Sukiyaki Western: Django
Encyclopedia
is a 2007
Japan
ese film by Takashi Miike
. The title of this English language
western refers to the Japanese dish
, sukiyaki
, as well as Sergio Corbucci
's spaghetti western
film, Django
. It also takes inspiration from the "Man with No Name
" stock character variously used in the spaghetti western genre but most notably in the Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone (initially inspired by Akira Kurosawa's jidaigeki
film Yojimbo).
". The Genji
and Heike
gangs face off in a town named "Yuta" in "Nevata", when a deadly gunman comes into town to help a prostitute get revenge on the warring gangs. The film contains numerous references both to the historical Genpei War
and to Wars of the Roses
, as well as the films Yojimbo and Django
.
, it received mixed reviews. Cam Lindsay of Exclaim!
magazine wrote admiringly:
On the other end of the spectrum, Will Sloan of Inside Toronto wrote:
adaptation by Kotobuki Shiriagari
began serialization on Shogakukan
's Big Comic Superior
.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film by Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike
is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...
. The title of this English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
western refers to the Japanese dish
Dish (food)
A dish in gastronomy is a specific food preparation, a "distinct article or variety of food", with cooking finished, and ready to eat, or be served.A "dish" may be served on dishware, or may be eaten out of hand; but breads are generally not called "dishes"....
, sukiyaki
Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish in the nabemono style.It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin...
, as well as Sergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci was an Italian film director. He is best known for his very violent yet intelligent spaghetti westerns...
's spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
film, Django
Django (film)
Django is a 1966 Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero in the eponymous role. The film earned a reputation as being one of the most violent films ever made up to that point and was subsequently refused a certificate in Britain until 1993, when it was...
. It also takes inspiration from the "Man with No Name
Man with No Name
The man with no name is a stock character in Western films, but the term usually applies specifically to the character played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy."...
" stock character variously used in the spaghetti western genre but most notably in the Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone (initially inspired by Akira Kurosawa's jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
film Yojimbo).
Plot
Inspired by the historical rivalry between the Genji and Heike clans, which ushered in the era of samurai dominance in Japanese history, Sukiyaki Western Django is set "a few hundred years after the Genpei WarGenpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
". The Genji
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...
and Heike
Taira clan
The was a major Japanese clan of samurai in historical Japan.In reference to Japanese history, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects...
gangs face off in a town named "Yuta" in "Nevata", when a deadly gunman comes into town to help a prostitute get revenge on the warring gangs. The film contains numerous references both to the historical Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
and to Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, as well as the films Yojimbo and Django
Django (film)
Django is a 1966 Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero in the eponymous role. The film earned a reputation as being one of the most violent films ever made up to that point and was subsequently refused a certificate in Britain until 1993, when it was...
.
Cast
- Hideaki ItoHideaki Ito-Personal information:He was born in Gifu and has a younger sister. He enjoys riding, diving, skiing, and snowboarding in his spare time.-Television shows:* Dessin * Odoru Daisousasen * Boy Hunt...
as The Gunman - Kōichi SatōKoichi Satois a Japanese actor.He is the son of veteran Japanese actor Rentarō Mikuni.-Films:*The Last Chushingura *Nobody to watch over me * Shonen Merikensack * The Magic Hour * Smile Seiya no Kiseki...
as KiyomoriTaira no Kiyomoriwas a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he... - Yusuke IseyaYusuke Iseyais a Japanese actor.He was born in Tokyo, Japan. With his modeling career , Yūsuke is known for Loreal , Men's Nonno magazine, Prada , and Asahi Aqua Blue....
as YoshitsuneMinamoto no Yoshitsunewas a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura... - Masanobu AndoMasanobu Andois a Japanese actor and director.For his second film, in 1996, he won the Film Academy of Japan's Best New Actor Award, starring in Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return....
as YoichiNasu no Yoichi' was a samurai who fought alongside the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War. He is particularly famous for his actions at the Battle of Yashima in 1184. According to the Heike Monogatari, the enemy Taira placed a fan atop the mast of one of their ships, claiming it protected the ship from arrows, and... - Takaaki IshibashiTakaaki Ishibashiis a Japanese owarai artist, singer and actor.Born in Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan, Ishibashi moved to Narimasu, Itabashi after his father's bankruptcy in his first grade at an elementary school. He attended Teikyo Junior & Senor High School and is best known as a member of Tunnels with his partner...
