Grindhouse

[Joe Don Faker]

Just when you thought Tarantino was the only one left talking about GRINDHOUSE . . . Let's take this thread into November.

Watched PLANET TERROR for Halloween night.  Mildly entertaining in a no-brainer kinda way.  My thoughts mirrored whoopdefndo's some pages back -- that the movie would have benefited from a no-CGI policy, to better mimic the 70s look.  Think of the wonderful puppetry and prosthetics of THE THING and ALIEN.  But asking Robert "Green Screen" Rodriguez not to do CGI is like asking Quentin not to indulge his foot fetish, right?

Random thoughts:

- The opening tearful go-go dance was very GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS.  "I had such a pretty mind!"
- Against all reason, Quentin Tarantino continues to labor under the impression that we want to see him act.  Destiny, turn off the radio.
- Josh Brolin's sadistic doctor exists in the same GRINDHOUSE universe as a car that kills, much like daddy James starred in the classic THE CAR.  Also, Josh should have kept the mustache but lost the goatee part -- he would have looked more like '70s horror guy Tom Atkins.
- One of the worst movies ever has to be THE DOOM GENERATION with Rose McGowan.

On DEATH PROOF, again I agreed with whoopdefndo and so many others here, that the long bouts of dialogue were really freakin draining.  I don't mind slow build-up as a rule -- I can watch the first hour of PSYCHO and appreciate Janet Leigh negotiating her way through a mundane bit of theft -- but those girls were just so very annoying to listen to.  And like comedian Doug Benson observed, Quentin might has well pulled a Norbit and dressed up as the entire ensemble, filming himself talking to himself in a variety of wigs.

However I did revisit the movie and had a much better time the second go, liberally exercising the FFWD button . . .

On the upside, an indelible character from Kurt Russell, some nicely staged violence, and a kick-ass car chase finale with real-time stunts.  (Wonder if that slam to CGI delivered by Kurt Russell was a playful swipe at Rodriguez.)  Edited down, it's a classic Tales from the Crypt episode.  Just retitle it Kurt Russell and The Kick-Ass Car Chase.

Random thoughts:

- I enjoy saying "Kurt Russell IS DEATH PROOF" far too much. 
- All the Vanishing Point talk made me think of Mitchell (and I will think of it):  "They're filming Vanishing Point on the other side of the canyon."
- Stuntman Mike's emotional transformation worked for me.  It made sense that a guy who apparently has to prop himself up with old glories ("I did the entire third season of VEGAS") and who only attacks others when protected by his death proof car, might prove to be all too fragile when hurt.
- Loved Kurt.  Loved his John Wayning through lines like "In my book, that's no good."  Loved "Ladies, now that was fun!" (*bang*)  Loved simple shots of him lowering binoculars from his eyes and smiling evilly.  I hadn't realized just how much goodwill the guy had been bought from me with THE THING and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.

So smilin jack ross, I'm with you on the appeal of DEATH PROOF.  In my book, it's just fine.  As long as I get to control the FFWD button.

[SmilinJackRoss]

My thoughts mirrored whoopdefndo's some pages back -- that the movie would have benefited from a no-CGI policy, to better mimic the 70s look.  Think of the wonderful puppetry and prosthetics of THE THING and ALIEN.  But asking Robert "Green Screen" Rodriguez not to do CGI is like asking Quentin not to indulge his foot fetish, right?

I finally watched Planet Terror a couple nights ago.  (I've had it from netflix for like a month.)  This would be my only complaint, I wish Rodriguez would've stuck with all practical effects, the CGI seemed out of place.  But otherwise, a great movie.

So, in the theater, they showed Planet Terror first and Death Proof second?  I think that was a mistake.  After the non-stop action of Planet Terror, you expect your audience to sit through the much more slowly paced Death Proof?  No wonder so many people reacted negatively towards it.  I think it makes more sense to show the slower Death Proof first, get people in the mood of these grindhouse pictures, and build up to the non-stop action of Planet Terror for the finale.

Still, once they come out with the box set that contains both films, and all the fake trailers, etc, I'll buy it.

[jewishcarpenter]

I found Planet Terror quite disappointing,

[bettertomorrowamy]

I found Planet Terror quite disappointing,

Me too, although I like it.  I still love Death Proof, and all this talk about it being too slow at the beginning is silly.  It's a build up that is necessary, and I found the dialog interesting.  Maybe I'm weird.

[jewishcarpenter]

Yeah, I liked Death Proof and I find Tarantino's fascination with strange looking women [Natalie from Wurwelf] absolutely fascinating [/Natalie from Wurwelf].

[Petey Wheatstraw]

So, in the theater, they showed Planet Terror first and Death Proof second?  I think that was a mistake.  After the non-stop action of Planet Terror, you expect your audience to sit through the much more slowly paced Death Proof?  No wonder so many people reacted negatively towards it.  I think it makes more sense to show the slower Death Proof first, get people in the mood of these grindhouse pictures, and build up to the non-stop action of Planet Terror for the finale.

