Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Django the Bastard Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 3, 2023

Sergio Garrone's "Django the Bastard" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Synapse Films. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critic Troy Howarth. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The avenger

There are several reasons that make it very difficult to enthusiastically praise Sergio Garrone’s Django the Bastard. However, the fact that Anthony Steffen plays the iconic character, not Franco Nero, is not one of them. In fact, while the character Steffen plays has a very different presence before the camera, as odd as it may sound in some ways he is superior.

On this release, Django the Bastard is introduced with the alternate title The Strangers Gundown, which is neither bad nor inappropriate. Also, the release presents the international English dubbed version of Django the Bastard, which is not identical to the Italian version of the film. I think that the international version is the one to see, but the Italian version opens with a flashback that makes it easier to understand all future events. The international version is not confusing. However, it takes a bit of time to understand what Steffen’s character is trying to accomplish.

Steffen is an angry avenger tracking down several men. In Desert City, he locates the most prominent of his targets, Rod Murdok (Paolo Gozlino), a very wealthy and very shady businessman, who quickly guesses the avenger’s identity and organizes a gang of mercenaries to take him out. However, his brother, Jack (Luciano Rossi), a notorious hothead, unnecessarily complicates his plan, and along the way even pushes his frustrated wife (Rada Rassimov), who has been paid to marry him, into the hands of the avenger.

For obvious reasons, there is no need to speculate whether Garrone was inspired by Sergio Corbucci’s classic film. However -- and this is where the reasons I mentioned at the top of this article emerge -- Corbucci’s classic film did not deliver the blueprint for Django the Bastard. Garrone worked closely with Steffen and the two essentially produced a mish-mash of ideas that were borrowed from several very big spaghetti westerns. For example, Steffen’s character resembles Clint Eastwood’s character from A Fistful of Dollars, while several developments are inspired by the drama in The Great Silence. The manner in which the heavy atmosphere legitimizes the edgy attitudes and over-the-top violence makes it quite easy to see a thread leading to Death Rides a Horse as well. As a result, Django the Bastard quickly creates the impression that it tries hard to do a lot of things right, rather than comfortably develop an identity of its own.

Fortunately, there is plenty of material that counters these similarities quite well and prevents Django the Bastard from evolving into a conventional copycat. However, rather surprisingly virtually all of this material is dependent on the quality of Steffen’s performance which introduces a very strong avenger that is not comparable to Nero’s character.

Had Garrone and Steffen realized early that Django the Bastard did not need to imitate what might have worked great in other successful spaghetti westerns, I think it is fair to speculate that they could have delivered a very special genre film. Of course, it would not have been a Django film, so its entire marketing campaign would have been very different and almost certainly riskier.

Gino Santini’s lensing does not produce breathtaking visuals but it is very solid. Most wider shots, for instance, quite easily could have been used in Corbucci’s classic film. Desert City has a fine period appearance as well.

The biggest and best surprise is the outstanding soundtrack that the criminally underrated duo Vasco and Mancuso (Vasili Kojucharov and Elsio Mancuso) delivered. This soundtrack is every bit as brilliant as the ones that the legendary maestros Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, Luis Bacalov, and Bruno Nicolai created at the time.

Django the Bastard Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Django the Bastard arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Synapse Films.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master that was struck from the original camera negative. Unsurprisingly, the film looks very healthy and vibrant. On my system, delineation, clarity, and depth were quite impressive. I thought that density levels could have been slightly better, though I am quite certain that a superior encode on a dual-layer disc would have produced the desired improvement. Image stability is excellent. Color balance is stable. However, this is the only area where I felt that there is room for some minor adjustments. Early into the film, but later as well, light yellow(ish) hue sneaks in that does not look quite right. The effect reminds of L'Immagine Ritrovata's grading jobs, though color balance here is different. Darker indoor and nighttime footage, for instance, can look very good. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Django the Bastard Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is very healthy. However, you need to keep in mind that the actors were overdubbed in English and this was a practice that often introduced minor unevenness. I noticed a few spots with such unevenness, but clarity, sharpness, and depth are still very good. The music sounds wonderful as well. I did not encounter any audio dropouts, distortions, or other similar anomalies to report.

Django the Bastard Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Troy Howarth. There is a lot of interesting information about the history of Django the Bastrad and its spiritual relationship to Sergio Corbucci's classic film, its stylistic personality, Anthony Steffen's performance, Vasco and Mancuso's excellent soundtrack, etc.

Django the Bastard Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If Sergio Garrone and Anthony Steffen had chosen to produce a spaghetti western that does not seek a relationship with Sergio Corbucci's classic film, I think that they would have struck gold. There is a lot of material in Django the Bastard where Steffen's character looks great and tries to be a unique avenger, plus the atmosphere is lovely. A more cynical screenplay with a greater imagination most likely would have been ideal for it. Regardless, I still think that Django the Bastard is very much worth spending a night with. This recent Blu-ray release is sourced from a good organic master that was prepared after the film was restored in 2K. It is Regon-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.