Django, prepare a coffin (4 Stars)

In 1966 a spaghetti western was made called "Django", starring Franco Nero. Many fans call it the best spaghetti western ever made. I personally prefer "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", but I admit that "Django" is up there with the greats. Two years later a prequel was made, "Django, prepare a coffin", which was intended to tell the story behind the death of Django's wife. Franco Nero should have played the lead role again, but he turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. Terence Hill was given the role in his place. The main reason for selecting Terence, who hadn't appeared in any western films before then, was his appearance. He looked more like Franco Nero than any other Italian actor. There was a shortage of Italian actors with blond hair and blue eyes.

The film takes place in 1877. Django has a criminal past, but now he's gone straight. He works escorting gold transports from one bank to another. His former partner David Barry has also gone straight and has entered politics. The difference between the two is that Barry still has contacts with criminals. He doesn't get his hands dirty, but he employs crooks to work for him. He wants to become a governor, and he needs money, so he hires a gunman called Lucas to rob stagecoaches. He offers Django a job, but Django refuses.

Django has to transport a gold shipment which is larger than usual. Lucas ambushes the shipment and kills everyone except for Django, who is badly wounded and looks like he's dead. Django's wife was accompanying the shipment, and she's also killed. Django swears revenge on Barry and Lucas, but it takes five years to prepare. He takes on a new career as a hangman and undertaker. (Evidently the two jobs used to be combined). He fakes the executions of eight men, then asks them to help him with his revenge.

David Barry is greedy. One gold shipment wasn't enough for him. He's sent Lucas to rob a few more shipments, but he still needs more money. Django's plan is to rob a gold transport after Lucas has already robbed it. That might have worked, but one of Django's men persuades the others to turn against Django and keep the money.

Fans of the original Django film will be glad to see that Django uses a machine gun again.

This is a powerful film, though maybe not up to the quality of the first film. Terence Hill is an ideal stand-in for Franco Nero in appearance and mannerisms. He never smiles once in the film. This is in contrast to the comic roles for which he later became well known. The film has been restored on Blu-ray if you're interested in buying it.

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