One Damned Day at Dawn... Django Meets Sartana!

1970
4.9| 1h37m| en| More Info
Released: 13 June 1970 Released
Producted By: Tarquinia Cinematografica
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

The small desert town of Black City is held in a reign of terror by a nasty gang of criminals lead by the ruthless Bud Willer. Earnest, but inexperienced Sheriff Jack Ronson arrives in town to establish law and order. Mysterious bounty hunter Django helps Ronson out.

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Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Bezenby Fabio Testi, dressed as Tom Baker in Doctor Who, turns up in a windy town and announces that he's the new sheriff. That's all fine and dandy, the locals say, but then they point out that there's a bunch of Mexican jerks that ride into town now and again to steal stuff, and that lot are affiliated with an even bigger bunch of jerks, who think they run the town and make a big show of playing 'keep away' with Fabio's gun, pulling his pigtails and making fun of his really long scarf. Testi, unable to stand up to these bullies, goes back to his sheriff's office to mope and listen to The Cure. Shaken, he's now got to figure out how to get rid of these guys, but what you're thinking is "Well buddy the most important plot point I'd like to know is how these two bad guy gangs got together – that'll help the momentum of the film greatly". You're in luck, because we get a flashback that goes on for so long I wasn't sure if the film had moved on to some future bank heist involving the bad guys. Hunt Powers is here too as Django (but dressed as Sartana) and maybe he's the answer to Testi's problems, seeing as he appears to have a six- shooter that can fire twelve or more bullets with being reloaded! He's also not a timid pussy like Testi's character.Director Fidani is not so much the 'Ed Wood' of Spaghetti Western so much as a he is a trailblazer for how utterly trashy Italian cinema would become after the money started drying up. Here, he fills the film with everything he can think of – laughing bad guys, drinking, food eating, punch ups, gunfights at dawn, wind, punch ups, walking, looking, smelling, fire, glass raising, blinking, punch ups, shaving, roof climbing, Mexican doing the Times crossword, crossing streets, looking out of windows, looking into windows, pouring beer, brushing dust off of trousers, smoking cigars, Ames taping, hyperfine splitting, horse riding, squinting, scarf wearing, stereographic projection mapping, opening doors, crying, sitting, Morphological analysis and re- examination of the taxonomic circumscription of Acosmium, drooling, pointing, putting socks on, tracklaying and resignalling for the East London Line extension, baking, wriggling toes, scratching, wondering, The implementation of the AMPHORA2 workflow for phylogenetic analysis of metagenomic shotgun sequencing data, stirring, singing, farting, flirting, punch ups, etc.
MartinHafer The word 'Django' is really irrelevant in many westerns, as most have nothing to do with the original Franco Nero film "Django". It's NOT the same character and producers tossed the word into titles hoping to lure unsuspecting folks to the theaters looking for a Django film. Now, it's even more confusing with the recent release of the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained"--yet another film that really is not about Django! As for "Django Meets Sartana", it's yet another non-Django film! Confusing, huh?! The film begins with a new sheriff arriving in a town that hasn't seen the law in years. Not surprisingly, the place is overrun by bandits and Jack Ronson (aka 'Sartana'; Fabio Testi) has his hands full. When a bounty hunter named Django (Jack Betts) arrives soon after, Ronson has a new ally to help him get rid of the thugs.So is this Django film worth seeing? Well, probably not unless you absolutely adore Italian westerns which are poorly written. The fight between Sartana and Django makes no sense at all--nor does their dialog in this scene. Plus, with the big shootout with the final group of baddies, one of the men has a clear shot at the Sheriff--but runs up some stairs in order to give the guy a chance to shoot him! The film also seems to have little in the way of unique plot--just one killing after another after another. Sure, there are some decent moments, but the film itself has little to differentiate it from several hundred other Italian westerns. Well, that isn't 100% true--it IS the only western I've ever seen where the Sheriff and the leader of the baddies arm wrestle to show who's the toughest hombre!!By the way, although Jack Betts may not be a name you recognize, this handsome actor later became quite famous in soap operas. The reason you might not recognize him as the same guy is that in "Django Meets Sartana", he had brown hair--not his signature silver hair. Also, note the one battle where it's six against Django. Django's gun CLEARLY shoots more than six shots without reloading (he shoots one guy, the boss, twice)!! Not only is he cool, but he apparently has the ability to defy physics!!Why I did not adore the original "Django", it's sure a lot better than this tripe. Not one of Italy's finer moments in the film world.
