The Blue Angel

Starring:Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron, Rosa Valetti, Hans Albers, Reinhold Bernt, Eduard von Winterstein, Hans Roth, Rolf MÃ¼ller (II), Roland Varno, Carl Balhaus, Robert Klein-LÃ¶rk, Charles Puffy, Wilhelm Diegelmann, Gerhard Bienert, Ilse FÃ¼rstenberg, Frederick Hollander, The Weintraub Syncopators, Wolfgang Staudte
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

Jimi Hendrix - Blue Wild Angel (Live at the Isle of Wight)

Average customer rating:

Historically significant...not a good performance
Half Bad
One of the best-filmed Hendrix concerts, even if not one of his best
JIMI HENDRIX'S FINAL MOMENTS ON FILM!
GET IT YOU FOOL!!

Jimi Hendrix - Blue Wild Angel (Live at the Isle of Wight)
Starring: Jimi Hendrix , and Jimi Hendrix
Manufacturer: Experience Hendrix
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000077VOS
Release Date: 2002-11-12

Amazon.com

Those familiar with the original Isle of Wight DVD/VHS release will be pleasantly surprised by Blue Wild Angel. For one thing, the soundtrack has been remixed in both stereo and 5.1 surround. Hendrix's legendary Isle of Wight show may have been notoriously riddled with technical difficulties, but in all honesty, it is one of his better live recordings, and Eddie Kramer's remix sounds superb. Next, Blue Wild Angel includes many songs missing from the original release such as "Lover Man," "Foxey Lady," "Message to Love," "Ezy Rider," and "Purple Haze." By far the highlights of the performance are the mesmerizing, newly unedited versions of "Red House" and "Machine Gun." Finally, as an added bonus, the concert is introduced by a mini documentary about Hendrix's involvement with the Isle of Wight festival. This introduction is told through new interviews with Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, and Eddie Kramer and footage from Murray Lerner's Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival rockumentary. Blue Wild Angel is a great addition to any Hendrix fan's collection. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews:

Historically significant...not a good performance.......2007-06-30

First of all look at the cover...It's in red and black and says 'Blue Wild Angel'? How lame is that? If you research the rest of this tour most of the shows were considered bad. Jimi just did'nt care at this point in time. That being said, there are some good moments(though no great ones imo).The show seems to start well and end well but is hit and miss in the middle. Jimi did'nt want to be there and it shows. However they do play for a long time...Jimi is visibly tired and stoned...and out of tune most of the time...this DVD is for die hard fans and collectors...made me sad to watch actually...Jimi deserves better and this should not have been released...just because you can does'nt mean you should...

Half Bad.......2007-05-30

The first half of this performance is horrible due to equipment problems. The second half of the performance is great. It's worth buying for the second half of the performance. Too bad they did All Along the Watchtower during the first half of the performance.

One of the best-filmed Hendrix concerts, even if not one of his best.......2007-04-09

This concert is a must have for Hendrix fans for all the reasons listed by others below. The film quality is great, almost the whole concert is shown, unlike the horrible edited versions of the past, and the concert is not as bad as some might say, although many greater ones have been preserved on tape. On some songs he's distracted by equipment problems, but on others you really can see Hendrix at his best. It's just an uneven concert really, but worth having nonetheless. My only complaint is that this DVD is 'PCFriendly', and so unlike every other DVD in my collection, wouldn't play on my PC as I only had 4 GB free on my hard disk. Unfortunately, I don't think there is a 'PCUnfriendly' version that simply plays by popping it into your disk drive, so I would suggest anyone without a DVD player and a full hard disk take into consideration that you won't be able to watch this DVD. However, still 5 stars for a great release.

JIMI HENDRIX'S FINAL MOMENTS ON FILM!.......2006-09-25

I will be doing a review on the historic legendary classic DVD concert entitled "Jimi Hendrix - Blue Wild Angel - Live at the Isle of Wight." I will also be editing this review from time to time so that you the consumer will get the best and most accurate review possible. Before I begin, I would highly suggest that you read my other reviews on Jimi's historic landmark concerts at the "Monterey Pop Festival" on 18 June 1967 and the "Woodstock Festival" on 18 August 1969. They are both long reviews but they contain a lot of information on Jimi. I do hope that you read and enjoy them both. It would also help me shorten this long review and not have to add all that information in this review.

For me personally, this marks the third review on Jimi Hendrix's legendary concert series which focus's on some of his most memorable and unforgettable performances in Rock n' Roll history. Each concert that Jimi performed on would also show the different phases and differences he displayed which would also show visibly and be audible in his music. I guess you can say that every performance Jimi delivered in his short brief career all sounded different, they never sounded the same. The year 1970 started off as a busy year for Jimi, he performed many concerts across the country and in other countries as well. At least four concerts were partially filmed, "Live at Berkeley" 30 May 1970, "Live at the Atlanta Pop Festival" 4 July 1970, "The Rainbow Bridge concert" 30 July 1970 and the one I am reviewing for you now. Jimi's "Isle of Wight" performance, according to many Rock critics, is Hendrix's final moments on film. Enough said, its time to go back in time to the "Isle of Wight Festival" 30 August 1970.

Jimi was not feeling very good during this period, story has it that before showtime, he had been extremely sick as a result of taking some bad acid. Because of this, Jimi's scheduled performance had to be put off numerous times until he finally took the stage late at 2 A.M. In my opinion, from what I've read in many Hendrix biographies, Jimi was taking drugs as a result of going through a deep depression and being very unhappy at this stage of his career. Jimi was also living the Sex, Drugs & Rock n' Roll lifestyle and was not getting the rest that was needed to deliver the great performances. To make matters worse, the pressures of his manager Mike Jeffery (on financial matters and changes in personnel in Jimi's bands) and Jimi needing more money to complete his own recording studio called "Electric Lady Studios," (thus steeling him away from what he really loved, which is recording in the studio and creating new songs) Jimi had to force himself to go on the road on the 1970 tour and do what he does best, PERFORM LIVE WITH HIS GUITAR. But with all the pressures mounted on Jimi during the 1970 tour, that spark of being the charismatic showman on stage that Jimi was always known for was gone by the time he performed at the "Isle of Wight Festival." PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM IN NO WAY KNOCKING HENDRIX IN ANY WAY. If you see the film, you will notice how depressed and unhappy Jimi really is. Whatever it was that bothered Jimi (I have many opinions) during that period would take a toll and would eventually get the best of him. Shortly after the "Isle of Wight" performance, with Jimi's life falling apart, sadly, on 18 September 1970, a few weeks later, Jimi hendrix died. Despite all of his troubles and not playing his guitar at 100%, Jimi STILL dug deep down in his heart and delivered a great performance by letting his guitar do all the talking. Considering the circumstances, its a wonder that Jimi even performed on that early morning on 30 August 1970.

