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Django Unchained (2012)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast overview: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz
Running time: 165 minutes
This is the first Tarantino film I've seen, and I was pleasantly surprised to an extent. I don't think I'd have it as an 8.5, as IMDb does, but it's a good film and I'll probably give it another watch sometime. It's a decent western, a genre that Tarantino was bound to try eventually, given his penchant for violence and his love of the genre.
The plot itself, like many of Tarantino's, is full of violence, gore, and controversial themes. Centring around Dr King Schulz, a bounty hunter played fabulously by Christoph Waltz, who hires Jamie Foxx's slave character Django to help him identify three brothers with a bounty on their heads. DiCaprio gives a far more assured performance than some of his others - he seems to be maturing into a very good actor, a far cry from his younger days. Samuel L. Jackson gives perhaps the best performance of the lot, though, as Stephen, one of DiCaprio's black workers, though he's a cruel and uncaring character. It's a simple enough plot that draws you in.
I will say that I found the first half of the film to be more engaging than the second, as it seems to lose its way a tad in the second half. This is a long film, and I'm not sure whether that contributed in part to the lack of engaging material in the second half.
Having said that, it is a decent enough film, even if it may not be Tarantino's best - I think I may try Jackie Brown of his next as that seems pretty good. It manages to keep the viewer entertained for most of its running time, even if it does seem episodic and messy at other points.
Quotes
Django: I like the way you die, boy.
Dr. King Schultz: [aiming .45-70 rifle at fleeing Ellis Brittle] You sure that's him?
Django: Yeah.
Dr. King Schultz: Positive?
Django: I don't know.
Dr. King Schultz: You don't know if you're positive?
Django: I don't know what 'positive' means.
Dr. King Schultz: It means you're sure.
Django: Yes.
Dr. King Schultz: Yes, what?
Django: Yes, I'm sure that's Ellis Brittle.
[Schultz shoots Brittle off his horse]
Django: I'm positive he dead.
Dr. King Schultz: How do you like the bounty hunting business?
Django: Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?
Trivia
When Leonardo DiCaprio's character Calvin Candie smashes the palm of his hand on the dinner table, the actor broke a glass under his hand and really began to bleed. DiCaprio ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. This take was the one used in the film.
During the filming of one of the dinner scenes, Leonardo DiCaprio had to stop the scene because he was having "a difficult time" using so many racial slurs. Samuel L. Jackson then pulled him aside telling him, "Mother****er, this is just another Tuesday for us."
After working on this film, composer Ennio Morricone said he would probably never again collaborate with Quentin Tarantino since he didn't like the way the writer/director "places music in his films without coherence" and "never giving enough time". Morricone and Tarantino had also worked together on three previous movies.
Trailer
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast overview: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz
Running time: 165 minutes
This is the first Tarantino film I've seen, and I was pleasantly surprised to an extent. I don't think I'd have it as an 8.5, as IMDb does, but it's a good film and I'll probably give it another watch sometime. It's a decent western, a genre that Tarantino was bound to try eventually, given his penchant for violence and his love of the genre.
The plot itself, like many of Tarantino's, is full of violence, gore, and controversial themes. Centring around Dr King Schulz, a bounty hunter played fabulously by Christoph Waltz, who hires Jamie Foxx's slave character Django to help him identify three brothers with a bounty on their heads. DiCaprio gives a far more assured performance than some of his others - he seems to be maturing into a very good actor, a far cry from his younger days. Samuel L. Jackson gives perhaps the best performance of the lot, though, as Stephen, one of DiCaprio's black workers, though he's a cruel and uncaring character. It's a simple enough plot that draws you in.
I will say that I found the first half of the film to be more engaging than the second, as it seems to lose its way a tad in the second half. This is a long film, and I'm not sure whether that contributed in part to the lack of engaging material in the second half.
Having said that, it is a decent enough film, even if it may not be Tarantino's best - I think I may try Jackie Brown of his next as that seems pretty good. It manages to keep the viewer entertained for most of its running time, even if it does seem episodic and messy at other points.
Quotes
Django: I like the way you die, boy.
Dr. King Schultz: [aiming .45-70 rifle at fleeing Ellis Brittle] You sure that's him?
Django: Yeah.
Dr. King Schultz: Positive?
Django: I don't know.
Dr. King Schultz: You don't know if you're positive?
Django: I don't know what 'positive' means.
Dr. King Schultz: It means you're sure.
Django: Yes.
Dr. King Schultz: Yes, what?
Django: Yes, I'm sure that's Ellis Brittle.
[Schultz shoots Brittle off his horse]
Django: I'm positive he dead.
Dr. King Schultz: How do you like the bounty hunting business?
Django: Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?
Trivia
When Leonardo DiCaprio's character Calvin Candie smashes the palm of his hand on the dinner table, the actor broke a glass under his hand and really began to bleed. DiCaprio ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. This take was the one used in the film.
During the filming of one of the dinner scenes, Leonardo DiCaprio had to stop the scene because he was having "a difficult time" using so many racial slurs. Samuel L. Jackson then pulled him aside telling him, "Mother****er, this is just another Tuesday for us."
After working on this film, composer Ennio Morricone said he would probably never again collaborate with Quentin Tarantino since he didn't like the way the writer/director "places music in his films without coherence" and "never giving enough time". Morricone and Tarantino had also worked together on three previous movies.
Trailer