Django Unchained

Right now I'd rank Django Unchained at about the same level of A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, which is pretty impressive considering that it's pretty new and will be better judged over time. I'm a big Tarantino fan and Inglourious Basterds I initially loved (like DU) but now I would regard even higher when compared to other films I love.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West are both films I'd rank higher, although that's because I consider both masterpieces. I wouldn't use a phrase like the film 'doesn't deserve to lick the mud off the boots' and think it's pretty harsh to compare them, Tarantino admires the dollars trilogy as much as anyone, he thinks TGTBATU is the greatest film of all time and in his film he pays homage to lots of Spaghetti Westerns, especially Leone's. All these films are great but should be viewed in different ways to me, although both Westerns they are very different.

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fair points Daniel M, the "not deserving to lick the mud off the boots" may have been a bit harsh

I was a little shocked rereading my post today

I'm not really crazy about Tarantino's films including Django Unchained, so I still believe what I said... but it was harsh and not really necessary

Fair enough, it's fine don't worry

I just think the way you wrote it kind of implied that Django Unchained as a film was a bit insulting towards the works of Leone, which even if you think they are not as good as is a bit strong seeing as Tarantino himself would probably be the first to admit just how good they are and how much he loves them and has learnt from them, I don't think they're films you should challenge the films against each other. As a Tarantino, Django Unchained and Sergio Leone fan, I can happily enjoy both films

I wanted to watch it much later but I couldn't resist since I like QT and his films.I read how many of you loved this film so you probably won't agree with but I was disappointed a bit.

First things which I missed were those clever,interesting,maybe even pointless dialogues which is one of the reasons why I like Tarantino's films.There were some but I felt like their not as strong as they used to be.I also found the villain very weak.I like when the bad guys are smart and I didn't feel that Calvin Candie is.If it weren't for Stephen(Samuel L. Jackson) and Candie's sister,he would have been fooled by Schultz and Django.I saw this film yesterday and I already can't recall anything interesting I heard from Candie.As some of you here,I also think Christoph Waltz stole the film.

I also thought that the ending was dragged a bit,and unlike in Kill Bill,IB,Death Proof,even True Romance(which maybe doesn't count),is wasn't so grand.

Anyway,I still enjoyed it a lot and will watch it over and over because it still has this QT vibe which,I guess,I will always like.But let's just say that Django Unchained,out of my favorite films,is the least liked.I loved the "not shaking hands" thing but I found the first part of the film much stronger. I gave the film

I also wonder why this is liked a lot by many people who normally don't even like QT.Maybe it's because of the good intentions since characters seek to save an innocent girl instead of seeking revenge,or brutally killing people they don't like?

I thought Calvin was a very cruel villain, maybe not clever but he was still sick and twisted and one of Tarantino's best. The scene with the not shaking hands was fantastic.

To me, Calvin was a very different Tarantino villain. Most of Tarantino's villains (Landa, all of the deadly vipers) are just straight up badasses. There wasn't the mythology behind Calvin like there was for the other villains to make him a badass. I also feel that the other villains are very likeable. And maybe you could also make this argument for Landa too, but Calvin was just 100% evil at his core. You could probably make movies about each of the deadly vipers from Kill Bill in which each one is the hero. I can't imagine you could do that with Calvin.

Slight spoilers in this post for those who haven't watched the film...

Kill Bill's ending definitely drags more, but I really enjoyed both, I kind of agree with you that perhaps it wasn't so grand, I think it's because we spent so much time watching characters such as Schultz (definitely) and Candie (at least for me) steal the show that once they were out of the way and the plot switched to the love story between Django and Broomhilda we didn't care as much.

Yeh the thing that makes Candie such a great villain is just how despicable his character his, he really comes across as a sick and twisted evil man. The Mandingo fighting and dog scenes are pretty brutal and do nothing but fuel our distaste for his character, then you have his ignorance when it comes to French/Dumas, his bigger man attitude etc. although he is more contained and not as peculiar as some other Tarantino villains, he's definitely among the best for me. I love Mingusings point about the deadly viper characters, each could have their own films which we'd enjoy watching in the same was as the Bride, Pulp Fiction is filled with villains that we love to watch and enjoy doing so, even Hans Landa is extremely funny and likeable to watch, even though he's no doubt an evil man, Tarantino doesn't use any extremely violent scenes (like the dogs) to push across this and focusses more on his intelligent and often funny side.

I don't know whether I've seen enough films to say, but I am slowly becoming a fan of spaghetti westerns.

My ratings from what I've seen. BEWARE! I am a hipster.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Django
For a Few Dollars More
Once Upon a Time in The West
For a Fistfull of Dollars
The Grand Silence
Django Unchained

there are spoilers about QT films!

Well,except for Bill and minor villains,I didn't find likeable any of the Bride's "To Kill" list.Elle Driver was creepy and I was glad when she "died",the same goes for Budd but yet you can really feel that they're gone.Just you can easily notice that some of the evil is missing.
As for Hans Landa,I love how clever he is but as the character he is very annoying,always disturbing the protagonists to reach their goal.During first viewings I found that extremely irritating (I was just rooting for heroes too much ) but now I started to like him.
Now,Calvin Candie was nor likeable nor despicable for me.Tbh,I thought that he was invisible.When he died, I felt nothing.Film just kept going and it felt like the protagonists achieved nothing with his death.

