I have to say that the new Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained” is gory, funny, smart and thoroughly enjoyable. That said, i’ve had people recently complain that it’s not very good. To those people, i would just say that you need to remember that QT is the guy who brought you “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” – two other films with extreme violence (i.e. the ear-cutting scene or the gimp scene). So, if you’re expecting a nice little action drama about racism, you’ve got the wrong film.
Some things I liked about it:
- QT loves his dialogue and he also loves his Christoph Waltz. Putting the two together is like chocolate and peanut butter or milkshakes and Mike Lewis – it makes for some delightful scenes. The way that Waltz is able to dig really deep holes and then pull himself out with his Austrian accent is pretty great. Just like the climax of “Kill Bill” was a conversation between The Bride and Bill, the best scenes in DU are actually the verbal confrontations and not the blood spattering.
- Samuel L. Jackson plays Stephen, the head slave at the plantation. In all respects, he considers himself white and to see his turn of racism is quite something. His betrayal of Django and Broomhilde was probably the most hateful action in the film.
- There is a lot of violence. As Ebert says, “When QT begins a movie, I believe, his destination is to aim over the top. The top itself will not do.” And he definitely gets there in this film.
With both the violence, the rasicm and the comedy, you really don’t ever know what you’re going to get when watching a Taratino film, which in itself is a gift.
Some good Reelist links about the film:
- Tarantino brings one character from Pulp Fiction back into Django. You’ll be surprised who it is.
- Producer Harvey Weinstein saying how he screwed up in promoting the film. He also said he royally messed up with “The Master”
- A talk by the producer on how the film got made
