05/08/2012: Death Proof [2007]

I think it is clear that I am a huge Quintin Tarantino fan, and with last night’s viewing of Death Proof I can now safely say that I have seen all of his work. I’m a little ahead of the Tarantino Blogathon, as Death Proof doesn’t come up for a while, but I thought it was about time I watched the second half of the Grindhouse double feature. While Death Proof may not be the most fascinating and masterfully crafted story Tarantino has ever made, it once again cements his status as a man who knows a lot about movies, in this homage to the Grindhouse B-movies of the 60’s and 70’s.

I think that I have actually seen Planet Terror, the first half of Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse double feature, a couple of times. I don’t remember a lot about it, but I know that it more than satisfied any cravings for an old style grindhouse movie. Unfortunately, since I was watching the standalone DVD of Death Proof, I couldn’t watch the double feature, nor did I get to watch the not all faux trailers that come with it. But I did get to watch the extended edition which has a runtime of 1 hour and 53 minutes. It only however took me a couple of minutes to realize how far Tarantino had gone to give us the feeling of a classic Grindhouse B-movie and at that point I was excited as hell.

The reason I watched Death Proof last night was because earlier that week I had watch Russ Meyer’s Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. While I was doing my pre-review research I came across what seemed like the most absurd statement on the Wikipedia page. Yes, I know that Wikipedia isn’t the best source for anything but here is what it says: “Director Quentin Tarantino is rumored of planning a remake of this movie. Rumored actresses are Britney Spears, Eva Mendes and Kim Kardashian.” The first sentenced seemed completely valid, as the exploitation movie from the 60’s seemed right up Tarantino’s alley. However, I couldn’t get past the suggested cast. Eva Mendes seemed legitimate enough, but Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian. Really? Sure they are well known, but it isn’t for their impressive acting skills.  Eitherway, I deduced that the truth in the statement probably boiled down to the fact that Death Proof had been a kind of spiritual/stylistic remake of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and not a literal one. If anyone knows anymore on that statement, let me know.

You can't tell but Kurt Russel is actually sitting right behind her.

While Death Proof wasn’t exactly a remake of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! it does share a lot of similarities. Fast cars, violence and road rage. Some sexy girls and some high speed chases. It is clear that among Tarantino’s influences was Russ Meyer. In terms of the plot however, I wasn’t overly impressed. First off, Death Proof is split into two segments itself, even though it is the second half of a double feature already. But, a good change up was entertaining, and allowed for a rather violent climax to occur only halfway through, and allowed a large number of interesting characters to be included without cramming to many in all at the beginning or at the same time. However, I felt like we spent a lot of time building up a couple sets of characters just to have them become victims of the madman Stuntman Mike seemed a little unfulfilling. There was no real overarching story or problem other than Stuntman Mike himself, who in the end remains something of a mystery. Then again, I have never watched classic B-movies for their strong plotlines anyway, so who am I to criticize Tarantino decision? Besides that the only other issue I had was with the ending, which seemed almost anti-climatic while being climactic. It was a strange feeling.

Regardless of how I felt about the plot, I still loved Death Proof immensely for the amount of fun it was to see the classic B-movie Grindhouse double feature style redone today. Tarantino, some say just steals a bunch of ideas from old movies and throws them all together. To that I say so what? The man clearly knows more about movies than most of us, and the fact that he can take so many of the best ideas that have come out (and some forgotten) over the years and create such amazing movies is... well... amazing.  I won’t claim to have noticed every single homage or reference, but as some guy on IMDb put it Death Proof is a memory movie. From the opening credits till the ending credits it is all just so indescribably awesome. If you understand it that is.

This still made me think the movie was going to be really colorful and stylized, but it isn't really.

I’ve also heard that this movie is very divisive and I can understand that if you are a more casual or lighthearted movie goer, who watches other Tarantino movies due to popularity, you could easily not enjoy Death Proof. The movie is an homage to exploitation B-movies, which are masterpieces for violence, sexuality and style, not necessarily strong storyline and great acting. But for those fans of that small niche of moviemaking that has evolved but never died, Death Proof can be quite nostalgic. The title cards are standard Tarantino but I love them everytime, and then when the movie started rolling, we got that kinda scratchy, grainy, liney look that old movies would have in the theatre.  It got even better when Tarantino started putting in a skip here or there, and cuts that overlapped to give the impression of old, badly or quickly cut movies. Hey Sally!

Now while I may have said classic grindhouse movies might not have necessarily been known for their acting, that isn’t true here. I'm not saying the old movies had bad acting, it might just have been the extremely campy dialogue, but, as one can expect, Tarantino assembled an impressive cast of lesser known actors and actresses with a few stars and even a newcomer headlining. First off is of course, Kurt Russell who plays Stuntman Mike. When it comes to B-movie stars, two names frontline my mind, Bruce Campbell and Kurt Russel. As it turns out from the special features, Tarantino and a couple of others are big fans of the latter man, and Tarantino was stoked to have him on board. The first gaggle (I can use gaggle right?) has a couple of new faces for me, but I did recognise Vanessa Ferlito and, well... I didn’t actually recognize are lead actress from Planet Terror with the white/blonde hair, Rose McGowen. Along with them was also Jordan Ladd and Syndey Poitier. The second segment consisted of Mary Elizabeth Winstead,  Rosario Dawson, and Tracie Thoms, all actresses of varying fame. However, to star in that segment, Tarantino actually cast stunwoman Zoé Bell as herself. Zoé is a Kiwi, who’s first big American job as stuntwoman was doubling for Uma Thermon in Kill Bill. However, Tarantino liked her so much, that he made an entire movie in which to star her, using her stuntwoman skills to get some action sequence shots you can’t do when using a stunt double. Mostly, you know, showing her face while hanging from the hood of a car. 

What is more bad-ass than a creepy man with binoculars and bracelets?

I think I could go on about how fun and nostalgic of a trip Death Proof can be for anyone who is familiar with 60’s and 70’s exploitation B-movie grindhouse movies such as Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. It is really just one more film to make you appreciate how big of a movie geek Tarantino is and it is good to see such a famous director still honouring those kinds of cult classics. While Death Proof might not be as fun of a thrill ride for those who aren’t fans of those old days, I would still recommend the entire Grindhouse double bill to anyone who wasn’t willing to go back and watch the old grindhouse films. Mostly in hope that this would convince them to do it. After seeing Zoé Bell act, I can’t wait to watch Kill Bill this month for the Tarantino Blogathon, and of course I am also super excited to see Tarantino tackle the (Spaghetti) Western genre in Django Unchained at the end of it all.

Link:
Death Proof IMDb