Blu-ray Review: Quentin Tarantino’s Great ‘Django Unchained’ Gets Quickie Release

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CHICAGO – Who but Quentin Tarantino could make a nearly-three-hour movie about slavery and turn it into the highest-grossing film of his career? The movie made over $160 million domestically and over $400 million worldwide on its way to two major Oscars — Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. With all of its massive success, one might expect a lavish Blu-ray release. What we get is a bit more cut-rate. It’s got a good transfer but it’s slight on special features and it’s very likely that a special edition is inevitable. Then again, I’ve been waiting for the “Kill Bill” recut, full-movie edition that QT promised years ago.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

One great thing about “Django Unchained” is, like all of QT’s films, the replay value is HIGH. Tarantino’s gift for dialogue allows for films that people watch over and over again, long after the plot turns and twists have been revealed and memorized. People look at works like “Kill Bill” and “Pulp Fiction” as narrative tricks but it’s QT’s gift with witty dialogue that has made them as beloved as they are. Great performances from Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio really help elevate “Django” to one of the more memorable films of the ’10s to date.

And, so, again, one might expect deleted scenes, a roundtable discussion, a commentary track. None of those are here, leaving us with just the movie and a few featurettes to enjoy…for now…

Django Unchained was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 16, 2013
Photo credit: Starz/Anchor Bay

Synopsis:
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and featuring an award-winning cast, Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave who teams up with bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to seek out the south’s most wanted criminals with the promise of Django’s freedom. Honing vital hunting skills, his one goal is to find and rescue the wife (Kerry Washington) he lost to the slave trade long ago. When their search ultimately leads to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) the infamous and brutal proprietor of “Candyland,” they arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Now their moves are marked and they must stay one step ahead of his treacherous organization.

Special Features:
o Reimagining The Spaghetti Western: The Horses & Stunts Of Django Unchained
o Remembering J. Michael Riva: The Production Design of Django Unchained
o The Costume Designs Of Sharen Davis
o 20 Years In The Making: The Tarantino XX Blu-ray Collection
o Django Unchained Soundtrack Spot
o Digital Copy Included

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com