After all the settled I decided to go back and view Django again with an eye for the story itself and found it to be entertaining and eerily reminiscent of a Sergio Leone "spaghetti western" with Clint Eastwood. After doing a little research I found out why it was so familiar as the original film was directed by Sergio Corbucci and starred Franco Nero in the title role.

The Italian film was considered one of the most violent ever made even by today's standards and Tarentino delivers blood and gore by the bucket. Corbucci's Django had a far different story line, but the cold-hearted nature of the anti-hero is the same. In a tilt of the hat to the original Tarentino  has Franco Nero appear as Amerigo Vassepi, an owner of a slave engaged in Mandingo fighting with a slave owned by Leonardo DiCaprio's character.

Following the loss of his man in the fight, Vassepi goes to the bar for a drink where DJango also stood watching the fight. Django is played by Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. In a straight-forward reference to the original film, Vassepi asks Django his name, asks him to spell it, and, upon Django's informing him that the "D" is silent, says "I know."

The hoopla about the notorious nigger references was much ado about nothing as the movie was filled with copious amounts of black humor (the pun is intended) and an engaging house negro performance by Samuel L. Jackson who nearly steals the movie as DeCaprio's right-hand man. There were some voices lifted in the black community that none of the film's actors received an Oscar nomination.

No, no one was nominated and with the exceptional performance of former Academy Award winner Christopher Waltz as bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, only Samuel L. Jackson rose to noticeable levels. Jamie Foxx was, well, Jamie Foxx. He did what was asked of him which was to play Clint Eastwood DeCaprio did his sticht with aplomb and were happy. Kerry Washington there. She was pretty but not conversational.

Overall the movie is worth three and a half stars out of five. The acting is good; the action is entertaining and the understated comedic moments brilliant. However there was nothing Oscar-worthy in this film unless it was explosive blood discharges.