| Sukiyaki Western: Django | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Takashi Miike |
| Produced by | Masato Ôsaki |
| Written by | Masa Nakamura |
| Starring | Hideaki Ito Masanobu Ando Shun Oguri and Quentin Tarantino |
| Cinematography | Toyomichi Kurita |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) |
| Release date(s) |  September 15, 2007 |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | English |
Sukiyaki Western: Django (スキヤキ・ウェスタン ジャンゴ Sukiyaki Uesutan Jango) is a 2007 Japanese film by Takashi Miike. The title of this English language western refers to the Japanese dish, sukiyaki, as well as Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western film, Django. It also takes inspiration from the "Man with No Name" stock character variously used in the spaghetti western genre but most notably in Akira Kurosawa's jidaigeki film Yojimbo and Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy.
Contents |
Inspired by the historical rivalry between the Genji and Heike clans, which ushered in the era of samurai dominance in Japanese history, Sukiyaki Western Django is set "a few hundred years after the Genpei War". The Genji and Heike gangs face off in a town named Yuta in Nevada, while a deadly gunman comes into town to help a prostitute get revenge on the warring gangs. The film contains numerous references both to the historical Gempei War and to Wars of the Roses, as well as the films Yojimbo and Django.
On June 8, 2007, a manga adaptation by Kotobuki Shiriagari began serialization on Shogakukan's Big Comic Superior.
When Sukiyaki Western Django premiered as part of the "Midnight Madness" program at the Toronto International Film Festival, it received mixed reviews. Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! magazine wrote admiringly:
"The fast-paced action is well staged on a set that borrows from both western and samurai traditions; Miike mixes both good old gunplay (a Gatling gun that’s housed in the original film’s iconic coffin) and martial arts swordplay, which intermingle cohesively until the last fight. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Miike’s western is his decision to use a Japanese cast to speak English. Supported by English subtitles, it’s a peculiar choice that at first feels like a novelty, only to fade into the film’s absorbing environment. Sukiyaki Western Django feels very much like a genuine western, and with it Miike demonstrates his mastery of working a genre film until it becomes a creation of his very own."[1]
On the other end of the spectrum, Will Sloan of Inside Toronto wrote:
"This is a crazy, fast-paced spectacle of a movie, with some stunning action scenes and gorgeously colourful production design. The problem is, it’s an empty spectacle. Miike pays homage to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, but forgets that those directors genuinely loved the kitschy pop culture they emulated instead of regarding it with smug superiority. Kill Bill was a comic book, yes, but Tarantino allowed his actors room to create characters the audience could care about, while Miike, by having his cast speak awkward English, is perversely trying to keep their characters two-dimensional and keep the audience distant...Ultimately, Sukiyaki Western Django is an exhausting experience. This is not a film you become involved in – it isn’t funny or engaging. Rather, it’s one that you’re supposed to watch with a cool, hip sense of ironic detachment, sitting in the audience and saying to yourself, “Aren’t I cool for laughing at this?” How could anyone enjoy such a self-conscious time at the movies?"[2]
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
