La horde des salopards

"Wait a minute stranger, please...tell me who you are anyway"... a baddie asks Django, who replies, "A devil from hell"!! So yes...this movie certainly plays like a typical Italian horrorfilm.You know, one that takes place in an old remote castle where various people are destined to die horroble deaths. Technically this Sergio Garrone film is a much more skillful production than some of his "women in kz-lager" efforts of which he is so "famous"!!! The first 30-45 mins are visually very stimulating and this bears the film through. But after an hour or so, with lots'a style, thrills, atmosphere,moods etc, it just becomes too much(for me at least!!). Django appears everywhere never showing any facial expressions shooting down tons of baddies.Quite frankly, it borders on the tediously boring!!

The ghostly happenings does set the film apart from most other entries in this fine genre and for this I praise and recommend it.

Sort of a conglomeration of ideas stolen from other stolen ideas, with a result that is decidedly unconvincing. Anthony Steffen and his poncho drift about in what has been described as a ghostly manner, seeking revenge on three Confederate Officers who deserted Steffen's unit resulting in a massacre. This set up is fine, but what follows is tedious and repetitious. Character development is totally absent for both the laconic hero and worse for the villains. Steffen may be Italy's answer to Clint Eastwood, but unfortunately there is more to "spaghetti success" than simply wearing a poncho and gunning down endless bad guys. - MERK

This unusual horror film is one of the best examples of the spaghetti western genre. The plot is the standard "lone stranger seeking revenge," but in this instance, it's not clear if the stranger is a man or just a ghost. This aspect of the story, which is heightened by spooky music and scenes in fog-filled cemeteries, really sets this film apart.

The soundtrack is also excellent, with lots of distorted guitars and sci-fi organ music.

Django il bastardo directed by Sergio Garrone is a good intersting take on the mutitude of Django movies I have seen. The best are still the original with Franco Nero & the one Terence Hill did. I really feel that the biggest weakness of Django il bastardo was Antonio De Teffè (AKA Anthony Steffen) as Django. He had a great coldness about him but it almost goes a bit too stiff at times. A rather traditional revenge plot that is always ok by me & with a bit of a supernatural tone to it.. Which is both creepy & makes for a good weird western. There are some great scenes in this movie.. The flashback scenes were well done in the sense that you as the viewer are not treated with the "in case you didn't get the hints we dropped.. This is what happened" that I see in other westerns from this era. I would have liked a less rigid Django but Antonio De Teffè did create a different character for Django that I did enjoy. Is he a ghost? Is he real? The crosses bearing the names of the victims, the soon-to-be victims faces reading the crosses with their names on them.. Great stuff. There are some really great scenes, good acting, and a twist on a character I have always enjoyed. I love the soundtrack, again with the usual chants of Django which never get old to me. Worth checking out for sure.

Ever since Bengt Enkerot approached Max von Sydow in THE SEVENTH SEAL and said the immortal words, "I am Death", it appeared as though cinema and its movie-goers had admired a new formula involving the supernatural...DJANGO THE BASTARD may not be in the same league as the mentioned Ingmar Bergman classic, but it may be responsible for elevating the "Avenging stranger" genre to new heights. In this Sergio Garrone-directed flick, Anthony Steffen bears the Django name (No relation to Franco Nero's DJANGO) and has a score to settle with some old Confederates that are responsible for many deaths, including...Django?? Did he survive? Or is he "A devil from hell"?

As I stated up above in the one-line-summary, yes there is some crude filmaking here, but there is also some effective stuff as well. Just watch the opening minutes involving a Grim Reaper-esque, Django, walking into town, camera angles panning from above and below. Stopping at his feet, then to have a man-made cross suddenly emerge from his cloak. The cross bearing the name of his first victim, planted into the earth with one stroke! Also kudos goes to the actor who played the demented, Luke Murdock. I got a kick out of that guy!