Django Unchained (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD +
Digital Copy + UltraViolet)
- Movie Review
- Blu-ray Specifications
- Blu-ray Audio and Video Quality
- Blu-ray Special Features
Movie Review
Django Unchained pays homage to the Western from the very
get go. The opening presentation of Columbia Pictures, the display of the
credits in stark red and the music itself transports you in a time machine back
to the hay day of these movies. Even the camera angles and style of shooting is
characteristic of the Western. Most notably this is seen when the shot zooms in
swiftly on a character, Django himself, to highlight his reaction to another
character’s retort. This was done to perfection with Samuel L. Jackson’s
Stephen and Django, as Stephen takes a jab at Django for looking out to the
fields where a woman is been taken in a wheel barrow. Don’t ask. Of course,
Tarantino takes the odd detour from the conventional systems of the Western,
when he plays a rap song as Django strides atop a horse, blending the music
with some vintage guitar work to place the mood within the time period, in no
way making it incongruous.
The plot involves Django (Jamie Foxx) being freed by Dr.
King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), former dentist and now a bounty hunter. The
doctor needs Django’s help in finding a band of criminal brothers and his
assistance soon leads to Schultz considering Django as a deputy bounty hunter. Momentarily
though, Schultz decides to help Django find his wife who was sold to another
plantation, and this leads them to Candieland. It’s not a subsidiary of Willy
Wonka’s Chocolate Factory but a plantation owned by Southerner Calvin Candie
(Leo DiCaprio).
One standout element of the movie was its treatment of
slavery. It’s able to present African-Americans as mere commodities through the
slave trade and particularly through the dialogue of the characters, much like
it was before the Civil War. This is most evident in Candie’s conversation with
one of his Mandingo fighters, where he states that he needs his money’s worth
and can’t have a fighter dropping dead before five fights, his tone striking
similarities to a modern day investor talking about his stock portfolio. The
use of the Southern accent by the Americans is also exemplary, particularly
with DiCaprio who is truly an acting chameleon in human form. Even the distinct
dialect of the slaves produced by Samuel Jackson’s Stephen and Foxx’s Django is
done to perfection. Waltz’s treatment of his character’s Bounty Hunter job as
if it’s a perfunctory and nonchalant task that we might do is also worthy of
mentioning. In general, the acting was stellar.
To me there were only two flaws in the movie. One was that
Django takes a backseat in the first half of the movie, letting Candie and
Schultz take the spotlight. While it in no way diminishes the aura around the
movie, at times it seems as if Candie Unchained or Schultz Unchained would have
been a better title. But Foxx more than makes up for this in the latter half as
he picks up on his agenda of vengeance. A second flaw was the finale. To me,
while it stands to be impressive, it never quite trumps the climactic scene in
the middle of the movie where the excitement was at its peak. The one sided
nature of the finale makes it less entertaining than that capricious scene in
the middle, but it, too, boasts its own armada of violence, action and humor,
though to a slightly lesser degree. Forget my complaints, because even though
it spans for more than 2.5 hours, you won’t notice the time passing with
Tarantino’s screenplay. The dialogue is as action-packed as a Michael Bay
movie.
This is not your traditional dinner scene.
Blu-ray Specifications
-
Video
Audio
Subtitles
Discs
Playback
Blu-ray Audio and Video Quality
The audio features soundtracks that are reminiscent of music from Westerns, and the reverberations and echoes create this effect to perfection. The dialogue is clear and by no means ambiguous even in the most quietest of instances. But what stood out was the glorious racket created by the gunfire, both in sound with the blaring noise and by picture, where the bullets just cause a splatter of blood spraying the floors and walls with scarlet red. No worries in these departments.
Blu-ray Special Features
There weren't too many special features to talk about and it was a rather scant showing.
Remembering
J. Michael Riva: The Production Design of Django Unchained (1080p; 12:50): Riva, the production designer passed away while the film was in production. This featurette includes some of his interviews and pays due tribute to him.
Reimagining
the Spaghetti Western: The Horses and Stunts of Django Unchained (1080p; 13:46) : Includes interviews with Quentin Tarantino and Jeff Dashnaw (stunt coordinator). You get to find out if any horses were actually killed during filming.
The Costume
Designs of Sharen Davis (1080p; 12:03): a look at the incredibly varied costumes and outfits sported during the movie.
Tarantino XX
Blu-ray Collection Promo (1080p; 1:25): A must have for any Tarantino zealot, this feature promotes Tarantino XX, a Blu-ray collection of his most premium work. The collection is composed of Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds. It features over 5 hours of unseen special features, so while buying Django Unchained, you might as well purchase Tarantino XX, a celebration of 20 years of astronomical film-making.
Django
Unchained Soundtrack Promo
- Movie Review
- Blu-ray Specifications
- Blu-ray Audio and Video Quality
- Blu-ray Special Features
Movie Review
Django Unchained pays homage to the Western from the very
get go. The opening presentation of Columbia Pictures, the display of the
credits in stark red and the music itself transports you in a time machine back
to the hay day of these movies. Even the camera angles and style of shooting is
characteristic of the Western. Most notably this is seen when the shot zooms in
swiftly on a character, Django himself, to highlight his reaction to another
character’s retort. This was done to perfection with Samuel L. Jackson’s
Stephen and Django, as Stephen takes a jab at Django for looking out to the
fields where a woman is been taken in a wheel barrow. Don’t ask. Of course,
Tarantino takes the odd detour from the conventional systems of the Western,
when he plays a rap song as Django strides atop a horse, blending the music
with some vintage guitar work to place the mood within the time period, in no
way making it incongruous.
