Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)

[EyesWideOpen]

Waltz owned this movie but Foxx was quite good also.

[number8]

Foxx was really good, actually. I can see what Tarantino meant when he said that he cast Foxx because he's got a cowboy quality that Will Smith and Idris Elba lack. Django is probably Tarantino's least talkative protagonist. So much of that performance is just the unspoken restrained anger and disgust at white folks, and Foxx conveyed it perfectly.

As I understand it, Foxx grew up in Texas and was called a nigger quite a lot as a kid. I think this is another case of Tarantino's excellent eye for casting the perfect people in the perfect roles.

[Spinal]

It seems clear to me that Tarantino's use of the word 'nigger' is intended to contribute to the overall experience of this film as a visceral exercise and not an intellectual exercise. Like other directorial choices such as the copious amounts of blood, the protracted degradation of innocents and the use of contemporary hip-hop evoking modern racial tensions, Tarantino is baiting the viewer into passionate involvement - involvement that receives a certain kind of primal satisfaction once the violence explodes. The use of that inflammatory word has less to do with historical accuracy than it does setting an atmosphere of highly-charged emotion - emotion that Django must battle to contain for a period of time lest he make the mistake of striking too soon.

Anyway, I can see the intellectual argument against such tactics. However, I enjoyed the tension and slow burning rage contrasted against the cool-headed German who always seems to know how to handle himself in a dangerous situation. I also enjoyed how the two characters began to influence each other and take on small aspects of the other's characteristics.

I'd say it falls short of Tarantino's best, but is still a highly competent, highly watchable journey.

[Watashi]

I'm a very mild yay on this one. I enjoyed DiCaprio, Waltz, and to a point, Foxx, but this takes way too long to begin and way too long to end (this thing has more endings than ROTK).

A minor Tarantino, and also his least funniest.

[Watashi]

I also think the heaps of praise given to Sam Jackson is kind of weird. I mean, it's a good and often funny performance, but it's a role that Jackson can do in his sleep. Sam's Uncle Tom is basically him getting to say "nigger" and "motherfucker" every sentence in a southern drawl. Not that much of a reach.

[number8]

The last act is pretty important. Simply killing Candie and rescuing Broomhilda wouldn't complete Django's full hero's journey.

[Pop Trash]

A minor Tarantino, and also his least funniest.

I dunno man, when it was funny it was hilarious.

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Show Spoiler

Biggest laugh for me was Tarantino blowing himself up, mostly because it's as if QT heard my psychic groans when he appeared and started speaking in the world's worst Australian accent.

]

[Pop Trash]

The last act is pretty important. Simply killing Candie and rescuing Broomhilda wouldn't complete Django's full hero's journey.

Do explain.

[Ezee E]

Liked it a ton. Loved the boiling anger from each and every character. Did not like Tarantino's bit, and the use of hip hop seems kinda weird. Definitely feels like there's a lot missing from this movie that I'd like to see. I'll have to seek out the comic now.

[Pop Trash]

I also think the heaps of praise given to Sam Jackson is kind of weird. I mean, it's a good and often funny performance, but it's a role that Jackson can do in his sleep. Sam's Uncle Tom is basically him getting to say "nigger" and "motherfucker" every sentence in a southern drawl. Not that much of a reach.

I found his character pretty fascinating. He's like a slave version of Stockholm Syndrome or the fast food workers in Compliance. His moral compass only points in the direction of Candyland.

[Watashi]

The funniest line is a throwaway line by the deputy. It was something on the lines of "It was my birthday yesterday. There was cake. It was okay."

[Bosco B Thug]

A minor Tarantino, and also his least funniest.

I agree with this. This actually boils it down quite well.

Definitely feels like there's a lot missing from this movie that I'd like to see.

Maybe Tarantino will pull a Ridley Scott and put out a Director's Cut that I'll find superior. Django Unchained moves at the fastest clip of any Tarantino film, which might be a good rationale for why it feels minor. (Reality check, though: it achieves far less but it's already the length of Inglourious Basterds).


And I'm not just saying this, but Tarantino's performance didn't bother me at all. I thought he was pretty good. Maybe his accent was crappy, but he didn't mug or self-flatter.

[Ezee E]

They needed more of the guy that mumbled.

