Django Unchained

At face value, Django is a testament to spaghetti westerns. Though, it is so much more. The story follows a young black slave by the name of Django. He is given a generous offer by Dr. King Schultz to help him hunt down three men from Django’s past. Schultz offers freedom and $75 dollars for the information. Django becomes Schultz bounty hunting partner. During a successful winter of hunts, Schultz tells Django he has located his wife. The two travel to Mississippi to gain more information on Broomhilda’s location. They arrive to Candyland, Calvin Candy’s grand ranch where many “Mandingo” fights are held. They pose as Mandingo officiandos who are looking to purchase their next big fighter in order to appease Calvin. Eventually they reach his plantation where Broomhilda is found. Their cover is blown. Calvin makes Dr. King Schultz sign the original offer for a Mandingo he made, $12,000. Schultz shoots and kills Calvin, and Schultz is killed. Django kills everyone, blows up the plantation, roll credits. 

Quentin Tarantino’s name on a film instantly gives the general public a nod due to his resume in the industry. First, we have a western film. There have been a few western’s in the cinema of recent memory, but none like Django. More than a testament, it is a synthesis of celebration. The cinematography and the dialogue carry the film in my opinion. There are many great shots of life in the old west. Be it saloons, deserts, old cabins, or campfires, nothing is spared in that degree. This creates the mindset that we are really in this western time period of 1858. There are many moments where the racial slur “nigger” is used. This would be normal for 1858, but there is a point where I realized it was used too much. I believe that Tarantino had the idea that if he pushed using that word to an absurd degree, it would separate the film from other westerns. The overuse of the word “nigger” tells me that it the film is not to be taken too seriously. The cinematography and soundtrack create this incredibly realistic western environment, while the dialogue ensures that it is not only a western. It pays tribute to the classics, while creating a fantastic character driven story too not be taken too seriously.