Sunday, September 29, 2024

It's Coffin Time

Ever since Sergio Corbucci's popular, ultra violent western, Django (1966) graced the silver screen, a plethora of other films would feature the titular hero (eighty-five films, apparently) in one way or another cashing-in on the name. There was only one official sequel, when Franco Nero returned decades later to reprise the role that brought him fame in the Rambo-esque Django Strikes Again (1987).
 
Gianfranco & Gianpiero Reverberi - You'd Better Smile
Preparati La Bara! AKA Django, Prepare a Coffin, OST (1968)

Of all the unofficial sequels, I do have a soft spot for Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968), AKA Viva Django! It's because I always found its lead, Terence Hill, Italy's third most waspy-looking actor (after Al Cliver and Ray Lovelock), versatile at playing both serious and comedic parts while still maintaining a cheeky, badass persona. It's also because it sees the return of the character's trademark Mitrailleuse volley gun kept inside a coffin. Another reason is because I love the vowel chewing main song, You'd Better Smile, equally as much as Louis Bacalov's original theme

Anyone who copped the video game Red Dead Revolver (2004) would have heard it there, too; albeit, the instrumental titled Lucas. The game's soundtrack was a veritable goldmine for soundtrack fans like me, as it served as the definitive Spaghetti Western compilation which wasn't chock-full of Ennio Morricone hits, and it had me seeking out a bunch of films because of it. Sadly, its sequels didn't follow suit.

Gianfranco & Gianpiero Reverberi - Nel cimitero di Tucson
Preparati La Bara! AKA Django, Prepare a Coffin, OST (1968)

Even if you've never seen Django, Prepare a Coffin, or heard its soundtrack, you'll probably be familiar with Nel cimitero di Tuscon on account of it being sampled by the group Gnarls Barkley for their hit song Crazy in the mid-noughties. Despite being played ad nauseam ever since, in retrospect, it probably did us a favour as it kept Quentin Tarantino from recycling it anytime soon for one of his films.

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