Django und die Bande der Gehenkten

Really, really good old fashioned Spaghetti Western starring a young Terence Hill as the titular gunslinger.

Gianfranco Reverberi's music is one of those old Western songs that just gets stuck in your head. I haven't seen the film in about four years and still remember the theme song beat-for-beat. Great cast too: with George Eastman, Horst Frank, Guido Lollobrigida, and Luciano Rossi (who dies like he does in every other movie). The dramatics is all melodramatic enough to the point of almost being funny, like with the action sequences where whoever is supposed to win just kicking ass and never getting hit once.

It's also interesting to note that this film has almost the exact same structure as Kurosawa's Yojimbo / Leone's Fistful of Dollars, yet it throws in enough variation (and "Django-ism") to retain its own unique and colorful feel. The best scene is definitely the ending showdown in the cemetery. Much better filmed and more comic book-style than anything in the original DJANGO - plus a lot more fun.

I never really was a big 60's Spaghetti Western fan, but I still liked this movie quite a bit, which definitely says something.

Ferdinando Baldi's "Preparati La Bara!" aka. "Viva Django" of 1968 with Terence Hill in the lead is a great Spaghetti Western, and, in my opinion, Baldi's second best film after "Blindman" of 1971. After Sergio Corbucci's 1966 masterpiece "Django", quite a bunch of Spaghetti Westerns were given a 'Django'-title, although most of these cash-ins had little to nothing to do with the original. Out of all these unofficial sequels, however, "Viva Django" is maybe the only one that can really be described as a sequel, and Terence Hill's Django-character in "Viva Django" has by far the strongest resemblance to the original character played by Franco Nero. I would personally refer to "Viva Django" as the third best film with a Django-title after Corbucci's brilliant original, and Giulio Questi's surreal "Django Kill... If You Live Shoot" (aka. "Se Sei Vivo Spara"), which is not really a Django movie, and which was only marketed as a Django-film in the German and English language versions, in order to make more cash. Therefore, out of all films that were actually meant to be Django films, "Viva Django" is my second favorite after the original.

Django (Terence Hill) is employed as a hangman by corrupt politician somewhere in the old West. Django does not really hang the delinquents, however, but just makes it look like he does, and thereby saves the lives of a bunch of innocently convicted men. He then founds a gang of seemingly hanged men in order to avenge the death of his wife, who was killed in the robbery of a money transport guided by Django years ago.

"Preparati La Bara!" is a great and very entertaining Spaghetti Western, and, although in some parts quite humorous, not the usual comedy many would expect from Terence Hill. I am personally also a fan of the Bud Spencer/Terence Hill comedies, their serious Spaghetti Westerns, however, are in my opinion their best films, and 'Viva Django' is definitely one of the best films Terence Hill has ever starred in. Hill's performance as Django is excellent from the beginning to the end, and out of all the unofficial Django-sequels his character is definitely the closest to the great Franco Nero's character in Corbucci's original. José Torres fits into the role of hangdog Garcia very well, and lovely Barbara Simon is worth mentioning as beautiful Mercedes. The supporting cast furthermore contains Spartaco Conversi in a small role. The rest of the performances are also quite good, but most of them are not mind-blowing. The score by Gianfranco Reverberi is very good and the movie is photographed very well on great locations.

As I mentioned above, out of all sequels, the 'Django' character in "Viva Django" is the closest to the original character. Terence Hill's character is not exactly the same as Franco Nero's of course, and in some parts even very different, but in comparison to most of the other sequels, the resemblance is much stronger.

All things considered, "Viva Django" is a very good Spaghetti Western, and probably the only one of the unofficial 'sequels' that can actually be regarded as a sequel to the original.

Of all the unofficial "Django"-sequels(40+), this is the one that sticks closest to the original. This time around, Django is portrayed by a pre-Trinity Terrence Hill. Hill does his best to copy the original performance by Franco Nero, and succeeds. Director Ferdinando Baldi co-wrote this with Franco Rossetti (who also co-wrote the Corbucci film), and the result is an extremely entertaining film, with plenty of action, and enjoyable performances. This is nowhere the really great spaghetti westerns such as "Keoma", "Bullet For The General", and the works of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, but fans of the genre will be more than pleased. The ending is the best bit, and was actually copied in the only official "Django"-sequel, "Django Strikes Again". Extremely hard to find, but well worth the search.

Here is a early film of Terence Hill as Django, the legendary machine-gunning mystery man always bent on revenge. This is a terrific film and the best Django since the original with Franco Nero. Terence Hill plays the part perfectly & along with a very good cast. Django had always been one of my favorite western characters. The character is always so dark and without the pretentiousness that some westerns have at times. If you like westerns that are dark & all about revenge you will really enjoy this. The soundtrack is great with the usual belting out of "DJANGOOOO!!!" that you'll find in various songs that are in the other 857645645645645 Django movies. If you ever find a copy of this film pick it up for sure, it is almost impossible to find these days.

When Django is wounded, presumed dead and his wife is killed he starts working as a hangman while plotting his revenge.

Ferdinando Baldi's offering is a little rough round the edges but it has great Italian Spaghetti Western feel. Thanks to Franco Rossetti's story and setup, Django, Prepare a Coffin comes up trumps. There's vindication, retribution and unlikely relationships. With a twist and some memorable scenes including the fistful of hangings and showdown shootout Baldi delivers a rounded violent piece of entertainment.

Originally intended to star Franco Nero, thankfully, oozing screen presence Terence Hill comfortably slips in to Nero's boots. The supporting cast are solid enough. Actor Horst Frank is notable and refreshingly is not your typical villain. Staple Italian film actor George Eastman also appears. Gianfranco and Giampiero Reverberi's score is great (and decades later was partly sampled by Gnarls Barkley for the hit song 'Crazy').

Overall, it may not reach the heights of Sergio Leone Westerns or debatably Sergio Corbucci's Django, nevertheless to Baldi's credit it has a good time shooting for the stars thanks to Hill's spurring performance.