1969
Anthony Steffen returns,but he is Johnny Brandon this time. The plot is about smuggling Mexicans into the States. I am pretty sure this is another film that just had the Django name slapped on it to sell more tickets. Now it has some fairly violent gunfights. But they don't make up for how confusing the plot is. The little bit of research I have done has let me know this is a fairly hard film to find. If it was a better film then it getting a wide and cheap release would be something to celebrate.
4.Django:A Bullet for you AKA Pochi dollari per Djang 1966
Anthony Steffen is back again. I believe this is not one of the many spaghetti films that was retitled to Django for a USA release. Now this is what I want from a spaghetti western. Lots of great camera work. Piles of blood and violence. And unlike lots of American westerns,everyone in this film isn't all clean and pretty looking. They look more like people would have looked back in the old west. I can see myself going back and rewatching this film every few years.
5.Return of Django AKA Il figlio di Django from 1967
Like the previous film I am pretty sure this is a "legit" Django film. Gabriele Tinti plays Jeff Tracy. Who is Django's son. And we get what amounts to a revenge against the mob story. But set in the old west.For me it has everything I want out of this type of western. Plus Gabriele has that weathered look I always figured someone who spent lots of their time outdoors in the harsh sun would have.
6.Pistol for Django AKA Django's Cut Price Corpses from 1971
Django's lady is kidnapped. And he heads out to rescue her.The kidnappers are wanted for stealing gold from a bank. So Django teams up with a man that was hired to bring back the gold. Sadly this film is lacking action. There is long stretches with almost nothing going on. At least Jeff Cameron is called Django in this film.
So was it worth it?- Since the DVD was only $5 I would say this set is worth it.Django the runner,Django:A Bullet for you and Return of Django are all good films. The other 3 range from meh to horrible.