Jimi performed 18 songs on that early morning of 30 August 1970, but only 15 songs made it on this DVD release. I will review all 18 songs here and are as follows: (1.) "God Save The Queen" (the British National Anthem done the Jimi Hendrix way, EXCELLENT!), (2.) "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (EXCELLENT! Jimi was the first artist that ever attempted and succeeded in performing this Beatles legendary song live.), (3.) "Spanish Castle Magic" (EXCELLENT, OUTSTANDING!), (4.) "All Along The Watchtower" (EXCELLENT! Another one of Jimi's great tributes to Bob Dylan.), (5.) "Machine Gun" (EXCELLENT, OUTSTANDING! Jimi's actually bringing the Vietnam war to the audience and firing shots through his explosive guitar.), (6.) "Lover Man" (EXCELLENT! Jimi's answer to the B.B. King classic "Rock Me Baby."), (7.) "Freedom" (EXCELLENT! I love this song. Jimi uses his Flying V guitar for this song.), (8.) "Red House" (unhappy moment for Jimi, but still EXCELLENT! Jimi had problems finding his groove for this song but eventually found it somewhere in the middle of his guitar solo.), (9.) "Dolly Dagger" (EXCELLENT! One of my favorites.), (10.) "Midnight Lightning" (not on DVD release, EXCELLENT!), (11.) "Foxey Lady" (EXCELLENT!), (12.) "Message To Love" (EXCELLENT!), (13.) "Hey Baby" (New Rising Sun) (not on the DVD release, EXCELLENT! This is a beautiful slow song.), (14.) "Ezy Ryder" (EXCELLENT! This song KICKS!), (15.) "Hey Joe" (not on the DVD release, EXCELLENT!), (16.) "Purple Haze" (EXCELLENT! Another great version that will leave you in a "Purple Haze" for "Daze."), (17.) "Voodoo Child" (Slight return) (EXCELLENT! Another one of my favorites. Jimi wrote and sings this song like he truly means it.) and (18.) "In From The Storm" (EXCELLENT! Another great ROCKER!)

I'd like to add a little note to this performance, Jimi made a lot of guitar errors on some of his songs during his "Isle of Wight" performance. But as the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn once said, "I even copied Jimi's mistakes because they even sounded great." After Jimi's "Isle of Wight" performance on 30 August 1970, and prior to Jimi's unexpected death on 18 September 1970, he would only give one final performance. Jimi's "Live at the Isle of Fehmarn" in Insel Fehmarn, Germany on 6 September 1970 would mark the end of of his incredible spectacular career. Jimi's last concert performance is available through Dagger Records / Experience Hendrix LLC.

In closing, Jimi Hendrix will always be the GREATEST GUITARIST THAT EVER LIVED. The date of 18 September 1970 will always be a sad day in Rock n' Roll history. We'll never know just how far Jimi's natural gifts and talents would have taken us, but I'm sure that there would have been no boundaries or limits. But most importantly, Jimi possessed something that few guitarists have; Jimi had and played his guitar with a lot of heart. Jimi's magical sounds and unimaginable effects that accompanied his brilliant music which then flowed through his guitar were driven by his big heart as a result of his love, passion and devotion for his guitar. If a naturally gifted guitar genius were without that real important quality, what else is there? What a TRAGIC loss for Rock n' Roll. Thanks for reading my long review and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for all of you. LONG LIVE ROCK N' ROLL! Rock out always. Take care, J.L.

GET IT YOU FOOL!! .......2006-08-23

Excellent footage and quality for this period! Great performance of a legend guitar player.

Average customer rating:

Von Sternberg's The Blue Angel
Suprisingly good quality DVD for one of the best 30's German flicks.
nothing to review
DVD of Blue Angel
...And God Created a Woman

The Blue Angel
Starring: Emil Jannings , Marlene Dietrich , Kurt Gerron , Rosa Valetti , and Hans Albers
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QW59
Release Date: 2001-11-13

Amazon.com essential video

For director Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich it all began with The Blue Angel, one of the masterpieces of Germany's Weimar cinema. This landmark film thrust the sultry and unrestrained Dietrich on an unsuspecting international film audience. She plays the prototypical role of Lola, the singer who tempts repressed professor Emil Jannings (the king of expressionist actors) into complete submission night after night at the Blue Angel nightclub. The film perfectly captures the masochism and degradation of the Weimar Republic, just before the rise of Adolf Hitler. And yet the moral confusion exhibited by Jannings is really due to his own torment. Dietrich is merely an instrument of his innermost desires, standing on stage in top hat, stockings, and bare thighs singing "Falling in Love Again." This is the original German version, newly remastered and subtitled. --Bill Desowitz

Description

The crowning achievement of the Weimar cinema, The Blue Angel is an exquisite parable of one man's fall from respectability, presented in both the newly-restored German and English-language versions.
Emil Jannings, the quintessential German expressionist actor, stars as Professor Rath, the sexually-repressed instructor of a boys' prep school. After learning of the pupils' infatuation with French postcards depicting a local nightclub songstress, he decides to personally investigate the source of such indecency. But as soon as he enters the shadowy Blue Angel nightclub and steals one glimpse of the smoldering Lola-Lola (Marlene Dietrich), commanding the stage in a top hat, stockings and bare thighs, Rath's self-righteous piety is crushed. He finds himself fatefully seduced by the throaty voice of the vulgar siren, singing, "Falling in Love Again." Consumed by desire and tormented by his rigid propriety, Professor Rath allows himself to be dragged down a path of personal degradation. Lola's unrestrained sexuality was a revelation to turn-of-the-decade moviegoers, thrusting Dietrich to the forefront of the sultry international leading ladies, such as Greta Garbor, who were challenging the limits of screen sexuality.

