GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

chaos-rampant A black-clad stranger walks into a small town. It's your typical spaghetti western town that exists in the borders somewhere between the b-movie universe and myth. He walks through the empty streets and stops outside a saloon. He nails in the ground a cross bearing a name and that day's date. He's Django, "the devil from hell".Django the Bastard AKA The Stranger's Gundown is yet another in a long string of unofficial Django clone but sadly not among the top tier ones even by Django clone standards. Spaghettis were dime a dozen in the late 60's, most of them shot on shoe-string budgets over two weeks from identical scripts and sets with not much else going for them than a barebones script and the promise of European audiences flocking to the nearest cinema to sate their hunger of greasy Mexican villains and laconic nameless strangers.Antonio Steffen plays another unofficial Django. The novelty this time around is that his Django exists somewhere in the elusive field between lone ranger, angel of death and vengeful ghost. If that sounds all too familiar, yes this is the movie that was the key inspiration behind Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter and deserves credit for that reason alone. The execution however doesn't match the idea nor does it mine its full potential.The opening shot is cool but can't mask the movie's low-budget. This is low-low-budget and everything reflects that. The story is fairly simple but the narrative stretched thin with the pace suffering as a result. Some set-pieces have a charm to them but can't take on their full impact due to a lack of budget. Steffen is very good on his role as the laconic Django that is influenced more by Eastwood's Man with no Name than Franco Nero's Django from Sergio Corbucci's original. He appears out of nowhere, shoots people then disappears into the dark again, making him an elusive force of revenge. There's a dark and brooding atmosphere running throughout the movie, although it's not as successful in that aspect as Frank Krammer's original Sartana from the same year.So, what we have here is a missed opportunity but not without its charm. As it is, Eastwood's High Plains Drifter is a superior interpretation of the same idea, but spaghetti western fans owe it to themselves to watch this forgotten little flick, even out of genre curiosity.

The_Void I'm used to seeing cheap Italian films ripping off popular American movies, but this may be the first time that I've seen it the other way around. In 1973, Clint Eastwood made a film called 'High Plains Drifter', and it's practically the same as this entry in the Django series! Well, I say this entry in the Django 'series' - even though the central character is actually called Django this time; the film still doesn't follow on from Sergio Corbucci's original, and is more of a cash-in on the name. Even so, it's still a worthy Spaghetti western and one that is more than likely to delight said style of film-making's fans. Like Eastwood's later film, Django the Bastard has a streak of horror running through it, which stretches from small things such as the crosses Django leaves to his victims, all the way down to the major plot points. The film follows a mysterious stranger who turns up in a small town. A man who is surprised to see him is promptly shot and killed, and soon we learn that this stranger may not be among the living...Anthony Steffen takes the lead role as Django and delivers a performance that I don't like very much. The character is obviously meant to be enigmatic and brooding, but Sheffen is really flat and it's hard to believe that this is a man who would even bother to take revenge. After having seen the likes of Franco Nero and Thomas Milian in the lead role, Steffen's performance becomes even less enjoyable. However, the story he finds himself embroiled in more than makes up for the actor's lack of emotion. The small town setting makes for a great claustrophobic atmosphere as Django seeks out and shoots his enemies. The gun battles are impressive, and make for great entertainment. The dialogues can be a little clumsy at times, but you can't go into a film like this expecting great writing. This film may have been a big influence on High Plains Drifter, but in fairness; Django the Bastard does take its own fair share from Eastwood's partnership with Sergio Leone. Several shots of Django are extremely derivative of Eastwood's Man with No Name and it was Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood that were responsible for immortalising the lone drifter character in the first place. Still, this western is well worth seeing for fans of Italian cinema.

BillDP I've read alot about "Django The Bastard" and comparisons between it and Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter". I think it's safe to say that "HPD" is not a remake of "DTB" but is is also safe to say that it at least served as the inspiration for Clint's 1972 film IMHO.I had high expectations for "Django The Bastard" and I was definitely NOT let down. It's an at times crude and low budget affair but it has enough action, tension and chills to make it a terrific little film that just may be one of the trendsetters in the Euro Gothic Western sub-genre. The atmosphere is thick in this creepy movie and Director Sergio Garrone goes all out showing us some unique camera angles which run the full spectrum from overhead shots to close-ups to fade-in's to handheld. Very effective as is the score which at certain times is eerie enough to raise a goosebump or two. Some remarkable scenes as mentioned in other reviews including a creepy opening that is almost completely silent except for the howling wind and the memorable scene in the graveyard.Really wonderful stuff from the little SW that could. The performances are fine and I think that anyone who is a fan of Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter" owes it to himself or herself to check this one out. It's available on DVD from VCI under it's U.S. title of "The Strangers Gundown". Easily one of my favorite Westerns.

MarKus-371 "DJANGO THE BASTARD" is a real odd horror flick. Usually in horror movies they take place in modern day. The setting for this movie is in 1880's southern states. During the civil war, Army officers sold their entire regiment to the enemy, who brutally massacred them. One survived, (or did he?) and his name is Django. 13 years later he comes back to get revenge on the Officers and kill ANYONE who gets in his way. Some people think Django is supernatural, is he? See the movie to find out. When Django plants the first cross in the ground, at the start, it really freaked me out. He places a cross in the ground with the name of the officer he wants dead, while they're still alive. When ever Django appears it scares me, because he looks like a cold killer who doesnt care if anyone lives or dies. He kills the officers with a gun most of the time or he beats them to death in some gory fashion. In one scene he's kneeling by a campfire, talking to gangsters. When he walks away an explosion occurs killing the gangsters...really scared me because I didn't expect it. This whole movie really gives me the creeps, call me crazy, but it does, it really scares me!, and the horror classic "HALLOWEEN" didnt give me a fright at all. This film is more Horror than spaghetti western, so don't knock becuase it takes place 100 years ago. Definatley on my top 10 Horror List. I give it an 8/10.