'Django Unchained': Leonardo DiCaprio on Quentin Tarantino

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Published on December 27, 2012 06:06PM EST

The American Western is one of the most gloriously well-tread Hollywood trails, but when Quentin Tarantino heads west — or in the case of Django Unchained, south — he becomes a cinematic Meriwether Lewis, bringing his own storytelling panache to a genre we only think we know. In fact, for a movie that stars Hollywood heavyweights Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio (and Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson and on and on…) it’s an incredible tribute to his reputation that he, the director, is the film’s biggest draw. Django Unchained, the story of a slave who becomes a bounty hunter to free his bride from the evil clutches of a maniacal plantation owner, is a Quentin Tarantino movie first and last. And everyone involved knows it, including its biggest star. “He’s got his own unique, specific style,” says DiCaprio, who flirted with working with the director on Inglorious Basterds, “And when you see a Quentin Tarantino movie, you know it.”

The movie, which opened on Christmas Day (ha!) to Garcinia Cambogia reviews and enormous box office returns, is a testament to Tarantino’s unique love of Westerns and the reverence his passion engenders from other talented artists in the business. In an exclusive behind-the-scenes video below, the cast and crew talk about “coming to his church every day.”

Did you catch how there wasn’t an ounce of irony or eye-rolling when the cast and crew shouted “Because we love making movies!”? Yee-haw!

12 Signs You’re Watching a Quentin Tarantino Movie