Red-Barracuda This spaghetti western is yet another in the seemingly endless cycle of 'Django' movies. Like the vast majority, it only has a passing relevance to the original Sergio Corbucci classic and really the lead character is no more than a standard spaghetti western anti-hero who could essentially go under any moniker. But, I have seen quite a few of the Django movies now and I have also seen quite a lot of the more run-of-the-mill Italian westerns too and this effort is quite clearly better than most. In this one we have the title character hunting down a group of bandits who raped and killed his wife. He takes them out one by one with the help of one of their ex-gang members, whom he saves from execution in order to gain his trust and assistance.This one has Anthony Steffen as Django and I reckon he is one of the better actors at playing this kind of role. He does elicit a certain hard-nosed cool throughout and its easy getting behind him on his bloody revenge mission. Steffen also has good chemistry with Stelio Candelli who plays the Mexican bandit who partners him. The nature of the plot with its emphasis on a series of villains taken down one at a time, means that the story is made up of individual segments and I think this helps pace the film quite well, which is a good thing given that many spaghetti westerns can get a bit tedious as they go on. The ending also was good here too, although I saw the twist ending coming a mile off I have to say – the clues are there and you have just got to spot them. All-in-all though, I was pleasantly surprised with this one and certainly found it to be one of the better movies from this sub-genre.

Woodyanders Cunning ace gunslinger Django (a solid and engaging performance by Anthony Steffen) enlists the assistance of loud-mouthed thief Carranza (an equally sturdy and amusing portrayal by Stelio Candelli) after his wife is raped and killed by a band of vicious renegades. Carranza is the sole person who can identify said killers. Director Edoardo Mulargia, working from a compact script by Nino Stresa, relates the fun story at a snappy pace, stages the plentiful gunfights with rip-snorting verve, and tops everything off with nifty touches of goofy humor. Steffen and Candelli display a winning chemistry in the leads; they receive sound support from Chris Avram as the lethal Jeff, Donato Castellenata as the friendly Paco, and Riccardo Pizzuti as the dastardly Thompson. Luscious brunette stunner Esmeralda Baldi supplies some tasty eye candy as the fetching Lola. The surprise ending is a pip. Marcello Maciocchi's dynamic cinematography injects lots of extra invigorating energy. Piero Umiliani's robust sweeping score hits the lively stirring spot. A cool little oater.

Michael_Elliott W Django! (1971) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Django (Anthony Steffen) comes home to find that his wife has been raped and murdered by four bandits so he sets off to capture the killers. Along the way he saves a man (Stelio Candelli) who is about to be hanged because he use to be a member of the gang of killers. The two set out to kill the bandits but there are plenty of twists and turns to follow. You can tell watching this thing that the budget was probably very small but I think this adds to the enjoyment of the film because the director has to cover up some of the cheapness with clever action and stylish twists. The film looks the low budget very well and I think this really adds to the atmosphere as well. The film is ugly, mean and at times funny and this is what makes this a better than average Spaghetti Western. This was my first time seeing Steffen and he really shocked me at how good he was. He perfectly looks the part of the man wanting revenge but he also has a good comic timing in a few scenes. The greatest moment is when he's riding into a small town and runs into a prankster who likes throwing dynamite at people. Django, calmly picks up the burning stick, lights his cigar and throws it back at the man. Candelli is also very good in his role and the two men act very well together. There's plenty of gun battles in the film but none of them get too graphic so you could probably even show this to kids. The soundtrack by Piero Umiliani is also very good. This certainly doesn't rank up with the greatest films in the genre but it's a nice addition.

spider89119 This spaghetti western has a typical but well executed storyline. The relationship between the two main characters is reminiscent of Blondie and Tuco from "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." It also has pretty decent acting, an awesome music score from Piero Umiliani, and one of the coolest endings I have ever seen.I probably would have rated it even higher if it was dubbed in English. I don't mind subtitles in other kinds of movies, but for some reason I prefer to watch westerns in English, even if the dubbing is bad.Still, it's a really enjoyable flick, and I recommend it to all die-hard spaghetti western fans.