Quentin Tarantino has many role models. Two of his absolute favorite directors come from the Western genre and he created an impressive monument to one of them in 2012.
Although Westerns are among his favorite genres, Quentin Tarantino only made his first Western in 2012. In his previous films, he liked to draw inspiration from the genre, but never went all out. With Django Unchained, he presented a tribute to one of his favorite directors: Sergio Corbucci.
Tarantino’s first Western was an homage to Sergio Corbucci’s most famous film heroes
Even if, according to Far Out Magazine, Sergio Leone clearly remains Tarantino’s undisputed number 1, he is equally fond of Sergio Corbucci’s films. One of the reasons is the violence in Corbucci’s films, which also became one of Tarantino’s trademarks. (via Far Out Magazine )
I think of all the Westerns that have been shown in the cinema, his were consistently the most brutal, his films were the toughest, his villains were the most depraved and his heroes in some ways the most unheroic.
But the violence wasn’t the only thing special about Corbucci’s films. Unlike many American Westerns, they were also political.
Almost all dealt to varying degrees with the remnants of fascism from World War II – which, from his point of view, having lived under Mussolini, is perfectly honest.
One of Corbucci’s most iconic film heroes was Django. The film’s success led to the name being included in the title of many translations, even if there was no actual Django in the film.
The character’s popularity led Tarantino to make Django Unchained, his first western, which became a tribute to Corbucci. Franco Nero, who originally played Django, even makes an appearance in the film. He speaks to Django (Jamie Foxx) at the bar and asks him to spell the name.
