There is not any denying that director Quentin Tarantino has given us among the most exceptional films ever made. Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Canines, and the Kill Invoice duology are all revered classics, and helped cement him as one of many best filmmakers of his era. That being stated, as his profession grew older, and he started to make films that took liberties with historical past, the director got here below fireplace from not solely critics, however his friends as nicely. Living proof: Django Unchained, the 2012 Western that some known as “irresponsible,” however is now a streaming hit 13 years after its launch.
Hitting theaters on Christmas Day, 2012, Django Unchained contains a slew of stars, together with Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Walton Goggins. Produced on a finances of $100 million, the revisionist Western managed to absorb $426 million on the field workplace regardless of its controversies, and received Tarantino his second Oscar for Greatest Authentic Screenplay. Its synopsis reads as follows:
“Two years earlier than the Civil Warfare, Django (Foxx), a slave, finds himself accompanying an unorthodox German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) on a mission to seize the vicious Brittle brothers. Their mission profitable, Schultz frees Django, and collectively they hunt the South’s most-wanted criminals. Their travels take them to the notorious plantation of shady Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), the place Django’s long-lost spouse (Washington) continues to be a slave.”
Why Was ‘Django Unchained’ Controversial?
Licensed Contemporary on Rotten Tomatoes with an 87% score from critics, Django Unchained was maybe Tarantino’s most controversial movie as much as that time, with many claiming that the director exploited a darkish piece of American historical past for pure shock worth. Fellow filmmaker Spike Lee went as far as to boycott the film, which drew heavy consideration from the media. Lee claimed that it was “disrespectful” to his ancestors, later saying:
“American slavery was not a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It was a Holocaust. My ancestors are slaves stolen from Africa. I’ll honor them.”
Others known as the movie “irresponsible” and criticized its extreme use of racial slurs – one thing even the solid had points with – whereas some had rather a lot to say about its gratuitous violence depicted all through. On the flip aspect, it was for those self same causes that many praised Tarantino’s unflinching Western, calling him “courageous” for not romanticizing slavery and racism, however fairly presenting the viewers with an uncomfortable have a look at the previous.
Regardless of which aspect you fall on, it is clear that Django Unchained managed to ring a bell with folks. Regardless of all of the hoopla, it discovered its approach onto many Prime 10 lists for the very best films of 2012, and to this present day it stays a favourite of many, as is obvious by its Rotten Tomatoes viewers rating of 92%. For those who’ve but to see it, or maybe simply wish to watch it once more by way of the lens of 2025, Django Unchained is now streaming on Peacock, the place it at present sits within the #7 place on the streamer’s checklist of Prime 10 films, sandwiched between Kung Fu Panda 4 and Zombieland.