Tue - June 13, 2006
Omen Slow Shooting Gun
I was just
watching The
Omen on DVD and at the end was reminded
that this film has one of the first "slow shooting guns," as also found in
Kill
Bill. In
The
Omen, the slow shooting gun appears when
the police break into the church when trying to find and stop Robert Thorne from
killing Damien. Here, the slow shooting gun is meant to extenuate the sequence
and add suspense: did Thorne kill Damien? Was he shot first? I suspect, however,
that The Omen
is not the first slow shooting gun movie.
The research continues.
Posted at 10:57 AM Read More
Mon - December 19, 2005
Moshimoshi
As we all know, at the end of
Kill
Bill
Vol.1,
the Bride hears someone's 'phone ring and when she eavesdrops on the words of
the person answering, the voice of the speaker opens up a memory of seeing
another witness to her humiliation back at the chapel, i.e., Sofie Fatale.
In both cases, Sofie answers the 'phone by saying "Moshimoshi," the Japanese form of "hello" on the telephone. However, according to a book I've stumbled upon, Japanese Words and Their Uses, by Akira Miura (Charles Tuttle, 240 pages, ISBN 0 8048 1639 5), who quotes from another Japanese language guidebook, it is the caller who says "Moshimoshi," when they hear the click of the telephone indicating that the other person has picked up (pages 134 - 135). Unless social conventions have changed since the publication of this book, which was in 1983, Sofie is making a mistake of etiquette (unless she is making the calls, which doesn't appear to be the case).
In both cases, Sofie answers the 'phone by saying "Moshimoshi," the Japanese form of "hello" on the telephone. However, according to a book I've stumbled upon, Japanese Words and Their Uses, by Akira Miura (Charles Tuttle, 240 pages, ISBN 0 8048 1639 5), who quotes from another Japanese language guidebook, it is the caller who says "Moshimoshi," when they hear the click of the telephone indicating that the other person has picked up (pages 134 - 135). Unless social conventions have changed since the publication of this book, which was in 1983, Sofie is making a mistake of etiquette (unless she is making the calls, which doesn't appear to be the case).
Posted at 10:48 AM Read More
Clues in Alain Silver's book
In search of different information,
I've been going through the latest revision of Alain Silver's fine, now lavishly
illustrated The Samurai
Film (The Overlook Press, 320
pages, $50, ISBN 1 58567 596 2), and it's given me a few
Kill
Bill tips I didn't get the first
time around – which is funny, because Silver doesn't like
Kill
Bill
much.
The scene at Vol. 1 timecode 1:28:07, when the Bride slaps a younger swordsman and tells him to go home to his mother is, as Silver confirms, is a "Sanjuro-style admonishmen" (see page 233).
Meanwhile, Silver helps nail down the source of the water pipe that figures as a ghostly audio cue in the showdown between the Bride and O-Ren Ishii. Hideo Gosha uses a bamboo water pipe "as a kind of punctuation between scenes [page 192]" in his film Tenchu, and the book even provides a helpful illustration.
As I pointed out in the Kill Bill book, which quotes an early version of Silver's section on Kill Bill and other late samurai films, from when the material appeared on line at Senses of Cinema.com, Silver doesn't particularly like Kill Bill, indicating that it essentially deconstructs the genre well in the wake of some home grown directors who have already done the same thing to death.
The scene at Vol. 1 timecode 1:28:07, when the Bride slaps a younger swordsman and tells him to go home to his mother is, as Silver confirms, is a "Sanjuro-style admonishmen" (see page 233).
Meanwhile, Silver helps nail down the source of the water pipe that figures as a ghostly audio cue in the showdown between the Bride and O-Ren Ishii. Hideo Gosha uses a bamboo water pipe "as a kind of punctuation between scenes [page 192]" in his film Tenchu, and the book even provides a helpful illustration.
As I pointed out in the Kill Bill book, which quotes an early version of Silver's section on Kill Bill and other late samurai films, from when the material appeared on line at Senses of Cinema.com, Silver doesn't particularly like Kill Bill, indicating that it essentially deconstructs the genre well in the wake of some home grown directors who have already done the same thing to death.
