Western Retrospective: Django

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This is static when gear and I aren’t fighting

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bang babies. We like to listen to the geek cast

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radio network Hello and welcome to episode 240

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of the cinema geeks I’m one of your cinema geeks

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optimist solo and joining me as usual is the

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comic concierge. Hello, Dan Hey, how’s it going?

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is going well we are back at it we uh covered

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the uh the man with no name trilogy i always

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struggle with what i want to call it the fistful

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of dollars trilogy the whatever trilogy you want

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to call it the man with no name the man with

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no dollars yes the man with no dollars yeah and

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different names each time um so yeah we just

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got done talking about that we have a few more

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of the quote -unquote spaghetti westerns to go

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through so we are going to cover one of those

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today in 1966’s Django and then we have one more

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going back to Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time

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in the West and then we’ll move into a new section

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of our western retrospective which we can get

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to at the end of maybe next episode so just wanted

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to kind of set that stage and We’re going to

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let Dan kind of lay the groundwork for the facts

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on Django, and then we’ll come back and give

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you guys our thoughts. So Dan, take away. The

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D is silent, but deadly, as this week we’re covering

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Django, directed by Sergio Carbucci. In the film,

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a mysterious mud -covered drifter named Django,

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played by Franco Nero, arrives in a desolated

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border town, dragging a coffin behind him. The

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town is caught in a brutal struggle between a

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gang of racist ex -Confederates, led by Major

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Jackson, and a group of Mexican revolutionaries.

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under General Hugo Rodriguez. Django quickly

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proves himself deadly with a gun, rescuing a

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woman named Maria from Jackson’s men and taking

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refuge in a saloon. run by a neutral barkeep.

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Playing both sides against each other, Django

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hatches a risky plan. He gains the trust of Hugo’s

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gang as they make an assault on Jackson’s base.

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Under the disguise of bringing prostitutes for

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the soldiers, they drive a horse cart containing

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Django, Hugo, and four revolutionaries attacking

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the base and stealing a cache of gold. Back at

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Rodriguez’s hideout, Django has a prostitute

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distract the men guarding the safe house containing

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the gold. He enters the house via the chimney.

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stealing the gold in his coffin, and activating

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his machine gun as a diversion. Jango loads the

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coffin onto the dragon, but doing so, he sees

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Maria. The next morning, Django and Maria arrive

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at the bridge where they first met. Django tells

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Maria that they should part ways, but Maria begs

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him to abandon the gold so they can start a new

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life together. When Maria’s rifle misfires, the

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coffin falls into the quicksand below. Django

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nearly drowns when he tries to recover the gold,

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and Maria is wounded by Hugo’s men while trying

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to save him. Miguel crushes Django’s hands as

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punishment for being a thief, and Hugo’s gang

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leave for Mexico. Upon their arrival, the revolutionaries

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are massacred by Jackson and the Mexican army.

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Django and Maria return to the neutral saloon,

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finding only the barkeep there. Django tells

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them that, despite his crushed hands, he must

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kill Jackson to prevent further bloodshed. Jackson

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learns that Jango is waiting for him at the Tombstone

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Cemetery. While there, Jango is resting himself

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on the back of Mercedes Arrow’s cross. He pulls

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the trigger guard of his revolver off with his

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teeth and rests it against the cross just as

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Jackson gangs arrives. Believing that Jango cannot

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make the sign of the cross with his mutilated

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hands, Jackson shoots the corner of the cross.

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But then suddenly, Jango is able to kill Jackson

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and his men by pushing the trigger against the

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cross and repeatedly pulling back the hammer,

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leaving his pistol on Zorro’s cross, Django staggers

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out of the cemetery, ready to start a new life

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with Maria. Django pushed the genre into a darker,

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more violent tone than even Sergio Leone’s films.

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The film’s violence, especially the ear -cutting

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scene and hand -crushing torture, were considered

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extreme for its time, and it was banned and heavily

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cut in several countries, including the UK, for

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years. At the time, many critics thought it was

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too violent and cynical, but despite that criticism,

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it was a huge commercial success, especially

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in Italy and other European markets. Its popularity

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helped cement the rise of the spaghetti Western

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boom. And over time, Django has been repraised

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very positively and is considered one of the

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most impactful of the genre, and its impact was

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immediate. Because Django wasn’t strictly trademarked

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internationally, dozens of unrelated westerns

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were retitled to include his name. There are

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over 30 Django films with his name alone, though

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most have nothing to do with the original. There’s

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only one official sequel, Django Strikes Again,

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which came out 21 years later. Quentin Tarantino

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has cited Django as a major influence on his

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film Django Unchained. Franco Nero even makes

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a cameo in Tarantino’s film and shares a brief

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scene with the newer Django, played by Jamie

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Foxx. He, of course, is also a huge fan of the

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opening song Django and includes it in his film

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as well, and it’s also been used in other films

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and referenced a great deal of times. But where

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do Kevin and I stand? Are we with the original

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critics, or do we feel like it has aged well?

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Back to us to discuss. Thank you very much, Dan.

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So going into this, I refresh my memory. Was

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this a first -time watch for you, Dan, or is

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this a re -watch? This was a first -time watch

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for me. I was aware of, obviously, the Django

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films and everything because of Django Unchained,

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a movie that we reviewed when we did our Quentin

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Tarantino retrospective years ago, but I never

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went back and watched this or any of the other

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Django films. This was a first time watch for

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me. How about yourself? It was definitely a first

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time watch for me as well. I knew that like Django,

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I knew this film existed and I knew there was

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like a, what felt like a hundred other films

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that had Django in there somewhere. I didn’t

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know what the connections were or if there was,

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or if it was like one of those things where it’s

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just sequel upon, like it’s land before time

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at this point. Like it’s just become like, there’s

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like 31 of them, but I wasn’t interested to find

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out that there’s actually only one sequel out

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of the 30 other films that have the name Django

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in it. None of them are. official sequels except

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for one yeah so and that and that didn’t come

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out until like the 80s so so that’s very interesting

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and obviously we have a character from this film

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that does make a cameo in tarantino’s django

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unchained so there are some connections and influences

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and different things like we’ve talked about

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with some of the other spaghetti westerns i’m

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intrigued on this one Dan I don’t know if we’re

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going to line up on this one or not but I’m super

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intrigued on what your take especially coming

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off the heels of watching the whatever we’re

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going to call that trilogy the man with no name

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trilogy I’m interested in just having watched

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those three and then watching this one like what

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your take on it because like we talked about

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a little bit during that episode was that Sergio

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Leone’s fistful of dollars trilogy or man with

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no name trilogy was loosely based off of loosely

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or maybe not so loosely based off of kurosawa’s

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yojimbo to the point where there was like lawsuits

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or whatever happened where he was like you just

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made my film like give me money which i think

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which i think they had to do and now this one

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is also not only also loosely based off of yojimbo

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but then also trying to capitalize on the success

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of a fistful of dollars so we’re definitely riding

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in a a parallel lane to what we’ve just been

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talking about so dan what was your reaction to

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your first time watch of django here yeah it’s

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kind of like the team you team you copy i’m so

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glad you said that of the of the item you bought

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from wish it’s like that seems like we’re in

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many degrees away for away aware from away from

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the original uh you know what when we talked

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about the Man with No Dollars trilogy, which

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I think I’ll call it now, just to bring it all

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together. I brought up professional wrestling,

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and I promise I’m not going to bring up professional

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wrestling every time we talk about these movies,

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but it feels fitting here again. Because when

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you think about professional wrestling, what

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is something that is really key at helping getting

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a character over? And it’s a great theme song.

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That goes a long way. Think about the greats.

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They tend to have a really good theme song from

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someone called Steve Austin to Hulk Hogan. People

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listen to their theme songs even outside of wrestling.

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One thing you have to say about Django, he certainly

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has a great theme song. I didn’t know until watching

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this movie that the theme that we hear in Django

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Unchained originated here. I think as a kid saying…

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today a banger. I definitely think so. It starts

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off strong. Like you get invested. Like I have

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this Django seems like someone I want to root

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for. And then of course with great professional

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wrestling, you want a great gimmick and being

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a guy dressed in black, walking in the desert,

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like dragging a coffin, you know, like that’s.

