Monday, May 13, 2013

Django at the Brooks

I've seen films at the Brooks Museum's movie theater before. They have a very nice facility and show some interesting films. Most recently I saw Django, a 1966 Spaghetti Western starring Franco Nero (Keoma, Massacre Time) and directed by Sergio Corbucci. There was one official sequel with the same star. Nero has a cameo in the recently released movie Django Unchained.

I thought I had already seen this movie, but somehow I'd managed to miss it. I'm not sure how... probably because I thought I'd already seen it. I'm predisposed to like this since it's a spaghetti western; but I think I'd have enjoyed it anyway, because it is a fun film and good at what it does. It's quite violent, though, and the death toll is high.

The music is by Luis Bacalov, who did Il Postino, Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew, 2 of the songs in Kill Bill , A Bullet for the General and others. He's still alive and writing. I found some of the music in Django to be reminiscent of West Side Story's America.

trailer:



Slant Magazine gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and closes with this: "Corbucci's film is notable not only for the artistry of its construction, but also for the underlying anger that fuels its political agenda." Spaghetti-Western.net says, "Sergio Corbucci crafted one of the most popular and widely imitated of the Italian "spaghetti westerns" of the 1960s with this violent but stylish action saga." The Examiner calls it "a helluva of a spectacle". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 92%.

6 comments:

  1. Does it have a similar plot line to Django Unchained from last year.

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  2. Usually I have some knowledge of what is going on with the people I visit, but I confess I must live a very boring, uninteresting, and uninformed life. I've never heard of Django, or the newer movie, either. Thanks for attempting to bring me into the 21st century.

    I'll be late visiting tomorrow for Tea Tuesday, but will post and visit when I get home.

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  3. Dang I wish I read this a month ago. It was on TV but I didn't watch it. Now I regret that.

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  4. bob, i can't see any similarities in the plots of the 2 movies. django is said to have been part of the inspiration for django unchained. i'm not sure how. i haven't seen unchained yet.

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  5. bleubeard and elizabeth: roflol! it's just that i like old, obscure movies. that probably makes me a lot more boring than you ;)

    i've got tea tuesday ready to post, except with coffee. ;)

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  6. tbm, i'm not sure i've ever seen it scheduled on tv. it'll probably show up more often now that django unchained has made a splash.

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