Customer Reviews:

Von Sternberg's The Blue Angel.......2007-06-21

Von Sternberg's breakthrough vehicle for Marlene Dietrich was a smoldering drama in the Weimar era, and still packs some heat now (especially in the superior German version). While veteran Emil Jannings hams it up a bit, Dietrich is mesmerizing. She appears a shade darker and plumper than in later roles, since she'd yet to receive the Hollywood treatment, but a luminescent star quality shines through. Lola's rendition of what would become Dietrich's signature song, "Falling In Love Again," is a highlight. A piercing study of obsessive love.

Suprisingly good quality DVD for one of the best 30's German flicks........2007-05-12

Deitrich's first and best, Sternberg's best. Jennings second best, after Greed. One of the first sound German movies. If all this arouses your interest...I strongly advise you to not hesitate and add to your library this DVD. Excellent cinematography, editing, costumes, casting, sets and screenplay. The Deitrich screen test is a terrific bonus, really. The quality of the DVD is one of an excellent restoration. You get two DVD's. I never watched the second, the dubbed version for America. This is the one that comes with the Fmaous Satrs collection, and it is pale in comparison to the German version.
Hey, maybe more extras on the second DVD. I should look, but as long as I have the Blue Angel to watch once a year, I am happy.... and you will be also.

nothing to review.......2007-05-07

I would like to review this film but I can not because I have not received it yet. Apparently, you have sent it three times but never got to me. It is like a joke. Can you check your tracking mail number and make a claim to whoever in the post?

Regards,

Jose

DVD of Blue Angel.......2007-03-08

A classic film from the 1930's in both English and the original German language, with subtitles.

By modern standards the plot may seem a little tame but the film is a vivid insight into the era of pre war Germany.

The quality may seem poor and the production techniques limited but again, this enhances the film's ability to portray life is it was some 70 years ago in a mid European country.

...And God Created a Woman.......2007-02-20

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The film which was released in 1930 had propelled Marlene Dietrich (and her singing and her legs) to the international stardom. But the film belongs to Emil Jannings in the role of the respected, straight-laced, balding, aging, and portly High School English Professor who became absolutely obsessed by Dietrich's Lola - a cabaret's singer and dancer. His first step toward cabaret "The Blue Angel" was his first step to humiliation, madness, ruin, and ultimately, death. It is not the first time in the history or in Art when a man falls for a wrong (for him) woman ("Carmen", anyone?) and loses his mind, his status, and his life because of her but it is certainly one of the most heartbreaking stories that started as a light musical comedy and came to the sad but inevitable ending.

4.5/5

Average customer rating:

Django is da man!!!
The Best WESTERN EVER! I MEAN EVER!
Excellent release, important film
Uninteresting
DJANGO!!!

Django (2-Disc Limited Edition)
Starring: Franco Nero , José Bódalo , Loredana Nusciak , Ángel Álvarez , and Gino Pernice
Director: Sergio Corbucci
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
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Run, Man, Run!

ASIN: B0001KU93C
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Amazon.com

Along with Sergio Leone's Clint Eastwood trilogy, Sergio Corbucci's Django, starring Belgian hunk Franco Nero as the gritty mercenary who drags a coffin behind him, was one of the most influential spaghetti Westerns. After mowing down armies of bad guys with his machine gun (which he brandishes in classic two-fisted tough-guy fashion--from the hip), he stages a daring gold heist from a Mexican military fortress and then plots to double-cross his bandito partners. Corbucci, who cowrote the story, fashions an unrelentingly violent tale of rival gangs squeezing the life out of a muddy, bloody border town, reveling in the sadism of the genre. The film opens with a woman strung up and lashed by a group of lascivious bandits, only to be saved by even more sadistic gunmen who plan to burn her alive, and Django fan Quentin Tarantino borrowed the scene where a vindictive general slices the ear off a corrupt preacher for Reservoir Dogs. While not as stylish as Leone's operatic epics, Django pushed the borders of violence into all-new territory, and the film was banned outright in England and cut in the U.S. It spawned 20 unofficial sequels before Nero returned 20 years later for the only legitimate sequel, Django Strikes Again. In the meantime, Nero followed up this grimy antihero role with a turn as the singing medieval superknight Lancelot in Camelot! Also features a short interview with Nero. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Django is da man!!!.......2007-03-11

Django is a fantastic film. It's one of the best Spaghetti Westerns out there. The Anchor Bay edition which is out of print is ok as far as the picture goes but the sad thing is the only language track is the dubbed English which is more funny than anything. You need the Blue Underground edition. The picture is fantastic except for a few blemishes. It also has the Italian audio track which to me makes for a far better film. Django is surreal which makes for a good time with the DVD player. Highly recommended.

The Best WESTERN EVER! I MEAN EVER!.......2007-01-11

Only Italians know how to make a western. This is not some Johnny Wayne crap American movie,this movie is even better then the Good,the Bad, and the Ugly Jew, with Clint Westwood :)) Do not listen to the reviews made by some American film buffs or whatever they call themselves, see this movie for yourself. Anyway only a European could appreciate a movie like Dijango!

Excellent release, important film.......2007-01-10

Django is one of the greatest of spaghetti westerns and proof that not only Sergio Leone could make them. The film has a very flimsy plot, but if that's what you're after then a spaghetti western isn't what you should be looking for. It does however excel in most other ways, the editing, photography, way over the top style and even the performances are decent. Franco Nero's tough-and-silent-type charisma has rarely been as effective. This may be the least political of Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti westerns and that is in some ways good and some ways bad (ie making it perhaps more accessible to a mainstream audience, but perhaps making it slightly more shallow at the same time).