The plot involves Django (Jamie Foxx) being freed by Dr.
King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), former dentist and now a bounty hunter. The
doctor needs Django’s help in finding a band of criminal brothers and his
assistance soon leads to Schultz considering Django as a deputy bounty hunter. Momentarily
though, Schultz decides to help Django find his wife who was sold to another
plantation, and this leads them to Candieland. It’s not a subsidiary of Willy
Wonka’s Chocolate Factory but a plantation owned by Southerner Calvin Candie
(Leo DiCaprio).
One standout element of the movie was its treatment of
slavery. It’s able to present African-Americans as mere commodities through the
slave trade and particularly through the dialogue of the characters, much like
it was before the Civil War. This is most evident in Candie’s conversation with
one of his Mandingo fighters, where he states that he needs his money’s worth
and can’t have a fighter dropping dead before five fights, his tone striking
similarities to a modern day investor talking about his stock portfolio. The
use of the Southern accent by the Americans is also exemplary, particularly
with DiCaprio who is truly an acting chameleon in human form. Even the distinct
dialect of the slaves produced by Samuel Jackson’s Stephen and Foxx’s Django is
done to perfection. Waltz’s treatment of his character’s Bounty Hunter job as
if it’s a perfunctory and nonchalant task that we might do is also worthy of
mentioning. In general, the acting was stellar.
Of course, being a Tarantino film, you can expect the usual
dose of blood. In this picture, Tarantino literally paints the walls with red
in the climactic scene through Django’s faultless gun work. The exaggeration of
the shot gun’s force is also amplified, with bodies flying meters up in the
air, and bullets finding bodies create a volcanic eruption of blood, as if the
victim took Mentos with coke before dying. It creates a rather beautiful
aesthetic appeal, contrary to the gore seen in horror flicks. The scene rather
transpires unpredictably, another characteristic that I believe is rooted in
the director’s movies (remember the unexpected gun shot in the car in Pulp
Fiction). The root cause of the Climax’s violence was a simple handshake, with
one character demanding a handshake which the other refuses. It may seem silly
and puerile but it was necessary to elucidate the egos of these men in full
flight, something that causes more trouble in reality than predicted.
To me there were only two flaws in the movie. One was that
Django takes a backseat in the first half of the movie, letting Candie and
Schultz take the spotlight. While it in no way diminishes the aura around the
movie, at times it seems as if Candie Unchained or Schultz Unchained would have
been a better title. But Foxx more than makes up for this in the latter half as
he picks up on his agenda of vengeance. A second flaw was the finale. To me,
while it stands to be impressive, it never quite trumps the climactic scene in
the middle of the movie where the excitement was at its peak. The one sided
nature of the finale makes it less entertaining than that capricious scene in
the middle, but it, too, boasts its own armada of violence, action and humor,
though to a slightly lesser degree. Forget my complaints, because even though
it spans for more than 2.5 hours, you won’t notice the time passing with
Tarantino’s screenplay. The dialogue is as action-packed as a Michael Bay
movie.
 |
| This is not your traditional dinner scene. |
Blu-ray Specifications
- VideoCodec: MPEG-4 AVCResolution: 1080pAspect ratio: 2.40:1Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1AudioEnglish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)French: Dolby Digital 5.1Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1SubtitlesEnglish SDH, SpanishDiscs50GB Blu-ray DiscTwo-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)UV digital copyiTunes digital copyDVD copyPlaybackRegion A
Blu-ray Audio and Video Quality
The audio features soundtracks that are reminiscent of music from Westerns, and the reverberations and echoes create this effect to perfection. The dialogue is clear and by no means ambiguous even in the most quietest of instances. But what stood out was the glorious racket created by the gunfire, both in sound with the blaring noise and by picture, where the bullets just cause a splatter of blood spraying the floors and walls with scarlet red. No worries in these departments.Blu-ray Special Features
There weren't too many special features to talk about and it was a rather scant showing.
Remembering J. Michael Riva: The Production Design of Django Unchained (1080p; 12:50): Riva, the production designer passed away while the film was in production. This featurette includes some of his interviews and pays due tribute to him.
Reimagining the Spaghetti Western: The Horses and Stunts of Django Unchained (1080p; 13:46) : Includes interviews with Quentin Tarantino and Jeff Dashnaw (stunt coordinator). You get to find out if any horses were actually killed during filming.
The Costume Designs of Sharen Davis (1080p; 12:03): a look at the incredibly varied costumes and outfits sported during the movie.Tarantino XX Blu-ray Collection Promo (1080p; 1:25): A must have for any Tarantino zealot, this feature promotes Tarantino XX, a Blu-ray collection of his most premium work. The collection is composed of Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds. It features over 5 hours of unseen special features, so while buying Django Unchained, you might as well purchase Tarantino XX, a celebration of 20 years of astronomical film-making.
Django Unchained Soundtrack Promo
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