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That’s a great gimmick. I don’t know if this

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is where the Undertaker originated from or where

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they got some of their ideas or not, but certainly

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talking about lawsuits, maybe they might have

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thought of some back then. So starting off, you

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have a lot of… That certainly caught my interest.

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There’s a lot here to like, okay, well, we got

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a great theme song, got a great gimmick. Clearly,

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as you mentioned, the links here to what… they’re

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doing here when it comes to borrowing from the

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Man With No Name trilogy, it’s clear. Franco

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Nero definitely is clearly inspired by what Clint

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Eastwood did. Crazy that he was only 25 doing

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this. I guess they used old age makeup to make

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him older. That makeup, I gotta say, worked because

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I legitimately thought he was older. So those

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elements I thought definitely worked for me.

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But like with professional wrestling, sometimes

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you can have all those gimmicks, have all those

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elements, but when the in -wing work just isn’t

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there, it can be a bit clunky, and maybe it becomes

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very obvious that you’re trying to maybe put

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all that out there because perhaps you’re trying

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to distract for what doesn’t work. Ultimately,

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I had a good time here. I think this is certainly

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exploitative. I could see why Quentin Tarantino

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would love this type of thing. You certainly

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see so many elements, not just from Django, but

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like, oh, okay. I’m like, that’s where he completely

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got that scene. That’s where that scene from.

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I’m forgetting the name of the movie, his second

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film. A few dollars more. No, no. Oh, Django?

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Oh, are you talking about Tarantino? Tarantino,

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his second film. Not Pulp Fiction. Reservoir

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Dogs. Where the scene from Reservoir Dogs came

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from. Like, oh, with the ear. I’m like, oh, okay.

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That’s where he got that from. You’re seeing

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kind of his influence. You’re seeing a lot of

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his… A lot of the influence is right from this.

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So I’m like, I get why he really loves this.

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And those elements, I think, certainly are…

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There are entertaining elements within this.

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I do think, though, it is a bit like… It is

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ultimately a copy of a copy of a copy. It’s a

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bit clunky, and it’s just, I think, a bit of

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a mess. It’s, I think, how it ends up by the

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end. It’s, I’m not, like, I think it’s, of all

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the films we’ve done thus far, when it comes

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to craftsmanship, when it comes to how well it

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was made, it is a major step down. And, you know,

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it’s a good time, but I don’t think it’s necessarily…

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a well -made movie beyond that but what did you

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think i’m so relieved um i thought for sure that

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you were going to be like it was going to be

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like a time where you’re just very different

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like we separated a little bit and you were going

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to sing the praises of why you know this has

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like a 95 on rotten tomatoes and like all the

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influences and i was going to be just like the

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uncultured swine here that was like i like i

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i love your professional wrestling analogy and

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i would take it this step further like when we

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talked about before with the the man with no

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dollars trilogy which i’m just going to keep

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with that as well we talked about you know how

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kurosawa’s ujimbo was like the original like

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nwo in japan idea And then the fistful of dollars

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trilogy was kind of like the NWO and WCW. And

00:13:13.700 –> 00:13:15.620
it just worked. And like, it took off because

00:13:15.620 –> 00:13:19.240
certain audiences hadn’t seen Yojimbo or didn’t

00:13:19.240 –> 00:13:20.679
make the connection or whatever the case may

00:13:20.679 –> 00:13:22.360
be. And it just like worked. And like, to me,

00:13:22.399 –> 00:13:25.899
this is then you take the NWO after it’s run

00:13:25.899 –> 00:13:27.700
its course and been beaten into the ground. And

00:13:27.700 –> 00:13:30.559
then you try to revive it on later on in WWE

00:13:30.559 –> 00:13:33.320
or TNA or something like that. And it’s like,

00:13:33.360 –> 00:13:37.179
no, not only have we already seen this, but now

00:13:37.179 –> 00:13:40.370
like the. it’s like national hall and Hogan are

00:13:40.370 –> 00:13:42.649
all like 10, 15 years older now. And it’s like,

00:13:42.690 –> 00:13:46.149
uh, this isn’t working y ‘all like, yeah. Or,

00:13:46.230 –> 00:13:47.909
or something like that. It’s, it’s like the,

00:13:47.990 –> 00:13:52.629
the WCW or WWE, then it turns into NW, uh, NWA

00:13:52.629 –> 00:13:55.190
or TNA or like one of those. And it’s just like,

00:13:55.230 –> 00:13:58.850
I don’t know, guys, this is like, uh, I, I, I

00:13:58.850 –> 00:14:00.389
get the wrestling rings in the high school gym

00:14:00.389 –> 00:14:03.070
now, but, uh, it just doesn’t have the same effect.

00:14:03.529 –> 00:14:05.549
Um, I agree though. Like it does have some elements,

00:14:05.570 –> 00:14:07.360
like, especially at the beginning, like, like

00:14:07.360 –> 00:14:10.419
obviously this has a crazy score like soundtrack

00:14:10.419 –> 00:14:12.220
or whatever like there’s a there’s a lot to it

00:14:12.220 –> 00:14:15.820
like it’s pretty uh complex like i know that

00:14:15.820 –> 00:14:19.840
there was like a soundtrack that was dozens of

00:14:19.840 –> 00:14:22.759
tracks right like so you have the music part

00:14:22.759 –> 00:14:26.580
of it at first i was like okay like i’m gonna

00:14:26.580 –> 00:14:32.200
give frank onero like the shot here he at the

00:14:32.200 –> 00:14:34.370
beginning like It seems like he’s going for a

00:14:34.370 –> 00:14:35.809
little bit of the same that we got with Clint

00:14:35.809 –> 00:14:37.590
Eastwood, but I’m like, it’s a different person.

00:14:37.669 –> 00:14:39.909
Let’s see how this works. You’re right, he’s

00:14:39.909 –> 00:14:42.870
carrying this coffin, dragging it through, which

00:14:42.870 –> 00:14:46.090
seems really weird when it comes to all of that.

00:14:46.590 –> 00:14:50.629
I was intrigued at the beginning, but man, does

00:14:50.629 –> 00:14:52.649
he come across in the end as the Kmart version

00:14:52.649 –> 00:14:57.350
of Clint Eastwood? Or the Shopko version of Clint

00:14:57.350 –> 00:14:59.470
Eastwood, or the Timu, like you said. It’s just

00:14:59.470 –> 00:15:02.090
like, no offense to Frank O ‘Neill, but like…

00:15:02.799 –> 00:15:05.039
He didn’t hold a candle to what we got with Clint

00:15:05.039 –> 00:15:09.080
Eastwood. Like there’s just the, it factor for

00:15:09.080 –> 00:15:13.740
me was missing. So that was for the first part.

00:15:14.240 –> 00:15:16.679
And then like the second part, like I get, like

00:15:16.679 –> 00:15:19.960
we had a similar situation in the fistful of

00:15:19.960 –> 00:15:22.679
dollars trilogy where Clint Eastwood is wearing

00:15:22.679 –> 00:15:25.019
like a metal plate. And then we compared it to

00:15:25.019 –> 00:15:27.659
like the Bret Hart and Bill Goldberg situation.

