Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Django Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 4, 2021

Note: Arrow's long, winding road with this title seems to be drawing to a close. They released Django 4K + Texas, Adios BD in May and are releasing Django 4K as a standalone concurrently with this 1080 release. This review is based on the 1080 version sent to me some time ago when the original recalled 1080 release was imminent.

When is a Django film not “really” a Django film? Quite a bit, and maybe even most, of the time, according to a phenomenon that has already been mentioned on a number of previous “Spaghetti Western” Blu-ray releases, including The Complete Sartana and A Pistol for Ringo & The Return of Ringo: Two Films by Duccio Tessari, but which is gotten into even more overtly on some of the supplements included on this new release from Arrow. In one of the kind of strange ironies of international cinema, while Django never made any substantial inroads in the United States market (at least as a theatrical exhibition), when it was originally released and took off big time in Italy, and then later in West Germany, it created such a sensation that literally scores of “Django-ized” supposed sequels were produced, though none of them had original star Franco Nero, and kind of hilariously, many of them didn't even feature a character named Django. It was apparently felt that simply sticking “Django” either right into the title or at least into some of the marketing materials would more or less guarantee audiences showing up and buying (coffins full of?) tickets. That phenomenon actually is part of the history of the second film in this set, Texas, Adios which was actually marketed as a supposed "Django film" in some markets. As is also discussed in some of the supplements, both Django and A Fistful of Dollars might be vulnerable to another cheeky kind of question, namely, “When is an Akira Kurosawa film not “really” an Akira Kurosawa film?” As is mentioned in an archival interview included in this release as a supplement, both Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci evidently saw Yojimbo within just a few days of each other in the early sixties, and both then set about more or less adapting some of the basics of that property in their own ways. The first Django film and A Fistful of Dollars therefore both exhibit some undeniable similarities, but as is also discussed in some of the supplements, Django is considerably more hyperbolic in a number of its elements.

Blue Underground released Django on Blu-ray a few years ago, and for those wanting a plot summary of the film, I refer you to Martin Liebman's Django Blu-ray review. Marty's review is also a good source for screenshot comparisons between the two versions.

Django Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Django is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfers of both films in this set:

Django is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning, grading and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution on a pin-registsered Arriscan.

Texas, Adios is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original two-perf Techniscope 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin- registered Arriscan with a wet gate. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master at R3Store Studios, London.

For both films, thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, picture instability and other instances of film wear were rapaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. Some instances of picture wear remain, in keeping with the significant restoration challenges presented with the condition of the original elements.

The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio synch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post-production, as per the production standards of the period.

All original materials used in this restoration were accessed from Surf Film.

This is a largely gorgeous looking restoration, with a nicely burnished palette that still manages to pop vividly (and in my opinion more naturally than the Blue Underground version) when any of its trademark reds arrive on screen, and with a much better resolved grain field than was on the at times almost pixellated looking Blue Underground release. Detail levels are routinely excellent, helped along by Corbucci's tendency to grant his performers lots of close-ups (sometimes courtesy of extreme zooms). There are still slight variabilities in color temperature, palette and clarity, and as noted in Arrow's disclaimer, a few (in my estimation pretty minor) signs of age related wear and tear still are apparent, as in the long vertical scratches right after the opening credits that I've noticed in other presentations (see screenshot 14). This is noticeably darker than the Blue Underground version, but to my eyes looks much more natural and less artificially boosted.

Django Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks available in either English or Italian. The Italian track sounded slightly hotter to my ears, but otherwise, aside from voice acting performances, the tracks are extremely similar if not identical in mix levels. As is discussed in some of the supplements, Django has a certain "Eastwood-ian" ambience in the English language track, with a much more forceful, darker tone in the Italian. There are similar differences in other voices, and fans may well want to check both tracks out. Dialogue, score and effects are all rendered faithfully.

Django Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Stephen Prince


• Django Never Dies (1080p; 26:07) is an engaging newly done interview with Franco Nero, who covers a lot of his career aside from this particular film.


• Cannibal of the Wild West (1080p; 25:48) is a new interview with Assistant Director Ruggero Deodato.


• Sergio, My Husband (1080p; 27:48) is a sweet reminiscence of Sergio Corbucci by his widow Nori.


• That's My Life, Part 1 (1080p; 10:16) is being billed as an "unseen archival interview" with co-writer Franco Rossetti.


• A Rock 'n' Roll Script Writer (1080p; 11:03) is another archival interview with another co-writer, Piero Vivarelli.


• A Punch in the Face (1080p; 18:43) is an archival interview with stuntman and actor Gilberto Galimberti.


• Discovering Django (1080p; 23:33) is a newly done "appreciation" by Austin Fisher, who gets into the history of the "franchise", including its many supposed sequels.


• An Introduction to Django by Alex Cox (1080i; 12:04) is an archival piece with the director also giving some history. He slightly misspeaks when he mentions Techniscope, stating that this film was shot in Academy Ratio.


• Original Trailers

  Italian Trailer (1080p; 2:58)

  International Trailer (1080p; 2:58)

• Image Galleries are advertised as coming from the Mike Siegel archive:

  Stills (1080p)

  Posters (1080p)

  Lobby Cards (1080p)

  Press (1080p)

  Home Video (1080p)

Django Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's not hard to see why Django created such an instant sensation when it was released, even if took a while for that sensation to reach the shores of the United States. The story is stuffed full of outré touches and Corbucci provides a really kinetic style that helps propel things in a consistently exciting way. Arrow's new release sports great technical merits and excellent supplements. Highly recommended.