Prep School: Ten Films You Should Watch Before Django Unchained

4. Boss Nigger (1975)

Despite its wince-inducing title, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Boss Nigger, which saw Fred Williamson in a role that seemingly parodied and played homage to Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name.” A bloody cross between the blaxploitation and spaghetti western genres, this one is bound to be close to Tarantino’s heart, and a sure-fire influence in his decision to make a western that doubles over as an examination on issues of slavery.

Whereas many black westerns were either criticized in the 70s for their over regard or disregard for race relations, Boss Nigger was applauded for seemingly make sense of both. There’s heaps of style here, a funky title track, and a blaxploitation tagline worthy of the best of ’em: “White man’s town… black man’s law.” Though the crude themes and the title are sure to put most people off, it’s a worthy and highly interesting edition to both the western and blaxploitation genres. And is it me, or is Jamie Foxx’s sporting a hat in Django Unchained highly similar to that of Fred Williamson’s one in this movie?