Quentin Tarantino: Definitive Guide To Homages, Influences And References
Django Unchained
12. Don Johnson's Cameo
Don Johnson, best-known for his role as Crockett in Miami Vice, plays Big Daddy. Tarantino, of course, is renowned for his obscure casting choices, and this is no exception. Johnson was also the star of L.Q. Jones's bizarre 1975 post-apocalyptic film A Boy And His Dog: a cult classic today, it's also one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite movies.
11. Mandingo
One of the film's most notable sequence is the "Mandingo fight," which sees two slaves pitted against one another in a Gladiatorial match to the death. Tarantino has asserted that Mandingo fighting was a real occurrence, though it's actually thought that such things didn't take place - there's no real evidence to suggest it, anyway.
Tarantino's inspiration, it seems, comes instead from the 70s film Mandingo, which heavily bases its story around these types of fight. The film, which starred James Mason, is considered a big influence on Django Unchained, given its willingness to explore racial politics and themes of slavery amidst the framework of a blaxploitation film.
10. The Polynesia Pearl Diver
During the sequence in which we meet Calvin Candie, the flamboyant Mandingo owner orders a Polynesian Pearl Diver at the bar - adding "do not spare the rum." This could be a reference to Fritz Lang's The Blue Gardenia (1953), a film noir classic starring Anne Baxter as a heart-broken woman accused of a murder she cant remember any detail of, despite waking up in the dead man's apartment.
The night before the murder, the dead man (Raymond Burr) attempts to seduce Baxter by plying her with tropical drinks: Ever see a Polynesian Pearl Diver before? Baxter: Not served as a drink. Burr: These arent really drinks. Theyre trade winds across cool lagoons. Theyre the Southern Cross above coral reefs. Theyre a lovely maiden bathing at the foot of a waterfall.