00:15:28.539 –> 00:15:31.580
Yeah. then in this one they’re like screw that

00:15:31.580 –> 00:15:33.840
we don’t just want a metal plate we’re gonna

00:15:33.840 –> 00:15:39.700
open up a coffin and have like a a machine gun

00:15:39.700 –> 00:15:42.279
like a stationary machine gun that we’re just

00:15:42.279 –> 00:15:45.519
gonna use to blow everybody to like smithereens

00:15:45.519 –> 00:15:49.340
i was just like i didn’t i wasn’t expecting those

00:15:49.340 –> 00:15:51.379
types of gimmicks here when i when we went back

00:15:51.379 –> 00:15:53.700
to like these quote unquote classic like westerns

00:15:53.700 –> 00:15:57.379
maybe i was just being like ignorant but i was

00:15:57.379 –> 00:15:58.899
like i didn’t know that’s where we went with

00:15:58.899 –> 00:16:01.539
some of these like the the steel plate shirt

00:16:01.539 –> 00:16:03.679
and the the machine gun that we’re pulling out

00:16:03.679 –> 00:16:05.519
of coffins like i didn’t realize that i thought

00:16:05.519 –> 00:16:08.120
it was mostly just like gunfights at the okay

00:16:08.120 –> 00:16:12.100
corral and and like duels and and things of that

00:16:12.100 –> 00:16:14.019
nature like take your 10 paces and see who’s

00:16:14.019 –> 00:16:15.879
the fastest draw and stuff like that i didn’t

00:16:15.879 –> 00:16:17.600
know they were like nope like you you brought

00:16:17.600 –> 00:16:20.679
a knife to a gunfight type stuff uh all over

00:16:20.679 –> 00:16:23.039
the place but it it it did make sense because

00:16:23.039 –> 00:16:24.879
he was definitely like in some situations where

00:16:24.879 –> 00:16:27.350
i’m like well There’s physically no way you win

00:16:27.350 –> 00:16:31.490
this fight. I don’t know. We continue to back

00:16:31.490 –> 00:16:33.009
ourselves in the corners that then you’re trying

00:16:33.009 –> 00:16:34.429
to figure out how they’re going to get out of

00:16:34.429 –> 00:16:36.350
it. Well, he’s got a machine gun in the coffin.

00:16:36.470 –> 00:16:41.110
That’s how he’s getting out of it. This did not

00:16:41.110 –> 00:16:45.090
really work for me. Hardly at all. I feel what

00:16:45.090 –> 00:16:46.710
you said when you were like, this is a huge step

00:16:46.710 –> 00:16:49.789
down from what we’re talking about. We were already

00:16:49.789 –> 00:16:53.250
overcoming some of the other things. You have

00:16:53.250 –> 00:16:56.110
to deal with the bad. dubbing and you have to

00:16:56.110 –> 00:16:57.509
deal with some of the other stuff like just in

00:16:57.509 –> 00:16:59.309
general like in some of these spaghetti westerns

00:16:59.309 –> 00:17:01.070
but like this one takes it to like a new level

00:17:01.070 –> 00:17:04.529
and i just feel like there’s parts of the film

00:17:04.529 –> 00:17:06.289
like you said like it’s not just that it’s just

00:17:06.289 –> 00:17:09.430
not super well either constructed or executed

00:17:09.430 –> 00:17:12.490
like when we get to the final sequence when he’s

00:17:12.490 –> 00:17:15.109
trying i spoil the alert for for django from

00:17:15.109 –> 00:17:20.490
1966 um when we get to the final scene when he’s

00:17:20.490 –> 00:17:23.500
in the graveyard trying to steady his gun on

00:17:23.500 –> 00:17:26.579
hands that have been like i don’t even know how

00:17:26.579 –> 00:17:29.559
they’re connected anymore like with his fingers

00:17:29.559 –> 00:17:31.779
and stuff and they’re they spent so much time

00:17:31.779 –> 00:17:34.440
showing how much he’s struggling to like steady

00:17:34.440 –> 00:17:37.660
it even for a little bit and then it like comes

00:17:37.660 –> 00:17:39.220
to that moment and it’s just like no problem

00:17:39.220 –> 00:17:43.700
and it was just clunky like it the whole thing

00:17:43.700 –> 00:17:47.119
i felt like was clunky um i’m not saying that

00:17:47.119 –> 00:17:52.599
the actors did like a bad job necessarily i don’t

00:17:52.599 –> 00:17:54.000
know if they have the like i don’t know if he

00:17:54.000 –> 00:17:55.859
had the charisma of like a clint eastwood or

00:17:55.859 –> 00:17:57.900
or some of that but i don’t know if it’s necessarily

00:17:57.900 –> 00:18:00.380
like on the actors i just think like there’s

00:18:00.380 –> 00:18:03.079
part of the writing or screenplay or or like

00:18:03.079 –> 00:18:07.420
direction that’s just like they’re missing things

00:18:07.420 –> 00:18:12.839
like it just doesn’t come for me and i don’t

00:18:12.839 –> 00:18:14.559
know like i by the end of it i was ready for

00:18:14.559 –> 00:18:18.220
it to be over well i think i think i definitely

00:18:18.220 –> 00:18:21.119
enjoyed it more than you Like, I did have a good

00:18:21.119 –> 00:18:23.700
time with it. Like, him pulling out the machine

00:18:23.700 –> 00:18:26.339
gun. It’s interesting, like, because, like, that

00:18:26.339 –> 00:18:29.299
I knew about because when I watched it, it was

00:18:29.299 –> 00:18:31.900
on the poster. So, like, I, like, it kind of,

00:18:31.900 –> 00:18:33.940
that was ruined for me because of the poster.

00:18:34.460 –> 00:18:38.440
But did any part of you think, wait, is this

00:18:38.440 –> 00:18:40.759
a time travel movie? Like, any part of you was

00:18:40.759 –> 00:18:42.859
like, because just for a second, I’m like, wait.

00:18:43.380 –> 00:18:45.359
Because I know, like, machine guns existed at

00:18:45.359 –> 00:18:48.440
that time, but. like to like that extent i was

00:18:48.440 –> 00:18:50.779
like that’s seems a little far advanced but i

00:18:50.779 –> 00:18:53.319
guess it does like line up time time wise but

00:18:53.319 –> 00:18:55.759
any little part of you think are they gonna go

00:18:55.759 –> 00:18:57.700
with time travel because like it does seem like

00:18:57.700 –> 00:19:00.619
maybe that’s how they’re gonna try i didn’t that’s

00:19:00.619 –> 00:19:02.140
a good thought that’s a good thought like i didn’t

00:19:02.140 –> 00:19:04.960
think that at first the the thing that i kept

00:19:04.960 –> 00:19:06.539
coming back to and i’m not saying i didn’t have

00:19:06.539 –> 00:19:08.200
fun with it like it’s one of those that you have

00:19:08.200 –> 00:19:11.130
to just like allow yourself to like not take

00:19:11.130 –> 00:19:13.990
serious but at the same time i kept waiting for

00:19:13.990 –> 00:19:16.849
what’s those guys’s names like servo and like

00:19:16.849 –> 00:19:19.609
the mystery science theater like 3 000 or 2 000

00:19:19.609 –> 00:19:22.390
guys oh yeah i was i was wanting them to be on

00:19:22.390 –> 00:19:25.569
the screen giving me commentary as this nonsense

00:19:25.569 –> 00:19:27.890
continued like it was kind of on that level like

00:19:27.890 –> 00:19:30.490
this is like a dollar western movie that you

00:19:30.490 –> 00:19:32.670
pick up in the bin at walmart or kmart and like

00:19:32.670 –> 00:19:34.930
you just throw on for for crappy movie night

00:19:34.930 –> 00:19:37.930
like i you can have fun with it but i feel like

00:19:37.930 –> 00:19:42.640
it’s it’s more fun to like not I felt like it

00:19:42.640 –> 00:19:44.759
would have almost been better if they knew that

00:19:44.759 –> 00:19:48.880
they were… Just be a spoof. Just be a spoof

00:19:48.880 –> 00:19:51.019
off of the other one. But they’re clearly not

00:19:51.019 –> 00:19:52.519
doing that. They are taking themselves seriously.

