Quentin Tarantino grew up watching Django movies (there are more than 30 of these spaghetti westerns). Django Unchained is Tarantino’s homage to these violent movies. I hadn’t seen any of the original Django movies from the Sixties or the Seventies so I bought a couple of Django collections for $4 each. In A Man Called Django, a gang of outlaws burst into Django’s house and kill his wife. Django goes on a quest to kill everyone in the gang. In Django Unchained, Jamie Foxx searches for his kidnapped wife. Leonardo DiCaprio says he always wanted to play a Bad Guy. He gets his wish in Django Unchained. All of these Django films feature large body counts. GRADE: B (for all the Django movies)
I am sure all the Django movies are violent but I think the violence is probably something you can distance yourself from. In this one, you could not. I found it very hard to watch. And I especially resented the way the woman was just there to be battered. The early part of the movie, I really enjoyed. And CW was excellent.
Patti, I realize the four old Django movies are a small sample, but they’re pretty violent. Plenty of gunplay. I agree, the woman was just a prop in DJANGO UNCHAINED.
Tarantino just annoys me too much these days, though I liked his earlier movies. I’m skipping this one.
Jeff, when I was in the audience for KILL BILL (Vol. 2), David Carradine gave a rambling speech on-screen. One of the guys in the audience stood up and announced, “This movie sucks!” And walked out. That’s kind of the way I feel about Tarantino’s work for the past decade.
The first Django movie with Franco Nero is great. Haven’t seen the sequel to it, but it’s supposed to be good, too. I saw a funny line on Facebook about DJANGO UNCHAINED, to the effect that complaining about the historical inaccuracies in it is like complaining because Roadrunner cartoons don’t follow the laws of physics. Also saw considerable argument that DJANGO UNCHAINED goes beyond homage and flat-out steals dialogue and whole scenes from some of those blaxploitation Westerns Fred Williamson made in the Seventies. Haven’t seen any of them, so I don’t know the truth of that claim. I’m not a big Tarantino fan at all, but we’ll probably watch this one when it comes out on DVD.
James, all the Django movies here are worth a look, especially if you’re a spaghetti western fan. I have no doubt that Tarantino “borrowed” from those blaxploitation westerns, too.
Tarantino strikes me as a one- (possibly two-) trick pony at best…start film in middle, jump back to beginning, then end…and hyper kewl violence and smartass dialogue, some might as well be lifted if it, as apparently in this case, wasn’t actually lifted.
JACKIE BROWN might be his best film, and there he had a brilliant cast and an Elmore Leonard novel to prop him up.
I agree with you on JACKIE BROWN, Todd. Tarantino was under control. Too much artistic license powers Tarantino’s movies over the top.
The second official Django film with Franco Nero is pretty good as well. I’ve only seen a couple of the other fake sequels.
I have a weakness for spaghetti westerns, Randy. I found all the Django movies I’ve seen enjoyable.
I’m with you on those spaghetti westerns, george. I’ve recently been on a kick to watch and review one every weekend.
Randy, spaghetti westerns are like potato chips: you can’t just stop at one!
There are only two official Django movies. The first is the absolutely terrific first one simply titled Django. This is where Tarantino gypped the theme song from. Patti, it’s incredibly violent, and there is a scene or two more graphic than anything in the Tarantino movie, and I’m not sure you’d like depiction of the female characters much better.
The second is Django Strikes Again! I didn’t like it at all. In addition to being just a bad movie, it strips away everything that made Django mysterious and turns him into just another Western do-gooder.
All the other Django “sequels” aren’t sequels at all, just Spaghetti Westerns that slap the name “Django” on because the original was a huge hit. Apparently, Italians have far different copyright laws than we do. For example, the original Dawn of the Dead was called Zombie in Europe, so there are a bunch of unauthorized sequels (Zombie 2, 3, etc.) that George Romero had nothing to do with. (The first of these, called just Zombie in the US, is well known amongst gory horror film fans). It is in this tradition that Tarantino named his film.
In addition to the theme song, there are other nods to the original. The two big ones I spotted were the guys in the hoods, used to comic effect in Tarantino’s movie but not at all comic in the original, and a cameo by the original Django, Franco Nero, in the scene where they are all having drinks after the Mandingo fight.
Thanks for the clarification, Trent.
I meant to add that I have never seen any of the unauthorized films, but I’m sure some of them are pretty great even if they aren’t the real Django.
This post, which should lead me to much exploring, lists a couple of unauthorized Django films in a “Best of Spaghetti Western” roundup picked by experts on the subject.
http://www.henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2013/01/help-for-spaghetti-challenged-django.html