Django Kills Silently (AKA Django Kills Softly, Bill il taciturno)

Dir: Massimo Pupillo (credited as Max Hunter)

1967

***

Django Kills Silently, or Django Kills Softly if you'd prefer, is the 16th Django film to be made and the 15th of the unofficial sequels. There are 40+ Django films and I'd bet good money that more will be made in the future but it is safe to say that Django Kills Silently, or Django Kills Softly if you'd prefer, is about as average as the character's films get. George Eastman's Django however is far from average, he is by far the tallest the cult spaghetti western character has ever been. Eastman's (real name Luigi Montefiori) height led to quite a few problems in his early acting career and I'm not sure it does this version of Django any favours either, as it can be quite distracting at times. With all due respect, no one can match Franco Nero's Django, every other attempt just hasn't worked as well. Give me a George Eastman Italian horror over his Django films any day of the week. Django Kills Silently, or Django Kills Softly if you'd prefer, is pretty forgettable for the best part, with only a couple of standout scenes worth remembering. The climax is nothing new but it is satisfying, it's just a shame that it holds back such greatness until the very end. However, it's pretty fast-paced and snappy, it doesn't drag like some westerns can and it's satisfactorily violent. I think it is probably best to regard it as its own spaghetti western, rather than part of the Django series. Nearly every spaghetti western in the late 60s and early 70s stuck 'Django' in the title hoping to gain more recognition but it never really fooled anyone. Seasoned spaghetti western fans will see a lot of charm in it and would have seen so many terrible films that it will average out somewhat but for most there is little to no interest to be had here. I appreciate the rawness of the film and I think some of the performances are pretty good and I like the natural sounding dialogue but by and large it's forgettable.

Django
Dir: Sergio Corbucci
1966
****
Sergio Corbucci's original 1966 Django is no masterpiece but it's just one of those films you can't help but think 'That's so flipping cool'. Its the best kind of Spaghetti western, a precursor to exploitation films and 1970's independent cinema, as well as being a huge influence on contemporary film makers, Quentin Tarantino being the most obvious (although I still don't think his version is as good). The imagery is superb, Django pulling his coffin behind him and then revealing what is inside is cinema at its most kick-ass. Why Sergio Corbucci didn't sue José Mojica Marins over his 1968 film Coffin Joe I'll never know. The first of an interesting franchise.

Django Unchained
Dir: Quentin Tarantino
2012
***
Django Unchained is another example of QT reworking classic genres, in this case Spaghetti Westerns, Exploitation and Blaxploitation movies. It also sees him adding his own interpretation to the Django series, much like he did with Inglorious Basterds but with fewer changes. It's fine. Nowhere near as good as his last few films but fine. The problem for me was that it was way too long. It really didn't have enough content to warrant the length, it's pure self indulgence on QT's part. That's fine though, he's one of the few directors who can get away with that sort of thing but for me it just wasn't on the same level as his other work, it just wasn't particularly different or clever. We all knew the big QT scenes were coming, usually there is more to them, the journey to the bloodbath is usually more colourful, more playful. In Django Unchained it seems to be a case of 'Okay, enough of the story, an unnecessary violent scene is overdue!' The overall story and sub-plots end up forgotten about and ultimately pointless by the end. The performances are good but frankly any number of actors working today could have achieved the same, some maybe even better. If it was any other director people would admit that it was all a bit of a mess but there is enough to enjoy, I just never got particularly excited.