Director Quentin Tarantino has just released the trailer for his upcoming western Django Unchained, which is scheduled to hit the movie screens on Christmas Day 2012.

Jamie Foxx plays the title character–the “D” is silent–a slave who joins forces with a bounty hunter (Inglourious Basterds‘ Christoph Waltz who won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in that film) to hunt down three criminals and then rescue Django’s wife from an evil plantation owner played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

MSNBC Entertainment observes that “In the trailer for the new film, Tarantino showcases his usual blend of shockingly gruesome violence, quick wit and charmingly sadistic characters…” And Vanity Fair adds that “Complete with Taranatino-esque music cues, dialogue, gunfire, and all-around bad-assery, the slick trailer makes Django Unchained seem worth the five-year wait.”

The original Django character was a gunslinger in several “spaghetti westerns” (i.e., cowboy movies made in Italy in the 1960s and similar to those that made Clint Eastwood famous) and who was initially portrayed by Franco Nero. Apparently Nero has a small role in the Tarantino film.

Tarantino himself appeared in a Japanese Django send-up, Sukiyaki Western Django, in 2007.

The previous Django movies are available on Netflix and other services.

In addition to Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino is best known for directing Pulp Fiction and the two Kill Bill Movies. A lesser-known Tarantino film, Jackie Brown, starring Pam Grier, is highly recommended.

Are you looking forward to seeing Django Unchained based on this trailer? In the meantime, what is your favorite Quentin Tarantino movie?

Quentin Tarantino Releases Official “Django Unchained” Trailer [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr