Spikeopath
A mysterious stranger rides into town and sets about enacting vengeance on those guilty of war crimes...A Spaghetti Western/Supernatural hybrid, Django the Bastard oozes atmosphere in spite of its obvious bargain bin budget. Anthony Steffen co-writes the screenplay with director Sergio Garrone and he also takes the lead role of the enigmatic stranger moving about the townsfolk like some grubby phantom. There's a splendid Gothic tint to proceedings, with crosses featuring prominently as Garrone and cinematographer Gino Santini dally with shadows and murky lighting techniques to enhance the other worldly pulse beat that the narrative calls for. Characterisations are pretty thin on the ground, though, while the action is only adequately staged. But genre fans are well served by the Spag Western staples that bring about sadism, wry social commentary and that old devil, Mr. Dry Black Humour.Never dull because Garrone keeps it brisk, and Steffen plays it rightly restrained as Django, this Bastardo passes muster for genre fans without ever actually being essential viewing. 6.5/10
ironhorse_iv
Antony Steffen plays yet another unofficial Django type character. A man in black; face hidden by wide brimmed hat; whom has the burden to place a cross bearing the name of the people that wrong him in the past into the ground. He haunts his victims like the Grim Reaper arrive to collect their soul. I like to think of it, as WWE Undertaker, the movie with his Gothic themes. Anthony Steffen might not have the same dark premise as Franco Nero, but I have to give mad props to the man for trying. As you see, at the time, a lot of Spaghetti Westerns try to hook audience in, by trying to connect their movies with other Spaghetti Westerns movie that has popular characters. You can see a lot of them, sporting that their character is the same as the Man with No Name, Sartana, and in this case, Django. According to the IMDb, there were well over fifty of these "Django" imitations made. Unlike other movies, that do this, and have no similar themes. The film tries hard on the concept, and really look like it could belong to a Django film. Still, in the long run, the film has really no connection to 1966's Sergio Corbucci's film, Django, but seem more influence by the Man of No Name character from the Sergio Leone 'Dollar' trilogy. Anthony Steffen is very stoic and subdued. People would say wooden, but he under acts appropriately and does what he has to do. He knows how to be cool. The only problem is Anthony Steffen isn't that menacing. The more, you got to see him, the less, he become cool as the movie went on. Honestly, they shouldn't reveal way too much of his personality in the flashbacks. That was the fault of 1966's Django: A Bullet for You. That character had nothing to do with Django. It made the cool ghost, into an average man by the end. Django the Bastard also known as The Stranger's Gundown is a very interesting Spaghetti Western movie directed by Sergio Garrone. This movie was a key inspiration behind Clint Eastwood's 1973's High Plains Drifter and deserves credit for that reason alone. The execution however doesn't match the idea nor does it mine its full potential. The movie concept was better used in 1968's 'Once Upon a Time in the West'. The plot is a traditional revenge film with a man who everybody think is dead seeking revenge on his killers. At less, the movie made it believe that he was a ghost and that only epileptics and gypsies could speak with him. Obtaining an "X" rating on its initial Italian release due to its violence. It's now look upon as silly one-shot kills. Still, it had a pretty memorable intense action like the two men playing hot potato with a live dynamite. I love how the whole town people were exile, just for the villains to find this mysterious man hiding among them with his many men. It gave a near impossible fighting against the odd feel to the hero. The acting is alright for the most part, but the actual villains, the Murdock Gang are not that memorable. If anything, they killed off, Luke Murdock (Luciano Rossi) way too earlier. He is totally over the top insane, and brutal. Rada Rassimov's character Alethea is a bit annoying with her money hungry greedy ego. Every scene with her and Django made me want to see her met her end. Sadly, it never came. The English dubbing is a bit off with the mouthing. I really can't say, that it's better with other languages. It was very flat dialogue. I did like the devil out of hell talk scene. The music score is very creepy and atmospheric. It set up the Gothic horror feel, but in a fast paced. The real pacing in the movie is pretty slow. It get really boring at times, at less, in the beginning. The original version of this film has a pre-credits explanatory scene. The version released in the UK & the US places this scene, the entire reasoning behind Django's motives in the film in a flashback later in the film, roughly half way through the film, rather than before the credits, which is how it is presented in the Italian version. It kinda work and kinda didn't. It made the movie, really confusing at first as he don't know if Django is supposed to be the villain or the hero. The camera work is great for the most part. Garrone uses innovative camera work to good effect. He cracked the camera glass when filming, so he can give the three villains together with distort images. He uses a kaleidoscope affect in one scene. Also, he filmed night scenes for almost half the movie. It was great, not seeing day for night, or the night scenes being way too dark. These are filmed in a skillful style that never obscures the view and keeps the film interesting. Very good direction for the most part. Some really awful shots, had to be, the odd church roping scene, a scene where somebody walking by, hit the camera on accident, and the awful Civil War flashbacks in slow motion. Much of the daylight cinematography is poorly lit. There's some bad editing that makes me think that the original Italian version may have been longer, but in my surprise, the film wasn't cut up much, as the normal running time is supposed to 107 minutes. Surprising for a Spaghetti Western. The picture quality is great. It kinda depends on where you get the DVD. There are some lines and scratches, and some color distortion in some DVDs. In my opinion, MCP & Studio Canal often get restored copies. Overall: to combine the Horror genre with the Western, with a somewhat mixed, if interesting, result. It's a unique and interesting film in spite of whatever minor flaws it may have.
MarKus-371
"DJANGO THE BASTARD" is a real odd horror flick. Usually in horror movies they take place in modern day. The setting for this movie is in 1880's southern states. During the civil war, Army officers sold their entire regiment to the enemy, who brutally massacred them. One survived, (or did he?) and his name is Django. 13 years later he comes back to get revenge on the Officers and kill ANYONE who gets in his way. Some people think Django is supernatural, is he? See the movie to find out. When Django plants the first cross in the ground, at the start, it really freaked me out. He places a cross in the ground with the name of the officer he wants dead, while they're still alive. When ever Django appears it scares me, because he looks like a cold killer who doesnt care if anyone lives or dies. He kills the officers with a gun most of the time or he beats them to death in some gory fashion. In one scene he's kneeling by a campfire, talking to gangsters. When he walks away an explosion occurs killing the gangsters...really scared me because I didn't expect it. This whole movie really gives me the creeps, call me crazy, but it does, it really scares me!, and the horror classic "HALLOWEEN" didnt give me a fright at all. This film is more Horror than spaghetti western, so don't knock becuase it takes place 100 years ago. Definatley on my top 10 Horror List. I give it an 8/10.
noahax
This unusual horror film is one of the best examples of the spaghetti western genre. The plot is the standard "lone stranger seeking revenge," but in this instance, it's not clear if the stranger is a man or just a ghost. This aspect of the story, which is heightened by spooky music and scenes in fog-filled cemeteries, really sets this film apart.The soundtrack is also excellent, with lots of distorted guitars and sci-fi organ music.