Posted at 10:36 AM Read More
Mon - November 21, 2005
Tarantino produceds Eli Roth film
In the wake of Tarantino's split up earlier
this year with long time associate and producer Lawrence Bender, the director
has been unusually active. At this moment the most forthcoming new film appears
to be Grind
House, half of which he is slated to
direct. But continuing that interest in 1970s horror films, an interest that
once led to rumors that Tarantino wanted to direct an entry in the
Friday the
13th series, Tarantino has been a
godfather to Hell
Ride, and now Eli Roth's new
Hostel,
currently slated to open on January 13, and his second film after the well
received Cabin
Fever, which Tarantino singled out in
interviews as a good film.
The trailer for Hostel just came available on the Apple Quicktime trailers site .
The trailer for Hostel just came available on the Apple Quicktime trailers site .
Posted at 12:48 PM Read More
Sun - October 30, 2005
Two music credits need to be fixed
A friend writes to tell me that in the
Kill
Bill book, that there were some
"omissions regarding the use of Alejandro Trovajoli's music for
I LUNGHI GIORNI DELLA
VENDETTA and Riz Ortolani's
DIA
DELL'IRA, both either not identified or
misidentified." I'll get more information on this later; but did want to get the
word out right now.
Posted at 11:52 AM Read More
Mon - October 10, 2005
For the record: the 6th QT fest
Almost every September, Tarantino goes to
Austin, Texas, to mount the Tarantino Film Festival. Held in the apparently
mammoth Drafthouse , the festival comprises seven nights
of Tarantino in person introducing, discussing, and showing films from his
personal print collection. The line up for what was called
QT6,
held in mid-September, included the following
films:
Secret Agent Night, Friday
THE SPY WITH MY FACE
1965. Directed by John Newland and starring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Senta Berger.
THE VENETIAN AFFAIR
1967. Directed by Jerry Thorpe and starring Robert Vaughn, Elke Sommer and Boris Karloff.
SHAME OF THE JUNGLE 35mm, 79min.
1975. Directed by Picha and Boris Szulzinger. Animated, featuring the voices of: John Belushi and Bill Murray (Austin Film Society)
All Night 80s Horror Marathon (Saturday)
The films were unannounced, but it appears that they turned out to be Australian horror films.
Australian Night (Sunday)
BMX Bandits, 35mm
1983. Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and starring Nicole Kidman.
Four Desperate Men, 16mm
1959. Directed by Harry Watt.
“Riptide” 16mm TV show
1969. Directed by Quentin Lawrence, Peter Maxwell and Jeremy Summers and starring Ty Hardin.
“Dark Age” 35mm
1987. Directed by Arch Nicholson and starring John Jarratt.
Documentary Night (Monday)
A Cry In The Wild 16mm
1973. Directed by Bill Mason.
Blue Water, White Death 35mm
1971. Directed by Peter Gimbel and James Lipscomb.
Italian War Epic II Night (Tuesday)
Five For Hell
35mm
1969. Directed by Gianfranco Parolini and starring John Garko, Klaus Kinski and Margaret Lee.
From Hell To Victory
35mm
1979. Directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring George Peppard, George Hamilton and Horst Buchhol.
Italian Crime Films Of The 70s (Wednesday)
DEATH RAGE
1976. Directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Yul Brynner and Barbara Bouchet.
NO WAY OUT aka BIG GUNS
1973. Directed by Duccio Tessari and starring Alain Delon, Richard Conte and Rosalba Neri.
THE SELL-OUT
1976. Directed by Peter Collinson and starring Oliver Reed, Richard Widmark and Gayle Hunnicutt.
Sexploitation Night (Thursday)
HAY COUNTRY SWINGERS
1971. Directed by Alois Brummer.
TEENAGE HITCHHIKERS
1975. Directed by Gerri Sedley.
HOT SUMMER IN THE CITY
35mm
1976. Directed by Gail Palmer. XXX Rated.
The pub also offered a Grindhouse Triple Feature
CRACK HOUSE
1976. Directed by Micheal Fischa and starring Jim Brown and Richard Roundtree.
THE DIRTY OUTLAWS
1967. Directed by Franco Rossetti.
FISTFUL OF TALONS
1983. Directed by Chung Sun and starring Billy Chong.
The illustration above comes from one of the websites advertising the festival and shows Tarantino chatting with Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater.