00:19:52.720 –> 00:19:54.319
They are trying to execute something that is

00:19:54.319 –> 00:19:58.599
on par with the Dollars Trilogy and all these

00:19:58.599 –> 00:20:00.599
other things. But at the same time, I was like,

00:20:00.700 –> 00:20:03.799
this is one that… I’m not much of a drinker,

00:20:03.819 –> 00:20:05.539
but this is one where in college you get a bunch

00:20:05.539 –> 00:20:06.980
of your friends together and you have some drinks

00:20:06.980 –> 00:20:08.700
and you just make… make fun of it while you

00:20:08.700 –> 00:20:12.160
watch it that’s kind of like where i was at with

00:20:12.160 –> 00:20:15.519
it makes sense there were things i did appreciate

00:20:15.519 –> 00:20:18.660
like i did think some of those action sequences

00:20:18.660 –> 00:20:21.900
were like well put together like and some of

00:20:21.900 –> 00:20:24.920
the sets of sign even like the um it utilizing

00:20:24.920 –> 00:20:27.519
like using that stark red they obviously you

00:20:27.519 –> 00:20:29.819
see like the the seems like pretty much like

00:20:29.819 –> 00:20:31.799
the kkk comparison but instead of white using

00:20:31.799 –> 00:20:35.099
red i thought like that imagery was you know

00:20:35.099 –> 00:20:38.329
was like did stand out And then, you know, when

00:20:38.329 –> 00:20:41.710
he does actually bring out the crazy machine

00:20:41.710 –> 00:20:45.109
gun and how that worked, I thought that that

00:20:45.109 –> 00:20:48.549
scene itself was impactful for me. I did, like,

00:20:48.569 –> 00:20:51.150
it was, like I said, exploitive. And I certainly,

00:20:51.210 –> 00:20:53.549
like I mentioned, I thought, like, I see why,

00:20:53.630 –> 00:20:57.289
like, this was Tarantino watching this and, like,

00:20:57.309 –> 00:20:59.289
thinking, okay, well, I’m making this movie later

00:20:59.289 –> 00:21:03.069
in my life for sure. Honestly, where it started

00:21:03.069 –> 00:21:08.329
losing me was actually after that. and like kind

00:21:08.329 –> 00:21:11.309
of in the second half in the final third where

00:21:11.309 –> 00:21:15.269
we you know he they go in they like they they

00:21:15.269 –> 00:21:18.250
kind of do the trojan horse with the ladies and

00:21:18.250 –> 00:21:22.349
they invade the base and you’re like waiting

00:21:22.349 –> 00:21:25.670
for him to like you know obviously he’s going

00:21:25.670 –> 00:21:28.390
to double cross them and we get the scene where

00:21:28.390 –> 00:21:32.470
you know he uh he brings up and we haven’t really

00:21:32.470 –> 00:21:34.730
got much into the plot but like he brings up

00:21:34.730 –> 00:21:37.799
there he has this kind of weird relationship

00:21:37.799 –> 00:21:40.420
with um it’s one woman who we meet in the beginning

00:21:40.420 –> 00:21:42.920
who is kind of caught between the worlds like

00:21:42.920 –> 00:21:46.259
he is and you think maybe like they’re gonna

00:21:46.259 –> 00:21:48.579
have this relationship but he brings up someone

00:21:48.579 –> 00:21:53.200
up upstairs that he uses as a distraction and

00:21:53.200 –> 00:21:55.420
this we have the scene that like plays out for

00:21:55.420 –> 00:21:57.660
such a long almost like they like needed a certain

00:21:57.660 –> 00:22:00.779
runtime and we watch every bit of it as he like

00:22:00.779 –> 00:22:04.180
slowly meticulously does bring the coffin down

00:22:04.180 –> 00:22:08.819
from the upstairs like to the bottom and like

00:22:08.819 –> 00:22:11.940
i i guess i some way some ways appreciate just

00:22:11.940 –> 00:22:13.200
like the fact that they’re like we’re going to

00:22:13.200 –> 00:22:15.319
show you that he did do this like in every little

00:22:15.319 –> 00:22:17.900
bit of it but i’m like i’m like could we just

00:22:17.900 –> 00:22:22.160
you know maybe just do one or two cuts here like

00:22:22.160 –> 00:22:24.099
it’s like every look i don’t nope we’re gonna

00:22:24.099 –> 00:22:26.700
we’re sticking with this from the beginning to

00:22:26.700 –> 00:22:30.299
end you know and and i get it if it was like

00:22:30.299 –> 00:22:33.559
that scene had any sort of tension or humor but

00:22:33.559 –> 00:22:36.660
it didn’t at all for me so it just that’s where

00:22:36.660 –> 00:22:39.559
it started to lose me a bit then we go through

00:22:39.559 –> 00:22:42.579
all that and you know we’re going through all

00:22:42.579 –> 00:22:47.279
this and we we get through we they get free and

00:22:47.279 –> 00:22:51.420
you know and then they are you think they’re

00:22:51.420 –> 00:22:54.599
finally like gonna like you know win the day

00:22:54.599 –> 00:22:57.819
or whatever and then they put all the gold in

00:22:57.819 –> 00:23:01.079
the coffin, and they’re going off on their journey,

00:23:01.380 –> 00:23:05.220
and then the coffin just falls into the quicksand.

00:23:05.579 –> 00:23:10.240
And I’m like, it’s such the most clumsy way to,

00:23:10.480 –> 00:23:12.640
you said clumsy, and I think that’s actually

00:23:12.640 –> 00:23:15.400
kind of, the way that kind of unfolds, it’s not

00:23:15.400 –> 00:23:19.180
very satisfying. It did make me think, though,

00:23:19.200 –> 00:23:21.500
like, Quicksand. I have not seen Quicksand in

00:23:21.500 –> 00:23:24.640
a movie in such a long time. You know, when I

00:23:24.640 –> 00:23:26.700
was a kid, like, Quicksand, that was such a huge

00:23:26.700 –> 00:23:30.079
thing. But it was in spoofs that you saw that,

00:23:30.160 –> 00:23:33.619
right? Yeah. I mean, besides The Princess Bride,

00:23:33.700 –> 00:23:36.579
I felt like that’s, like, not Spongebob, but

00:23:36.579 –> 00:23:38.039
those types of films are where you found the

00:23:38.039 –> 00:23:40.140
Quicksand. Well, that’s where it started. Like,

00:23:40.160 –> 00:23:42.740
that’s where I felt it kind of fell apart a bit,

00:23:42.819 –> 00:23:45.319
like that second half. And just generally, too,

00:23:45.380 –> 00:23:48.839
I just feel like… Django, Frank O ‘Neill, him

00:23:48.839 –> 00:23:51.720
as a character, if you were to compare him to,

00:23:51.779 –> 00:23:54.799
which is hard not to, the man with no name, I

00:23:54.799 –> 00:23:59.400
struggle to understand where he sits more. What

00:23:59.400 –> 00:24:02.960
is driving him? What is his morals? What is generally

00:24:02.960 –> 00:24:06.980
his code, per se? Why am I investing in him?

00:24:07.980 –> 00:24:12.000
So much time is spent with him and this kind

00:24:12.000 –> 00:24:17.279
of relationship with Maria. And that’s such a

00:24:17.279 –> 00:24:20.339
huge central part of the film. I don’t feel like,

00:24:20.420 –> 00:24:24.299
like, I don’t know. The way it’s such, I feel

00:24:24.299 –> 00:24:27.220
like it doesn’t know how to handle that per se.

00:24:27.500 –> 00:24:30.240
And I almost, at one point, I legitimately did

00:24:30.240 –> 00:24:31.480
think they killed her. I’m like, oh, they’re

00:24:31.480 –> 00:24:34.940
just, they’re just killing her? But she somehow

00:24:34.940 –> 00:24:37.480
ends up surviving. But I just thought, yeah,

00:24:37.599 –> 00:24:39.240
like I thought, I think you mentioned clumsy.

00:24:39.380 –> 00:24:40.940
And clumsy is a good word for me, a good word

00:24:40.940 –> 00:24:42.519
for it. Because I just think when it came to

00:24:42.519 –> 00:24:44.799
that, when it comes to the characters. none of

00:24:44.799 –> 00:24:47.980
them are nearly as strong. Like if, and it’s

00:24:47.980 –> 00:24:50.579
hard not to like, and I think perhaps watching

00:24:50.579 –> 00:24:55.039
it right after, you know, the, you know, what

00:24:55.039 –> 00:24:58.000
it’s clearly inspired by. It’s hard not to just

00:24:58.000 –> 00:24:59.660
like think it’s less by comparison because I

00:24:59.660 –> 00:25:04.180
think ultimately is, but I think there are elements

00:25:04.180 –> 00:25:07.660
beyond that. Like I can watch away. Like I’m

00:25:07.660 –> 00:25:11.440
generally glad I watched it, but I do think it

00:25:11.440 –> 00:25:15.680
suffers from just a narrative that, is lacking

00:25:15.680 –> 00:25:18.200
when it comes to precision with its character

00:25:18.200 –> 00:25:21.900
development and motivations. And then, like,

00:25:21.940 –> 00:25:25.740
it struggles from getting through point A to

00:25:25.740 –> 00:25:28.039
point B to point C in its, like, final third.