Blue underground's dvd is excellent. The transfer is great and you rarely see a 1.66 AR film with a proper anamorphic release but this has it down perfectly. It also has the Italian soundtrack, which is a big plus as the dialogue (what little there is of it) is marginally better than the English. Other extras are fine all round. Word of warning though, the extra disc is a mini-dvd and contains a brilliant short with Franco Nero.

Highly recommended for (spaghetti) western fans especially, but also for anyone with an interest in the World Cinema explosion of the 60's and cult films. Beware of the unbelievably many films called Django something-or-other, there's only one...actually, I also recommend the very different and unrelated Django Kill! also available from Blue Underground.

Uninteresting.......2006-11-19

Once again we have a stranger with a score to settle. Of course, he is lightning fast with guns and never misses. Before it's all over ( I couldn't bear to watch it all) he's wasted scores of Mexicans and Americans both. Why exactly I'm not sure. The story takes a back seat to all the cruel, unusual and gratuitous violence. I don't mind violent movies but I'd at least like to have an interesting story to go with them. I kept trying to like this show. After reading reviews what I imagined sure had the real thing beat. I mean c'mon, a guy who drags a coffin around through the desert to some God forsaken mud hole of a town, just to waste about 300 or 400 guys who go up against him? Why it all matters I don't know. There were so many people getting shot that it was hard to remember what the story was about but it really wasn't worth remembering anyway.

DJANGO!!!.......2006-10-23

I had vaguely heard of this movie. I am a big fan of the Sergio Leone spagetti westerns but have seen very few other westerns of that genre. I also like Franco Nero after being exposed to him the first time in the movie The Salamander. I was looking up some info on Franco and I came across some info on his movies and read about Django. Many said that it was equal to the Leone westerns and that it was darker and more brutal. After watching it, and enjoying Django, I must say that I don't think that it is on par with any of the Leone westerns. That is not to say that it is not good though. When you consider that most of the time they didn't even have a script and that they improvised the script most of the time, it is a pretty entertaining movie. The cast of characters is really good and like Leone the faces that he comes up with to play the parts are all interesting. It is a down and dirty western with lots of mud, dirt, and plenty of really over the top violence including an ear scene that inspired Quenting Tarrentino to film his scene in Resevoir Dogs. The gun play is also cool and Django himself is one cool dude.

This movie of course is dumbed in English. Unlike the Leone westerns I don't think there are any English speaking actors. Nero is dubbed and the guy has the typical hero voice but it is ok (not great and if it was redone I would love to have somebody else dubbed in or Nero himself). I also liked the little documentary interview they did with Franco as well as the trailers they showed.

Again, it's a fun movie and Django and his coffin are dynamite in action!

Average customer rating:

`All that we were told about communism was a lie', `but the worst thing is that all we were told about capitalism was true'
Sterling acting, shallow story
The story of the losers
A truly great movie and A dark comedy indeed
The vain hope of redemption

Mondays in the Sun
Starring: Javier Bardem , Luis Tosar , José Ángel Egido , Nieve de Medina , and Enrique Villén
Director: Fernando León de Aranoa
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
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ASIN: B0000CBXZ3
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Product Description

Without gainful employment, every day becomes Sunday. For many, daily existence is propped up by the scaffolding of hope and camaraderie. Follow six friends in northern Spain as they struggle to make ends meet

System Requirements:

running Time 109 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

`All that we were told about communism was a lie', `but the worst thing is that all we were told about capitalism was true'.......2005-09-21

"Mondays in the Sun", directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, is a movie where not much happens. Despite that, it is worthwhile seeing, and remembering...

Why?. Because it tells us the story of a group of friends, former workers in a shipyard, who were sacked from their jobs and are unemployed. The spectators will watch them look repeatedly and uselessly for a new job, and deal with being unemployed and old in a society where most jobs are for young people. As a result, viewers are likely to realize that having a job isn't only about earning money, but also part of who we are, to a certain extent. And in the case of most of these men, their identities are in need of a redefinition that gives their lives new meaning.

This story takes place in Spain, but it could have been set in many other places. "Mondays in the Sun" is a film about unemployment and friendship, and those are things that are everywhere. As such, you are highly unlikely to find the message of this movie irrelevant. Even if you have a job (and that is my case), you probably know that some people don't, and that they suffer the consequences of that lack.

It is pertinent to point out that this isn't a film that will make you laugh. It is somewhat gloomy at times, and the actors play well the roles of people on the edge, eager to strike out at whomever is near them. Santa (Javier Bardem) is specially impressive as a man who doesn't have a clue regarding what to do with himself now that he doesn't have a job.

Another of the characters of this story is Serguei (Serge Riaboukine), a former Russian astronaut who is in Spain looking for a job. Serguei tells the others a joke: "Two old party comrades meet and one says `All that we were told about communism was a lie'. The other says `Yes, but the worst thing is that all we were told about capitalism was true'. In that silly joke, said by chance, we can find the root of the problem that aflicts these men...

Truth to be told, "Mondays in the Sun" tells us what happens to those left behind by capitalism. Of course, capitalism is not always good, but all the other systems are even worse. However, that doesn't mean we can deny that our system has problems that must be solved. This movie gets that point across powerfully, and because of that I highly recommend it.

Belen Alcat

Sterling acting, shallow story.......2004-11-13

The story is imbued with the European mindset that people are owed a job and a meaningful life by either businesses or the government. Those who accept that view sacrifice their responsibility, and therefore a chunk of their humanity. So, the characters in this film hobble along rather pathetically and childishly, waiting for someone to restart their lives. Bardem is a fine actor, and the others do well, but this is a slight film offering no useful insights. It stands in stark contrast to films by the great director, Zhang Yimou, whose characters inhabit far more difficult conditions, but who struggle mightily to overcome the odds and maintain their pride. As one of the characters hints when slandering Koreans, a Europe awash in the welfare state has much to fear from industrious workers from Asia and elsewhere.

The story of the losers.......2004-10-06

I cannot say I liked this film. The thing is that actors are great, story is developed calmly but not too slowly. Some scenes are plenty of interesting "messages".

For all of this, "Mondays in the Sun" is fantastic. What is the problem? The problem is the story itself. You can use best actors, best studios, best screenplay. But when the story is plain and gives you no new point of view of a well-known work conflict, you have the sensation you have been not a film, not even a documental, but an article in a TV magazine.