as BenkeiSaito Musashibo Benkei, popularly called Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore.-Biography:... - Shun OguriShun Oguriis a Japanese actor, director and voice actor.-Career:Born to a theater director father, Tetsuya Oguri, and having an actor brother, Ryo Oguri, Shun Oguri started his acting career quite early in his life...
as Akira - Masato Sakai as ShigemoriTaira no Shigemoriwas the eldest son of the Taira clan patriarch, Taira no Kiyomori. He took part in the Hōgen and Heiji rebellions. He died of illness in 1179....
- Yoshino Kimura as ShizukaShizuka GozenShizuka Gozen , or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature, was a shirabyōshi of the 12th century, and a mistress of Minamoto no Yoshitsune...
- Teruyuki Kagawa as Sheriff Hoanka
- Kaori Momoi as Ruriko
- Yutaka MatsushigeYutaka Matsushigeis a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 31st Yokohama Film Festival for Dear Doctor.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Toshio - Renji Ishibashi as Mura
- Yoji Tanaka as MunemoriTaira no Munemoriwas heir to Taira no Kiyomori, and one of the Taira clan's chief commanders in the Genpei War.As his father Taira no Kiyomori lay on his deathbed, Kiyomori declared, among his last wishes, that all affairs of the clan be placed in Munemori's hands...
- Toshiyuki NishidaToshiyuki Nishidais a Japanese actor. Outside of Japan, Nishida is best known for his portrayal of Pigsy in the TV series Monkey.Toshiyuki Nishida has received ten Japanese Academy Award nominations, winning twice, for Dun-Huang in 1988 and Gakko and Tsuribaka Nisshi 6 in 1993...
as Piripero - Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
as Ringo - Ruka Uchida as Heihachi
Western critical reception
When Sukiyaki Western Django premiered as part of the "Midnight Madness" program at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, it received mixed reviews. Cam Lindsay of Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
magazine wrote admiringly:
"The fast-paced action is well staged on a set that borrows from both western and samurai traditions; Miike mixes both good old gunplay (a Gatling gun that’s housed in the original film’s iconic coffin) and martial arts swordplay, which intermingle cohesively until the last fight. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Miike’s western is his decision to use a Japanese cast to speak English. Supported by English subtitles, it’s a peculiar choice that at first feels like a novelty, only to fade into the film’s absorbing environment.
Sukiyaki Western Django feels very much like a genuine western, and with it Miike demonstrates his mastery of working a genre film until it becomes a creation of his very own."
On the other end of the spectrum, Will Sloan of Inside Toronto wrote:
"This is a crazy, fast-paced spectacle of a movie, with some stunning action scenes and gorgeously colourful production design. The problem is, it’s an empty spectacle. Miike pays homage to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio LeoneSergio LeoneSergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
and Sergio CorbucciSergio CorbucciSergio Corbucci was an Italian film director. He is best known for his very violent yet intelligent spaghetti westerns...
, but forgets that those directors genuinely loved the kitschy pop culture they emulated instead of regarding it with smug superiority. Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
was a comic book, yes, but Tarantino allowed his actors room to create characters the audience could care about, while Miike, by having his cast speak awkward English, is perversely trying to keep their characters two-dimensional and keep the audience distant...Ultimately, Sukiyaki Western Django is an exhausting experience. This is not a film you become involved in – it isn’t funny or engaging. Rather, it’s one that you’re supposed to watch with a cool, hip sense of ironic detachment, sitting in the audience and saying to yourself, “Aren’t I cool for laughing at this?” How could anyone enjoy such a self-conscious time at the movies?"
Manga
On June 8, 2007, a mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation by Kotobuki Shiriagari
Kotobuki Shiriagari
is a Japanese manga artist and actor from Shizuoka, Japan, known for dark humor and his social criticism. In early 1981, after graduating from Tama Art University, he began to work in the field of advertising as an illustrator at Kirin Brewery Company. He maintained his regular day job along with...
began serialization on Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
's Big Comic Superior
Big Comic Superior
is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since 1987-07-01 by Shogakukan in Japan. Its target audience is somewhere between the audience for Big Comic Original and Big Comic Spirits....
.