Django Unrestrained!

This one’s for Steve, who dared me to post on this.  …Don’t ask “Steve who?”  He might be modest. 

Sometimes, a running-joke can turn into something so much more! 

Occasionally, on this blog, we’ve touched upon the "Horror and Sci-Fi Film Appreciation Society", hosted by Keith Crocker, that I attend on Thursday nights – most recently mentioned HERE. 

For a brief time, we will be shifting our focus toward the “Spaghetti Western” genre, and tonight we led off with one of the best.  Franco Nero in the 1966 classic “Django”! 

The running-joke stems from a continuing education course, presented some time ago by Keith, on Spaghetti Westerns.  In it, “Django” drew universal praise, except from me… simply because I’d never seen it.  From there, my not-seeing-“Django” – or, by increasingly wilder and wilder contrivance, not-being-ALLOWED-to-see-“Django” – became a running-joke that took on a life of its own.  Even Esther was in on it.  

No one enjoys a good running gag as much as I do but, eventually, I took steps to correct the situation, and purchased a Blu-ray copy of “Django”. 

I enjoyed it immensely, but one thing was still missing.  That was the experience of “seeing it with the guys”! 

That finally changed on the evening of January 15, 2015, when Keith chose to present "Django" at our gathering, and I offered my Blu-ray for the showing. 

It went over big, and was a rare instance where the evening’s film garnered unanimous praise from the entire group.  At the end, we each have the opportunity to speak and, as always, the comments are both witty and insightful.  When my turn came, in the spirit of our now-deceased running-joke, I began my contribution thusly: 

“My name is Joe Torcivia and, until late last year, I was a 'Django Virgin'!  But, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Keith and all the guys, I have, at last, been able to overcome this vast cultural deficit!  [Tone shifts from somber to buoyant and enthusiastic]  …Overcome to the point where WE CAN ALL SIT TOGETHER, AND WATCH MY OWN BLU-RAY COPY OF ‘DJANGO’!  For helping me take this giant step forward in my personal development, I’D LIKE TO GIVE YOU ALL A BIG HAND!”  [ Group clapping follows ]

Then I said something about the “majesty” of John Ford westerns, vs. the stark grittiness of “Django”… or some-such.  But that doesn’t matter!  What matters is the great amount of fun that surrounded our group-viewing of this Spaghetti Western classic. 

Thanks, Keith, Steve, Marc, Ethan, and Dave for being such a huge part of this – and for making it so much fun every week, be it horror films, or westerns topped with plenty of spaghetti and cheese. 

Oh, and the part most did not hear was, as I was leaving, Keith and I spontaneously broke into our own rendition of the “Django” theme song.  If only we could have recorded it, so I could annoy… that is, “play” it for Esther!   

Finally, as a Bonus Feature, here’s a REVIEW of that very same Blu-ray of “Django”.  Beware when reading the review, as there is at least one major spoiler revealed therein.  (Good review, but poor form, if you ask me!)