 The film contains numerous references both to the historical Genpei War and to the Wars of the Roses, as well as the films "Yojimbo" and "Django".The original version of "Sukiyaki Western Django" had a running time of 121 minutes (2 hours and 1 minute) when it first premiered on 5 September 2007 at the Venice Film Festival and was released on 15 September 2007 in Japan.This was the version shown in Japanese cinemas and received mixed reviews from critics.