Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

A nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Takashi Miike, Masa Nakamura

Stars:

Hideaki Itô, Kôichi Satô, Quentin Tarantino

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Hideaki Itô	...	Gunman
Masanobu Andô	...	Yoichi
Kôichi Satô	...	Taira no Kiyomori
Kaori Momoi	...	Ruriko
Yûsuke Iseya	...	Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Renji Ishibashi	...	Village Mayor
Yoshino Kimura	...	Shizuka
Quentin Tarantino	...	Piringo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takaaki Ishibashi	...	Benkei
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Sheriff
Taigi Kobayashi
Yutaka Matsushige
Toshiyuki Nishida
Shun Oguri	...	Akira
Masato Sakai	...	Taira no Shigemori

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

spaghetti western | woman smokes a cigar | woman with a tattoo | cigar smoking | dead body with eyes open | 

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Taglines:

Who will be the last man standing?

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Genres:

Action | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, including a rape

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 2007 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Düello

Filming Locations:

Tsuruoka City, Yamagata, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$3,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,172, 31 August 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$48,034, 21 September 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

A-Team, Dentsu, Geneon Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 98 min (international cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The introduction to the tale given by Quentin Tarantino's character is taken almost verbatim from the opening passage of the Tale of Heike: "The sound of the Gion Shouja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the saala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind." (Helen Craig McCullough's translation)

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Goofs

In the final scene, the Gunman goes from having a mustache and goatee to being clean shaven between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ringo: [shoots a snake out of the claws of a flying hawk and cuts egg out of it]
Cowboy: [draws his gun on Piringo and whistles appreciatively]
Boss: Piringo. Been looking for you. It's the end of the road for you.
Boss: [gong] What's that sound?
Ringo: That's the sound of the Gion Shoja temple bells.
Boss: What?
Ringo: You know, those Heike and Genji boys. On a distant island, these to clans split into the Reds and the Whites. Waged a war. Sort of like that, uh, War of the Roses, ya know? In England?
Boss: Who won? The Whites?
Ringo: This ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The international cut version, shorter by 23 minutes, omits several scenes for pacing reasons and also all the scenes where the big Genji/Minamoto henchman after having his balls shot off develops a crush for his leader Yoshitsune. This version was screened at several film festivals and is featured on most of the DVD releases outside of Japan.

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Connections

References Django (1966)

User Reviews

Yojimbo redone as a western (japanese style).

Reading some of the reviews, I am surprise that others are confused as to the story. It is basically a samurai movie made as a Japanese western with Japanese cowboys instead of samurais. The story is almost the same as Yojimbo/A Fistfull of dollars. Stranger comes into town and gets the 2 opposing gangs to start killing each other. The difference being he has a sidekick in the kick ass Bloody Benten (female gunslinger). I think what makes everyone go "huh?" is its rather confusing opening with Quentin Tarantino and also the dialogue in heavily Japanese accented and enunciated English. It is rather jarring and does distract from the story. However if you have watched enough undubbed samurai movies you will be familiar with the style and delivery of the dialogue so the distraction goes away. The movie is nothing original but based on it simply being a gunfight movie its not bad.