Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Takashi Miike (written by) &
Masa Nakamura (written by)

Release Date:

15 September 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

An epic tale of blood, lust and greed.

Plot:

A revolver-wielding stranger crosses paths with two warring clans who are both on the hunt for a hidden treasure in a remote western town. Knowing his services are valuable to either side, he offers himself to the clan who will offer up the largest share of the wealth. |

Plot Keywords:

Clan | Treasure | Dragged By Horse | Crossbow | Spaghetti Western

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 12

10:35 PM

SHOW

Cast

Hideaki Ito	...	Gunman
Masanobu Ando	...	Yoichi
Kôichi Satô	...	Taira no Kiyomori
Kaori Momoi	...	Ruriko
Yusuke Iseya	...	Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Renji Ishibashi	...	Benkei
Yoshino Kimura	...	Shizuka
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takaaki Ishibashi
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Sheriff
Taigi Kobayashi
Toshiyuki Nishida
Shun Oguri	...	Akira
Masato Sakai	...	Taira no Shigemori
Hideaki Sato
Christian Storms
Yôji Tanaka
Quentin Tarantino	...	Ringo

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, including a rape.

Runtime:

121 min | (None):98 min (international cut version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:18A | USA:R | Australia:R | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-18 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Tsuruoka City, Yamagata, Japan

Company:

Dentsu Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

The background for the artificial set in the prologue is clearly inspired by the woodblock prints "Gaifu Kaisei" and "Sanka Haku" featured in Hokusai's famous "Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji" series.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Right before the end-fight it starts to snow heavily for some reason, probably just for aesthetics. However, a thick blanket of snow covers everything except the chest filled with gold-nuggets. No snow seems to have fallen on the chest at all.

Quotes:

Ringo: The sound of the Gion Shoja temple bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that to florish is to fall. The proud do not endure, like a passing dream on a night in spring; the mighty fall at last, to be no more than dust before the wind.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

Read this before you side with all the negative reviews . . .

I'm not entirely sure I understood the plot of Sukiyaki Western Django, mainly because I couldn't understand the dialogue very well, but I still can say it's unlike anything I have ever seen. In a time when ridiculously unoriginal films are hailed by critics and average viewers alike, it's great to see something truly different come to the screen. Sukiyaki Western Django takes the oldest subgenre in American cinema, the western, and spins it until it is original again—and it works.

I have never been a Takashi Miike fan at all, honestly. I have only seen this and Audition, but Audition was boring and cliché enough for me never to give him a second thought. Sukiyaki Western Django, however, shows his true capability as a director and that he isn't just another run-of-the-mill carbon copy like I originally thought after viewing Audition.

Sukiyaki Western Django is very dialogue heavy, but it still packs a lot of action and a lot more character deaths than is standard for this type of film. People are calling this movie gory, but it isn't. The blood is pretty generic and typical, though maybe a little more than your standard action flick. This didn't really disappoint me as much as it does in other movies, because blood isn't really needed in Sukiyaki Western Django. It carries itself with style and a lot of intense action.

I think the reason this film is getting so many negative reviews is because people don't get it. You really have to be a fan of the genres it imitates to understand it fully, even though the plot is simple. Two rival gangs, and one man, a gunslinger, they both need. The rest is a mix between action and art that simply stunned me. The town itself is so diverse it almost becomes its own character, and in a way it is. The aesthetic of some of the action scenes go so much further than the typical slow-mo Matrix rip-off you're used to and really creates a style all its own. The technical beeps in the background gave off a really cool surreal, modern feel that isn't overdone or annoying.

The acting worked for the genre, even though most of it is terrible and hard to understand. The entire Japanese cast, minus Tarantino, worked because they all spoke English, which just added to the cool-weirdness. I'm sure if your high school English class tried to analyze every figurative detail it would take weeks. Just put it this way: as far as the formula goes, Sukiyaki Western Django is both original and complex to the point of insanity. I simply cannot understand how this is by the same man who wrote/directed Audition.

Overall, I'm going to quote something I heard someone say after they viewed Sukiyaki Western Django: "Well, that was different, but I wouldn't call it entertaining." That is the view a lot of people are going to have, and I can't deny people will think that just because I personally disagree with it. It comes very close to being too top-heavy with aesthetic for its own good, but, for me, it was still very entertaining and awing. I can't say anything else except that you need to see this and make up your own mind. It is original, that's not my opinion, and if you're like me and enjoy more than the typical Hollywood movie you MUST see this. If you can care less about originality and just want another typical western you've seen time and time again, don't bother.

It really matters what your opinion on entertainment is. But I loved it.

8/10