00:25:28.539 –> 00:25:30.480
Just, like, it wants to get to that final shootout,

00:25:30.619 –> 00:25:33.799
and it doesn’t necessarily know how to get there,

00:25:33.900 –> 00:25:35.500
so it’s like, I don’t know, he just loses the

00:25:35.500 –> 00:25:37.799
coffin in the quicksand. And we just, it’s like,

00:25:37.819 –> 00:25:40.799
so, yeah. And it’s like I said, some of the editing

00:25:40.799 –> 00:25:42.680
could have been better in a few scenes, like,

00:25:42.720 –> 00:25:45.299
to speed things up a bit. Um, what did you think

00:25:45.299 –> 00:25:50.420
of, uh, I also, I was hugely distracted by what,

00:25:50.460 –> 00:25:53.200
what has to be a descendant of Abraham Lincoln.

00:25:53.480 –> 00:25:55.559
Cause that guy looked like, I’m like, that has

00:25:55.559 –> 00:25:57.559
to be like the one guy that gets his ear cut

00:25:57.559 –> 00:25:59.720
off. I’m like that guy. I’m like fed to him.

00:25:59.940 –> 00:26:03.220
Yeah. Like that’s, is he meant to look like that

00:26:03.220 –> 00:26:04.980
has to be Abraham Lincoln’s descendant. Right.

00:26:05.019 –> 00:26:10.720
Cause like he, he looks like him, you know, he’s

00:26:10.720 –> 00:26:14.339
like, yeah. A lot of stuff was distracting. I

00:26:14.339 –> 00:26:16.960
think the thing that I come across most with

00:26:16.960 –> 00:26:19.099
this is like, I would never suggest someone to

00:26:19.099 –> 00:26:21.819
watch this after A Fistful of Dollars. Yeah.

00:26:22.240 –> 00:26:25.220
I feel like you need to be removed from that.

00:26:25.519 –> 00:26:28.859
If anything beforehand, I think. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

00:26:28.900 –> 00:26:31.119
Because otherwise it’s hard not to watch this

00:26:31.119 –> 00:26:32.759
film and be like, okay, this is the sequence

00:26:32.759 –> 00:26:36.099
from A Fistful of Dollars. Like, it’s not that

00:26:36.099 –> 00:26:37.960
it’s like shot for shot, like the same movie.

00:26:38.339 –> 00:26:41.420
I get that it’s influenced by it. And I get that

00:26:41.420 –> 00:26:43.380
they’re both being influenced by another, you

00:26:43.380 –> 00:26:45.880
know, Yojimbo or whatever, which I have not seen.

00:26:46.000 –> 00:26:48.799
But maybe I don’t need to because I feel like

00:26:48.799 –> 00:26:51.519
I get the gist of it. But it’s probably better

00:26:51.519 –> 00:26:54.160
in Yojimbo. But it’s hard not to see that and

00:26:54.160 –> 00:26:56.759
be like, well, that’s where we were at in that

00:26:56.759 –> 00:26:59.099
other film. But in Fistful of Dollars, it was

00:26:59.099 –> 00:27:02.119
done better. Or it was executed a little bit

00:27:02.119 –> 00:27:04.299
more smooth. Or there was more charisma or tension

00:27:04.299 –> 00:27:07.259
built up in the moment. So it’s like every single

00:27:07.259 –> 00:27:10.339
thing. Yeah. when it comes to getting the money

00:27:10.339 –> 00:27:12.220
and when it comes to like the, you know, the

00:27:12.220 –> 00:27:13.819
double cross. And when it comes to just like

00:27:13.819 –> 00:27:16.660
coming into the city and, and being in the middle

00:27:16.660 –> 00:27:19.160
of two different feuds, like, I guess in this

00:27:19.160 –> 00:27:21.900
one, we’re going to ratchet it up a little bit

00:27:21.900 –> 00:27:24.559
and make one half of them clan members. Like

00:27:24.559 –> 00:27:29.819
it’s bizarre. And then like, I feel like it’s

00:27:29.819 –> 00:27:32.460
like, let’s do a lot of the stuff that happened

00:27:32.460 –> 00:27:35.380
in that other film, but then let’s ratchet the

00:27:35.380 –> 00:27:41.880
violence up to like 11. Not that I’m anti -violence

00:27:41.880 –> 00:27:45.319
in movies or whatever. It doesn’t affect me unless

00:27:45.319 –> 00:27:49.079
it’s extreme and very graphic, but it definitely

00:27:49.079 –> 00:27:50.839
ratchets it up here. I know I read something

00:27:50.839 –> 00:27:52.799
that it was banned in some places because it

00:27:52.799 –> 00:27:54.980
was too violent or had trouble with what rating

00:27:54.980 –> 00:27:56.539
it was going to get, but you do have a lot of

00:27:56.539 –> 00:27:59.099
violence, right? Not that you don’t get some

00:27:59.099 –> 00:28:01.579
violence in the Fistful of Dollars trilogy where

00:28:01.579 –> 00:28:04.099
Clint Eastwood’s getting beat up and different

00:28:04.099 –> 00:28:06.339
things of that nature. You do have that, but

00:28:06.339 –> 00:28:08.140
there’s something different about how it’s executed

00:28:08.140 –> 00:28:11.849
here. Whether it be when his hands get, you know,

00:28:11.849 –> 00:28:17.170
beat to smithereens. Or, you know, we have some,

00:28:17.250 –> 00:28:19.670
like, rapey scenes. And we have, like, horses

00:28:19.670 –> 00:28:22.809
going, like, down. And we have a dude’s ear getting

00:28:22.809 –> 00:28:25.009
ripped off and fed to him before he’s getting

00:28:25.009 –> 00:28:27.630
killed. Like, it was just, like, there was a

00:28:27.630 –> 00:28:31.710
lot. And that’s not even, like, touching the

00:28:31.710 –> 00:28:33.509
fact that, you know, this machine gun is mowing

00:28:33.509 –> 00:28:35.650
down, like, dozens of people. That’s, like…

00:28:36.279 –> 00:28:39.480
that’s yeah not very affecting from an emotional

00:28:39.480 –> 00:28:44.099
standpoint because it comes across as like red

00:28:44.099 –> 00:28:46.119
laser blue laser like something you would see

00:28:46.119 –> 00:28:48.960
in like star wars or gi joe at that point like

00:28:48.960 –> 00:28:50.460
you can’t take it serious because it’s just a

00:28:50.460 –> 00:28:53.079
bunch of people falling down and whatnot so to

00:28:53.079 –> 00:28:55.160
me i’ve never affected by that type of violence

00:28:55.160 –> 00:28:57.119
but some of the other violences like they definitely

