Tarantino Week - Django Unchained (2012)
Hey guys, Chuck here. After taking audiences to Nazi-occupied France with Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's next destination was a pre-Civil War American South with his 2012 Western flick: Django Unchained.
Released in December of 2012, the movie starts in 1858 Texas with brothers Dicky and Ace Speck, who are driving a group of shackled slaves on foot. They are stopped by German dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, who is looking for a slave from the Carrucan plantation. The slave is Django, and Django confirms that he can identify and recognize three former Carrucan overseers: the Brittle brothers Big John, Ellis, and Roger (Lil Raj). After killing Ace and disabling Dicky by shooting his horse, Schultz purchases Django, as well as Ace's horse. The two then ride off and stop in the town of Daughtry. After coming to an agreement that if Django helps Schultz find and kill the Brittle brothers, Schultz will give Django his freedom and $25 per Brittle brother ($75 total), Schultz kills the sheriff of Daughtry, and informs the local Marshal of the $200 bounty on the Sheriff's head.
After the events in Daughtry, Schultz and Django headto Tennessee, where they head to the plantation of "Big Daddy" Bennett. It is at the plantation that Django finds all three Brittle brothers, currently calling themselves the Shaffer's. Django proceeds to kill Big John and Lil Raj, leaving it to Schultz to kill Ellis, who was high-tailing it out of there. After killing the Brittle brothers, Schultz and Django leave, only to be ambushed that evening by a racist posse assembled by Big Daddy. However, Schultz gets the drop on them by blowing up his own dentist's cart, sending everyone running for the hills. Django shows that he's a crack shot by killing Big Daddy. Later on, with the promise of going to Mississippi to find who Django's wife was sold to, Schultz and a now-free Django work together through the winter, taking out bad guys and collecting bounties as they go, with Django keeping the handbill for Smitty Bacall and the Bacall Gang after Django kills Smitty Bacall himself.
Arriving in Mississippi, Schultz and Django learn that Django's wife, Broomhilda, was sold to Calvin Candie of the plantation Candyland. Schultz and Django make a plan to trick Candie into selling them one of his Mandingo fighters for $12,000. Convinced, Candie invites them to Candyland, where they meet Candie's main house slave Stephen, who has an instant dislike of Django. Some time later, Schultz meets Broomhilda, who was taught to speak German as a child, and reveals that Django is with him. At dinner, Candie, Schultz, and Django discuss acquiring a Mandingo fighter named Eskimo Joe for the previously discussed $12,000, as well as the possibility of acquiring Broomhilda. After a private discussion with Stephen, who saw through the charade the whole time, Candie realizes that Schultz and Django were only there for Broomhilda, and makes them a $12,000 offer to buy Broomhilda and leave Candyland alive with her. Schultz agrees, and gives him the $12,000. After all papers are signed, and Broomhilda now a free woman, Candie forces Schultz to shake his hand, a custom of the South apparently, to mark the completion of a deal. Schultz instead kills Candie, and is killed himself. Django kills several of Candie's men, but is forced to surrender to save his wife. The next morning, Stephen tells Django that he will be given to the LeQuint Dickey Mining Co. as a slave, and he will be worked to death at LeQuint Dickey.
En route to LeQuint Dickey, Django informs the three LeQuint Dickey employees that he's actually a bount hunter, and that he was on a job searching for Smitty Bacall (whom Django killed earlier in the movie) and the Bacall Gang, who were hiding out at Candyland. Convinced, the LeQuint Dickey guys let Django go, and Django kills them, taking a horse, a rifle, and some dynamite back to Candyland. In retaliation for the deaths od Schultz and a Candyland slave named D'Artagnan, Django kills a group of trackers led by a man named Stonecipher, collects Broomhilda's papers from Schultz's dead body, and saves Broomhilda. At the man house at Candyland, Django kills Billy Crash and some of Candy's men who were at Candie's funeral, kills Candie's sister Laura, and kneecaps Stephen. While Stephen rants and raves, Django lights a fuse that leads to the dynamite Django planted, destroying the house and killing Stephen. Now completely free, Django and Broomhilda ride off together, ending the movie.
Django Unchained, which I saw in theaters on my 21st birthday, is probably one of my all-time favorite Western films. Tarantino's writing and directing were both on point here, and the cast, both main and supporting, were all terrific. Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz were both terrific as Django and Schultz, Kerry Washington was terrific as Broomhilda, and both Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson were terrific vilains as Calvin Candie and Stephen. The likes of Don Johnson, Jonah Hill, James Remar, Michael Parks Tom Wopat, and others who fill out the supporting cast were all terrific, and I enjoyed all of them as much as I enjoyed the leads. Now, as a Tarantino fan I personally don't mind the use of language and violence that is in Django Unchained, I do admit that others might be a bit put off by it, and they might not enjoy this movie. However, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and still enjoy watching it to this day. I'm going to give Django Unchained a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. Tune in tomorrow as we head from the Deep South to the snowy mountains of Wyoming in The Hateful Eight as Tarantino Week continues.
