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Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Yusuke Iseya, Masanobu Ando, Takaaki Ishibashi ... see more see more... , Yoshino Kimura , Teruyuki Kagawa , Masato Sakai , Shun Oguri , Quentin Tarantino , Kaori Momoi , Ruka Uchida , Sansei Shiomi , Yutaka Matsushige

Maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike re-teams with longtime writing partner Masa Nakamura (Andromedia, The Bird People of China) for this Western inspired by Sergio Corbucci's violent 1966 classic... read more read more... Django. It's been hundreds of years since the Battle of Dannoura, yet the Genji and Heiki clans are still feuding. In this poor mountain town, there is rumored to be a great hidden treasure. Genji gang leader Yoshitsune is sure that his white-clad warriors will find the treasure first, but Kiyomori and his red-clothed Heike gang aren't about to walk away empty-handed. When a mysterious lone gunman with an incredibly fast trigger finger rolls into town, everyone wonders which gang he will join. As betrayal, deception, and cold-blooded murder become commonplace, the silence of this once-quiet mountain town will be broken by the piercing echo of gunfire and the air will become dense with the smell of death. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

58% liked it

9,448 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

52 critics

R, 2 hr.

Directed by: Takashi Miike

Release Date: August 29, 2008

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DVD Release Date: November 11, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (1,491)

  • jmanard52
    January 18, 2009
    jmanard52
    I had no idea what i was expecting. But plenty of action, plenty of insanity. This was one of the most intriguing films ive seen in a long long time.
  • JonathanHutchings
    February 20, 2012
    JonathanHutchings
    I was excited to see this film, since (in Japan, anyway) it was promoted as Miike's first collaboration with writer Masa Nakamura since the softly philosophical The Bird People in China. Plus, what arthouse fan wouldn't be interested in seeing Miike's stab at a Western? Well, he ... read morecertainly pays the proper respects to Leone, Corbucci, and Kurosawa, but this film read like a style exercise with clever references, and nothing more. Making the curious decision to cast Japanese actors to speak English renders every annunciation and inflection awkward and disengaging. It's almost as if Miike wanted to keep the audience at bay, and in turn, his characters two-dimensional. Sure, there are some terrific shots and the production design is gorgeous, but unfortunately this is just another annoying "postmodern/revisionist" film that isn't meant to be engaged with, but is meant to be watched with a smug and hip ironic detachment. It's a film that is championed by "film people" who look around and say "Aren't I cool for laughing at this?" No, you're not. You're what's wrong with the industry today.

    If this analysis appears to be too critical or negative, look at which famous director makes an eye-rolling cameo in the opening scene: the poster child for hip, self-referential cinema and the man who has single-handedly killed film art forever, Mr. Quentin Tarantino. Miike is better than this.
  • garyX
    April 13, 2010
    garyX
    A lone gunman rides into a small town being ravaged by a war between two rival gangs. In Japan. Yet another remake of Yojimbo (sort of!) it's more an amalgam of Yojimbo and its most celebrated cover version, A Fistful of Dollars. It's obvious why Quentin Tarantino got involved be... read morecause it is EXACTLY the kind of idiosyncratic, genre-clashing cinematic remix that has become his bread and butter. Full of quirky characters, tongue in cheek humour and cartoon violence, SWD is really a super-stylized gangster movie that's both an affectionate homage and parody of the American western. Reminding me most of the post modern westerns of Robert Rodriguez and Sam Raimi's The Quick And The Dead, this semi-humorous update of a cinematic icon is also quite reminiscent of Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi. The biggest problem with it is Miike's decision to make the actors speak English; I can see why he did it, but the cast's grasp of the language is limited at best to the point where I had to switch the subtitles on (a fact that made me feel like an isolationist hick!) This obviously seriously compromises the dialogue and its delivery, which is fine during the action sequences but character driven drama goes straight out of the window. A bit like Hot Fuzz, it's probably a film that will be appreciated a lot more by an audience who get the references and if you can get past the language barrier (and I can see how some wouldn't) it's actually a lot of fun.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 19, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    Fantastic Spaghetti Western from the East.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    October 12, 2009
    DragonEyeMorrison
    The right balance between comedy and homage, Kim Ji Woon please take note, this is how you do it. This movie will certainly appeal more to genre fans, but it's still a lot of fun even if you never watched a single western in your life.
  • RCCLBC
    August 17, 2009
    RCCLBC
    Though this film felt VERY self-indulgent (looking at you Tarantino)...it was also at times a lot of fun to watch. Visually it's quite stunnig.

    The biggest problem for me (aside from Tarantino's HORRIBLE "acting") was some of the casts attempts at "English".

    While I GET th... read moree appeal in this case of having the cast speaking old school "American"...I almost feel like the accents were SO thick at times that I missed out on some of the nuances of the dialog and story in general.
  • kiriyamakazou
    January 25, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Miike tries his hand at the Western genre as only he can. It is 100% Miike and 100% Western. So we have a mix that shouldn't work, with an all Japanese cast speaking in English, samurai swords and a sheriff with a split personality. As long as you watch expecting a Miike Western ... read morethen that is exactly what you will get. In that regard it is a success. It's cheap and interesting but The Good The Bad The Weird and Tears of the Black Tiger did it better. There's a warped sense of humour and a few scenes with Quentin Tarantino. The pacing is kind of off and it drags on for many scenes. Don't let this be your first Miike experienceand it may help to have an appreciation of Westerns too.
  • thefog1331
    January 7, 2009
    thefog1331
    After watching it a second time I admit I may have been a little harsh with it's 2 1/2 star rating.
    It has it's moments of pure Miike genius (like the gun battles and it's off-key humor) but it suffers from too much dialogue and unneeded exposition.
  • skactopus
    December 20, 2008
    skactopus
    Leave it to Takashi Miike to make a western film out of Japan. It does sound weird and if you know Miike's previous works, you know this will fit right in his directing resume.

