Red-Barracuda This spaghetti western is yet another in the seemingly endless cycle of 'Django' movies. Like the vast majority, it only has a passing relevance to the original Sergio Corbucci classic and really the lead character is no more than a standard spaghetti western anti-hero who could essentially go under any moniker. But, I have seen quite a few of the Django movies now and I have also seen quite a lot of the more run-of-the-mill Italian westerns too and this effort is quite clearly better than most. In this one we have the title character hunting down a group of bandits who raped and killed his wife. He takes them out one by one with the help of one of their ex-gang members, whom he saves from execution in order to gain his trust and assistance.This one has Anthony Steffen as Django and I reckon he is one of the better actors at playing this kind of role. He does elicit a certain hard-nosed cool throughout and its easy getting behind him on his bloody revenge mission. Steffen also has good chemistry with Stelio Candelli who plays the Mexican bandit who partners him. The nature of the plot with its emphasis on a series of villains taken down one at a time, means that the story is made up of individual segments and I think this helps pace the film quite well, which is a good thing given that many spaghetti westerns can get a bit tedious as they go on. The ending also was good here too, although I saw the twist ending coming a mile off I have to say – the clues are there and you have just got to spot them. All-in-all though, I was pleasantly surprised with this one and certainly found it to be one of the better movies from this sub-genre.

ma-cortes ¨Ravioli¨ Western with two top-of -the range ¨Macaroni¨ players as Anthony Steffen and Chris Avram . Italian production full of action , exaggerated characters , shootouts and lots of violence . A good example of Latino western genre from Italy . For money, for pleasure, for revenge, he doesn't care why he kills or how . Django (Anthony Steffen) is on the trail of some renegade outlaws who raped and killed his spouse . En route, he saves a horse thief named Carranza (Stelio Candeli) from an impromptu hanging . He learns the man knows who committed the killing , as three bandits named Jeff (Chris Avram) , Ibanez (Benito Stefanelli) and Thompson (Riccardo Pizzuti) . The two men team up and head west for vendetta . Django goes out to avenge his wife battling murderous and executes a single-handedly revenge , as he shoots , ravages and kills each person involved in the killing .This meaty Western contains an interesting but well known plot , violence , shoot'em up and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . This moving Spaghetti packs noisy action , thrills , drama with exciting final . Ordinary Spaghetti Western follows the Sergio Leone wake and it is proceeded in violent style . The film packs violence , shootouts , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist Anthony Steffen against the heartless Chris Avram , Riccardo Pizzuti and his underlings . Anthony Steffen is fine , he ravages the screen , hit and run and kills . This movie is a lot of fun to watch . It's an acceptable story with a touch of peculiarity , some particular characters, and an amazing music score . The picture is a tale of justice and revenge, as a man returns home , a border little town and looks for vendetta against the wife's killers . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . This is an exciting film, plenty action , thrills, fights , gun-down and breathtaking outdoors from Lacio , Rome , and interiors in Elios Studios . In the picture appears Spaghetti habitual secondaries playing brief interventions such as Riccardo Pizzuti : ordinary in Terence Hill-Spencer movies , Giovanni Cianfriglia or Ken Wood as a henchman , Benito Stefanelli , Fortunato Arena and Simone Blondell : Demofilo Fidani's daughter , known as the Italian Ed Wood . The notorious Spaghetti actor , Anthony Steffen is good in his usual tough role . The pic is well starred by Anthony Steffen-Antonio De Teffe- , he began playing secondary roles into typical examples of popular Italian films of the late 50s as sword and sandal epics, comedies, adventures and was with spaghetti westerns that renamed achieved worldwide stardom . photo) Anthony Steffen may be a name best remembered by Spaghetti Western aficionados, but in his day, from the mid-'60s to the early '70s, Steffen was one of the most popular actors of the genre — at the time cheap B movies, now revered cult classics . The handsome, Italian-born — actually at the Brazilian embassy in Rome — Antonio Luiz de Teffè von Hoonholtz began working in films as a studio messenger for Vittorio De Sica. From there, Steffen began acting in sword-and-sandal epics, later moving onto the Western genre, where he found his niche. Unlike fellow Spaghetti star Clint Eastwood, however, Steffen never became a top international box-office attraction. His acting is often accused of being wooden, but in many manners is ideally suited to playing the steely-faced gunslinger synonymous with the genre . His others successes include well liked features as Seven Dollars to Kill, The last Mohican¨, ¨Train for Durango¨, ¨Gentleman Jo¨ , ¨Four dollars for Django¨, ¨Shango¨, ¨Arizona colt¨, ¨Apocalypse Joe¨ and several others .There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes. There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , as in the final gunfights and the customary showdown conclusion . The movie gets the usual Western issues, such as avenger antiheroes , violent facing off , exaggerated baddies, soundtrack with Morricone influence , among them . The sense of pacing is such that his film can be counted on to move quickly and smoothly . Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a shinning sun and fine sets . Good cinematography by Marcello Masciocchi , including a nice remastering . Great musical score by Piero Umiliani , furthermore a catching and emotive leitmotif . This motion picture was well and professionally directed by Edoardo Mulargia though with no originality. Edoardo Mulargia directed a lot of Spaghetti as ¨W Djianjo¨, ¨El Puro¨ , ¨Django Spara¨ Cjamngo¨ , ¨Shango¨ , ¨Vete con Dios , Gringo¨, most part starred by Robert Woods or Anthony Steffen . Rating : 6. Acceptable and passable Western that will appeal to Spaghetti fans .

