10.000 Dollari per un Massacro (1967)

Gianni Garko plays Django in this minor but well written Spaghetti Western. German R2 DVD - from the Koch Media Django Boxset.

 

Django (Gianni Garko, credited as Gary Hudson) is a bounty killer. Returning to town with his latest kill, he passes the outlaw Manuel Vasqiez. Handing the bounty victim over to the Sheriff he is asked to go out and get Manuel, for whom there is already a $2000 reward - but Django passes. Meanwhile, Manuel rides to the ranch of Mendoza, the man who sent him to jail for four years, demanding compensation - instead of money he decides to take Mendoza's daughter Dolores. Mendoza offers Django extra money if he will kill Manuel, but he is uninterested, the total still being below his $10,000 Dollar minimum; that night however, Manuel kills a man in a bar and his bounty rises enough to interest Django who was actively considering settling down with his woman, Mijanou. She reluctantly lets him go out on the hunt, but he soon finds that killing Manuel might not be as profitable as working alongside him...

The second part of a duo of Spaghetti Westerns produced by Luciano Martino, 10.000 Dollari per un Massacro is a minor chapter in the history of the genre - a small scale film, it would probably have been lost in the mass of films shot during the year, a new title coming out literally every week, except for its impressively written script. From the film's opening, it is very hard to tell where the next scene will go, and there are a lot of unexpected twists throughout - fortunately, unlike a low budget giallo title, these twists are not random jumps in logic or designed only to confuse, but instead help to create an unpredictable and very enjoyable storyline. The good writing also extends to the romance between Django and Mijanou which is far more believable than those in most similar Euro-Westerns, giving us a much better understanding of the characters and their actions - this stronger than average characterisation means that the film's climax is impressively tense. Unfortunately, grating comic relief does raise its head a few times, even in the last shots of the film, but they are brief and the damage is kept to a minimum. With far more plot than action, the script does not give into the temptation that befell many similar films of including gratuitous gun battles - there are a few fights that are not completely necessary to the storyline, but they all help to build up Django's character. The film's pacing is relatively slow but it never drags.

Interestingly the story would have worked well as a direct sequel to Sergio Corbucci's original Django (1966), partly thanks to the casting of Loredana Nusciak as Django's woman (she played the similar role of Maria in Corbucci's film). Set a few years after the events of the previous film, the previously desolate town has prospered, with Mijanou taking control of the bar where she used to work. Django, meanwhile, has put his gunfighting skills to good use as a bounty hunter.

Romolo Guerrieri was a minor director in euro-cult circles but shows some real talent here, making good use of unusual camera angles, but without going over-the-top and being distracting, unfortunately, the editing is a little choppy in places, and some scenes seem to end far too soon. Filmed in the usual places in Spain, the film looks great - especially the windswept final scenes. For the all important soundtrack, composer Nora Orlandi provides a varied and very fitting score that suits the film perfectly.

Gianni Garko made his break into Spaghetti Westerns with this duo of titles from the Martino brothers (the other film being Per 100.000 Dollari T'Ammazzo (1967)). Inspired here by the iconic Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" characterisation he doesn't have the more assured characteristics that he would bring to the Sartana films, but he looks strong throughout and it adds to the film's layer of realism. He is joined again by the sadly short-lived Claudio Camaso as Manuel (wearing a most curious amount of mascara) and the familiar euro-cult figure of Fernando Sancho as his father. The beautiful Loredana Nusciak is clever casting as Django's woman, all but reprising her role from Django (1966), while the rest of the cast contain some familiar Spaghetti Western faces.

All text in this review written by Timothy Young - 13th February 2007.
Text from this review not to be used without authorization.

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