00:28:57.119 –> 00:28:59.880
ratcheted or you know leveled up the violence

00:28:59.880 –> 00:29:03.559
and i don’t know if i always understood the reason

00:29:03.559 –> 00:29:06.690
for all of it besides i’m not saying they were

00:29:06.690 –> 00:29:09.869
doing it for shock value but like i don’t know

00:29:09.869 –> 00:29:12.289
like i guess maybe i wasn’t following 100 with

00:29:12.289 –> 00:29:16.130
like what that added to the the story overall

00:29:16.130 –> 00:29:18.910
yeah they certainly wanted you to show like how

00:29:18.910 –> 00:29:21.549
evil these people were to like make you want

00:29:21.549 –> 00:29:23.910
to see them get their comeuppance but like it

00:29:23.910 –> 00:29:28.269
did feel like we got that very like and it just

00:29:28.269 –> 00:29:30.529
kept going further like we had those sequences

00:29:30.529 –> 00:29:33.960
where they were you know i don’t even know game

00:29:33.960 –> 00:29:35.819
they were playing basically the people would

00:29:35.819 –> 00:29:39.220
run away and then they would you know they would

00:29:39.220 –> 00:29:41.980
shoot them you know they were like the the the

00:29:41.980 –> 00:29:44.640
clan you know i don’t want to i forget what the

00:29:44.640 –> 00:29:48.160
name of the actual game was um and they and they

00:29:48.160 –> 00:29:50.319
did it and they kept doing it and they just kept

00:29:50.319 –> 00:29:52.859
going back to that like i feel like we got it

00:29:52.859 –> 00:29:56.920
and then they just kept pushing that scene further

00:29:56.920 –> 00:30:00.059
and further and i i felt like you didn’t need

00:30:00.059 –> 00:30:02.299
like once you establish what they were doing

00:30:03.000 –> 00:30:05.779
at some point you’re just reveling in that, in

00:30:05.779 –> 00:30:09.220
that violence. You’re not like you’re, you’re

00:30:09.220 –> 00:30:11.180
not judging those characters. You’re trying to

00:30:11.180 –> 00:30:14.500
exploit that violence for your own gain. And

00:30:14.500 –> 00:30:17.000
so like, that’s, that’s kind of, again, like

00:30:17.000 –> 00:30:19.819
that’s where it gets a little icky. Like, again,

00:30:19.839 –> 00:30:23.640
I don’t, again, we’re both Tarantino fans of

00:30:23.640 –> 00:30:26.859
his, you know, and I feel like he, in the sense

00:30:26.859 –> 00:30:30.559
of like, I do think he treats violence and like

00:30:30.559 –> 00:30:32.700
people complain about the way he does violence

00:30:32.700 –> 00:30:34.500
sometimes. And I think there’s, there’s reasons

00:30:34.500 –> 00:30:40.960
for it, but I do think typically he knows like

00:30:40.960 –> 00:30:46.099
when to cut the line or. At least I can point

00:30:46.099 –> 00:30:48.619
to, I feel like there’s a purpose there. At times

00:30:48.619 –> 00:30:51.000
here, I struggled to find it, especially with

00:30:51.000 –> 00:30:52.539
some of those scenes that just kept going and

00:30:52.539 –> 00:30:54.640
going and going. And the fact that they kept

00:30:54.640 –> 00:30:56.720
going and just also weren’t very entertaining

00:30:56.720 –> 00:31:00.599
on top of that. So it was a combination of the

00:31:00.599 –> 00:31:03.619
two. There were scenes that did work for me that

00:31:03.619 –> 00:31:07.180
I think that were able to accomplish both. I

00:31:07.180 –> 00:31:08.839
generally think that the ear -cutting scene,

00:31:08.940 –> 00:31:11.119
even though it was gruesome, I think that scene

00:31:11.119 –> 00:31:14.049
actually did work. it did maybe go on a little

00:31:14.049 –> 00:31:15.890
bit. Once you put it in the guy’s ear, I’m like,

00:31:15.990 –> 00:31:18.069
okay, maybe we were a little, maybe like, maybe

00:31:18.069 –> 00:31:19.970
that was just the actor in the moment. You know,

00:31:19.970 –> 00:31:21.309
that could have been something, you know, just

00:31:21.309 –> 00:31:23.829
like ad -libbing and they just went with it perhaps.

00:31:24.950 –> 00:31:29.670
But yeah, but yeah, I can, I could understand.

00:31:29.769 –> 00:31:32.990
It is a good point to bring up because, because

00:31:32.990 –> 00:31:37.609
we did not see that with like the, all the films

00:31:37.609 –> 00:31:39.589
we’ve seen thus far because, you know, Westerns

00:31:39.589 –> 00:31:45.009
have violence, but. Usually it doesn’t get to

00:31:45.009 –> 00:31:47.990
this level. Although there are some that we’ll

00:31:47.990 –> 00:31:52.450
get to later in our retrospective that are known

00:31:52.450 –> 00:31:54.529
to be perhaps even more violent. So we’ll see

00:31:54.529 –> 00:31:57.509
what happens with those. Yeah, and I do think

00:31:57.509 –> 00:32:00.029
there’s a couple times where they come up with

00:32:00.029 –> 00:32:03.910
some clever ways for the machine guns placement

00:32:03.910 –> 00:32:10.069
or how they get from here to there. some surprise

00:32:10.069 –> 00:32:11.849
things and stuff like that but then at the also

00:32:11.849 –> 00:32:14.730
the same time you’re like how easy is this machine

00:32:14.730 –> 00:32:18.910
gun to drag around in a coffin like i gotta have

00:32:18.910 –> 00:32:21.230
to suspend some disbelief here on how how we’re

00:32:21.230 –> 00:32:22.970
getting all of this stuff from point a to point

00:32:22.970 –> 00:32:25.490
b and it’s just all working but there was like

00:32:25.490 –> 00:32:27.529
i think there was a couple couple times where

00:32:27.529 –> 00:32:29.130
it was okay that was kind of clever with what

00:32:29.130 –> 00:32:30.890
you did there and then there was other parts

00:32:30.890 –> 00:32:32.869
where you’re just like this is somewhat laughable

00:32:32.869 –> 00:32:37.329
or like or you know the the amount of bullets

00:32:37.329 –> 00:32:39.410
it can have before yeah because like you’re thinking

00:32:39.410 –> 00:32:41.230
about like world war ii when they had those guns

00:32:41.230 –> 00:32:45.390
like they they didn’t have a a long um amount

00:32:45.390 –> 00:32:47.230
of time that they could go without having to

00:32:47.230 –> 00:32:49.769
reload so considering this was this era like

00:32:49.769 –> 00:32:51.910
they certainly stretched that out especially

00:32:51.910 –> 00:32:54.349
the time when he was trying to you know get away

00:32:54.349 –> 00:32:58.910
from um you know the mexicans and like they he

00:32:58.910 –> 00:33:01.109
let it fire. I’m like, there’s no way it’s lasting

00:33:01.109 –> 00:33:02.930
that long. He’s getting in there. He’s in the

00:33:02.930 –> 00:33:04.769
horses. This is like a good 10 minute sequence

00:33:04.769 –> 00:33:08.869
at this point. But I mean, that’s like, at one

00:33:08.869 –> 00:33:10.490
point I thought this was going to be time travel

00:33:10.490 –> 00:33:13.170
story. So I’m not, I’m not going to get all that

00:33:13.170 –> 00:33:16.609
mad about realism, but it is certainly something

00:33:16.609 –> 00:33:20.000
where it’s like. This is stretching the elements

00:33:20.000 –> 00:33:22.160
of reality, but at the same time, when you open

00:33:22.160 –> 00:33:25.680
the scene with a dude in the desert walking with

00:33:25.680 –> 00:33:29.839
a casket, you’re not trying to pretend that this

00:33:29.839 –> 00:33:32.480
is any type of real world, so I’m not going to

00:33:32.480 –> 00:33:34.680
really complain about that too much. So I do

00:33:34.680 –> 00:33:37.359
have a question for you. I know you sent me a

00:33:37.359 –> 00:33:40.940
list that had, I think it was IMDB or whatever,

00:33:41.079 –> 00:33:44.619
that had the 30 plus Django films that have come

00:33:44.619 –> 00:33:48.750
out since then. number one will you be watching

00:33:48.750 –> 00:33:51.210
any of the unofficial sequels or do you have

00:33:51.210 –> 00:33:54.329
a desire to watch the 1987 film jango strikes

00:33:54.329 –> 00:33:57.970
again i did try i did re -watch another jango

00:33:57.970 –> 00:34:01.950
film uh it was uh let me see which one i watched

00:34:01.950 –> 00:34:04.690
just because i was curious like what is you know

00:34:04.690 –> 00:34:07.329
how do they what is it like compared to this

00:34:07.329 –> 00:34:13.179
one and i will say uh let me what was it um Django

00:34:13.179 –> 00:34:17.039
If You Live Shoot. Sorry, I watched Django Kill

00:34:17.039 –> 00:34:21.340
If You Live Shoot, which came out in 1967, which

00:34:21.340 –> 00:34:23.760
was like a year after the original Django came

00:34:23.760 –> 00:34:26.719
out, which I think is kind of crazy because you

00:34:26.719 –> 00:34:28.619
have the good, the bad, the ugly that comes out

00:34:28.619 –> 00:34:34.000
in 1966. Django comes out in 1966 as well. And

00:34:34.000 –> 00:34:38.960
then Django Kills comes out. A year after that.