Yeah,it is actually slow and maybe just "overdone" but until the end,you are actually waiting for it.It is built up so much!The whole anticipation makes it stronger.It's kind of like Apocalypse Now - another ending which I was looking forward more than the characters of the film.It was a bit let down but I'd still call it grand.

Now that I thought about it,maybe Django was a bit too fast for me,that's why I didn't care for the deaths.They just happened and the film quickly kept going.And that's why I failed to notice the villain.It lacked those long long scenes where you can relax and study the characters(like IB opening).I also missed those longer battles where you can prepare yourself that someone is about to die (girls chasing Stuntman Mike,Bride's confrontation with Elle,O-Ren,Budd and Bill).Well,since this film feature guns I guess you can't make it very long.

One of the most interesting things about this movie, is that the whole diplomacy in the end to avoid a big fight go to the hole, when the german simply ''couldnt resist". A meanless thing was the reason to all the blood

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is too my favorite from the genre. Django Unchained can be considered a spaghetti western?

I wouldn't call it a pure Spaghetti Western in the same more literal description of the works of Leone, Corbucci etc. but considering it's an American film, made by an American, set in America, it's as close to a Spaghetti Western that you're going to get and in terms of style at least. It uses many elements of the Spaghetti Western and also pays homage to a lot more. So, kind of...

Also Spaghetti Westerns I've seen if anyone's interested, my ratings are going to be a bit stricter than normal to divide them a bit better.

Fistful of Dollars +
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
Duck, You Sucker! / Fistful of Dynamite +
Navajo Joe +

I'm torn between The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West for my favourite, the former is slightly more fun but the latter has magnificent craft and beauty and feels like a Western dream-world.

Guapo: I know you love animations, and if you like Spaghetti Westerns you should definitely check out Rango, my favourite animated film and a fantastic love letter to Spaghetti Westerns

Not in my book. The filmmakers have to be Italian for that.

Django Unchained was perhaps better than a fistful of dollars but wasn't remotely as good as Once Upon a Time in the West.

These two are 10 times better than Django Unchained. Better in fact than anything Tarantino ever did, in fact, he said that The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was the greatest achievement in the history of cinema, which is true if you measure it by coolness factor.

So, by your definition, spaghetti western means "a western made by an Italian".

Well, it was for me. Simply because Django is way more entertaining, it's so fun that it seems an hour shorter than it actually is. Once Upon a Time in the West, on the other hand, to me felt longer than it actually was. I am not saying the latter wasn't a good movie, it was a very good one and I enjoyed it, but it could've been shorter imo, and therefore better.

Wouldn't say that the definition is his, since Spaghetti Westerns are also known as Italian Westerns. Anyway, QT's father is of italian descent, so maybe it could well be considered a Spaghetti Western...

Half of the US has some Italian descent.

I agree that Once Upon a Time in the West is less entertaining than Django but entertainment is not the major factor in measuring the greatness of a movie, in my book, but it's capacity to impress itself into our minds.

Did you see my post above about Spaghetti Westerns? Basically I'd say if we are talking literally in the sense that the term was originally coined for - a kind of insultive nickname for low budget European (Itality) Westerns - then Django Unchained is definitely not, but in terms of the stylistic elements that we come to associate with them then it is. And watch Rango

Django Unchained Hugely Overrated?

I just want to know does anybody else here feel that Django Unchained is scored way too highly? I know I'm opening myself to a wave of abuse by broaching this subject.
I feel its scoring on IMDb is ridiculous and if some others feel that way too, I'll probably attempt an in-depth review.
I just had to ask this question, because Django Unchained currently has a score of 8.6/10 on IMDb with over 300, 000 voters. Which in truth on IMDb is an earth shattering, masterpiece rating. To give you an idea here's some films Django Unchained is rated better than in no particular order.

Django Unchained Scored Better Than All Of These!

1. The Shining
2. Vertigo
3. Alien
4. North By Northwest
5. Citizen Kane
6. To Kill A Mockingbird
7. For A Few Dollars More
8. Heat
9. Gladiator
10. Lawrence of Arabia
11. Cinema Paradiso
12. Sin City
13. Braveheart
14. Scarface
15. Unforgiven
16. Taxi Driver
17. 2001: A Space Odyssey
18. Grave Of The Fireflies
19. Reservoir Dogs
20. Oldboy
21. Singin' In The Rain
22. Bicycle Thieves
23. The Third Man
24. A Clockwork Orange
25. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Okay I think I've listed enough, those are just some of the films. I honestly could easily have picked twenty-five different examples. I realise that scores are subjective and I'm not denying Django Unchained has merit but the fact it's rated better than all of these, I must admit does frustrate me.

Perhaps Django Unchained is a prime example of how the youth today take a good film and elevate it to ludicrous heights. Am I the only one surprised at how highly it's rated? If you have seen the film please leave your thoughts and score it out of ten.