The festival is a key form of entree into Tarantino's aesthetic. He often shows films that have formed part of his research for forthcoming movies, so the two Italian war films from Tuesday are especially interesting as possible harbingers of his Dirty Dozen film, and the Grindhouse night may announce some of the themes or elements from his collaboration with Rodriguez of the same name.
At some point in the future hope to provide a complete list of all six festival entries.
Secret Agent Night, Friday
THE SPY WITH MY FACE
1965. Directed by John Newland and starring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Senta Berger.
THE VENETIAN AFFAIR
1967. Directed by Jerry Thorpe and starring Robert Vaughn, Elke Sommer and Boris Karloff.
SHAME OF THE JUNGLE 35mm, 79min.
1975. Directed by Picha and Boris Szulzinger. Animated, featuring the voices of: John Belushi and Bill Murray (Austin Film Society)
All Night 80s Horror Marathon (Saturday)
The films were unannounced, but it appears that they turned out to be Australian horror films.
Australian Night (Sunday)
BMX Bandits, 35mm
1983. Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and starring Nicole Kidman.
Four Desperate Men, 16mm
1959. Directed by Harry Watt.
“Riptide” 16mm TV show
1969. Directed by Quentin Lawrence, Peter Maxwell and Jeremy Summers and starring Ty Hardin.
“Dark Age” 35mm
1987. Directed by Arch Nicholson and starring John Jarratt.
Documentary Night (Monday)
A Cry In The Wild 16mm
1973. Directed by Bill Mason.
Blue Water, White Death 35mm
1971. Directed by Peter Gimbel and James Lipscomb.
Italian War Epic II Night (Tuesday)
Five For Hell
35mm
1969. Directed by Gianfranco Parolini and starring John Garko, Klaus Kinski and Margaret Lee.
From Hell To Victory
35mm
1979. Directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring George Peppard, George Hamilton and Horst Buchhol.
Italian Crime Films Of The 70s (Wednesday)
DEATH RAGE
1976. Directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Yul Brynner and Barbara Bouchet.
NO WAY OUT aka BIG GUNS
1973. Directed by Duccio Tessari and starring Alain Delon, Richard Conte and Rosalba Neri.
THE SELL-OUT
1976. Directed by Peter Collinson and starring Oliver Reed, Richard Widmark and Gayle Hunnicutt.
Sexploitation Night (Thursday)
HAY COUNTRY SWINGERS
1971. Directed by Alois Brummer.
TEENAGE HITCHHIKERS
1975. Directed by Gerri Sedley.
HOT SUMMER IN THE CITY
35mm
1976. Directed by Gail Palmer. XXX Rated.
The pub also offered a Grindhouse Triple Feature
CRACK HOUSE
1976. Directed by Micheal Fischa and starring Jim Brown and Richard Roundtree.
THE DIRTY OUTLAWS
1967. Directed by Franco Rossetti.
FISTFUL OF TALONS
1983. Directed by Chung Sun and starring Billy Chong.
The illustration above comes from one of the websites advertising the festival and shows Tarantino chatting with Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater.
The festival is a key form of entree into Tarantino's aesthetic. He often shows films that have formed part of his research for forthcoming movies, so the two Italian war films from Tuesday are especially interesting as possible harbingers of his Dirty Dozen film, and the Grindhouse night may announce some of the themes or elements from his collaboration with Rodriguez of the same name.
At some point in the future hope to provide a complete list of all six festival entries.
Posted at 12:09 PM Read More
Tue - October 4, 2005
Corrections to the Pocket Essentials book
A kindly reader named Per-Ingvar Tomren,
responding to my invitation to report errors, went through my Pocket Essentials
book on Tarantino and came up with a list of numerous corrections, which I
reprint here.
My Best Friend's Birthday
1. You wrote that there was "even a cocaine overdose." But Clarence Pool ( Tarantino ) snorts itching-powder which he believes is coke ( not the real deal ).
