Django, Prepare a Coffin – Arrow Video (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1968
Director: Ferdinando Baldi
Writers: Franco Rossetti, Ferdinando Baldi
Cast: Terence Hill, Horst Frank, George Eastman

Release Date: April 25th, 2017
Approximate running time: 91 Minutes 56 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region A, Region 1 NTSC
Retail Price: $29.95

"Django the drifter returns in this classic sixties Spaghetti Western from Ferdinando Baldi (Texas Addio, Comin' At Ya!), starring Terence Hill (They Call Me Trinity) as the wandering gunslinger, hired as executioner to a corrupt local politician who is framing innocent men, sending them to hang in an evil scheme to take hold of their land.

But Django has other ideas and, cleverly faking the deaths of the condemned men, he assembles them into a loyal gang who'll help him take down the boss, a man who had a hand in the death of Django's wife years before. Thrill as Django gets his bloody revenge with a hail of bullets in this classic from a series of B-movie western that helped to define a genre. Prepare your coffin now!” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Django, Prepare a Coffin was transferred at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. The film was transferred at 2K resolution with Arriscan from a 35mm interpositive. The film was digitally restored in high definition and then digitally color corrected with Film Master by Nucoda."

Django, Prepare a Coffin comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 30.1 GB

Feature: 26.6 GB

The source used for this transfer is in great shape. Colors look very good, image clarity is solid, and though black levels are generally strong, there are some darker moments where they are not as strong. Also, compression is solid, and though grain is present, it does look like there might be some digital filtering of the image.

Audio: 3.5/5 (LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in English. Both tracks sound clean, and the dialog comes through clearly enough to follow. Range-wise, both tracks are limited. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 4 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an interview with Spaghetti Western expert and author Kevin Grant titled Django Explained (8 minutes 33 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), reversible cover art and a 16-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Dead Are in Their Graves written by Howard Hughes and information about the transfer.

Included with this release is a DVD that has the same content as the Blu-ray included as part of this combo.

Summary:

Directed by Ferdinando Baldi, whose other notable films include Texas, Adios, Django, Prepare a Coffin, Forgotten Pistolero, Blindman, Nine Guests for a Crime, and Terror Express.

The narrative revolves around a gunfighter posing as a hangman who exacts his revenge against those who are responsible for murdering his wife by putting together a gang of men who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit.

Though there were many Spaghetti Western films that featured a protagonist named Django, the majority of the films were not connected to Sergio Corbucci’s Django. They were blatant cash in’s that are only linked by their use of the name Django in their titles. With that being said, there are a few rare cases of films like Django and Prepare a Coffin that retain the essence of Sergio Corbucci’s Django. That said, the spaghetti Western genre, like so many genres that rose to prominence in Italian cinema in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, was all too prone to recycle whatever was successful during those eras. And because of this, there is far too often a feeling of déjà vu.

Fortunately, Django, Prepare a Coffin does not fall into these familiar trappings. And without a doubt, the premise is one of its greatest assets. The opening setup does a superb job setting up the protagonist's motivation to exact revenge against those who killed his wife. Pacing is never an issue, as this film gives key moments an ample amount of time to resonate.

The characters are well defined, and their motivations are never in doubt. The entire cast is very good in their respective roles. The standout performance was Terence Hill (My Name is Nobody) in the role of Django. Though he would later rise to prominence as one of the actors most identified with comedy-heavy Spaghetti Westerns that became prominent in the early 1970's, he delivers a brooding performance that is utterly convening.

Other notable cast members include Horst Frank (The Grand Duel) in the role of David Barry, a crooked politician who is the mastermind behind several gold robberies; George Eastman (Rabid Dogs) in the role of Barry’s man henchmen; and the ever-reliable Luciano Rossi (Death Walks at Midnight) in the role of one of the innocent men that Django saves.

Visually, Django, Prepare a Coffin does not disappoint, and there is a tremendous amount of atmosphere. Another strength of Django's Prepare a Coffin is its score, which has since gained a wider audience after Gnarls Barkley used parts of the track Last Man Standing’s medley as the backing track for their song Crazy. Standout moments include a scene where Django is tortured after his plan is exposed. Other standout moments include a scene where Django ambushes and takes out the men who had been holding him prisoner. And a finale that makes a clear reference to Sergio Corbucci’s Django, when the protagonist removes a machine gun from his own grave. Ultimately, Django, Prepare a Coffin is a solid Spaghetti western and one of the better unofficial Django films.

Django, Prepare a Coffin gets a strong release from Arrow Video that comes with a good audio/video presentation and a pair of informative extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer