Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Takashi Miike (written by) &
Masa Nakamura (written by)

Release Date:

15 September 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

An epic tale of blood, lust and greed.

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Clan | Treasure | Dragged By Horse | Crossbow | Spaghetti Western

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Hideaki Ito	...	Gunman
Masanobu Ando	...	Yoichi
Koichi Sato	...	Taira no Kiyomori
Kaori Momoi	...	Ruriko
Yusuke Iseya	...	Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Renji Ishibashi	...	Benkei
Yoshino Kimura	...	Shizuka
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Takaaki Ishibashi
Teruyuki Kagawa	...	Sheriff
Taigi Kobayashi
Toshiyuki Nishida
Shun Oguri	...	Akira
Masato Sakai	...	Taira no Shigemori
Hideaki Sato
Christian Storms
Yoji Tanaka
Quentin Tarantino	...	Ringo

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, including a rape.

Runtime:

121 min | (None):98 min (international cut version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:18A | USA:R | Australia:R | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-18 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Tsuruoka City, Yamagata, Japan

Company:

Dentsu Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

The background for the artificial set in the prologue is clearly inspired by the woodblock prints "Gaifu Kaisei" and "Sanka Haku" featured in Hokusai's famous "Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji" series.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Ringo: The sound of the Gion Shoja temple bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that to florish is to fall. The proud do not endure, like a passing dream on a night in spring; the mighty fall at last, to be no more than dust before the wind.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

A Dispassionate Flourish of Style You're Expected to Watch With a Nonchalant, Half-Sober Feeling of Sardonic Detachment

The Genji and Heike gangs show down in a settlement named Utah, while a cliché stoic gunman comes to the support of what's left of the community, inspired by Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western Django. I haven't seen Django, and actually I saw much more candid likeness to Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars.

The fast-paced action is well staged on a set that sponges both western and samurai ways of life. Miike jumbles both sensationalized gunplay and martial arts swordplay, which interact solidly in anticipation of the climactic fight, by which time we're practically exhausted. What may be the oddest facet of Miike's western, if you'll accept the odd/Miike redundancy, is his choice to apply a Japanese cast to speak English. It's a curious variety that initially feels like a gimmicky innovation, merely to blend into this aimless entertainment's wacky milieu. Nevertheless, it results keeping the characters two-dimensional and the audience aloof. Quentin Tarantino, who plays a bit role, speaks English as usual but with some gawky, cartoonish twang and tone of voice with the talent of an 11-year-old and no sense of cultural origin and no connection at all to the subject matter, obscure though it may be. I really wish he would either never act again, or learn how to portray a real human being and not some B-movie caricature, which no matter what role he's ever played is what he always does. He measures all of life to B-movie caricature.

Miike's typically cynical detachment from his work makes for another one of his zany spectacles, and with stunningly vivid production design. At the end of the day, this dispassionate flourish of style by itself is a very wearing encounter. This is not a film you become absorbed in but instead one that you're expected to watch with a nonchalant, half- sober feeling of sardonic lack of involvement. And some people like to watch movies that way. I don't think Miike has ever made a movie for everyone, even though he's made almost 70 in under 20 years. And for that I admire him.