2. Louise, a.k.a. Misty ( Shaw ) is a call girl - not a "hooker" ( I only mention this because Tarantino makes a big deal out of it both in True Romance and this film).
Past Midnight
1. You wrote "The title means nothing in the context of the movie." Well, it don't mean much, that's true - but "past midnight" is the time Ben Jordan ( Hauer ) is placed at the scene of the crime, leaving a gap between the time when the neighbor heard the scream of Kathy Tudor ( when she was killed ) at 11.30 PM and when she saw Jordan leave past midnight. This is the first clue that set's Laura Mathews ( Richardson ) of on her own investigation.
2. You wrote that Ben Jordan was convicted of killing his wife and unborn child "some 17 years earlier". Kathy Tudor ( Eskelson ) and her baby were killed August 4th, 1975 - making it "some 17 years earlier" when the movie was released in 1992, but in the film they say it was 15 years earlier ( probably because they never updated Frank Norwood's original script ).
PS. On a personal note: I thought Clancy Brown as Steve Lundy was the most enjoyable character in the whole piece, and that he work well within this movie - but that's just a matter of taste).
Reservoir Dogs
Well, I didn't really find anything wrong here ( so I'm pretty sure you are correct, because this is the Tarantino film I've seen the most times ) - except I believe Dimmick is spelled with two "m"s instead of one. Also, I've never heard a "Jack Rabbit Slim's" - commercial during the torture-scene, but maybe it's there anyway.
PS. The Japanese 2-disc Special Edition has a nice transfer and good sound ( I was also disappointed with the sound on the 10th Anniversary Edition released in the states )
True Romance
1. You wrote: "Blitzer, arrested on a separate charge" - actually, he was arrested for possession of the sample bag of cocaine that he's bringing Donowitz ( so it's not really separate ).
2. I don't think that Clarence's comment: "Now we return to Bullitt already in progress - is meant to imply that it's a TV-show, only that the film is shown on TV.
3. You wrote: "makes references to Miami" - the only place in Florida I heard referenced was Tallahassee.
4. "The Sicilian story comes from a man named Don, now dead, who was the brother of one of his mother's boyfriends" - Actually Don was the brother of a woman, named Jackie Watts - who was Connie Zastoupil's best friend ( You mention her later in the chapter about Jackie Brown).
5. "According to his audio track on the DVD, Don told Tarantino that he was glad the truth finally came out in that picture" - Tarantino heard that from his mother. He was not present when Don said that ( which was when Don, Jackie and Connie watched True Romance on video - according the audio track on the DVD).
Natural Born Killers
1. Denis Leary and Rachel Ticotin do not appear in the director's cut, but they are both to found in deleted scenes on the special features.
2. "The couple have a brief falling out over a hostage, after which the Knoxes seek redemption in the desert through the services of an Indian shaman" - They end up in the desert trying to avoid a cop. Then they end up at the Indian shaman's place seeking gasoline, not redemption - but redemption is kind of what they end up with, because the accident of killing the shaman after the hospitality he has shown will forever change them ( and take the "fun" out of killing people).
3. "Wayne Gale enters the prison with his crew to tape one last interview, to be aired during half-time Super Bowl Sunday" - They are airing it LIVE after the game, not during half-time.
4. "Mickey turns the tables on his executioners and rescues Mallory just as she is about to be raped by Scagnetti" - Scagnetti ( Sizemore ) thinks he can get Mallory to have sex with him voluntarily, but just as they are deep into foreplay she turns on him ( and breaks his nose, both in the film and real life) . By the time Mickey gets there Scagnetti has been saved by two prison guards and is paying Mallory back by spraying mace in her face. I surely thinks rape is out of the question, at least by this time ( seeing there are two law-men in the cell with them ).
5. Just a couple of additional "Foot notes": Mickey ( Harrelson ) sucking the snake poison out of Mallory's ( Lewis ) foot, and there is also that extreme close-up of Juliette Lewis' s foot as she stomps out her cigarette ( when she is visited by Jack Scagnetti in her cell ).