This film has been overprized and overpraised here in Spain. We have terrible work conflicts, and some of them have to do with naval industry. I think this film is very superficial because it shows dismissed workers as losers but happy. And those who have earned a life and have raised from nothing are shown as naive and sad.

And so this is not a good message for young people trying to earn for a life.

A truly great movie and A dark comedy indeed.......2004-02-08

I picked this movie out as I browsed the shelves at the local video store where I usually spend one hour each visit searching for a good film. Sadly, great films are hard to come by and usually now come from abroad. The movie's sequences range from somber to hilarious and for those who speak Spanish, the film is especially enjoyable. The acting is quite well done and the cast portrays the life of six unemployed friends for whom everyday is the same as the day before. The bar which they frequent is an excellent backdrop for the friendly bickering that goes on between the men. For those who seek a truly enthralling foregin film, "Mondays in the Sun" is a must and I certainly plan to buy the DVD and add this wonderful film to my collection.

The vain hope of redemption.......2004-01-20

"Mondays in the Sun" by Fernando León de Aranoa. Is a film which, as many critics have noted, revolves around Rico's Bar. It is the space where the defeat, its memory and the personal and collective failures represented by the laying off of shipyard workers in a town in Spain's Galicia region takes place. The bar, however, is more than anything a metaphor for the desolation of the present of the squalor of forced `relaxation' and of the immobility of time, which is lived in the vain hope of a redemption. The bar, set up by Rico - one of the laid off workers - serves as the place of exile where the former workers develop their survival strategies. Anyone whó has ever felt the pain of unemployemnt, teh depressing effect it has on persoanl relationships and self esteem should watch this film. I found it truly remarkable and features a wonderful performance by Javier Bardem as 'Santa', an actor who often tackles social issues. the film will apeal to anyone who appreciates the cinema of Ken Loach, as it deals with the very themes that characterize the great British director's work. I saw the film in the origianl Spanish, and if you have to get a subtitle edition or wyou will miss great perfomances. Perhaops the most striking thing, in my opinion, in the film is a simple line pronounced by Sergei, a Russian emigré character who says: "They told us wonderful things about communism and they were all false. They told us horrible things about capitalism, and they're all true". This apparently simple line speaks volumes about the film and its portrayal of what is one of the saddest aspects of modern life in a society that is losing all idealism

Average customer rating:

Justine
choose the wright one
Great for the bad movie lover!
Mediocre at its best
Innocence in trouble

Marquis de Sade's Justine
Starring: Mike Brendel , Rosemary Dexter , Horst Frank , Claudia Gravy , and Klaus Kinski
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Image
99 Women (Director's Cut)
Sadomania
Venus in Furs
Images in a Convent

ASIN: B000096IA9
Release Date: 2004-01-27

Customer Reviews:

Justine.......2007-05-14

Interesting, but not enough to hold my interest. I prefered the original boooks of DeSade.

choose the wright one.......2007-03-10

Be careful not to be fooled by the Anchor Bay version which is marked with 124 min but has only 119 min!
Spend some more and buy the Blue Underground version with the total 124 min of total fun.
Jack Palance is fantastic!

Great for the bad movie lover!.......2005-04-04

Jesus "Jess" Franco is a director that's sort of a secret amongst serious horror film fans. If you're the type of casual fan of the genre who thinks that "Friday the 13th," "Halloween," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" are the best films the horror industry ever made, you have never heard of Jess Franco. If you think the "Leprechaun" franchise constitutes the apogee of the horror genre, you have never heard of Jess Franco. If you think collecting Wes Craven and John Carpenter films are as far as you need to go to balance out your DVD collection, you have never heard of Jess Franco. I don't mean to give the impression that Franco is the best directorial talent ever seen in the field, because he definitely isn't, but I have found that knowledge about some of this man's films is one of the best ways to distinguish the novices from the veterans. His most highly regarded--at least in some quarters--film remains "Vampyros Lesbos," a fascinating take on the age-old vampire legend. Then there is Franco's take on the Marquis de Sade's Justine, which doesn't exactly classify as a horror film as much as it does your typical Eurosleaze trash. Read on...

"Justine" (let's just call it that instead of putting de Sade's name in front of it; I'm feeling lazy tonight) stars Romina Power as the titular character, a young, naïve waif cast out into the decadent world of 18th century France. It all starts when Justine and her dissolute sister Juliette (Maria Rohm) must fend for themselves after being thrown out of an orphanage. The two head straight for Paris and a local harridan hotel where Juliette fits right in as the main attraction. Justine doesn't make the cut, however, and heads out into the world to find her own niche. What follows is a series of slightly bawdy and often boring romps involving all levels of French society. Justine first obtains employment at a small inn thanks to the grizzled owner Du Harpin (Akim Tamiroff!) only to find herself back on the street after rebuffing the overtures of a seedy nobleman. She then ends up in prison where she meets a tough, streetwise goon by the name of Madame Dusbois (Mercedes McCambridge!!) who has a date with the executioner she's planning on skipping. In between the woman's enormously hammy cackling, we learn that she needs Justine's help to escape her fate. They get away, and Justine falls in briefly with Dusbois's gang of ugly French thugs.

All is not lost, however, as Justine manages to escape from these vagabonds only to fall into a dismal situation involving the Marquise de Bressac (Slyva Koseina) and her good for nothing hubby. A murder plot and a lot of inherited wealth leads to a situation in which Justine decides to do the "right" thing by spilling the beans to the clueless Marquise. Oops. Hubby still gets what he wants but learns in the process that Justine's big mouth might have ruined his plans. Result? A big 'M' (for murderess) branded on Justine's chest in what is probably the film's best sleazy scene. What follows is rather tame by comparison, although I should mention none other than Jack Palance shows up as Antonin, the head loony of some crazed sect of debauched nut jobs. The film screeches to a halt as Justine, her morality in tatters and on her last leg emotionally and physically, somehow manages to find a personal savior who could care less about her soiled reputation. At least I think that's what happened. Oh, I almost forgot: none other than Klaus Kinski turns up as the Marquis de Sade himself, but doesn't do much except pace about in a prison cell and write down Justine's various adventures.

