Django (film) - Production

Production

Sergio Corbucci had originally wanted to cast Mark Damon in the lead role, but Damon experienced a conflict in his scheduling and had to withdraw. Corbucci then turned to a reluctant Franco Nero, who eventually accepted the role. Filming began in December 1965 at the Tor Caldara nature reserve, where a specialist set had been constructed for use in Western movies. Despite the winter conditions leaving the set in extremely muddy conditions, Corbucci rejected set designer Giancarlo Simi's proposal to clean up the set, as he felt it added to the atmosphere of the film. With no real script in place for filming, Corbucci turned to his brother Bruno to draft out a story; over the Christmas period, Bruno Corbucci wrote out a scaletta, which Nero identifies as being "like a synopsis, but more detailed, still not a full screenplay". Filming also took place in several locations around Madrid, whilst interior scenes were shot at Elios Studios outside Rome; the filming was concluded by late February 1966.

Upon its network premier on BBC Two's Moviedrome in 1993, Django was preceded by an introduction by series-presenter Alex Cox, during which Cox stated that the film was,"to the best of knowledge", the only spaghetti Western to be shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio, rather than the usual widescreen Techniscope format. Cox also attempts to clarify the name Django, stating how it appears to be "a sick joke on the part of Corbucci and his screenwriter-brother Bruno" as it seems to make reference to jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt who was able to play the guitar despite, Cox erroneously states, "lacking several fingers on one hand"; Reinhardt actually had several fingers paralyzed on his left hand, but was able to overcome this disability, in a similar way to how the titular character is able to operate his gun in the final shootout despite his hands being crushed.