Django Unchained
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Django Unchained is a 2012 American western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film was released on December 25, 2012 in North America.
Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave (Foxx) who treks across the United States with a bounty hunter (Waltz) on a mission to rescue his wife (Washington) from a cruel plantation owner (DiCaprio).
Plot
In 1858 in the American South several male slaves are being driven by the Speck Brothers, Ace and Dicky. Among the shackled slaves is Django, sold off and separated from his wife, Broomhilda. The Speck brothers are stopped by Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist and, unbeknownst to the brothers, a bounty hunter. Schultz asks to buy one of the slaves, but despite being rebuffed doesn't take no for an answer. He continues to prod and pry, angering the brothers. Tempers soon flare, and Ace, refusing to lower the shotgun leveled at Schultz, is shot dead. As soon as Dicky draws his pistol, Schultz shoots Dicky's horse in the head, the collapsing animal crushing the surviving brother's leg. While Dicky screams in pain in the background, Schultz interrogates Django as to the identity of the Brittle Brothers, and when he finds out that he can identify them, offers Django his freedom in exchange for help tracking them down. Django agrees and the pair toss the shackle keys to the other slaves and depart, with Schultz suggesting the slaves kill their tormentor and witness to gain their freedom. After executing the three Brittles, Django partners with Schultz through the Winter, becoming his apprentice. Upon being questioned by Django as to his motivation, Schultz explains that, being the first person he has ever given freedom to, he feels responsible for Django and is driven to help him in his quest to rescue Broomhilda.
Django, now fully trained, collects his first bounty. The pair travel to Mississippi, and Schultz uncovers the identity of Broomhilda's owner, Calvin Candie, the alternately charming but brutal owner of Candyland, a plantation where slaves are forced to fight to the death in boxing matches called "Mandingo fights". Schultz expects Candie will not entertain offers for Broomhilda if they are forthright with their request, so they devise a ruse whereby they will purchase one of Candie's prized fighters for a "ridiculous offer", obtain Broomhilda as an accessory to the fighter, then disappear before the deal is finalized. Schultz and Django meet Candie at a club in Greenville and submit their offer. His greed tickled, Candie invites them to Candyland. At the plantation, Broomhilda is secretly debriefed on the plan, and during dinner, Schultz moves to the next step by offering to purchase Broomhilda with Candie's fighter.
While everyone is eating and talking, Candie's staunchly loyal senior house slave, Stephen, becomes suspicious of Broomhilda and deduces that Django and Broomhilda know each other and that the sale of the Mandingo fighter is a distraction. Stephen alerts Candie, and an enraged Candie extorts the bounty hunters with Broomhilda's life for the complete bid amount. Schultz yields, and after the money is paid and the paperwork signed, Candie demands a handshake from Schultz to finalize the deal. Schultz, disgusted and mentally tired, kills Candie with a concealed Derringer. In retaliation, Butch Pooch kills Schultz before either Broomhilda or Django can react. A massive battle ensues in the mansion and Django kills many, including Pooch, but is forced to surrender when Broomhilda is taken hostage at gunpoint by Billy Crash.
The next morning, Django, hanging inverted from a rafter completely naked, is kicked awake. Crash approaches with a red-hot knife to castrate him, but Stephen interrupts at the last moment and states that Django has been sold to a mine, where he will be worked to death. En route to the mine, Django dupes his escorts into believing there is a very large bounty on a man back at Candyland and they will get a massive cut if Django is released. The moment the captors free and arm him, he shoots the group, takes their dynamite and rides back to Candyland.
Returning to the plantation, Django releases Broomhilda from her improvised cell. When Candie's mourners return from the funeral, Django reveals himself. In the final shootout, everyone is gunned down save Stephen, who has both knees disabled. Django and Broomhilda watch from a distance as the mansion, filled with dynamite, explodes, then ride off into the night.
In a post-credits scene a group of slaves, who appeared earlier in the film, says "Who was that nigga?"
Soundtrack
Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official soundtrack to the motion picture. It was originally released on December 18, 2012. The soundtrack uses a variety of music genres, relying heavily on spaghetti western soundtrack. The album was a great commercial success in a big number of countries.
Although many of the songs are earlier recording and chart hits, there were a number of tracks composed specially for the film. These are: "100 Black Coffins" by Rick Ross and produced by and featuring Jamie Foxx, "Who Did That To You?" by John Legend, "Freedom" by Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton, "Ancora Qui" by Ennio Morricone and Elisa.
These four songs were all contenders for an Academy Award nomination in the Best Original Song category, but none of them were eventually nominated.<ref>Oscars: 75 Songs vie for Best Original Song led by Les Misérables, Ted & Safety Not Guaranteed, Heyuguys.co.uk, Kenji Lloyd, 13 december 2012</ref>
The soundtrack also includes seven tracks that are dialogue excerpts from the film, some of which have been cut from the film.
In popular culture
- Brünnhilde in the Nibelungenlied is the inspiration for the name Broomhilda. In the film, Dr. Schultz notices the similarities between Django's and Siegfried's quests.