"Justine" is one of Franco's better efforts even though it ultimately disappoints in the sleaze department. The budget is bigger, the stars are recognizable and surprising to see in a Jess Franco film, and the musical score sounds wonderful. What went wrong? A lot. Considering the Marquis de Sade is one of history's most lecherous individuals, the movie is strictly for the milk and cookies crowd. Sure, a few whippings and some gratuitous nudity pop up from time to time, but such scenes are generally uninspired and tame compared to the stuff you'll experience in the Marquis's writings. Even more alarming are the performances. Akim Tamiroff in a Jess Franco film? Wow! Quite a drop from "Touch of Evil" to this, wouldn't you say? Mercedes McCambridge also should have known better; she's awful and grating in her part. As for Jack Palance, well, if you've seen "The Shape of Things to Come" you have a good idea of how far Jackie will go to prop up his faltering career. He lurches and screeches through his part jacked up on wine (according to the interview with Franco on the disc) and generally embarrasses himself at every opportunity. Still, despite all its flaws, I liked "Justine" for the mere fact that it's a quite watchable bad movie. I love bad movies.

Extras on the disc include the aforementioned interview with Franco, one of the better ones I've seen, in which he discusses working with Kinski (they got along) to dealing with Palance's penchant for drink to his extreme dislike of Romina Power. A trailer, poster and still galleries, and a Franco bio also find their way into the supplements section. If you're looking for a truly disturbing and sleazy cinematic adaptation of de Sade, I recommend Pasolini's "Salo." Those looking for a gigglefest and de Sade lite would do well to give this one a spin.

Mediocre at its best.......2005-01-22

The first thing that struck me about this DVD was the very poor opening sequence, featuring Klaus Kinski in the role of the infamous Marquis. Yes, this movie will soon be 40 years old, but still, the technique is amateurish and uninteresting.

As for the rest of the movie, it fails to capture the novel's spirit. De Sade's characters are satyrical due to their extreme, impossible cruelty and depravation. Franco's are silly, whimsical, and they fail miserably to amuse or arouse me at all.

Power is indeed a sweet-looking, beautiful young girl, but a limited actress, and the rest of the cast is just plain dull. Except for Palance, who delivers a rather strange performance that, once again, betrays the spirit of the book.

In short, the movie is a big disappointment. While De Sade's novel was a harsh criticism of the morals of his time (which greatly benefited him), the movie, with its happy ending, is a rather short soap opera where the heroine endures some tribulations, but gets her reward in the end.

Innocence in trouble.......2004-09-15

Romina Power as Justine is lovely innocense to look at, and I enjoyed what otherwise is a trite sadistic movie just to see her charms.

Average customer rating:

Bloody Western But No Real Spark
Suckest Western Movie I ever seen
It was okay
terrible trash
The Man With The Golden Bullets

Django Kill - If You Live, Shoot!
Starring: Tomas Milian , Ray Lovelock , Piero Lulli , Milo Quesada , and Miguel Serrano
Director: Giulio Questi
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
ProductGroup: DVD
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Django (2-Disc Limited Edition)
The Great Silence
Run, Man, Run!
Strangers Gundown
Keoma

ASIN: B0001KUE6Y
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Amazon.com

Consensus holds that Django, Kill--more properly, If You Live, Shoot!--is the most depraved, decadent, and altogether delirious spaghetti Western of that definitively depraved, decadent, and delirious genre. Tomas Milian plays a Mexican outlaw brought back from the dead to wreak vengeance on his former gringo colleagues. Too late: the gang has already fallen afoul of the most thoroughly corrupt town in Euro-trash history. Where to begin describing this twisted tarantella? It starts with so many crisscrossed flashbacks that you could mistake it for a sequel. One story pretty much ends, to be succeeded by another, like an old silent feature by people who used to making one-reelers. Then there's Mr. Sorrow and his pet army of black-shirted, teeth-flashing gay gunslingers. And the naked Milian, crucified and left to be ravished by rats, bats, and an iguana. Director Giulio Questi intended certain political overtones. Discuss among yourselves. P.S.: This is the uncut version. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Bloody Western But No Real Spark.......2007-06-25

I'd heard about DJANGO KILL for a couple years before actually bought the DVD. Unfortunately, I got information about the movie second hand. I thought the movie had to do with zombies. There weren't any zombies, sadly, but there was a guy who came back from the grave for vengeance. That was one of the recurrent themes in the Clint Eastwood movies as well as several other western films.

The star of the movie is Tomas Milian. He made several of the Western movies before moving into the crime arena as a series of villains and renegade cops working outside the rules like Bruce Willis. He's still active in television and movies today while he's in his seventies.

DJANGO KILL is supposed to be one of the bloodiest westerns ever filmed at the time, in the late 1960s. In fact, the disc contains scenes that had been cut out in the film release. Of course, this is before Sam Peckinpah left his indelible mark on the Western movie with classics like THE WILD BUNCH and PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID. But only by a few years.

The movie really isn't much different than any of Eastwood's Man With No Name Westerns. Except that there's no humor or comic relief in the constant sea of shifting loyalties that takes place in this film.

Most of the so-called spaghetti westerns end up with a tough-as-nails hero who is selfishly motivated but finishes up serving some greater good by the end of the movie. Normally he is caught in a crossfire between two rival gangs, neither of which is truly better than the other.

That occurs in this film. After being shot and buried alive, Django (the stranger) rides into town seeking the people who killed his friends and tried to murder him. By the time he arrives, those bad guys have already been dealt with by the town. As it turns out, the town is filled with people that are evil and malicious.

For whatever weird reason, the two Indians that help save Django make bullets of gold for him to use on his enemies. It almost sounded too much like the Lone Ranger for me.

Then the plot gets really strangely twisted. Two of the most powerful men in town divide the gold the original outlaws brought with them. A third powerful man finds out about the gold and wants it. He's willing to kill whoever it takes to achieve his goal.

For the rest of the movie, Django bounces back and forth between the three rivals, between two women - one a gold digger and the other a madwoman, and the town itself. The body count increases dramatically.

