Straight to Hell (film)

Straight to Hell is a 1987 spaghetti Western parody film directed by Alex Cox and starring Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, Dick Rude, and Courtney Love. Loosely based on Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967), the film follows four male bank robbers and their gun moll who become stranded in the desert, where they stumble upon a surreal Western town inhabited by coffee-addicted killers. Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, Miguel Sandoval, Elvis Costello, Xander Berkeley, Edward Tudor-Pole, Kathy Burke, and Jim Jarmusch are also featured in the film, along with band members of the Pogues, Amazulu, and the Circle Jerks. The film borrows its title from the Clash's 1982 song of the same name.

Director Cox and star Dick Rude wrote the screenplay for Straight to Hell over three days, rapidly developing the project after the cancellation of a planned concert tour in Nicaragua. Cox invited several members of the bands involved—including Strummer (of The Clash), as well as The Pogues—to appear in the film. Principal photography took place over four weeks in the summer of 1986 in Almería, Spain.

Straight to Hell received few positive reviews upon release, and was not a commercial success, although it later gained a cult film status. A soundtrack, including music by some of the musician/actors who starred in the film, was also released. On 14 December 2010, an extended cut of the film, titled Straight to Hell Returns, was released on DVD, featuring additional footage and digitally enhanced picture quality. This version of the film, under the collaboration of Alex Cox, was also screened at several cinemas as part of a midnight movie theatrical run.