Pulp Fiction
1. "Clarence tells the Richard Donner/Oliver Stone-esque movie producer Lee Donowitz his opinion of Oscar movies" - I would say that Lee Donowitz ( Rubinek ) is more Joel Silver like :-)
( I know this is about True Romance, but it was found in the chapter about Pulp Fiction - so I wrote it here )
2. "A boxer defies a crime boss by not throwing a fight and then ends up trapped with him in the basement of a pawnshop run by two insane Southerners and their chained-up, monstrous relative" - I believe the pawnshop is only run by Maynard ( Whitaker ); Zed ( Greene ) is a cop of some sort.
Also; How do you know they are related? ( Just wondering). [Good question: I don't remember ... would have to watch it again or reread everything I've ever read about the book. DKH]
3. "The two hit men have to clean up the mess from the accidental shooting of a hostage" - Marvin ( LaMarr ) is not a hostage, but their "inside man" ( Just like you wrote later in your text )
4. "The next night ( or perhaps simultaneously the same night ) Butch wins the fight he was supposed to throw" - This is definitely not the same night; Vincent Vega ( Travolta ) meets Mia Wallace ( Thurman ) in the back of the arena, after the fight, where she thanks him for dinner "the other night".
5. "Butch shoots Vincent and then tries to run down Marsellus on the street. That doesn't work" Well, he DOES run him down, he just don't kill him.
6. "Butch drives off on one of the Southerner's motorcycle" - it's not a motorcycle, it's a chopper.
7. "Jules casually shoots the Flock of Seagulls character then shoots Brett. Both Jules and Vincent shoot Bathroom Guy" - Vincent also shoots Brett.
8. "Butch kills the Gimp and Maynard" - I don't think Butch ( Willis ) kills the Gimp ( Hibbert ), he only punches him once. My guess would be that he's just unconscious at this point ( though I'm sure he, just like Zed, will suffer a painful death by the hands of Marsellus).
But I would also mention Zed getting shot in the balls with a shotgun as one of the most "Violent Moments" in the film.
9. "There are no truly different versions" - True, but the Japanese version is slightly different.. ( But not in a good way, I must say the traditional version works better. The cutting and camera-angels used in the Japanese version does not "flow" as nicely )
10. I usually don't try to answer your "Nagging Questions" - although in my mind I feel I have the answer to most of them - because these films are made so that all audience members can bring their own interpretations to the story; but in this case I will make an exception: "Why does Fabienne brush her teeth twice?" - The first time is at night ( after she and Butch had sex ), the second time is the next morning.
11. "And she asks if he has ever fantasized being beaten up by a woman ( by Diana Rigg as Emma Peel is the answer )" - I've read this in the screenplay, but never seen it in any of the deleted scenes on any DVD ( and I own eight different copies ). [I may have only read the dialogue and thought I saw the sequence: I'll check this with a reviewing of the extras. DKH]
12. "Another deleted scene shows Jules fantasizing shooting Pumpkin and Honey Bunny" - same thing; saw it in the script, but not on any DVD or Laserdisc. [Same thing. DKH.]
Four Rooms
1. "Rush is surrounded by a pair of kowtowing yes men, so servile they are willing to risk their digits" - The bet is Norman's ( Calderon ) idea, and he makes it because he really wants Chester's ( Tarantino ) "Nigger red 1964 Chevy Chevelle" ( because he's not too pleased with the white Honda Civic, his sister left him.
2. "It's interesting that Tarantino cast himself as a actor rather than a director, and if you didn't know the nature of the relationship, you might think that Rush is the personal manager and Leo the actor" - Well, it is never really made clear what Rush is in the film. He is just referred to as a "star": which Tarantino most certainly is in real life as well . And since this is a parody of himself ( or the image of him in the media ) , and also by the way he speaks and acts, I've always felt he was a director ( maybe even director/writer/producer/ actor , as in real life).
But I might be wrong about this one.
From Dusk Till Dawn
1. "Barstow, California. Present day. A convenience store" - "Benny's World of Liquor" is located in Big Springs, Texas.
