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December 22, 2007
Surprise
I picked up the kinda surprisingly not-high def DVD of Death Proof last night. I have been very curious about what the extended version would play like.
As with the movie - and not everyone agreed - I was fine with more chatter between "the girls." The more there was, the more naturalistic, the more it feels like what Tarantino was after. There is a greater level of boredom with themselves here. The downside is that the menace of Stuntman Mike is not quite as great.
Someone write, back at Cannes, that the previously "scene missing"ed lapdance was "worth the wait." It was not. In fact, even in the uncut version, it is truncated by Tarantino, obviously aware that it wasn't doing much for anyone. The woman is sexy… but the dance is impotent. Once again, Tarantino shows that he has a great eye for the ladies, but trouble with anything intimate.
The sex in the kitchen scene between DeNiro and Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown also showed this. It was incredibly brilliant on paper, but didn't translate because it was disconnected from the tactile reality of sex.
As a result, even with the lapdance, Tarantino misses the dramatic weight of an idea he clearly intends to get across... that Stuntman Mike gets aroused, gets rejected, and then kills what he can't have. This is his form of rape. And when the women fight back in the second half of the film, it is a fight against objectification and abuse... though ironically, many feel that Tarantino lingers in there somewhere.
That line that Tarantino walks is an odd one. On one hand, you have female empowerment. On the other hand, you have a camera that objectifies women fiercely, almost always shows great beauties - even when they are "dressed down," like Rosanna Arquette as an addict in Pulp Fiction - and while acknowledging that women can and do talk about sex in raw ways, tends to write them as manipulative, selfish, and withholding. In the case of Death Proof, the girls swing from indiscriminate to teasing to unkind to predatory... but their smiles seem to say it's okay.
Perhaps that is why the most natural extension of the humor of the second half - Mary Elizabeth Winstead and her cheerleader outfit getting into a sexual situation with the deep-voiced, car-owning creepy hick played by Jonathan Loughran... and liking it... which is set up by previous conversations about her sex life - is never explored. Of course, it could have gone the other way, horribly, with a rape situation. There could have been a stand-off. But as is, there is nothing but the set-up and no pay off.
And the final beat of the film - as in the film - SPOILER WANRING - is Rosario Dawson murdering Stuntman Mike with a boot heel crushing in the front of his face. Hee hee! Girl Power!
In any case...
I didn't start this entry to write about this film again, but to point out that it had never occurred to me that this film on DVD would have a major problem... the whole idea of the film being a mess and marked up and being the grindhouse experience makes absolutely no sense on DVD. Intellectually, I can understand and even be enthusiastic about it. Obviously, on some level I was... I bought the DVD last night and watched it immediately instead of watching the shelf-full of films that are very much of the moment.
What worked in the theater plays like a cartoon, emotionally, in DVD. It is a visceral, unavoidable problem, at least for me.
Of course, Tarantino abandons the grindhouse gimmick entirely for the second half of his film. So that all works pretty much as it did in the theater.
Who knew that the rough-hewn experience of grindhouses, so lovingly recreated in the theatrical release of this film, would just be irritating on DVD? It's almost like they needed to rethink it all and create the similar experience for the format... like having to fast forward at a slow rate like VHS with no DVD stops to jump to or marking it all with "Courtesy Of Bob Weinstein" or other such distractions that spoke to the home viewing formats. Just a thought...
Posted by poland at December 22, 2007 02:50 PM
Comments
Interesting point. I mean, movies are now cleaned up for DVD release so even old grindhouse movies can get clean prestine releases.
Still, I adored Death Proof - I saw it at the cinema seperate, Grindhouse wasn't released here, and just thought it was a hoot. I too didn't care about the non-stop chatter.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 22, 2007 06:07 PM
"Who knew that the rough-hewn experience of grindhouses, so lovingly recreated in the theatrical release of this film, would just be irritating on DVD?
I did. So did most of America, that's why no one (including me) went to see it in theatres
Posted by: movielocke at December 22, 2007 06:23 PM
That makes absolutely no sense. None at all.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at December 23, 2007 12:27 AM
"Interesting point. I mean, movies are now cleaned up for DVD release so even old grindhouse movies can get clean prestine releases."
