Django Unchained DVD Review



Title: Django Unchained
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington

Django (Jamie Foxx) wins his freedom from slavery when bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), in need of vital information about his next targets, frees Django from his 'owners' in order to deputise him, before the pair face off against Mr Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) in order to attempt the rescue of Django's enslaved wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who had also been sold into slavery.

Until now Kill Bill was Tarantino's premier uber-vengeance movie, so soaked in blood were the Bride's hands that they could have turned the multitudinous seas incarnadine, but now Kill Bill has been surpassed -perhaps not in blood and body count but certainly in movie-craft and story-telling.

Django Unchained DVDOnce again this is a tale of vengeance but this is Tarantino's homage to the classic Western rather than a love letter to classic Kung Fu movies. However unlike Kill Bill, that Tarantino failed to bury in one outing, deciding instead to indulge himself with two bloated instalments, Django Unchained is a taut, well crafted, sublimely written and expertly directed film.

I had wondered if Tarantino had long ago become a film maker more interested in fulfilling his own weird, if sometimes wonderful, fantasies through his chosen medium of film - to the detriment of his faithful audience - but with Django Unchained he proves beyond refute that he is a filmmaker of such singular talent that he is uniquely worthy of his Oscar win.

Tarantino's directing skills are unparalleled, and as a writer he is the foremost linguist in his field. His grasp of various vernaculars is beyond comparison. Quite simply no one writes dialogue like Tarantino except perhaps with the notable exception of Kevin Smith. And the raw talent that he displayed in earlier films such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction has not been lost over the intervening years.

But viewer beware, despite the fact that prolific use of the n-word, extensive scenes of brutal torture and mandingo boxing and a depiction of an escaped slave being ripped apart by vicious dogs, are all (horrifically) period-appropriate they will nevertheless undoubtedly spilt audience opinion about whether they are acceptable or not in modern cinema.

Indeed the brutality and realism of the violence is, at points, overwhelming but then in the climactic shoot-out is, contrastingly highly stylised - bullets fly with reckless abandon, blood spurts and gushes from gaping bullet holes in slow-mo - it's almost comic-book.

I'll leave you to make up your own mind on that particular facet of Tarantino's distinctive and highly individual style of film making, but I can say that everyone will have a visceral response to this piece of cinema.

Tarantino has always had a gift for casting and here his performers do him proud. Jamie Foxx produces a flawless performance in the title role of Django, imbuing his character with unquenchable hatred, touching devotion and poignant pathos Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L Jackson are given less screen time but still produce faultless, perfectly measured performances. Yet it's Waltz that shines brightest as the enlightened, German-born, bounty hunter, disgusted by the slave trade, who frees and educates Django.

Django Unchained is a near perfect piece of film making. Intelligent, boundary-pushing and brimming with bravura performances.

Author : Kevin Stanley