2. "But when Seth's back is turned, the psychotic Richie rapes and kills Gloria" - Seth isn't at the motel at this point
( don't know if the phrase "back is turned" - is just meant as a metaphor, but... ).
3. "When Santanico smells blood from Richie's gunshot wound" - Yes, he was shot in the hand, but that wound is all taped up. It's first when Razor Charlie ( Trejo ) stabs Richie through the hand and he starts to bleed that Santanico ( Hayek ) smells the blood.
3. "She leaps upon the man, biting the wound, killing him, and drinking the blood" - The wound is on his hand, and she bites him in the neck. Yes, she does drink a lot of his blood, and he does die from the wound, but not until a little while later.
4. "not noticing that the Titty Twister was erected near Aztec ruins" The Titty Twister is located in the top of the Aztec temple.
5. "The film anticipates Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by using Michael Parks ( twice ) and having a setting in Barstow, California" - This film does not use Michael Parks twice, though he does reappear in FDTD 3. And From Dusk Till Dawn does not have a setting in Barstow, California ( but Kill Bill does ) . The only two places in this film are Texas ( Big Springs and El Paso ) and Mexico ( Digallo ). And the only other places mentioned is Rollings, Kansas ( were Seth was serving time and Richie pulled off a daring daylight escape, while Seth was at the courthouse ). A high-speed pursuit through downtown Wichita is also mentioned, and El Ray, Mexico ( the Gecko brothers destination ). But it does anticipate Kill Bill with a setting in El Paso, Texas ( which is where "The Texas Wedding Chapel Massacre" occurs ), and Michael Parks reprises his role as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw ( probably a salute to Ali MacGraw from The Getaway 1972 ).
6. "It should be pointed out that in the American two-disc set the labels are mixed up, so that the movie has the label for the documentary, and vice versa" - on my copy; both discs have the label of the film ( non for Full Tilt Boogie).
7. "Jacob's poignant speech to Kate about faith in the diner; later, Seth's rousing theological argument with him during the siege; and finally, the painful choices that Seth faces when his own brother has turned" - You just got the order mixed up; the first one is correct - but Seth kills Richie, before he has the "rousing theological argument" with Jacob.
Jackie Brown
1. "Fourteen years later he made a movie based on a Leonard novel that featured the same two criminal characters that appeared in that book" - Shouldn't that be three characters; Ordell Robbie, Louis Gara and Melanie Ralston?
2. "When he meets up with Ordell, they are both surprised that there is no money" - Actually; there is $ 40 000.
Kill Bill
1. "A woman awakes from a four year coma to recall that she was shot by Bill, the father of her unborn child, on the day of her marriage to another man" - She was shot during the wedding-rehearsal, not on the day of the marriage.
2. "Bill himself, who it turns out is living in Mexico with the Bride's now five-year-old daughter" - That would be four-year-old daughter, wouldn't it?
3. "Stabs another woman to death in front of her daughter" - The Bride ( Thurman ) didn't stab Vernita Green ( Fox ) to death - she throws the knife.
4. "Chapter 3: The Blood Splattered Bride" - The Blood Splattered Bride is chapter 2 - chapter 3, is; The Origin of O-Ren.
5. "And Bill goes on to "mentor" Elle after The Bride leaves" - He must have started mentoring her before The Bride leaves ( Elle and The Bride worked together ), but Bill didn't get "romantically" involved with Elle ( Hannah ) until Beatrix left.
SIN CITY:
1. "Tarantino worked with Clive Owen, Benicio Del Toro, and Brittany Murphy on the scene" - From what I've understand, Tarantino directed the scene between Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro in the car, and Brittany Murphy was not in it.
My Best Friend's Birthday
1. You wrote that there was "even a cocaine overdose." But Clarence Pool ( Tarantino ) snorts itching-powder which he believes is coke ( not the real deal ).
2. Louise, a.k.a. Misty ( Shaw ) is a call girl - not a "hooker" ( I only mention this because Tarantino makes a big deal out of it both in True Romance and this film).
