Rating: 
Summary: Gritty, yet unsatisfying
Review: One cannot downplay the fact that DJANGO obviously inspired a number of films, from the spaghetti western through modern cinema. One scene is copied nearly exactly in Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS. Still, appearing two years after Sergio Leone's FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, DJANGO itself was already copying the trilogy of films that have defined the genre. The entire plot of the first film, for example, is nearly exactly that of FISTFUL... and several scenes appear to have been lifted from FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965). The title character as well is an obvious copy of Eastwood's "man with no name." Still, the film is enjoyable, though the direction is uneven and there are several definite lags in the action where you're tempted to turn off the film altogether. The ending redeems these shortcomings, however, and leaves one feeling that the venture was worthwhile.
The audio track on this DVD, from the usually marvelous Anchor Bay, is the major disappointment. While the film looks good, the horrible dubbing is a major distraction and it's clear that the English dialogue does not match what was originally scripted. I know that Anchor Bay works hard to put together the best possible print of a film and sometimes that means dubbed audio instead of subtitled - and it sometimes works if the film itself is good enough to rise above it, but DJANGO is not quite that good. In the liner notes Anchor Bay acknowledges that "in spite of a biting, well-written script for the film, much of [Django's] hard-edged dialogue and tough-guy turns of phrase are lost in a workmanlike translation for the English dub, as is his grizzled baritone vocal delivery, voiced over by a much higher-pitched actor."
The one official sequel, DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN, accompanies the original as a second disc and is of similar quality. While the audio is much improved over the original, too much time has passed and, away from the Old West setting, the character inevitably fails.
It is a pity that these are not better films because Anchor Bay has done one hell of a job with the packaging, especially with the collectible booklet which features poster art and descriptions of most of the over 50 unofficial sequels to DJANGO that appeared between the original and DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN.
Regardless of its flaws, however, this is a keeper, simply because it's not a film you're likely to find elsewhere in any better condition and certainly not accompanied by as many extras as Anchor Bay has included with this package - and it stands as one of the better examples of the genre, despite its inferioty to the Leone/Eastwood pictures. And buy this one while you can if you're interested in both films, because Anchor Bay plans to release DJANGO in an "unlimited" edition, but without DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN.
Rating:
Summary: Once Upon a Time in a Graveyard...
Review: This film is the perfect counterpoint to Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," which rewards the patient viewer with a slowly unfolding mythic tale that ends up transcending both the American and Spaghetti western genres. Corbucci, as always, is an impatient director, beginning his film not with an interminable wait for a train, but with a simple image of a gunfighter hauling a coffin and saddle (most people forget that little detail) behind him through a muddy wasteland. Enzo Barboni's exquisite camerawork and Luis Bacalov's witty score punctuates this frenetic, modest film. If it weren't for the literally dozens of interchangeable villains (Corbucci has Major Jackson's cretins wear red scarves seemingly so Django and the audience can tell bystanders from bad guys), this probably wouldn't have been such an influential film in Europe. But the extremity of the violence, combined with the comic-book style stunt-work and photography (John Woo points to Peckinpah as a major influence, but one has to wonder how many times he watched Corbucci, too!), is probably what made it such a phenomenon. There's art to this movie--but an art diametrically opposed to Leone's works. For whereas Leone is all suspense--a series of build-ups and crescendi, almost classical in their orientation, concluding with a final, overwhelmingly tense battle--Corbucci seems always in a hurry to get on to the *next* battle. Men fall like ten-pins; bullets fly thick as a swarm of bees; and it's all over usually before any level of suspense ever begins to build. Only the concluding scene, with the mysterious Django struggling to use his beloved's (?) cemetery cross as a desperate replacement for his mangled hands, gestures to anything more than the sum of the film's parts. Great fun for those who don't mind a "Wild Bunch"-like bodycount to go with a whole lot of style but not a whole lot of substance.
Rating:
Summary: Once Upon a Time in a Graveyard...
Review: This film is the perfect counterpoint to Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," which rewards the patient viewer with a slowly unfolding mythic tale that ends up transcending both the American and Spaghetti western genres. Corbucci, as always, is an impatient director, beginning his film not with an interminable wait for a train, but with a simple image of a gunfighter hauling a coffin and saddle (most people forget that little detail) behind him through a muddy wasteland. Enzo Barboni's exquisite camerawork and Luis Bacalov's witty score punctuates this frenetic, modest film. If it weren't for the literally dozens of interchangeable villains (Corbucci has Major Jackson's cretins wear red scarves seemingly so Django and the audience can tell bystanders from bad guys), this probably wouldn't have been such an influential film in Europe. But the extremity of the violence, combined with the comic-book style stunt-work and photography (John Woo points to Peckinpah as a major influence, but one has to wonder how many times he watched Corbucci, too!), is probably what made it such a phenomenon. There's art to this movie--but an art diametrically opposed to Leone's works. For whereas Leone is all suspense--a series of build-ups and crescendi, almost classical in their orientation, concluding with a final, overwhelmingly tense battle--Corbucci seems always in a hurry to get on to the *next* battle. Men fall like ten-pins; bullets fly thick as a swarm of bees; and it's all over usually before any level of suspense ever begins to build. Only the concluding scene, with the mysterious Django struggling to use his beloved's (?) cemetery cross as a desperate replacement for his mangled hands, gestures to anything more than the sum of the film's parts. Great fun for those who don't mind a "Wild Bunch"-like bodycount to go with a whole lot of style but not a whole lot of substance.