00:34:39.099 –> 00:34:41.840
So you can imagine how quickly they were trying

00:34:41.840 –> 00:34:46.679
to put that together. And it makes Django look

00:34:46.679 –> 00:34:48.699
like the good and the bad and the ugly. It’s

00:34:48.699 –> 00:34:53.579
not very good at all. It’s pretty awful. I thought

00:34:53.579 –> 00:34:56.900
it’s, again, a similar thing. It’s a copy of

00:34:56.900 –> 00:35:01.179
a copy of a copy of a copy. And it deals with

00:35:01.179 –> 00:35:05.059
a lot of similar ideas. town basically is like

00:35:05.059 –> 00:35:08.119
trying to it’s it does have an interesting concept

00:35:08.119 –> 00:35:11.300
where it’s like this town is trying to keep out

00:35:11.300 –> 00:35:15.000
evil people it maybe goes too far with it but

00:35:15.000 –> 00:35:17.920
it’s just like the acting in it the characters

00:35:17.920 –> 00:35:24.360
um just are like it made me appreciate um it

00:35:24.360 –> 00:35:26.199
made me appreciate jango so much more because

00:35:26.199 –> 00:35:29.079
like oh man this it could be so so so much worse

00:35:29.079 –> 00:35:32.739
like it it made me realize like franco nero compared

00:35:32.739 –> 00:35:36.079
to the actors and that was like you know he was

00:35:36.079 –> 00:35:38.940
like top billing you know he was amazing so i

00:35:38.940 –> 00:35:41.400
would and that was like because i researched

00:35:41.400 –> 00:35:44.139
to see like what are some of the more well -regarded

00:35:44.139 –> 00:35:46.679
django sequels and that was one that people mentioned

00:35:46.679 –> 00:35:49.780
i’m like i didn’t like that so i i’m curious

00:35:49.780 –> 00:35:52.860
i’m curious about the 1987 one because the poster

00:35:52.860 –> 00:35:54.579
makes it look like it’s something from like mad

00:35:54.579 –> 00:35:59.170
max but i It’s 1987, and we know what that was

00:35:59.170 –> 00:36:02.469
like. It’s set 20 years… The character’s 20

00:36:02.469 –> 00:36:05.250
years older, and they actually are 20 years past.

00:36:05.750 –> 00:36:10.949
67 to 87 is 20 years. The poster just looks fascinating

00:36:10.949 –> 00:36:14.510
to me for Django Strikes Again. I don’t know

00:36:14.510 –> 00:36:16.550
if I’ll ever watch it, but it definitely looks

00:36:16.550 –> 00:36:20.809
like… I would probably give it a try. I held

00:36:20.809 –> 00:36:23.369
off because I didn’t want to… I don’t think

00:36:23.369 –> 00:36:25.530
I could ever confuse them, but I figured I’ll

00:36:25.530 –> 00:36:28.929
focus on this and maybe down the line. But no,

00:36:29.090 –> 00:36:32.590
I have not seen that. But watching that other

00:36:32.590 –> 00:36:34.429
Django film definitely made me appreciate this

00:36:34.429 –> 00:36:37.250
Django film so much more. Oh, that’s good. It

00:36:37.250 –> 00:36:40.170
worked for something. So Dan, I mean, this one

00:36:40.170 –> 00:36:43.829
obviously is very well received. It’s got an

00:36:43.829 –> 00:36:47.369
incredible score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s obviously

00:36:47.369 –> 00:36:51.750
influenced Tarantino. It’s, I think, like…

00:36:52.170 –> 00:36:56.489
generally seen as one of the better or more influential

00:36:56.489 –> 00:37:00.949
of the spaghetti westerns like can you see where

00:37:00.949 –> 00:37:03.230
some of that’s coming from or do you feel like

00:37:03.230 –> 00:37:06.170
there’s a disconnect here or it’s i mean it’s

00:37:06.170 –> 00:37:08.530
ranked very high on most spaghetti western film

00:37:08.530 –> 00:37:11.409
lists well i think i guess it’s hard because

00:37:11.409 –> 00:37:13.989
this is obviously like the fourth or fifth spaghetti

00:37:13.989 –> 00:37:18.369
western i’ve seen and i would say compared to

00:37:18.369 –> 00:37:21.070
the other spaghetti westerns it’s because it’s

00:37:21.759 –> 00:37:23.659
better than no so that certainly makes sense

00:37:23.659 –> 00:37:26.440
um i like compared like the rotten tomato score

00:37:26.440 –> 00:37:28.619
is pretty high but there’s also only like 17

00:37:28.619 –> 00:37:32.719
reviews so that like makes me think okay there’s

00:37:32.719 –> 00:37:34.760
probably the people that have rated it or like

00:37:34.760 –> 00:37:38.579
fans of it so that’s um you know that makes sense

00:37:38.579 –> 00:37:42.199
so i i um like i said i probably if i graded

00:37:42.199 –> 00:37:44.559
it i probably would give it a passing grade like

00:37:44.559 –> 00:37:47.159
a you know like a whatever you would call that

00:37:47.159 –> 00:37:50.260
but like i wouldn’t necessarily It’s hard for

00:37:50.260 –> 00:37:52.159
me to rate it compared to other spaghetti westerns

00:37:52.159 –> 00:37:56.639
outside of the ones we’ve seen thus far. I wouldn’t

00:37:56.639 –> 00:38:00.159
call it one of the best westerns I’ve seen. It’s

00:38:00.159 –> 00:38:02.840
clearly not in the area of what we’ve seen thus

00:38:02.840 –> 00:38:05.239
far. I understand its influences. I certainly

00:38:05.239 –> 00:38:08.440
could see why people would respect it the way

00:38:08.440 –> 00:38:13.920
they do. If you were going to go into this, or

00:38:13.920 –> 00:38:15.460
if you were going to go into the westerns like

00:38:15.460 –> 00:38:18.329
we are, I definitely would say… watch this

00:38:18.329 –> 00:38:21.170
before the man with no name trilogy first because

00:38:21.170 –> 00:38:24.190
i do think it helps like level the expectations

00:38:24.190 –> 00:38:26.690
a little bit because i don’t think it’s in the

00:38:26.690 –> 00:38:29.010
same caliber i think it is a major step down

00:38:29.010 –> 00:38:33.309
personally compared to the level of what we what

00:38:33.309 –> 00:38:36.449
we got previously outside of having a you know

00:38:36.449 –> 00:38:38.510
a killer theme song and things like that i think

00:38:38.510 –> 00:38:41.409
it’s a lot of great flash a lot of great you

00:38:41.409 –> 00:38:46.420
know um exploitation here and there, but I think

00:38:46.420 –> 00:38:49.559
the substance isn’t quite as strong. Have you

00:38:49.559 –> 00:38:55.400
seen the Django TV series from 2023? No, there

00:38:55.400 –> 00:38:59.440
was a Django TV series. I don’t think it’s an

00:38:59.440 –> 00:39:05.300
American -made TV series. It’s 10 episodes in

00:39:05.300 –> 00:39:10.000
2023. It’s just called Django. I don’t know any

00:39:10.000 –> 00:39:14.440
of the people involved with it. yeah apparently

00:39:14.440 –> 00:39:17.539
apparently it exists so if you’re super intrigued

00:39:17.539 –> 00:39:20.119
about getting as much jango in your life as possible

