The cinema landscape in the 1960s was completely different: yes, in 1967 a James Bond film “You only live twice” was Germany’s biggest box office hit. But apart from that, a sex education documentary and some long-forgotten erotic films topped the annual charts. In between there was “Django: His Songbook was the Colt” but a tough western that enjoys cult status to this day.
The dust-dry and blood-red tear was only shortened in the cinemas, where it reached more than two million people. This shortened version also appeared on video and was indexed in 1982. It was not until 2007 that the brutal western was removed from the index and the Blu-ray premiere finally followed at the end of 2020 – uncut and with FSK 18, and also strictly limited. If you didn’t have access to it then, you can now: This week Django: His Hymnal Was the Colt received a re-release on Blu-ray – in full length and this time in a regular edition.
At the same time, one appeared DVD re-release* from the movie. “Django: His Songbook Was the Colt” was staged by Lucio Fulci, who deserved a place on the director’s Olympus mainly for his stylish and extremely gory horror films. The bonus material on the Blu-ray includes an audio interview with the cult director.
Western from a horror expert – this is “Django: His Hymnbook Was the Colt”!
Gold prospector Django (Franco Nero) is rushed home. Once there, he discovers that his family’s farm has been sold – to the power-hungry Scott clan of all men! Even worse, soon after, Django discovers that the patriarch of the Scott family is his biological father. This is the beginning of a bloody family feud between Django and his half-brothers and their murderous minions…
In the original Italian, “Django: His Hymnbook Was the Colt was “narratively separate from the original”django“movie to do. But since Franco Nero took on the leading role in both westerns, the German synchro turned this Django-less film into a new “Django” part.
Strictly speaking, this is a sham, but in the long history of such cunning promotional strategies, the public has been even more seriously deceived: as in the original “Django”, the spirited conflict between grumpy shaggy necks also culminates in “Django: His Songbook War de Foal” . drastic peaks of violence reminiscent of horror cinema.
However, in “Django: His Hymnal Was the Colt,” Nero’s morally contradictory title hero is temporarily overshadowed by his alcoholic co-star Jeff, happily embodied by spaghetti western icon George Hilton. Here’s what fans of Django (real or synchro-sorcered) should be prepared for when they see this cult hit for the first time.