Rating: 
Summary: Django and D-Junko Strikes Again
Review: Too many Corbucci films are inept, sloppy, and cartoonish. Speed Racer can be less cartoonsish. (see Navajo Joe) . Django is not the worst but it is also no exception.
The one clever idea in this film is that a laconic anti-hero drags around a coffin with a machine gun inside. That's it - end of story.
The movie is filled with continuity errors and ridiculous scenarios. The action scenes don't make sense. The hammy bad-guy style acting is way over the top. The editing is uninspired. The violence and action are unrealistic and stupid. A guy being forced to eat his own ear by a world-class-over-acting bad guy in a 20-second scene does not a great move make. (Incidentally the poor guy appears to be eating a fig.)
Franco Nero's understated anti hero style acting is ruined be a dubbed voice that sounds like Casper Milquetoast.
Worst of all - there is no film-making-style, especially for a spaghetti western.
Anchor Bay's version looks and sounds only OK but I doubt the film ever looked or sounded very good.
Quality spaghetti westerns can be very engaging but its hard to understand why this one was so popular Maybe it comes off better dubbed into German - for some reason it was very popular in Germany. The second DVD - "Django Strikes Again" is worse on every level, although it makes a cliched attempt to be stylish. The plot and acting are inane, and the action scenes are preposterous. - (Django escapes by rolling down a hill in a barrel). The people and locations give no feeling for the American West or even Mexico. The film would be insulting if it were not so unimportant and forgettable. (a black woman in a retro-chain-outfit pours water over herself as a means to torture enslaved Mexicans on a jet-black river boat. - Where the hell is this supposed to take place?! Poor Donald Pleasance cannot help this atrocity. Instead seeing him in the film is merely sad. I would have given "Django" 2 stars if "Strikes Again" were not attached to this package. Expect "Strikes Again" to be on Mystery Science theater 3000 someday. The original "Django" may have been the proto-type for the Spaghetti Western anti-hero and the many dark, violent stylish spaghetti westerns that were to follow. In that regard maybe it deserves some recognition and a place in history.
That said I can only recommend this package to hard-core spaghetti western fans who are very very forgiving. Even then you will not want to demonstrate your home theater or initiate people to spaghetti westerns with either of these films.
Rating: 
Summary: Django is a classic/Django Strikes Again less so
Review: What a great find for those interested in the spaghetti Western! _Django_ is one of the great films from this tradition, a true classic. Set in an other-worldly town, where the streets are always muddy, the film creates an unusual, haunting atmosphere. Into this forgotten town trudges the man in black, Django (played by Franco Nero), dragging a coffin behind him. In the coffin is his trusty Gatling gun, which he proceeds to whip out and mow down scores of bad guys. Director Sergio Corbucci created a truly memorable experience with this film, one of the most violent of all spaghetti Westerns. It is truly on a par with the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood collaborations that most people associate with the genre. Unfortunately, _Django Strikes Again_ isn't quite in the same league. It is certainly an entertaining film, with Django (again played by Nero) now a monk, perhaps to make up for his former ways, called back into action against a band of slavers who patrol the Amazon River in an armored steamship! You can't get much further from the typical landscape of the Western than the Amazon jungle, which is only one area where the sequel is a bit of a misfire. It's nice to see Franco Nero back in action, but the film doesn't compare well to the original. Still, Anchor Bay, the company which released this double bill, must be congratulated for taking a chance with this material. Hopefully, sales of this title will warrant the release of more spaghetti Western classics (such as _The Big Gundown_ and _The Great Silence_).
Rating:
Summary: Django is a classic/Django Strikes Again less so
Review: What a great find for those interested in the spaghetti Western! _Django_ is one of the great films from this tradition, a true classic. Set in an other-worldly town, where the streets are always muddy, the film creates an unusual, haunting atmosphere. Into this forgotten town trudges the man in black, Django (played by Franco Nero), dragging a coffin behind him. In the coffin is his trusty Gatling gun, which he proceeds to whip out and mow down scores of bad guys. Director Sergio Corbucci created a truly memorable experience with this film, one of the most violent of all spaghetti Westerns. It is truly on a par with the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood collaborations that most people associate with the genre. Unfortunately, _Django Strikes Again_ isn't quite in the same league. It is certainly an entertaining film, with Django (again played by Nero) now a monk, perhaps to make up for his former ways, called back into action against a band of slavers who patrol the Amazon River in an armored steamship! You can't get much further from the typical landscape of the Western than the Amazon jungle, which is only one area where the sequel is a bit of a misfire. It's nice to see Franco Nero back in action, but the film doesn't compare well to the original. Still, Anchor Bay, the company which released this double bill, must be congratulated for taking a chance with this material. Hopefully, sales of this title will warrant the release of more spaghetti Western classics (such as _The Big Gundown_ and _The Great Silence_).
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