DJANGO PREPARE A COFFIN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

For most of us the only interaction we’ve ever had when it came to spaghetti westerns (those westerns made by Italian directors and companies in the 60s and 70s) were the Clint Eastwood films in the genre. What many may not be aware of is the fact that there were a ton of these movies made. In addition to that was the fact that several series were made in the genre. Perhaps the most well-known was Django. With director Quentin Tarantino bringing the character into today’s films a few years ago, interest in the previous movies has piqued the interest of movie fans. Now one has received the Arrow Video treatment.

DJANGO PREPARE A COFFIN begins with Django (Terence Hill) turning down a job opportunity from David Barry (Horst Frank) after saving him from an angry land owner. Barry is in the process of taking as much land as possible and building an empire for himself in the hope of becoming a large political figure for the area. After turning down the job, Django, his wife and a small group of settlers head out only to be ambushed, shot and left for dead by Barry’s men. Django survives and sets out on a trail of vengeance.

He moves to a nearby location where no one knows who he is and takes on the job of local hangman. But this isn’t actually the case. Each of his “victims” is instructed on how to behave when they are hung. The reality is that he has them rigged to just appear dead. In return for their lives Django is assembling a group of men he considers innocent and victims of an unjust system as well. These are the men he hopes to use as his gang when taking on the despicable Barry.

Apparently he didn’t choose the men carefully enough as one leads the rest to abandon him and steal a shipment of gold before Barry’s gang can reach it. His treachery continues and Django is caught by Barry and his men and tortured. Left while they attempt to catch the men who stole the gold, Django finds a way to set himself free and continues on his quest for revenge against both Barry and the men that betrayed him.

The movie offers plenty of action and story, perhaps more than many films in the genre. Django is the clear hero here but he doesn’t use the heroic methods we’ve become accustomed to in most westerns. He’s quick with a gun but uses his head to better effect. Hill is the perfect choice for the role having had success in several other spaghetti westerns before and after, most notably the Trinity series. But that comedic attitude isn’t on display here, instead opting for a more deadly character portrayal.

Not having collected movies in this genre before my best guess is that quality prints have been hard to find and both bootleg and lesser quality prints have had to suffice for fans. Not so any longer as Arrow Video has given this film their standard love and care. What we have is a stunning quality print to view for fans and just movie lovers both. Perhaps the only thing lacking in their version is the amount of extras to be found. I’m not a lover of extras but that’s become different with Arrow. Their extras are almost always new and refreshing compared to most. Here they limit it to a short called
Django Explained” a new interview with Spaghetti Western expert and author Kevin Grant and the theatrical trailer.

That being said it remains a quality product and one that fans will want to add to their collection. Non-fans will want to make sure they give it a watch just to see how good these movies were. And Arrow fans will add this to their collections as well, knowing the quality they’ll receive when they do so.

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