00:39:20.119 –> 00:39:22.739
don’t worry you have like 30 sequels a tv series

00:39:22.739 –> 00:39:26.300
and other things that you can you can go explore

00:39:26.300 –> 00:39:28.820
it so yeah there’s an endless supply there’s

00:39:28.820 –> 00:39:31.559
even like you know um like foreign jango films

00:39:31.559 –> 00:39:34.039
because there’s like a i own a japanese like

00:39:34.039 –> 00:39:37.860
a um there’s like a japanese a django movie that

00:39:37.860 –> 00:39:40.139
blu -ray that i’ve owned since like 20 i got

00:39:40.139 –> 00:39:41.800
it like shortly after watching django and chain

00:39:41.800 –> 00:39:44.019
i’ve yet to watch it though it’s one of those

00:39:44.019 –> 00:39:47.420
things i’ve owned forever um but yeah no i have

00:39:47.420 –> 00:39:50.039
not seen that but maybe i’ll give it give it

00:39:50.039 –> 00:39:55.199
a shot apparently it’s it’s been like it’s inspired

00:39:55.199 –> 00:39:57.639
a lot of stuff like there’s all kinds of anime

00:39:57.639 –> 00:40:00.280
that seems like it’s been inspired by it there’s

00:40:00.280 –> 00:40:03.280
some video games that seem like they yeah are

00:40:03.280 –> 00:40:06.639
aware of it so like And I get that because, like

00:40:06.639 –> 00:40:09.219
I said, the imagery is amazing. I just think

00:40:09.219 –> 00:40:14.079
the story itself, when you get beyond that, it’s

00:40:14.079 –> 00:40:17.719
not… The story itself, the sense of the framework’s

00:40:17.719 –> 00:40:20.360
there because it’s Yojimbo, but the connecting

00:40:20.360 –> 00:40:25.239
tissue, the actual depth of it isn’t as strong

00:40:25.239 –> 00:40:28.199
because it’s hard to be because you’re trying

00:40:28.199 –> 00:40:31.420
to take a story that was already done and then

00:40:31.420 –> 00:40:33.960
done again and then trying to redo it a third

00:40:33.960 –> 00:40:41.420
time. It’s three -day -old leftovers that you

00:40:41.420 –> 00:40:44.039
reheated last night. They’re just not going to

00:40:44.039 –> 00:40:49.820
be as good. Very fair. I am intrigued on where

00:40:49.820 –> 00:40:51.820
we go from here with our next Spaghetti Western,

00:40:51.960 –> 00:40:55.559
going back to Sergio Leone now to see Once Upon

00:40:55.559 –> 00:40:58.159
a Time in the West, which was from 1968. Dan,

00:40:58.340 –> 00:41:01.699
have you seen this one already? Yeah. So this

00:41:01.699 –> 00:41:04.920
spoiler alert, because this is one I have seen.

00:41:04.940 –> 00:41:07.780
And if you remember back when we did our top

00:41:07.780 –> 00:41:10.559
100 lists of favorite films, this was on my top

00:41:10.559 –> 00:41:13.739
100 list of all time. This is one of my personal

00:41:13.739 –> 00:41:17.219
favorite Westerns. So when you talk about spaghetti

00:41:17.219 –> 00:41:20.380
Westerns, this is one I consider one of the greatest

00:41:20.380 –> 00:41:22.840
of all time. All right. Setting the bar high

00:41:22.840 –> 00:41:25.260
now. My expectations have been raised. Yeah.

00:41:25.340 –> 00:41:30.340
Not to create. raised super high expectations

00:41:30.340 –> 00:41:33.739
but considering you did enjoy elements of the

00:41:33.739 –> 00:41:37.840
the man with no name trilogy i do think it at

00:41:37.840 –> 00:41:39.699
least leans in the right direction because i

00:41:39.699 –> 00:41:43.619
do think what things that you liked before you

00:41:43.619 –> 00:41:49.920
may see again and again i saw them um uh once

00:41:49.920 –> 00:41:52.420
upon a time in the west before i ever saw the

00:41:52.420 –> 00:41:54.969
man with no name trilogy so okay it definitely

00:41:54.969 –> 00:41:57.250
has a star -studded cast with henry fonda jason

00:41:57.250 –> 00:42:00.130
robards charles bronson lionel stander like there’s

00:42:00.130 –> 00:42:01.849
a lot of people i’ve recognized from here so

00:42:01.849 –> 00:42:05.210
yeah i’m definitely intrigued and if you remember

00:42:05.210 –> 00:42:07.909
with the man with no name trilogy like the only

00:42:07.909 –> 00:42:11.469
one is all them for for those films right and

00:42:11.469 –> 00:42:14.389
it eventually finally got them for this so and

00:42:14.389 –> 00:42:18.070
i’m also intrigued because like i have seen i

00:42:18.070 –> 00:42:19.750
don’t know if i’ve seen it in its entirety or

00:42:19.750 –> 00:42:21.630
if it’s just been a long time but i did see once

00:42:21.630 –> 00:42:24.949
upon a time in america which i feel like now

00:42:24.949 –> 00:42:26.389
i’m gonna have to like re -watch after i watch

00:42:26.389 –> 00:42:28.510
once upon a time in the west even though they’re

00:42:28.510 –> 00:42:30.309
not necessarily connected in any way shape or

00:42:30.309 –> 00:42:32.630
form but yeah um that was my introduction to

00:42:32.630 –> 00:42:34.389
sergio leone like back when i was a teenager

00:42:34.389 –> 00:42:36.989
watching once upon a time in america because

00:42:36.989 –> 00:42:39.230
i think it was just something i came across when

00:42:39.230 –> 00:42:41.909
i was working at target after i was like after

00:42:41.909 –> 00:42:44.329
i had discovered goodfellas and the godfather

00:42:44.329 –> 00:42:45.969
and stuff like that and i was like well let’s

00:42:45.969 –> 00:42:48.309
let’s check this one out too so uh and it’s got

00:42:48.309 –> 00:42:50.889
a cool had a cool dvd case back in the day so

00:42:50.889 –> 00:42:54.639
that’s my uh A very loose connection to Sergio

00:42:54.639 –> 00:42:56.820
Leone, I guess, from early days. But I’m intrigued

00:42:56.820 –> 00:42:59.019
to watch this one and see how it kind of stacks

00:42:59.019 –> 00:43:02.500
up against everything else as we kind of round

00:43:02.500 –> 00:43:04.699
out our Spaghetti Western coverage before we

00:43:04.699 –> 00:43:07.280
move into what will be an intriguing look at

00:43:07.280 –> 00:43:10.260
some originals and remakes, which we’ll talk

00:43:10.260 –> 00:43:13.099
more of on our next episode. Dan, any closing

00:43:13.099 –> 00:43:17.570
thoughts on Django? No, I got nothing else, but

00:43:17.570 –> 00:43:19.429
looking forward to next week. Hopefully I didn’t

00:43:19.429 –> 00:43:22.650
set the bar too high. I’ll go in with an open

00:43:22.650 –> 00:43:24.769
mind here. And I think it works, you know, in

00:43:24.769 –> 00:43:28.050
the session or in the series of our order that

00:43:28.050 –> 00:43:30.289
we’ve watched things that it’ll be interesting

00:43:30.289 –> 00:43:33.590
to watch after these other four. So, all right.

00:43:33.610 –> 00:43:35.630
So that does it for this episode. If you want

00:43:35.630 –> 00:43:38.650
to check out more things related to Dan or myself,

00:43:38.769 –> 00:43:40.710
you can search out the comic concierge on most

00:43:40.710 –> 00:43:43.530
social media or optimist solo. You can follow

00:43:43.530 –> 00:43:46.360
us on letterbox. Maybe I’ll eventually put the

00:43:46.360 –> 00:43:48.679
links in the show notes or something that you

00:43:48.679 –> 00:43:51.000
can check out. Or you can search out the Cinema

00:43:51.000 –> 00:43:53.820
Geeks or Cinema Geek Cast or the Geek Cast Radio

00:43:53.820 –> 00:43:56.739
Network. But other than that, that does it for

00:43:56.739 –> 00:43:58.820
this episode. Tune in next time for another chance

00:43:58.820 –> 00:44:00.719
to listen to more of the Cinema Geeks.