Released in December of 2012, the movie starts in 1858 Texas with brothers Dicky and Ace Speck, who are driving a group of shackled slaves on foot. They are stopped by German dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, who is looking for a slave from the Carrucan plantation. The slave is Django, and Django confirms that he can identify and recognize three former Carrucan overseers: the Brittle brothers Big John, Ellis, and Roger (Lil Raj). After killing Ace and disabling Dicky by shooting his horse, Schultz purchases Django, as well as Ace's horse. The two then ride off and stop in the town of Daughtry. After coming to an agreement that if Django helps Schultz find and kill the Brittle brothers, Schultz will give Django his freedom and $25 per Brittle brother ($75 total), Schultz kills the sheriff of Daughtry, and informs the local Marshal of the $200 bounty on the Sheriff's head.
After the events in Daughtry, Schultz and Django headto Tennessee, where they head to the plantation of "Big Daddy" Bennett. It is at the plantation that Django finds all three Brittle brothers, currently calling themselves the Shaffer's. Django proceeds to kill Big John and Lil Raj, leaving it to Schultz to kill Ellis, who was high-tailing it out of there. After killing the Brittle brothers, Schultz and Django leave, only to be ambushed that evening by a racist posse assembled by Big Daddy. However, Schultz gets the drop on them by blowing up his own dentist's cart, sending everyone running for the hills. Django shows that he's a crack shot by killing Big Daddy. Later on, with the promise of going to Mississippi to find who Django's wife was sold to, Schultz and a now-free Django work together through the winter, taking out bad guys and collecting bounties as they go, with Django keeping the handbill for Smitty Bacall and the Bacall Gang after Django kills Smitty Bacall himself.
Arriving in Mississippi, Schultz and Django learn that Django's wife, Broomhilda, was sold to Calvin Candie of the plantation Candyland. Schultz and Django make a plan to trick Candie into selling them one of his Mandingo fighters for $12,000. Convinced, Candie invites them to Candyland, where they meet Candie's main house slave Stephen, who has an instant dislike of Django. Some time later, Schultz meets Broomhilda, who was taught to speak German as a child, and reveals that Django is with him. At dinner, Candie, Schultz, and Django discuss acquiring a Mandingo fighter named Eskimo Joe for the previously discussed $12,000, as well as the possibility of acquiring Broomhilda. After a private discussion with Stephen, who saw through the charade the whole time, Candie realizes that Schultz and Django were only there for Broomhilda, and makes them a $12,000 offer to buy Broomhilda and leave Candyland alive with her. Schultz agrees, and gives him the $12,000. After all papers are signed, and Broomhilda now a free woman, Candie forces Schultz to shake his hand, a custom of the South apparently, to mark the completion of a deal. Schultz instead kills Candie, and is killed himself. Django kills several of Candie's men, but is forced to surrender to save his wife. The next morning, Stephen tells Django that he will be given to the LeQuint Dickey Mining Co. as a slave, and he will be worked to death at LeQuint Dickey.
En route to LeQuint Dickey, Django informs the three LeQuint Dickey employees that he's actually a bount hunter, and that he was on a job searching for Smitty Bacall (whom Django killed earlier in the movie) and the Bacall Gang, who were hiding out at Candyland. Convinced, the LeQuint Dickey guys let Django go, and Django kills them, taking a horse, a rifle, and some dynamite back to Candyland. In retaliation for the deaths od Schultz and a Candyland slave named D'Artagnan, Django kills a group of trackers led by a man named Stonecipher, collects Broomhilda's papers from Schultz's dead body, and saves Broomhilda. At the man house at Candyland, Django kills Billy Crash and some of Candy's men who were at Candie's funeral, kills Candie's sister Laura, and kneecaps Stephen. While Stephen rants and raves, Django lights a fuse that leads to the dynamite Django planted, destroying the house and killing Stephen. Now completely free, Django and Broomhilda ride off together, ending the movie.
Django Unchained, which I saw in theaters on my 21st birthday, is probably one of my all-time favorite Western films. Tarantino's writing and directing were both on point here, and the cast, both main and supporting, were all terrific. Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz were both terrific as Django and Schultz, Kerry Washington was terrific as Broomhilda, and both Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson were terrific vilains as Calvin Candie and Stephen. The likes of Don Johnson, Jonah Hill, James Remar, Michael Parks Tom Wopat, and others who fill out the supporting cast were all terrific, and I enjoyed all of them as much as I enjoyed the leads. Now, as a Tarantino fan I personally don't mind the use of language and violence that is in Django Unchained, I do admit that others might be a bit put off by it, and they might not enjoy this movie. However, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and still enjoy watching it to this day. I'm going to give Django Unchained a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. Tune in tomorrow as we head from the Deep South to the snowy mountains of Wyoming in The Hateful Eight as Tarantino Week continues.
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