Django Unchained (2012)

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino

Stars:

Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio

Top 250 #51 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 28 wins & 56 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Foxx	...	Django
Christoph Waltz	...	Dr. King Schultz
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Calvin Candie
Kerry Washington	...	Broomhilda von Shaft
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Stephen
Walton Goggins	...	Billy Crash
Dennis Christopher	...	Leonide Moguy
James Remar	...	Butch Pooch / Ace Speck
David Steen	...	Mr. Stonesipher
Dana Gourrier	...	Cora
Nichole Galicia	...	Sheba
Laura Cayouette	...	Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly
Ato Essandoh	...	D'Artagnan
Sammi Rotibi	...	Rodney
Clay Donahue Fontenot	...	Big Fred's Opponent

Storyline

Former dentist, Dr. King Schultz, buys the freedom of a slave, Django, and trains him with the intent to make him his deputy bounty hunter. Instead, he is led to the site of Django's wife who is under the hands of Calvin Candie, a ruthless plantation owner.

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Plot Keywords:

slave | bounty hunter | plantation | rescue | dentist | 

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Taglines:

This Christmas, Django is off the chain.

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

25 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Django sin cadenas

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$30,122,888 (USA) (28 December 2012)

Gross:

$162,804,648 (USA) (10 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First western to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay since Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, nearly 45 years earlier, and the first to win an Award for Acting (and in the same category) since Unforgiven, 20 years earlier. The film, along with True Grit repeated a rare pattern where 20 years earlier, two westerns (the other being Dances with Wolves) were nominated for Best Picture within two years of each other.

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Goofs

When Dr. Schultz is casually mentioning to Hildy that there is a "friend" on the other side of the door behind her, many reflections of activity by the crew and camera are seen reflected in the glossy bedpost behind Schultz, as he sits in his chair. Neither character, in this scene, is moving.

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Quotes

Calvin Candie: I've heard tell about you. I heard you been telling everybody them mandingos ain't no damn good, ain't nothing nobody is selling is worth buying - I'm curious. What makes you such a mandingo expert?
Django: I'm curious what makes you so curious.

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Crazy Credits

There is a small additional scene with the 3 men in a cage at the very end of the credits.

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Connections

References The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Sister Sara's Theme"
Written and Performed by Ennio Morricone
(From "Two Mules for Sister Sara")
Courtesy of Universal Studios

User Reviews

Tarantino's Best, A Must See

I know claiming "Tarantino's Best" is quite a statement with such films as "Pulp Fiction" and "Inglorious Bastards", however I truly believe it is. Django Unchained is superb from start to finish, it's a 2 hour and 45 minute movie yet you're on the edge of your seat, eyes glued to the screen for the whole ride. It's the closest thing to a flawless movie I have ever seen. Before I continue my praise of this movie, let me say this "the movie is not for everyone." Clearly its rated R and it has several gruesome violent scenes, it also contains vulgar language and numerous uses of the "n" word. Some may claim it's excessive, but I personally appreciate how realistic it portrays the horror and tragedy of slavery. That being said, I am torn if I am more impressed with Tarantino as a writer of this movie or its director. He simply is a cinematic genius. The casting of this movie alone deserves an Oscar. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio all put on Oscar worthy performances, and frankly, I would be astonished if they all did not win. I truly can't picture any actor on this planet being able to play any of those three roles as magnificently as these three actors did. I sum this movie into three general thirds, First: where Waltz steals the show, Second: where DiCaprio steals the show, and Third: where Foxx steals the show. I have only seen Waltz in "Inglorious Bastards" other than "Django Unchained" and he is rapidly climbing my favorite actors list. Leo is my personal favorite actor ever since his performance in "The Departed" and it was incredible to see him take on the challenging role as his first villain, Calvin Candie, possibly the most evil character I've ever seen in a film. Finally Jamie Foxx from start to finish played his best performance in any movie to date. Simply phenomenal. I loved how the audience sees his character evolve from a powerless slave to a confident powerful man. In addition to these three remarkable performances, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson also deliver. Washington goes through living hell yet remains a strong woman throughout. Jackson plays a very interesting role as Stephen, Leo's loyal house slave. Trust me, you will hate him yet at the same time he is hilarious. Now's a good time to mention, this movie is funny! Tarantino perfectly tosses in frequent bursts of pure laughter throughout the movie to lighten up from the serious aspects of the movie. There is one scene in particular, involving Jonah Hill and Don Johnson, which had the crowd roaring in laughter for a solid full minute. Which brings me to my next point, the cast is absurd! The rather small roles for such big actors such as Jonah Hill and Don Johnson, just shows how honored actors are taking any role no matter how small for a Quentin Tarantino film. I recognized famous actors and actresses throughout the entire movie. There is one brief scene, where I believe I even saw famous rapper "Childish Gambino" for literally just a few seconds as a slave in Mississippi. This movie was done perfectly to a tee; even the remarkable soundtrack caught my attention, nicely combining songs of the past with modern day songs. This movie is a western, a drama, a tragedy, a comedy, an action, a thriller, and at it's deepest roots a romance. If you haven't already, stop what you're doing and see this movie today. Whatever you're doing can wait but this movie can't. Just make sure your 17, have your license, and have a stomach for more of the most gruesome violence I have yet to see on a screen. In conclusion, I've heard rumors of Tarantino pondering the idea of retiring as a director and Oo what a sad day that would be for movie lovers like myself, but if they are true at least he's going out with one hell of a BANG!