I can't really recommend this movie. There's nothing here that you haven't seen before, and probably better elsewhere, if you've seen spaghetti westerns. All of Clint Eastwood's efforts were better in my book. But if you love that kind of entertainment, DJANGO KILL will certainly fill a couple of hours for you.

Suckest Western Movie I ever seen.......2007-03-30

What can I say of something that bad?
This movie sucks.
I waste my money and time buying this pathetic movie.

It was okay.......2006-07-10

For the record it is not Django Kill, he does not carry a unique gatling gun. This movie is really called "Oro Hondo" (meaning "Deep Gold" in Spanish and Italian) or "If You Live Shoot!" in most countries in Europe. The movie is kindof creepy, still the movie could have been better. For example, the love scene didn't really out the movie together, the dubbing needs lots of work, the theme music was in some scenes constantly(kindof annoying) but the plot was just okay (just could have been better). The only reason why I gave it three stars was because of Tomas Quintin Rodriguez aka Tomas Milian.

terrible trash.......2005-08-27

I purchased this movie from amazon because of the online reviews.
This film is terrible. Bad acting, directing, and poor editing... there is a scene where you can see truck tire tracks in the sand. Tomas Milan seems to have little concern about anything that is going on around him.
I have no Idea how this trash achieved such a cult following.
I own a large number of spagetti westerns and this one is by far the worst. Even for the 60's this is a bad film.. period.

The Man With The Golden Bullets.......2005-05-29

I found myself enjoying this movie quite a bit. I'm a sucker for spaghetti westerns of all quality. This one is actually a good film made a bit silly by some poor dubbing. Naturally, it's not up to a Leone level, but it's a bit above alot of the lesser known westerns to come out of Italy. The title is a lame attempt to make this look like a sequel to Django, but it's it's own film. Tomas Milian get doublecrossed out of his gold(It's always about the gold in these films) and left for dead, but soon he's up and running again and pissed! He wants a supersized order of revenge more than he wants his gold. In fact, he seems to lose his interest in the gold, though he gets all tangled up in this mess with the townspeople who are all trying to get their mitts on it. Milian never once says, "Hey folks, this friggin' gold you're fighting over is mine, thank you!" His quest for the doublecrossing bandits leads him to the "Unhappy Place" where adults stomp on kids, undertakers have dry heaves and crazy wives bite their husbands. This town makes quick work of the outlaws before Milian gets there, but once he does he gets tangled up in all sorts of crap, playing all sides kinda like Eastwood in Fistful Of Dollars. While in "The Unhappy Place", Milian gets drunk, gets tortured with stock footage of bats and lizards, blows up a horse with dynamite, sleeps with a crazy woman who sets herself on fire, shoots a guy and admires himself in a mirror, and finally gets away without a penny to his name. A fun movie with a few artsy touches. Two scenes are in Italian coz they weren't dubbed-these are the two bloody scenes. Milian does a rather good job as "The Stranger. He looks alot like C. Thomas Howell. Maybe not quite as badazz as Franco Nero's Django, but he's got a bit more depth. It's actually kinda cool to see a "hero" as being half Mexican, which you don't see alot in westerns. Recommended.

Average customer rating:

Old Jess Done Tanked With This One
Not Bad For What It Was
BUY SOMETHING ELSE!
This is my kind of Franco movie!
It might give someone a rise...or a little wetness...

Sadomania
Starring: Ursula Buchfellner , Ángel Caballero , Diana Capdevila , María del Carmen González , and Andrea Guzon
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
ProductGroup: DVD
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Women in Fury
99 Women (Director's Cut)
The Image
Images in a Convent
Eugenie - The Story of Her Journey Into Perversion

ASIN: B000096IA4
Release Date: 2004-01-27

Customer Reviews:

Old Jess Done Tanked With This One.......2007-05-12

I have the uncut Euro version of 99 Women and have seen Barbed Wire Dolls, and this is his worst women in prison film. Ursula Fellner is this movies' only saving grace. Blue Underground did their usual good job on the transfer to DVD. There were no surprises here. I thought that the sex was somewhat muted in comparison to the other films I had already mentioned. Probably an OK rental but that is about it. Charlie S.

Not Bad For What It Was.......2005-04-13

OK, no one will confuse this with Citizen Kane but you've got to love a movie where the women are always topless. There are a few catfights and some kinky sex as well. On the other hand I hope they didn't overpay the guy who wrote the dialogue. Here's a prime example. After one of the captive girls dies:

"This is terrible. It reminds me of the day Zenobia died"
"A relative?"
"No, my favorite cow."
I guess they saved some money on the script and blew it on great special effects like that plastic crocodile. I will say that it took me three sittings to make it through this fine work of art, never a good sign. I guess that's what happens after a while when everything looks the same. I hope the folks waiting to rent it next didn't get too impatient. Don't worry folks, it's on it's way.

BUY SOMETHING ELSE!.......2004-12-06

This movie was a major disappointment. The plot is awful. The dialogue stinks. The camera-work is amateurish, even by b-movie sleaze standards. It's poorly lit. The acting is terrible, and most of the actresses are in fact ugly slags. There is a lot of nudity, but don't expect to be aroused by it. The people who made this did not put much effort into it at all and it shows. I guess they figured that nudity + perversion was a big enough selling point, and that they could lazily toss the rest of the movie together in a slapdash manner. Unfortunately, this movie does not even excel on the nudity and perversion front, except for perhaps the odd fellow who has a thing for trannies. In other words, this movie has no redeeming value, and even the onanist should look elsewhere. For something in a similar vein and from the same era, but that is actually enjoyable, I'd recommend something from the Something Weird catalogue instead.