Woodyanders Cunning ace gunslinger Django (a solid and engaging performance by Anthony Steffen) enlists the assistance of loud-mouthed thief Carranza (an equally sturdy and amusing portrayal by Stelio Candelli) after his wife is raped and killed by a band of vicious renegades. Carranza is the sole person who can identify said killers. Director Edoardo Mulargia, working from a compact script by Nino Stresa, relates the fun story at a snappy pace, stages the plentiful gunfights with rip-snorting verve, and tops everything off with nifty touches of goofy humor. Steffen and Candelli display a winning chemistry in the leads; they receive sound support from Chris Avram as the lethal Jeff, Donato Castellenata as the friendly Paco, and Riccardo Pizzuti as the dastardly Thompson. Luscious brunette stunner Esmeralda Baldi supplies some tasty eye candy as the fetching Lola. The surprise ending is a pip. Marcello Maciocchi's dynamic cinematography injects lots of extra invigorating energy. Piero Umiliani's robust sweeping score hits the lively stirring spot. A cool little oater.

Scott LeBrun One of a number of cheaply made Italian Westerns designed to cash in on the Django brand name, "W Django!" a.k.a. "A Man Called Django", doesn't compare of course to the original Franco Nero film but is still very acceptable non-think entertainment that keeps you watching for an hour and a half. In this story the cunning bounty hunter is actually married, but the poor woman lasts barely a minute and a half; she's assaulted and gunned down by bandits. A year later Django (Anthony Steffen) comes to a small town and learns that a thief about to be hanged, Carranza (Stelio Candelli) can identify the members of that gang, so he saves his life. The two men are then united as Carranza points out one lowlife at a time while bodies regularly get pumped full of bullets and a shipment of guns plays into the plot. Don't look for too much story here, but you can expect a fair amount of style, courtesy of director Edoardo Mulargia, and the violence is pretty constant; the body count in this thing is impressive. You can also expect a LOT of comedy in this thing, thanks to writer Nino Stresa. Candelli in particular is an absolute hoot. The acting is competent all the way down the line; horror fans may recognize Chris Avram from Mario Bavas' "A Bay of Blood", cast here as the outlaw Jeff. Esmeralda Barros adds appreciable eye candy as Lola, and Donato Castellaneta is quite appealing as saloon owner Paco. Some fans of Italian Westerns may find that ultimately it gets too silly, but it's undeniably very lively from start to finish and hard not to like. Steffen may not be Franco Nero, but he's pretty cool in his own right and the viewer simply has to love how ingenious he is. He establishes himself as a cool customer soon after his entrance, and he comes up with nifty ways to trick various bad guys. (The bit with the fake arm is a show-stopper.) All in all, this is quite agreeable and well worth a viewing. Seven out of 10.