    The story isn't anything special, but it does fit nicely with the western theme. Actually, you need

    ... read more to take the western theme and add some Japanese flavor to it. The first 30-40 minutes or so is a little bit of a letdown. It almost feels like you are watching some sort of Miike ... well ... soap opera. Visually it is entertaining, but you're sitting there wondering where this movie is going. Fortunately, the film redeems itself in the last 40 minutes with the final 20 delivering quite a shootout.

    While we are on the subject of action, it is a little slow going in the first half, as it just hints that great stuff is on its way. The second half is where it all comes out. There is a ton of shooting with the inclusion of a gatling gun and even a sword by the Genji clan leader.

    The acting doesn't seem all that good and that is because all the dialogue is in ENGLISH. I know there is a western theme to this picture, but Japanese dialogue from JAPANESE actors is still OK. This film is weird enough as it is. What's wrong with adding Japanese dialogue? Even though the actors speak English, it really helps to have the English subtitles on because of the heavy accents. Out of all the actors, Hideaki Ito and Kaori Momoi are the only ones that are worth noting, with the latter being the better of the 2. Quentin Tarantino should stay as a director. He is just too weird. Yes, even for a Miike film.

    If you can get over and put up with the English dialogue, Sukiyaki Western Django is a nice watch for Miike fans.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    November 23, 2008
    cancercapricorn2002
    Sukiyaki: A popular Japanese dish made with beef and usually containing soy sauce, bean curd, and greens, cooked in a single pot at the table. Simple ingredients cooked together without added broths to create a unique essence that is truly Japanese.

    Django: A cult film consid... read moreered by many as one of the best examples of the spaghetti western, with a stirring musical score, gunfights, and a quiet anti-hero who famously drags a coffin.

    Taking these definitions from some of the promotional material I've read for Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django saves a lot of time in trying to explain this eclectic film. As the title metaphor implies, it's a mixed pot of flavors. There's a bit of the West, a bit of the East, and even a cameo appearance by Quentin Tarantino.



    Loosely speaking, it's a western action movie. It features a Clint Eastwood-style man with no name (played by Hideaki Ito), a lone gunfighter who's playing two rival gangs against each other for his own purposes. As director Miike explains in a making-of featurette, you already know this story, so skip trying to understand it and get straight to enjoying it.

    Miike is best known in the United States for his extremely violent and perverse horror and action films, such as Audition and Ichi the Killer. Yet he's one of Japans most prolific filmmakers, with over 70 films, TV specials, and videos to his credit. He?s worked in a number of different genres and styles, and that range is profoundly evident in Sukiyaki Western Django.

    One of the most fascinating things about watching this movie is how familiar everything is, yet how strange it seems. Miike has his Japanese cast speak English as best they can, imbuing clichéd lines that we've all heard thousands of times with strange rhythms. The costuming is based in westerns but given a punk edge. There are gunfights and swordfights and mixtures of the two that blend the traditional iconographies of spaghetti westerns and samurai epics into a unique style.

    And style is really what the film is all about. For some, it will be off-putting,a film so impressed with its own inventiveness that it fails to draw them in. For others, it'll be a sublime mixture of the pop culture of multiple eras'a high-speed, full-color Frankenstein messiah for genres that have long since ceased being innovative. While I could endlessly pick apart and analyze its idiosyncrasies, I'll take a page from Miike and just say that it's a pretty damned cool ride. But it really all depends, I suppose, on how you like your sukiyaki.

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Critic Reviews

Peter Howell
September 19, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Sukiyaki Western Django is Takashi Miike's frantic swirl of a spaghetti western, marrying eastern and western elements in what could be taken as either homage or parody -- or both. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
September 12, 2008
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Cult director Takashi Miike's English-language Sukiyaki Western Django has style to burn but self-destructs like a wildfire as it attempts to spoof spaghetti westerns -- a passé endeavor -- and Sergio... Full Review

Liam Lacey
September 1, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The lurid sets and savage and startling action will undoubtedly have cult appeal as the conventions of physics, history and genre are all ignored in this overblown fever dream. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
August 29, 2008
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

It is, of course, a must for Miike's legions of fans, of which I am one. It also should serve as a way for mainstream audiences to become acquainted with Miike.

Elizabeth Weitzman
August 29, 2008
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

A lightweight goof that feels a little dashed-off, the latest from cult director Takashi Miike won't earn him any new fans, but might entertain the many he's already got. Full Review

A.O. Scott
August 29, 2008
A.O. Scott, New York Times

A loving and lurid pastiche of the spaghetti westerns that were themselves lurid pastiches of classic Hollywood cowboy pictures.

Andrew O'Hehir
August 28, 2008
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

Sukiyaki Western Django is a blood-drenched, dynamite, often hilarious and uniquely weird big-screen entertainment. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
August 28, 2008
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

For all the visual originality, Sukiyaki seems framed by quotes, a long string of self-conscious references to other films, notably the 1966 Italian Western Django. Full Review

Jim Ridley
August 27, 2008
Jim Ridley, Village Voice

The widescreen framing and saturated color make this one of Miike's most visually impressive features. Full Review

Derek Elley
September 14, 2007
Derek Elley, Variety

Basic joke wears off after five minutes, and many bystanders will start to head out of town. Full Review

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  • Eli Roth featured japanese director Takashi Miike in a cameo role in Hostel. Takashi Miike featured Quentin Tarantino in a cameo role in Sukiyaki Western Django. Quentin Tarantino featured Eli Roth in a cameo role which film?  Answer »
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