dir. Sergio Corbucci, Italy, 1966, 35mm, color, 87mins. Italian w/ English subtitles

The inspiration for many of Quentin Tarantino’s signature film bits (Reservoir Dogs‘ infamous ear-cutting scene was a direct reference), and now homaged in his upcoming Django Unchained, it’s time to revisit the original 1966 Spaghetti Western blockbuster that spawned over 30 sequels and cemented the genre as an international phenomenon. Franco Nero, stars as the title character, a horseless, dark-clad, blazingly blue-eyed stranger dragging a coffin through the mud of a desolate frontier town, Django is a red ragù of confederates, bandidos, Klansmen, dance hall gals, and a bloody trail of too-slow-on-the draw bad men.