Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A coffin-dragging gunslinger and a prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a merciless masked clan and a band of Mexican revolutionaries.
Django is a landmark spaghetti western with a genuinely distinctive identity: the iconic coffin-dragging conceit, Franco Nero's magnetic antihero, and Sergio Corbucci's grimy, brutal aesthetic set it firmly apart from both classical Hollywood westerns and Leone's output. The novelty is undeniable — it spawned an entire subgenre and dozens of unofficial sequels. Plot is functional but meandering, juggling the Mexican revolutionary subplot awkwardly. Acting is solid from Nero but uneven in the supporting cast. Cinematography captures the mud-soaked, oppressive atmosphere effectively without reaching the visual grandeur of Leone. The ending is satisfying and memorably staged (the graveyard shootout) without being exceptional storytelling.