Past Midnight
1. You wrote "The title means nothing in the context of the movie." Well, it don't mean much, that's true - but "past midnight" is the time Ben Jordan ( Hauer ) is placed at the scene of the crime, leaving a gap between the time when the neighbor heard the scream of Kathy Tudor ( when she was killed ) at 11.30 PM and when she saw Jordan leave past midnight. This is the first clue that set's Laura Mathews ( Richardson ) of on her own investigation.
2. You wrote that Ben Jordan was convicted of killing his wife and unborn child "some 17 years earlier". Kathy Tudor ( Eskelson ) and her baby were killed August 4th, 1975 - making it "some 17 years earlier" when the movie was released in 1992, but in the film they say it was 15 years earlier ( probably because they never updated Frank Norwood's original script ).
PS. On a personal note: I thought Clancy Brown as Steve Lundy was the most enjoyable character in the whole piece, and that he work well within this movie - but that's just a matter of taste).
Reservoir Dogs
Well, I didn't really find anything wrong here ( so I'm pretty sure you are correct, because this is the Tarantino film I've seen the most times ) - except I believe Dimmick is spelled with two "m"s instead of one. Also, I've never heard a "Jack Rabbit Slim's" - commercial during the torture-scene, but maybe it's there anyway.
PS. The Japanese 2-disc Special Edition has a nice transfer and good sound ( I was also disappointed with the sound on the 10th Anniversary Edition released in the states )
True Romance
1. You wrote: "Blitzer, arrested on a separate charge" - actually, he was arrested for possession of the sample bag of cocaine that he's bringing Donowitz ( so it's not really separate ).
2. I don't think that Clarence's comment: "Now we return to Bullitt already in progress - is meant to imply that it's a TV-show, only that the film is shown on TV.
3. You wrote: "makes references to Miami" - the only place in Florida I heard referenced was Tallahassee.
4. "The Sicilian story comes from a man named Don, now dead, who was the brother of one of his mother's boyfriends" - Actually Don was the brother of a woman, named Jackie Watts - who was Connie Zastoupil's best friend ( You mention her later in the chapter about Jackie Brown).
5. "According to his audio track on the DVD, Don told Tarantino that he was glad the truth finally came out in that picture" - Tarantino heard that from his mother. He was not present when Don said that ( which was when Don, Jackie and Connie watched True Romance on video - according the audio track on the DVD).
Natural Born Killers
1. Denis Leary and Rachel Ticotin do not appear in the director's cut, but they are both to found in deleted scenes on the special features.
2. "The couple have a brief falling out over a hostage, after which the Knoxes seek redemption in the desert through the services of an Indian shaman" - They end up in the desert trying to avoid a cop. Then they end up at the Indian shaman's place seeking gasoline, not redemption - but redemption is kind of what they end up with, because the accident of killing the shaman after the hospitality he has shown will forever change them ( and take the "fun" out of killing people).
3. "Wayne Gale enters the prison with his crew to tape one last interview, to be aired during half-time Super Bowl Sunday" - They are airing it LIVE after the game, not during half-time.
4. "Mickey turns the tables on his executioners and rescues Mallory just as she is about to be raped by Scagnetti" - Scagnetti ( Sizemore ) thinks he can get Mallory to have sex with him voluntarily, but just as they are deep into foreplay she turns on him ( and breaks his nose, both in the film and real life) . By the time Mickey gets there Scagnetti has been saved by two prison guards and is paying Mallory back by spraying mace in her face. I surely thinks rape is out of the question, at least by this time ( seeing there are two law-men in the cell with them ).
5. Just a couple of additional "Foot notes": Mickey ( Harrelson ) sucking the snake poison out of Mallory's ( Lewis ) foot, and there is also that extreme close-up of Juliette Lewis' s foot as she stomps out her cigarette ( when she is visited by Jack Scagnetti in her cell ).
Pulp Fiction
1. "Clarence tells the Richard Donner/Oliver Stone-esque movie producer Lee Donowitz his opinion of Oscar movies" - I would say that Lee Donowitz ( Rubinek ) is more Joel Silver like :-)
( I know this is about True Romance, but it was found in the chapter about Pulp Fiction - so I wrote it here )
2. "A boxer defies a crime boss by not throwing a fight and then ends up trapped with him in the basement of a pawnshop run by two insane Southerners and their chained-up, monstrous relative" - I believe the pawnshop is only run by Maynard ( Whitaker ); Zed ( Greene ) is a cop of some sort.