I disagree. Having Death Proof as the second half of the double feature allows viewers to slow down a bit after the fast-paced action of Planet Terror. And I definitely can't see having the Grindhouse double feature end with anything other than "Chick Habit", followed by the Planet Terror theme, over the ending credits.

I didn't find either film disappointing. Grindhouse as a whole is frickin' sweet, and I definitely want to get the individual films on DVD. I think that releasing the double feature on DVD is a bad idea, though, since that was edited specifically with the theater and the big screen in mind, and it would lose some effect with that element taken away - what kind of grindhouse experience do the Weinsteins expect viewers to get if they're not actually IN A THEATER? As individual films, though, Planet Terror and Death Proof are awesome either way. It would be a much better idea, though, to re-release the double feature version of the films instead of putting it out on DVD. Definitely not needed, at all.

[SmilinJackRoss]

what kind of grindhouse experience do the Weinsteins expect viewers to get if they're not actually IN A THEATER?

It's true that the films being shown back-to-back in the theater was part of the whole....gimmick (for lack of a better term).  But many people have pretty impresive home theaters nowadays that simulate the in-theater experience quite nicely.  I think that watching the movies back to back on DVD at home in one nice package would be a fine idea, because that's the way they originally intended them to be watched.  Is watching them at home the same as being in the theater?  Of course not.  But it's close, if you've got a big screen, surround sound, some popcorn, and a few friends over. 

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I think that watching the movies back to back on DVD at home in one nice package would be a fine idea, because that's the way they originally intended them to be watched.

It seems pretty clear from interviews that they intended the films to be watched as a double feature in the theater. I don't think they wanted that version of the film to be shown anywhere other than on the big screen.

[MrTorso]

I think that watching the movies back to back on DVD at home in one nice package would be a fine idea, because that's the way they originally intended them to be watched.

It seems pretty clear from interviews that they intended the films to be watched as a double feature in the theater. I don't think they wanted that version of the film to be shown anywhere other than on the big screen.

Which is why I wish they dropped the scratched print/missing frames gimmick from the home releases. I still haven't watched the DVD of Planet Terror yet. does it still have the film burn??

[bettertomorrowamy]

I think that watching the movies back to back on DVD at home in one nice package would be a fine idea, because that's the way they originally intended them to be watched.

It seems pretty clear from interviews that they intended the films to be watched as a double feature in the theater. I don't think they wanted that version of the film to be shown anywhere other than on the big screen.

Which is why I wish they dropped the scratched print/missing frames gimmick from the home releases. I still haven't watched the DVD of Planet Terror yet. does it still have the film burn??

That's a BIG part of the continuity of the movie though.  They can't take that out because then the fact that the movie was missing a whole reel wouldn't make sense.

[MrTorso]

Well they could have filmed the "missing reel" like they did in Death Proof. Don't get me wrong that jump is the joke and makes that scene funnier and it was great in the theater. At home it is just silly.  Kind of like how Blair Witch Project on DVD and video should have been hot video and not a transfer from a film print.

[Mr.Nobody]

Well they could have filmed the "missing reel" like they did in Death Proof. Don't get me wrong that jump is the joke and makes that scene funnier and it was great in the theater. At home it is just silly.  Kind of like how Blair Witch Project on DVD and video should have been hot video and not a transfer from a film print.

Maybe it just would've cost too much money.  Planet Terror skipped a big action sequence.  Death Proof was just the lap dance.

[Raven]

I'd actually like the option too get them both together.  If anything so I get a nice copy of the movie trailers in between.  It was cool that the Machete trailer was on the disk but the other 3 could have at least been a bonus feature. 

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I think that watching the movies back to back on DVD at home in one nice package would be a fine idea, because that's the way they originally intended them to be watched.

It seems pretty clear from interviews that they intended the films to be watched as a double feature in the theater. I don't think they wanted that version of the film to be shown anywhere other than on the big screen.

Which is why I wish they dropped the scratched print/missing frames gimmick from the home releases.

Well, the filmmakers intended the films to look fucked up. True, they had the option to release the films without the filters, but, then again, the Coen brothers also had the option to release The Man Who Wasn't There in color:



(This is NOT colorized - the film was shot and edited in color and converted to black and white in post-production.)

[SmilinJackRoss]

The point is that there's no film to burn out when watching it on DVD, so why have it in the DVD release of the film?  If the intent was to get the theater experience, why have the missing reels/theater burn outs when you're sitting at home.

I suppose we're probably over-analyzing it more than they did.

Or maybe it's simply a cost saving issue...cleaning up the print for home video would cost money, so why spend it?