WILLIAM FLANIGAN Viewed on DVD. Cinematography/lighting = seven (7) stars; editing/continuity = four (4) stars; translation = one (1) star. Director Takashi Miike delivers an ambiguous tale of Samurai Gun Slingers (or is it Cowboy Sword Swingers?) in the blood thirsty style of Quentin Tarantino who shows up in bookend cameo appearances (see below). Miike's fantasy film crams virtually every motion-picture myth from the Italian brand of the American Old West into the scenario pot (including the music) plus some clever original variations such as: a shootout at high (give or take) noon that occurs during a snow storm; Yakuza ancestors in the form of rival red and white town gangs who, of course, wear only red or white, respectively (to help the viewer determine which side a stunt actor is now on?); Samurai sword moves that deflect six-gun bullets; a hand-held Gatling gun with two-foot clip (for holding thousands of rounds?); a lynching Torii gate at the edge of town (instead of a lone leafless tree); the usual cluttered boot hill but with both above and below ground "burials"; saloon dancing entertainment that substitutes floor slithering for high kicking; and gold that looks freshly minted instead of freshly mined (so there's no mistaking it for fool's gold?). Acting is not so great and may have been negatively impacted by requiring all players to their deliver lines entirely in English (there is no voice-acting dubbing). Actresses and actors speak "high English" rather than "cowboy lingo," but retain the usual rising and falling intonations spoken by native Japanese (with a sentence-ending "ne" occasionally slipping out!). Stunt actors are kept busy dying many, many times as either Red Gang or White Gang members. Costumes are especially interesting. No one wears a white hat, since there are no "good guys" (some members of the Red Gang do wear white Hachimaki (headbands), though). These Yakuza fore runners also care a lot about there appearances, since their costumes always look brand new (including their baseball jackets!) as do their vast assortment of firearms and leather accessories (a gun collector's dream!). Special effects are modest but very well done. Editing and continuity are not quite there. The film is too long and sags when the satire hits a dry spot. Scenes often switch back and forth between sunshine, heavy (real not movie) rain, and snow (a lot of it). There is too much reliance on voice-over expository to fill in the gaps. Cinematography (wide screen, color) and scene lighting are fine. Surround-sound field is OK, but seems under used. Interior set used for the opening scenes features Tarantino as a gun fighter reacting to especially spicy sukiyaki in front of a painted back drop that includes the Japanese flag (way before it was adopted?) and Mount Fuji (closing interior scenes features an ancient Tarantino as a gun-shop proprietor zipping around in a racing wheel chair!). Some signs (including the town's name) are only partially translated. The English subtitle menu is confusing (since the film has only English dialog). (These subtitles are meant for the hard of hearing.) Credits are not translated which seems to be an especially disrespectful action by the film's director/producers directed against all those who helped to make this English-language movie possible! WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

Samiam3 Sukiyaki Western Django essentially takes Kurosawa's Yojimbo (forrunner to the spaghetti Western) and make it into an exploitation film. I guess it's no wonder then that Quentin Tarantino would be drawn to such a film. In this hybrid flick, scene one features Tarantino taking on three Japanese gun slingers in what intentionally look like a b-movie set piece of the desert. (The sun distinctly hangs from a wire, ha ha). With this scene, the movie will either have your full attention, or it will have you making for the exit, but it's a good indicator that something eccentric is going to follow.It is for the best that Sukiyaki Western Django does not take itself seriously. Despite being Tarantino's cup of tea, somehow he feels out of place. It is not because he is the only American on screen, but rather because the overwrought performance quality of everyone else actually make him look talented. His satire is more subtle, while everyone else acts like they are in a Kabuki theatre production. The original Yojimbo, didn't actually have much of a plot, but by stretching it out, Kurosawa was able to give it a more solid body, something which unfortunately is not duplicated here. Sukiyaki Western Django is short and superficial, not giving the audience much of a chance to grow into the characters. This is one of those movies that makes you wanna laugh at the people on screen. You don't end up caring who lives or dies, but the fashion in which they do so is effectively entertaining.The gun play in this movie is the product of artistic creativity and visual humour, with a bit of slapstick. Watching a kataka split a speeding bullet in two (in slow motion) is far more pleasurable than obnoxious. Even some of the more aesthetically romantic qualities of the movie are funny. In the climax, it starts to snow (in very Asian cinematic fashion) covering the ground white in five seconds, I was laughing. Sometimes when people gets shot, feathers gets spilled in the place of blood. Who would have thought that up?What Sukiyaki Western Django needs more than anything is a better substance to go with the style. This film, which is superficially amusing, can be equally annoying sometimes on account of scrappy dialogue and acting. It is reasonably effective for it's genre, but there are better examples which I would recommend before this

ciscokid1970 This movie will be loved by fans of old Akira Kurosawa samurai films crossed with old westerns with a touch of Tarantino story play. It is a little like Yojimbo meets Pale rider.First I want to clear up a significant error that most reviewers are making comparing this movie to Spagetti westerns. This movie is NOT a copy of a Spagetti westers. In fact most Spagetti westerns ARE copies of old Samurai films many written by Akira Kurosawa. This movie has similarities with Fistfull of dollars which came out in 1964. But Fistfull is a almost word for word copy of Yojimbo which came out in 1961, just substitute a gun for a sword. Anyway BOTH Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa made wonderful movies.OK let me start by saying the story only starts slow...and kind of cheesy with the whole Tarantino sitting around a campfire with fake Mt Fuji in the back. But all the old westerns and samurai films should have trained you to be patient in the first 15min.The filming is brilliant has just enough color in the background, just the right amount of lighting, nice mix of angry close-ups on hero and bad guys faces. Where the movie excels in a way Kurosawa would be proud is the well used special effects mini explosion bullets, exploding blood packs and my new favorite big bullet holes. There is a lot of clever little homage bits like Eastwood's poncho and Van Cleef's long shot gun.The only points off are for the dumb part by the sheriff. It would have also been better with more sword fighting.Near the end there is a nice homage line "This is for Akira"

Sean Kelly I have yet to see any of Miike's any other films, and this is a great place to start. I would highly recommend that if you haven't already see Fistful of Dollars and/or Yojimbo, and perhaps Django as well (I have only seen Fistful so far), so that you really get the tongue in cheek homages and perhaps parodies in this film. Try and spot the obvious anachronisms (more in the dialogue). Some reviews that I have read have unfairly said that you need the English subtitles - you might want to use them the first time you watch it as I did just in case, but generally the English is quite good. Most of the English spoken by the main characters is understandable anyway, and that's what really matters. I think this is a nice touch, and another way of paying homage to the west. Tarantino's great too - worth watching just to hear him impersonating the Japanese accent (you'll see what I mean). I also love how it merges these western influences with Japanese in a Japanese setting, maybe because of the influence of Yojimbo as well it's unofficial remake (Fistful). You don't have to take this film terribly seriously - it's just really good fun, but there is the occasional serious moment, and despite what one one reviewer from Toronto said, there is a decent amount of characterisation, despite the possible barriers created by using English and by using the basic man with no name as the lead.