Induction Task 2: My Favourite Film Of The Summer

Ethan Delaney AS Level Film Studies Induction Task04/09/2013

 

Task 2 – What was my favourite film of the summer and why did I enjoy it?

I think that my favourite film of the summer was Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained of which I viewed sometime in June 2013 on Blu-ray with my dad. I had been waiting a long time to see this film after I first heard about it being in production approximately one year earlier and knew I would have had to have waited about another six months after its UK box office release date of January 18th due to its 18+ BBFC age rating. However, the wait was definitely worth it as it was easily the best film I viewed this summer and in this induction essay I will be explaining as to why I found it to be such a stunning feature.

Firstly, I suppose I should start of by saying that I certainly consider myself to be a Quentin Tarantino fan, having enjoyed every one of his eight films, the Kill Bill films being my favourite, in particular Vol. 2.

Django Unchained is a story of a spaghetti western set in the old American west in the year 1858 just before about a slave (played by Jamie Foxx) who is unchained from his owners by former German dentist turned bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (played by Christoph Waltz). Dr King Schultz then makes a deal to help Django help rescue his wife Broomhilda, also a slave, from ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie, if in return he helps Dr King to find his next bounty’s during the cold winter.

One of the best things about this (probably over long film) is its screenplay, of which like any other Tarantino film, is full of many great satire lines which can easily entertain the audience throughout its 165 minute running time, along with numerous other superb drama sequences which manage to hold tension, excitement and most importantly attention without the over use of any sort of action. However this being a Tarantino film, there is also a truck load of bloody revenge violence. The film also fortunately has a stellar cast of which not one member, in my opinion is anything less than absolutely believable. My favourite character is arguably the secondary antagonist, the despicably loyal house slave to Mr Candie, Stephen (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who forms an instant hatred towards Django, as unlike himself, Django is a free man. As the senior house slave, Stephen does not like being unable to control Django with his authority like the others and detests the fact that Django is free to ride alongside white men on horses, unlike himself who, despite his loyalty over the years, does not even get to sleep in the ‘Big House’ like Django.

Another one of my favourite things about Django Unchained is its primary antagonist, the Mandingo fighting lover Calvin Candie who is played extremely as well as shockingly well by an actor who is very typical known for basically playing the same version of a nice victimized character in almost every one of his films.