That's absolutely true. I watched a couple of Blue Underground dvds earlier, one of a Jess Franco movie, and their transfers were on par or better than studio releases on dvd from the same time.
Posted by: PastePotPete at December 23, 2007 01:04 AM
The theatrical Grindhouse experience for me was one of the most dreary, miserable, nihilistic and badly conceived theatre going experiences of my entire life.
I rarely leave in the middle of a film for a bathroom break, but somewhere during Death Proof I did and I just lingered. Lingered in the bathroom, lingered in the lobby, lingered looking at the Grindhouse standee; anything to procrastinate going back into the theatre.
The problem with QT's definition of female empowerment is that is has nothing to do with female empowerment at all. It is a fan boy's wet dream of what a "cool girl" should act like. It is every bit as contrived and calculated as the Marliyn Monroe ideal of the 50's. The Dawson moment is garrish and the entire climax plays like an extended Road Runner cartoon. Russell should be ashamed to have this on his resume. Rourke was smart to bail.
I hope I never have to sit through Death Proof in any incarnation again in my life time.
Yes, my reaction was that visceral.
Posted by: Nicol D at December 23, 2007 06:08 AM
This is one of my absolute favorite movies of the year. I love the dialogue and I think Russell's performance is just great.
As far as the extended version goes, I felt like Russell had more menace, because it had more slasher-movie tropes to it, and I didn't get that he kills 'what he can't have'. I'm pretty sure his mind was made up to kill the girls well in advance of the lap dance.
I think it's a shame that audiences weren't more open to this experience in theaters, but the Weinsteins shouldn't have spent as much as they did, that was silly.
Posted by: jeffmcm at December 23, 2007 01:59 PM
Jeff totally missing what Nicol had to state, but she's right on target. The worst part of Deathproof is the portrayal of the women. Which represents a cartoon more than any sort of effects used to visually "FUCK THE FILM" up. Nevertheless; big ups to Borders for having this movie on sale for 8.99 and Heat picking it up because of the sale. GOOD ON YOU BORDERS!
Oh yeah Heat; you going down the Knowles road now with HD-DVD ;)?
Posted by: IOIOIOI at December 23, 2007 03:11 PM
No disrespect to Harry, IO, but what is "the Knowles road?"
Posted by: David Poland at December 23, 2007 04:10 PM
The Knowles' Road is the road commentators like yourself walk in terms of HD-DVD. We may even come to a day when you have a contest that gives away HD-DVD players. Again, the surprise could be the experience of watching Death Proof at home, or it could be the experience of having to buy a standard DVD. After months of experiencing all of that 1080p (still not as good as a movie screen!) goodness. That leads me to a totally random question Heat. Are the studios sending out any HD screeners?
Posted by: IOIOIOI at December 23, 2007 05:13 PM
Well, Death Proof upscaled to 1080 just fine. It was the design that was head turning.
I was talking to someone last night who smartly observed that the success of upscaling traditional DVD players could be the death of Blu-Ray and HD. They are much, much cheaper and while there is a difference, it's not one that is significant enough to force the market. This, I assume, is why HD/DVD combos that will work on all equiptment are now being released left anf right.
And no, the studios are not sending out HD or Rlu-Ray. The logic of shipping hi-def is really for the manufacturers... offering a reason to buy a machine, now down to $299. I am looking forward to seeing how Sweeney and Blood upscale... assuming TWBB ever shows up.
Posted by: David Poland at December 23, 2007 06:01 PM
My 'There Will Be Blood' screener wouldn't play in my set-top DVD player at all (well, Disc 1 wouldn't anyway. Seemed silly to try Disc 2 knowing Disc 1 didn't work). Upscaled or not.
Posted by: RDP at December 23, 2007 08:57 PM
I haven't received screeners of "Sweeney" or "TWBB" yet, RDP.
In fact, a PV rep told me that they wouldn't even be shipping out screeners of the Anderson film (which I'm dying to see again: it placed #2 on my 10-best list).
What's your affiliation?
Posted by: movieman at December 24, 2007 07:18 AM
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