Also; How do you know they are related? ( Just wondering). [Good question: I don't remember ... would have to watch it again or reread everything I've ever read about the book. DKH]
3. "The two hit men have to clean up the mess from the accidental shooting of a hostage" - Marvin ( LaMarr ) is not a hostage, but their "inside man" ( Just like you wrote later in your text )
4. "The next night ( or perhaps simultaneously the same night ) Butch wins the fight he was supposed to throw" - This is definitely not the same night; Vincent Vega ( Travolta ) meets Mia Wallace ( Thurman ) in the back of the arena, after the fight, where she thanks him for dinner "the other night".
5. "Butch shoots Vincent and then tries to run down Marsellus on the street. That doesn't work" Well, he DOES run him down, he just don't kill him.
6. "Butch drives off on one of the Southerner's motorcycle" - it's not a motorcycle, it's a chopper.
7. "Jules casually shoots the Flock of Seagulls character then shoots Brett. Both Jules and Vincent shoot Bathroom Guy" - Vincent also shoots Brett.
8. "Butch kills the Gimp and Maynard" - I don't think Butch ( Willis ) kills the Gimp ( Hibbert ), he only punches him once. My guess would be that he's just unconscious at this point ( though I'm sure he, just like Zed, will suffer a painful death by the hands of Marsellus).
But I would also mention Zed getting shot in the balls with a shotgun as one of the most "Violent Moments" in the film.
9. "There are no truly different versions" - True, but the Japanese version is slightly different.. ( But not in a good way, I must say the traditional version works better. The cutting and camera-angels used in the Japanese version does not "flow" as nicely )
10. I usually don't try to answer your "Nagging Questions" - although in my mind I feel I have the answer to most of them - because these films are made so that all audience members can bring their own interpretations to the story; but in this case I will make an exception: "Why does Fabienne brush her teeth twice?" - The first time is at night ( after she and Butch had sex ), the second time is the next morning.
11. "And she asks if he has ever fantasized being beaten up by a woman ( by Diana Rigg as Emma Peel is the answer )" - I've read this in the screenplay, but never seen it in any of the deleted scenes on any DVD ( and I own eight different copies ). [I may have only read the dialogue and thought I saw the sequence: I'll check this with a reviewing of the extras. DKH]
12. "Another deleted scene shows Jules fantasizing shooting Pumpkin and Honey Bunny" - same thing; saw it in the script, but not on any DVD or Laserdisc. [Same thing. DKH.]
Four Rooms
1. "Rush is surrounded by a pair of kowtowing yes men, so servile they are willing to risk their digits" - The bet is Norman's ( Calderon ) idea, and he makes it because he really wants Chester's ( Tarantino ) "Nigger red 1964 Chevy Chevelle" ( because he's not too pleased with the white Honda Civic, his sister left him.
2. "It's interesting that Tarantino cast himself as a actor rather than a director, and if you didn't know the nature of the relationship, you might think that Rush is the personal manager and Leo the actor" - Well, it is never really made clear what Rush is in the film. He is just referred to as a "star": which Tarantino most certainly is in real life as well . And since this is a parody of himself ( or the image of him in the media ) , and also by the way he speaks and acts, I've always felt he was a director ( maybe even director/writer/producer/ actor , as in real life).
But I might be wrong about this one.
From Dusk Till Dawn
1. "Barstow, California. Present day. A convenience store" - "Benny's World of Liquor" is located in Big Springs, Texas.
2. "But when Seth's back is turned, the psychotic Richie rapes and kills Gloria" - Seth isn't at the motel at this point
( don't know if the phrase "back is turned" - is just meant as a metaphor, but... ).
3. "When Santanico smells blood from Richie's gunshot wound" - Yes, he was shot in the hand, but that wound is all taped up. It's first when Razor Charlie ( Trejo ) stabs Richie through the hand and he starts to bleed that Santanico ( