Django Franco Nero

directed by Sergio Corbucci
Italy 1966

Originally banned in Britain for its comic-strip iconoclasm and graphic violence, this rates alongside Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy as one of the daddies of the spaghetti/paella Western. It's a clean- up-and-paint-the-town-blood-red revenge drama with a difference. Nero's mud-spattered ex-Yankee soldier, first seen squelching towards a US-Mexican border ghost town, a coffin forever in tow, has every Western hero's quality in extremis. His speed-of-light gunslinger outlaw has a romantic heart - his wife was killed by one of Major Jackson's KKK-like henchmen - and an enigmatic morality. He solves the war between Jackson's men and General Rodríguez' bandidos by dispensing death to all, but his sympathies are shown when he later teams up with Rodríguez for a gold heist. Corbucci's style is a mix of social realism, highly decorative visuals, and finely mounted action sequences. For the rest, there are enough mud-wrestling prostitutes, whippings, ear-loppings, explosions and scenes of wholesale slaughter to keep any muchacho happy.

Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 6th, 1966 - Italy

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DVD Comparison:

*Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC vs. **Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC

*part of a double bill with "Django Strikes Again"

** Blue Underground's 'Django' is only available as part of 4 disc Spaghetti Western boxset

Thanks to Gregory for both sets of Screen Captures

(Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Anchor Bay Region 0 - NTSC	Blue Underground Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:30:24	1:31:30
Video	1.60:1 slightly cropped 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.67 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Anchor Bay
Bitrate: Blue Underground
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1)	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	None	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertain Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1,60:1 Edition Details: • Production notes • Theatrical trailer(s) • Limited edition of 15,000 • Double Feature Two-Disc Set: Django (90 min.) & Django Strikes Again (96 min.) • Exclusive Franco Nero Interview • Interactive Game on Django • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 36	Release Information: Studio: Blue Underground Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailers Includes: Run Man Run Mannaja: A Man Called Blade Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot • Bonus disc: Django • "Run Man Run: 35 Years Running" (interviews with director Sergio Sollima and star Tomas Milian) • "Westerns Italian Style" (a rarely seen '60s documentary about the Spaghetti Western phenomenon containing behind-the-scenes footage of "The Great Silence" and "Run Man Run," as well as interviews with directors Enzo G. Castellari, Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Sollima) • "A Man Called Sergio" (interview with director Sergio Martino) • "Django, Tell!" (interviews with director/co-writer Giulio Questi, stars Tomas Milian and Ray Lovelock) • "Django: The One and Only": interviews with star Franco Nero and assistant director Ruggero Deodato • Poster and still gallery • Sergio Martino biography • Poster & stills galleries • Talent bios • Liner notes • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: January7th, 2003 Keep Case Chapters 32

Comments:

RE: written on the Blue Underground box:

"This definitive edition of DJANGO has been re-mastered from the original camera negative, recently discovered in a Rome vault untouched for over three decades.

Also included for the first time is the optional Italian audio track featuring Franco Nero’s own voice."

There are a few instances where the Anchor Bay shows some cropping in the horizontal. Although the Blue Underground version shows some damage it is miles ahead of the Anchor Bay which has washed out colors and it extremely hazy. The Blue Underground comes with a host of Extras in the boxset as well as the audio options of Italian as well as English. For Django fans this is an easy choice; get the Blue Underground boxset!

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Blue Underground - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Screen Captures