Also, is Broomhilda the worst Tarantino female? She didn't have much to do.

[number8]

Do explain.

[

Show Spoiler

Well, there's a reason why Schultz is the one who killed Candie. Django wouldn't have. He'd been okay walking away from the whole thing $12,000 short with Broomhilda alive.

The character is suppressing rage for the entire movie. He cares only about saving his wife by any means necessary, which is a personal quest, but inadequate for the scope and intent of the story as a whole regarding slavery.

The film's last act is Django embracing a certain revolutionary stance and starts killing people no longer for money or himself, but because they represent the institution of slavery, from the mining company employees to the trackers in the woods to all the people in Candyland. He could've grabbed Broomhilda and bolted, but he made the choice to systematically destroy Candyland and free their slaves.

The most important shot of the whole sequence is probably that one of the mining slave smiling as he watches Django kill the slave drivers and ride off. He's become an inspiration for other slaves.

]

[number8]

By the way, I don't think that a western featuring Rick Ross and Tupac on the soundtrack is any weirder or anachronistic than a western using Burt Bacharach, Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan.

[Bosco B Thug]

They needed more of the guy that mumbled.

Also, is Broomhilda the worst Tarantino female? She didn't have much to do.

Loved how unembellished she was.

[Pop Trash]

Well, there's a reason why Schultz is the one who killed Candie. Django wouldn't have. He'd been okay walking away from the whole thing $12,000 short with Broomhilda alive.

The character is suppressing rage for the entire movie. He cares only about saving his wife by any means necessary, which is a personal quest, but inadequate for the scope and intent of the story as a whole regarding slavery.

The film's last act is Django embracing a certain revolutionary stance and starts killing people no longer for money or himself, but because they represent the institution of slavery, from the mining company employees to the trackers in the woods to all the people in Candyland. He could've grabbed Broomhilda and bolted, but he made the choice to systematically destroy Candyland and free their slaves.

The most important shot of the whole sequence is probably that one of the mining slave smiling as he watches Django kill the slave drivers and ride off. He's become an inspiration for other slaves.

Interesting points, and I predicted the final scene would match Basterds and have the plantation being symbolically destroyed (I figured it would go up in flames and there would be some nice Tarkovsky-like shots in there, but maybe he thought that would be too similar to Basterds) but I still think he could have wove the two finales together or at least written around the Aussies w/o much harm done and crisper pacing.

[Ezee E]

By the way, I don't think that a western featuring Rick Ross and Tupac on the soundtrack is any weirder or anachronistic than a western using Burt Bacharach, Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan.

I've thought some of those were weird too. Great comment about the necessity of the return of Django though.

[DavidSeven]

This was a lot of fun! I had modest expectations going in, so I was surprised when it hooked me almost immediately. It's broad and fantastical in the Kill Bill vein, but I thought this was a lot more polished than his original vengeance saga. He's hitting the right notes here, and you sense Tarantino's developed this unrivaled ability to work an audience through the small details. It's the filmmaking equivalent to a musician or stand-up comedian mastering the craft of concert performance through years of subtle adjustment. I'll admit Django doesn't quite reach the game-changing energy of Pulp Fiction or the thematic mastery of Inglorious Basterds, but out-and-out masterpiece is a pretty tough standard to meet. I'll happily take several more of this quality if he has it in him.

[Skitch]

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Show Spoiler

Well, there's a reason why Schultz is the one who killed Candie.

]

Spoiler? I would have preferred not knowing that was gonna happen.

[ledfloyd]

I can't argue with plain's claim that this is QT's emptiest film, but I also can't claim I wasn't entertained for the full 165 minutes.

[EyesWideOpen]

Foxx was really good, actually. I can see what Tarantino meant when he said that he cast Foxx because he's got a cowboy quality that Will Smith and Idris Elba lack.

Obviously you haven't seen Wild Wild West.

[Ezee E]

This already made $42 million, and looks to make another $20 this weekend. Add the eventual Oscar noms, and this is going to do $100 mill. Nice.

[Spinal]

Quentin hates John Ford

[ledfloyd]

the 2pac did feel off to me, but i enjoyed the use of 100 Black Coffins.

there are some really meaningful images. the Leone close-ups on Foxx's eyes as they pull Broomhilda out of the hot-box has really stuck with me.