This movie is not for everyone. Spike Lee is boycotting it. Some people hate it, some people love it. And regardless of how you feel about Tarantino, after watching this movie, I admit it is one of the most daring accomplishments in recent film history.
Let's be honest. Lately films about slavery don't sell. Make a film about Hitler and the Holocaust, and people show up to support it, but make a film about an American holocaust that went on for over 350 years, and people don't support it. Maybe, it's because some of the films are preachy or come off as a history lesson - or both.
Years after "Titanic" came out, I thought Cameron was brilliant, write a love story that took place on the doomed ship and it would make a killing at the box office. And to me, I thought if you write a love story that took place during slavery, the same thing might happen. Tarantino proved me right.
He combined the western genre, a love story, and the setting of slavery times (2 years before the Civil War) and created a film that was both entertaining and enlightening! The time of slavery was depicted in a realistic way and touched on so many things.
Christoph Waltz plays Dr. Schultz - a European dentist turn bounty hunter who hates the institution of slavery and who without him, there is no story. Django is played by Foxx, who is a slave turned freeman whose only goal is to find his wife played by Washington. Through him, you are reminded that during that time marriage between slaves wasn't allowed - very different from today when a lot of Black men are avoiding marriage and there are more single black women than ever before. DiCaprio plays Candie - the slaveowner you HATE! And Jackson plays Candie's Uncle Tom named Steven - who you also come to hate! All these actors are brilliant at recreating a time that wasn't fully explained in American History - the horror, the tragedy, the manipulation, the sheer ugliness.
Sometimes I was horrified. Sometimes, I was laughing at the stupidity of the nonsense of it. Yes, that time in history was both horrible and nonsensical and Tarantino did one hell of a job at making you see both. Sadly, not everyone understands what Tarantino is doing.
Let's be honest. Lately films about slavery don't sell. Make a film about Hitler and the Holocaust, and people show up to support it, but make a film about an American holocaust that went on for over 350 years, and people don't support it. Maybe, it's because some of the films are preachy or come off as a history lesson - or both.
Years after "Titanic" came out, I thought Cameron was brilliant, write a love story that took place on the doomed ship and it would make a killing at the box office. And to me, I thought if you write a love story that took place during slavery, the same thing might happen. Tarantino proved me right.
He combined the western genre, a love story, and the setting of slavery times (2 years before the Civil War) and created a film that was both entertaining and enlightening! The time of slavery was depicted in a realistic way and touched on so many things.
Christoph Waltz plays Dr. Schultz - a European dentist turn bounty hunter who hates the institution of slavery and who without him, there is no story. Django is played by Foxx, who is a slave turned freeman whose only goal is to find his wife played by Washington. Through him, you are reminded that during that time marriage between slaves wasn't allowed - very different from today when a lot of Black men are avoiding marriage and there are more single black women than ever before. DiCaprio plays Candie - the slaveowner you HATE! And Jackson plays Candie's Uncle Tom named Steven - who you also come to hate! All these actors are brilliant at recreating a time that wasn't fully explained in American History - the horror, the tragedy, the manipulation, the sheer ugliness.
Sometimes I was horrified. Sometimes, I was laughing at the stupidity of the nonsense of it. Yes, that time in history was both horrible and nonsensical and Tarantino did one hell of a job at making you see both. Sadly, not everyone understands what Tarantino is doing.
Top Box Office
- 1.$70.2M
- 2.$35.8M
- 3.$23.9M
- 4.$3.2M
- 5.$3.0M
- 6.$2.8M
- 7.$2.3M
- 8.$2.2M
- 9.$2.2M
- 10.$1.2M