TankGuy The plot line of this trashy Fidani saga is as non-existent as the inhabitants of the town in which it is set. Basically, a young fellow arrives in Black City to assume the position of Sheriff. The town is in the thrall of two minuscule outlaw gangs who spread terror amongst the elusive townsfolk. A mysterious bounty hunter(yes, you all know the type)turns up which then complicates things for the Sheriff.So, you and your mates are bored and decide to make you're very own Spaghetti western. Grab a couple of cameras, a hoard of props, scribble together some rough ideas using every western cliché there is and presto,this movie is the end result!. As with the other Fidanis The dialogue is excruciatingly dry and contains corny lines which have been spoken in every B western ever made. The Django and Sartana of this movie are two of the most uncharismatic anti heroes I've ever seen. The rest of the performances are filled by members of the "Miles Deem stock company",(Dino Strano, Dennis Colt, Simone Blondell etc.)who are just as wooden. For half of the movie we are forced to sit through painful conversations between one dimensional characters and then there's the longest and most incoherent flashback ever committed to film, which lasts at least 20 minutes. But hey, it's a Fidani trashfest,It's not supposed to be fantastic. In spite of the deliberate frustrating errors, this movie is very enjoyable.The action scenes are peppered with the usual Fidani stunts. Guys falling from balconies, tumbling down stairs and taking violent spasms as they pretend to get shot. The stunts are what is best about the film and will provoke a chuckle or two, which is what I love most about Fidani's westerns. The final shootout in the wind swept streets of Black city had next to no suspense but was fun to watch anyhow. I couldn't get over the part when Django walks out into the street to kill the outlaws whose main priority is to cover their faces with their scarves which subsequently proves detrimental to their lives. The fistfights were nothing spectacular and seemed to be thrown in to waste time, but were well choreographed and edited anyhow. Also, look out for the most intense arm wrestling contest ever seen(not). I can't quite put my finger on it but I find the bleak sandpit locations and constant emptiness of the town somewhat appealing.As a trashfan, I think it would be great if Spaghetti westerns like this were released in a boxset(region 2)as even though they lie at the bottom of the barrel, I enjoy them immensely. This movie makes for brilliant entertainment on a cold, dull, quiet afternoon or in the early hours of the morning when you are plagued by Insomnia. 7/10.
Billy Wiggins Director Miles Deem (AKA Demofilo Fidani) delivers a tedious, overlong western opus with very little going for it. 82 minutes long, feels like 182. Handsome Fabio Testi is Ronson, the new sheriff of Black City. Ronson learns that the notorious gangster Willer and his cohort Sanchez are the de facto law in Black City; the townsfolk live in fear of their (modestly- staged) rampages. Meanwhile, the mysterious stranger Django (Hunt Powers) also arrives in town to settle an old score against Willer.The set-piece of the movie is a fairly brilliant (compared to the rest of the pic) showdown at dawn between Django and Willer's men, which occurs maybe 2/3 of the way into the show. The two sides wordlessly face off in the town square as composer Lallo Gori's music swells to a passioned, foreboding crescendo. Credulity is strained, however, as Django fells all six men he faces before they get as much as a single shot off! For a moment, we see Fidani at what must be the height of his abilities -- a real, exciting Spaghetti Western standoff. Fidani obviously liked the scene, as he re-stages it again at the climax, with Ronson facing Sanchez in the almost-exact same fashion. Second time around, not so great.Otherwise, the flick pads out its running time with several lengthy, pointless hand-to-hand rumbles, which are neither exciting nor essential to the story. Also filling the time is an extended, narrated "flashback" of how Willer and Sanchez met during a bank heist. This sequence plays out over about 10 minutes, and is so protracted that you will forget you are in a flashback. (I sure did.) And as for Sartana? The very last line of dialog in the picture has Ronson admitting to Django that he is "known as Sartana in some parts". What was the point of that?Dino Strano as Willer is effortlessly menacing in a cool way, mostly playing things grim but occasionally breaking into a cackling, taunting laugh. Powers is a miserable Django, with little charisma and tons of pancake makeup on his creased, craggly face. The likable Testi is frankly not given much to do rather than look exasperated. He has proved himself an able protagonist in several other genre films, but here he is basically a tall guy that looks good in a cowboy outfit.The production betrays its modest budget by boasting a tiny cast playing the story out in cramped, cheap-looking sets. The town square is forever dark and muddy, which may have been a choice by the filmmakers or may just mean they couldn't afford to wait for the sun to come out, to begin filming. The overall cheapness makes the score by Coriolano (Lallo) Gori seems that much richer and full-throated in comparison. Gori, as usual, delivers a fine, robust series of cues.This is one of about a half-dozen flicks that Fidani cranked out with pretty much the same cast and behind-the-camera personnel. Of that bunch, none are great, and ONE DAMNED DAY may well be the least of them. 5/10 stars.