A spectral gunslinger haunts the guilty with a cross and a pistol in this gothic Spaghetti Western.
DJANGO THE BASTARD
From Hell... the Stranger Comes Back!
A Confederate soldier returns from the dead to take revenge on three officers who betrayed his unit in battle.
Quick Answer
Django the Bastard is a 1969 Italian action, drama, horror, and western film directed by Sergio Garrone about a mysterious stranger who seeks vengeance on those who betrayed his unit during the Civil War.
Programmer's Pick
Django the Bastard serves up revenge with a side of existential dread, blending the classic Spaghetti Western with gothic horror vibes. Anthony Steffen’s silent, spectral gunslinger doesn’t just shoot first—he marks your grave before you even draw. If you like your westerns brooding and your justice supernatural, saddle up.
— SassyFlix Programmer
Overview
Details & Specs
- Director
- Sergio Garrone
- Writers
- Sergio Garrone, Anthony Steffen
- Release
- 1969
- Runtime
- 1h 39m
- Country
- Italy
- Language
- Italian
- Also Known As
- Django the Bastard, Django the Avenger, The Strangers Gundown, Stranger's Gundown, Django, o bastardo, Een Bende ploerten voor Django, La Horde des salopards, Höllenhunde gehetzt bis zum Verrecken, O Sinal de Django, La horde des salopards, Django el bastardo, El bastardo, Original title: Django il bastardo
Why This Matters
This film blends Gothic elements with the Spaghetti Western genre and was later introduced to American audiences in an edited version titled The Stranger's Gundown, reflecting cross-cultural adaptation and distribution practices of the era.
Cast & Crew
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Why Cult
This isn’t your standard shootout: the film fuses bleak nihilism and gothic style with classic frontier grit.
The mysterious protagonist plants crosses to announce each target’s fate, adding an eerie, ritualistic edge to the vengeance.
The plot ties its bloody vendetta to a Confederate Army betrayal, grounding the mayhem in historical treachery.
Expect a mysterious stranger, elaborate rituals, and a body count that nods to Italy’s darker cinematic traditions.
Scene Gallery
Threat File
Betrayal and massacre of a Confederate Army unit
Vengeful stranger (possibly supernatural)
Targets and kills those who betrayed him
Wild West town
Questions from the Vault
When was Django the Bastard released? +
Django the Bastard was released in 1969.
Who directed Django the Bastard? +
Django the Bastard was directed by Sergio Garrone.
How long is Django the Bastard? +
Django the Bastard has a runtime of 99 minutes.
What genre is Django the Bastard? +
Django the Bastard is an action, drama, horror, and western film.
Why does Django place crosses with his victims’ names in the street? +
Django marks each of his targets with a cross bearing their name as a grim warning before exacting his revenge, reinforcing the film’s ritualistic and supernatural undertones.
Is Django a supernatural avenger or a mortal seeking vengeance? +
The film teases the possibility that Django may be more than human, possibly an avenging spirit returned from the dead to punish the officers who betrayed his unit.
