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By: Martyn Pedler
Date: 25th Sep 08
Format: DVD
Mood: Epic
What:
Sukiyaki Western Django
When:
Out Oct 16
Where:
On DVD from Hopscotch
Watch the trailer:
Here
Win:
One of two copies courtesy of Hopscotch. Just email win@fourthousand.com.au with the subject 'western fandango'. Subscriber entry only.
Sergio Leone has been a punchline for too long. Half the time someone faces off with an enemy - whether in comedy, soap opera, or sci-fi - suddenly we'll see close-up squinting and hear Morricone's whistled woo-WEE-woo-WEE-woooooo.
Yeah. They're like cowboys. We get it.
Cult-auteur Takashi Miike knows better, and his latest film is one long love letter to Leone. Sukiyaki Western Djangois Miike's biggest movie so far, and you can see the budget surplus in his sets, cinematography, and eye-popping six-gun / Samurai sword action scenes.
It's also Miike's first English-language film, and his Japanese cast definitely struggle with the dialogue. This fits with the grand tradition of language-mangling in Leone's movies, and just makes the whole thing feel like a ridiculous, violent costume party. Like kids say in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE: "Just like the games we know."
It wears a little thin by the final act, and god knows it's substance-free- all hat, and no cattle - but these flaws are murdered by Miike's unbridled showmanship and love of the source material. Sukiyaki Western Djangois, undoubtedly, a hoot and a holler.