Preparing for Tarantino: Spaghetti Western Compañeros Features Star of Original Django Before He Was Unchained

Before there was Django Unchained, there was Django, and the star of that 1966 spaghetti western, Franco Nero, can be found in the 1970 surreal comedy Compañeros, which also inspired Quentin Tarantino's upcoming anti-slavery opus.

The Film: Compañeros  (1970)

Why It's an Inessential Essential: With Django Unchained on the way, it's a good time to revisit the films that inspired Quentin Tarantino's upcoming pastiche. The winningly surreal action comedy Compañeros is the third installment of a trilogy that  spaghetti-western director Sergio Corbucci's shot with Franco Nero, the star of the original Django (1966) and the mysterious man  who makes a prominent cameo at the end of the Django Unchained trailer. Like most spaghetti westerns, Compañeros is a mish-mosh of narrative tropes that takes the kind of mercenary outsider made popular in the genre by A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and Django and places him in the political, revolutionary-centric context of "Zapata westerns" like Tepepa (1969) and Duck, You Sucker! (1971). more »

Django Squared: Jamie Foxx Meets Franco Nero in New Django Unchained Images

The Weinstein Co. has unveiled a batch of new images from Quentin Tarantino Christmas Western Django Unchained, including shots of Jamie Foxx as the former slave-turned-bounty hunter Django, Christoph Waltz as his German comrade in arms Dr. King Schultz, and Leonardo DiCaprio as the evil plantation owner Calvin Candie. But it's the image of Foxx sidled up to a bar next to Franco Nero — the original Django — that gets bonus points for film nerdage.
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Quentin Tarantino Directing a Spaghetti Western with Christoph Waltz, Franco Nero

We're gearing up for a Tarantino-heavy March here in Los Angeles, what with QT's month-long programming stint at the New Beverly. And here's some news you can expect to hear more on as fan boys corner the director between screenings: Ain't It Cool's Jeremy Smith reports that Tarantino will direct a spaghetti Western starring his Inglorious Basterds Oscar-winner, Christoph Waltz. Previously, Django himself (AKA Franco Nero) revealed his own involvement, name-dropping Keith Carradine and Treat Williams as additional co-stars. How do you say it? That's a bingo! [Ain't It Cool, The Playlist, Movieplayer]