This is my kind of Franco movie!.......2004-10-05

A couple of young newlyweds take a wrong turn in a Mediterranean country and discover that they have trespassed onto the grounds of a prison for women. Black transsexual Ajita Wilson plays the warden who decides to throw the blonde wife in jail and, incredibly, to let the husband go. Why, so he can come back or go to complain somewhere? Most of the gorgeous inmates are fair-skinned. They all labor in a rock quarry under the blazing sun topless with cut-off jeans. How do they keep from having their skin burned off by sunburn? The governor of the province and his wife are sadists who use the prison inmates to satisfy their perverse desires. The movie is a veritable orgy of depravity. The action includes lesbianism, sex under coercion, false imprisonment, white slavery, hunting women as sport, brutality, etc. Franco has a role as a gay pimp. Despite some obviously outrageous and even ridiculous aspects this movie works for me. It is quite similar to Ilsa, the Wicked Warden. Franco is pretty good at these WIP type movies.

It might give someone a rise...or a little wetness..........2004-08-21

I have tried to own every old '70's Euro-sexplotation flick worth watching...so when I bought this film recently I had very high expectations. I ended up giving it three stars because it hits the mark in some important areas, but misses the chance to be an excellent five star sex flick with others. Is there naked women being abused in this film? Yes. Are the abuse scenes "erotic enough" to excite the common "freaky" viewers out there? Somewhat.

For example, in one sequence where a young, hot looking naked prisoner girl was caged and subsequently "whipped" by the transsexual wardon...the whipping of her breasts was done so gently and ridiculously fake...it was a phony turn off!

However, in another sexual scene where a young prisoner girl was sold into sexual slavery to a rough looking guy on a fishing boat...his subsequent rape of that girl was a "very hot" sex scene and worth all three stars, in my rating of this film! So you see folks...if you are looking for constant stimulation while watching this old sex classic...you have to look elsewhere, such as the film "The Image".

I know there are couples out there just dying to get their hands on these old Euro sex flicks to watch after a nice dinner to lead them into a sexual fantasy mode...this movie may be good enough to do that for you...

The hot sex scene on the boat with the kidnapped teen is worth a boner or two!

Glamour Girls (Love Me Tonight / The Blue Angel / Pandora and the Flying Dutchman / The Good Fairy / Lured)

Average customer rating:

Beware! No German Blue Angel

Glamour Girls (Love Me Tonight / The Blue Angel / Pandora and the Flying Dutchman / The Good Fairy / Lured)
Starring: George Sanders , Lucille Ball , Charles Coburn , Boris Karloff , and Cedric Hardwicke
Director: Douglas Sirk , Albert Lewin , and William Wyler
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge 1931 / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman)
Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection (Sullivan's Travels/The Lady Eve/The Palm Beach Story/Hail the Conquering Hero/The Great McGinty/Christmas in July/The Great Moment)
Literary Classics Collection (Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions), Billy Budd)
Robert Mitchum - The Signature Collection (Angel Face / Macao / The Sundowners / Home from the Hill / The Good Guys and the Bad Guys / The Yakuza)
The Heiress (Universal Cinema Classics)

ASIN: B000IONJLA
Release Date: 2006-11-21

Amazon.com

Five different Hollywood queens are represented in Glamour Girls, a fun Kino compendium of Golden Age titles. The entertainment value of this batch almost makes you overlook the fact that the movies have nothing to do with each other. The oldest film is The Blue Angel, the legendary 1930 classic (filmed in Germany by American director Josef von Sternberg) that made Marlene Dietrich an instant star. The story of an eminent professor (Emil Jannings) brought to his knees by seductive showgirl Lola Lola (that's Marlene) never loses its power, and von Sternberg's eye for voluptuous chiaroscuro and exquisite sado-masochism is fully expressed (he and Dietrich would make six more films at Paramount in the following half-decade). One important note: this is the English-language version of the picture (not dubbed, but shot concurrently with the superior German-language version).

Love Me Tonight is the best movie musical you've never heard of, a deliciously clever 1932 romp with Maurice Chevalier as a poor Paris tailor and Jeannette MacDonald as a wealthy aristocrat. Rouben Mamoulian's direction is a landmark of early-sound ingenuity, and the Rodgers and Hart score includes such goodies as "Isn't It Romantic?" (given an epic treatment here), "Lover," and "Mimi." The Good Fairy, from 1935, showcases the wonderful Margaret Sullavan, the throaty-voiced actress whose quicksilver reactions look as fresh and delightful today as they were 70 years ago. Sullavan begins the comedy as an orphan, becomes a theater usherette, and eventually becomes involved with meatpacking magnate Frank Morgan and bewhiskered lawyer Herbert Marshall. The matching of director William Wyler and screenwriter Preston Sturges is not a natural one, to be sure, and Wyler's direction tends to weigh the film down (he was, however, enchanted by Sullavan, whom he married--briefly). The great Sturges patter shines through, and you'll adore Sullavan.

1947's Lured puts pre-TV Lucille Ball in London, where a murderer is killing women he meets through the personal ads. The whodunit isn't difficult to guess, but director Douglas Sirk brings his elegant German precision to the proceedings, and George Sanders and Boris Karloff head a nifty cast of supporting folk. Finally, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) matches Ava Gardner and James Mason in a daft blend of mythology and Hemingwayesque Lost Generation stuff. Ava is surrounded by dashing suitors, but Mason's mystery man lures her into the realm of myth. The movie's got giggle-worthy plot twists and great Technicolor, to say nothing of glamour. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Beware! No German Blue Angel.......2006-12-07

This set only contains the English version of the film. You still need to shell out $31.00 for the earlier KINO release of the film that has both the German and English versions. If the superior German version had been included, this set would have received a 5 star rating.

Average customer rating:

Django
Starring: Angel Alvarez , Jose Bodalo , Eduardo Fajardo , Franco Nero , and Loredana Nusciak
Director: Sergio Corbucci
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)

ASIN: B000PC6Z48
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Description

Sergio Corbucci's Immortal Classic - Now Restored From The Original Negative!

Franco Nero stars as the lone stranger who roams the West dragging a coffin filled with chaos towards a destiny ruled by vengeance. Co-writer/director Sergio Corbucci (THE GREAT SILENCE, COMPANEROS) packs his landmark classic with indelible images, unforgettable performances and some of the most shocking brutality of any `Spaghetti Western' ever made. This is the still-controversial epic that defined a genre, launched a phenomenon and inspired over 50 unofficial sequels. This is the one and only DJANGO!

DVD:

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