Django Unchained: Press pause at 20 minutes and 32 seconds for an unaided wink

Django Unchained is Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film, starring Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio. This western full of references contains some of them that are quite difficult to see unless you take a freeze shot at the precise time of 20 minutes and 32 seconds. And even so, it is not won.

At this point in the film, Jango and Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) arrive in Texas, where they are held captive in a cabin. After killing the local sheriff (actually a former cattle rustler), they are besieged by the authorities. During the wide shot, we can make out a bar sign that reads (pull out magnifying glass): “Minnesota Clay’s Saloon.”

Minnesota Clay is clearly not a random name chosen by Tarantino. This is the title of an Italian Western directed by Sergio Corbucci in 1964 and released in France two years later under the title Le Justicier du Minnesota.

So the story follows Minnesota Clay (Cameron Mitchell) who is serving time in prison for a double murder he didn’t commit. He manages to escape and returns to his hometown, which has come under the control of a fox, one of his former friends. Clay is about to take it down, but suffers from a degenerative eye disease.

Hats off to Minnesota Clay as well as to Corbucci, director of the original Django released in 1966. After the success of this western, many other films appeared featuring the character, but there would never be a direct sequel. The first and every time the actors change. At least two opus were released in 1966 alone: ​​Django’s A Few Dollars and Django’s First Release.

Having left Django Unchained, Tarantino is part of that long tradition, and his reference to an unknown vigilante from Minnesota testifies, if necessary, to his vast knowledge of the Italian Western.

Discover 5 clichés about westerns: