Django (1966) ****

Django (1966) is widely and correctly regarded as one of the best and most influential Italian Westerns. There are a number of reasons for this—one is Franco Nero's handsome and manly titular antihero, who, despite a seemingly misanthropic and even sadist attitude toward humankind, has a certain code of ethics. Another is Sergio Corbucci's story and direction—iconic scenes of Django dragging a coffin across various landscapes, feuding Mexican revolutionaries vs. a former Confederate Major and his private KKK army, a town with the thickest mud you've ever seen, a thrilling bar fight, excessive hand torture, and a certain reveal of a certain beneficial weapon are incredibly memorable. And, of course, there is the music—Django features a rousing, grand, at times screeching score by Luis Bacalov and an unforgettable earworm of a theme song that never gets old, crooned to perfection by Rocky Roberts.