Sukiyaki Western Django

We *finally* got around to watching Sukiyaki Western Django on Friday — I’ve got a copy of the Japan-released DVD, and I’d been holding out once I learned it was making the circuit of art-house theaters here in the US. Sadly, though, it never came to Lawrence, although it’s coming out in the US on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 1st, and I highly recommend getting it.

Review, short version: It’s Far West: The Movie.

Miike filmed a mix of Yojimbo-esque ronin story with traditional Spaghetti Western trappings — and had his cast deliver their lines in phonetic (and, at times, nearly indecipherable) English. Everything about this film drips the Far West aesthetic — from the muddy western town with asian architecture, to the characters wearing costumes that mix Westerns, Samurai Dramas, The Road Warrior and Duran Duran’s video for “The Wild Boys”…..all this, and Quentin Tarantino in a cameo.

Plus, a soundtrack (which I now own) which mixes spaghetti western sounds with traditional asian instruments….and a version of the classic “Django” theme, in Japanese.

I cannot recommend this one more highly — as my Mom would say: “It’s the sort of thing you’ll like, if you like that sort of thing.”