Movie Info:
Writer: Masa Nakamura, Takashi Miike
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Quentin Tarantino, Yusuke Iseya, Kaori Momoi, Hideaki Ito
Rating: R
Studio: First Look Pictures
Release Info:
DVD Release Date: November 11, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $21.49
I am trying to think of a way to describe Sukiyaki Western Django. I have told myself that there has to be something nice to say about this film. Unfortunately when I thought about it, the only thing I could come up with are that the fight scenes are impressive and the video is spectacular. First off it’s a spaghetti Western. For those of you that have no clue what a spaghetti Western is (I didn’t know either) it’s basically a low budget Western that was produced by Italian studios. The main difference from these Westerns and any others were that the movie was done in the Italian language. Obviously, this makes this movie a little bit different as the core cast is Japanese and they speak incredibly broken English.
Additionally, I don’t believe this has the low budget feel of those old spaghetti westerns. The quality is impeccable and while the writing, directing, and acting could have used some work, the special effects and film quality were high enough to show that a good chunk of change was spent on this film. I actually opted to see this film for Tarantino. He has been amusing or worth watching in just about everything that I have seen him in. I knew I wasn’t a real fan of westerns, but I thought I would check it out for him. I swear on everything that is holy, I will never make such a mistake again. If there is ever a movie that only seems appealing for Tarantino, I will just suck it up and skip it. It will save me the trouble of having to sit through a soulless, bottom feeding movie with no purpose.
It’s rare that I review a movie with no plot. I am not being nitpicky here either. Sukiyaki Western Django seriously has no plot. If it does, it can be relayed in one line. It makes my job as a reviewer much easier because when I write the plot, there is nothing to give away. Of course, there is nothing to list in the plot section either, so that could be a tad bit of a problem. I’ve seen some pretty bad movies, but the idea of creating a movie without a plot is seriously baffling to me on so many levels.
If you ignore the lack of plot for the violence and Western-y type stuff you might be able to enjoy this movie. Usually I can forgive a movie for having a weak plot if the action is worthwhile. I did enjoy the fight scenes, but everything else was so empty that by the end of the movie those scenes no longer mattered.
The Sukyaki Western Django Plot
The plot for this is so simple that I don’t know where to begin. Seriously, it’s all about a line. In short form, there are two warring clans, the Reds and the Whites. Their main goal in life seems to be to take the other clan down. Unfortunately, the villagers in this small western town are stuck in the middle. The Genji (whites) and the Heike (reds) aren’t about to give up their feud anytime soon. At least not until an unnamed Gunman (Hideaki Ito) strolls into town to liberate the village from the oppression of the two groups.
The leader of the Reds is Taira no Kiyomori (Koichi Sato). He is a warrior that is hell bent on finding a treasure that he believes was hidden by the villagers. Meanwhile, the Whites are led by Yoshitsune (Yusuke Iseya). Unlike Kiyomori, Yoshitsune could care less about any treasure. His main goal is finding an opponent that is worthy of his talent and offers him a true challenge. Both groups try to woo the mysterious gunman, but they both fail. This leads to plenty of lives lost when the three men go head to head in a blaze of glory.
As I mentioned earlier, Tarantino was one of the immediate reasons that I wanted to see this movie. He appears on screen within the first ten minutes of the film and is gone for most of the film thereafter. While onscreen the first time, he tells a story in the most annoying accent (if that’s what it is supposed to be) I’ve ever heard. In fact, it made me want to cut his tongue out with a rusty knife. Well, that or just turn the movie off altogether, which isn’t a good start for any movie. Needless to say, things did not improve with Tarantino off the screen. His departure just made way for a bunch of soulless henchmen, bad dialogue and uninteresting storylines. The fight scenes had a tendency to be decent, but they cannot keep the entire movie afloat. It’s just not possible.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Sukiyaki Western Django looks good. The Blu Ray transfer makes use of 1080p and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. At times the movie is gritty and the color screams of oversaturation, but you get the feeling that it was meant to be this way because the level of detail is still incredibly high. Many of the shots look fabulous with good detail and excellent scenery. I cannot say what the standard version looks like, but the Blu Ray offers a great look to it overall. It’s by far the best part of this awful movie.
The audio soundtrack weighs in with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless and while it sounds good for the most part, there are some moments of inconsistency. The sound effects are rich and sound amazing. However, at times the dialogue is just out of reach so you end up playing with the volume more than you should have to do with a Blu Ray. Despite this one flaw, most channels are used to the full capacity. The soundtrack is filled with action and the occasional musical moment. These sound the best by far, though the dialogue manages to get the job done when it is loud enough to be heard. In addition to the lossless soundtrack there is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and subtitles in English and Spanish.
Visual: 
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Sukiyaki Western Django only has a few special features. This statement is by no means a complaint. Actually I am quite thankful. I would have hated to have had to sit through more bonus features when I could barely stomach the movie in the first place. There is a featurette “The Making of Sukiyaki Western Django, which looks at everything that went into making this film.
This is actually shown with English subtitles because it’s in Japanese. The ‘Making Of’ goes beyond the standard fare in order to explore how the director handles things, and the challenges that he had to deal with when making the film. The only other special features offered are some deleted scenes and trailers that are offered in Standard Definition for films such as Transsiberian and War, Inc.. A digital copy is also included, though depending on how much you like this film you might not consider this a bonus at all.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Sukiyaki Western Django is possibly the worst movie I have seen all year. If I blocked out the sound and pretended the characters weren’t all one dimensional, cardboard cutouts this might have been watchable. If I muted everything and only looked during the fight scenes, I might have been okay. I made the mistake of watching the whole thing through though and it’s a mistake that I will have to pay for as long as I live. Save yourself and don’t buy this. If you have to rent it, go for it, though I wouldn’t recommend spending any huge rental fee on it either.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Blu-Ray, Quentin Tarantino, Yusuke Iseya, Kaori Momoi, Hideaki Ito, Sukiyaki Western Django, Western, Bad Movie
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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.
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