Sukiyaki Western Django
Maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike re-teams with longtime writing partner Masa Nakamura (Andromedia, The Bird People of China) for this musical Western inspired by Sergio Corbucci’s violent 1966 classic Django. It’s been hundreds of years since the Battle of Dannoura, yet the Genji and Heiki clans are still feuding. In this poor mountain town, there is rumored to be a great hidden treasure. Genji gang leader Yoshitsune is sure that his white-clad warriors will find the treasure first, but Kiyomori and his red-clothed Heike gang aren’t about to walk away empty-handed. When a mysterious lone gunman with an incredibly fast trigger finger rolls into town, everyone wonders which gang he will join. As betrayal, deception, and cold-blooded murder become commonplace, the silence of this once-quiet mountain town will be broken by the piercing echo of gunfire and the air will become dense with the smell of death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Sukiyaki Western Django (wikipedia)
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign and Western
Running Time : 1 hr. 38 min.
Starring: Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato, Kaori Momoi, Yusuke Iseya
Release Date : August 29th, 2008 (limited)
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, including a rape.
Distributors: First Look Pictures
Production Co.: Geneon Entertainment, TV Asahi, Toei Company (Parent), Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan (SPEJ), Nagoya Broadcasting Network (NBN), Tokyu Recreation, Sukiyaki Western Django Partners, A-Team Productions
Studios: Warner Bros. Japan
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Produced by : Toshiaki Nakazawa, Nobuyuki Tohya, Dick N. Sano
Produced in: Japan
Trailer:
This film is a rollicking blast. It plays like an absolutely delightful mix of Quentin Tarantino and Frank Miller. Some of the action scenes are simply breathtaking and the focus on color is nearly at a Wes Anderson level. This is a loving update of the classic spaghetti western genre, so named because they were Westerns shot in Italy known for their gritty style and hyper-stylized and clichéd vision of the Wild West. Seeing Quentin Tarantino was a blast and some of the Bloody Benton scenes are simply perfect. This is the only Takashi Miike movie I’ve ever seen, but I will certainly look into his others after this gloriously bombastic cinematic adventure.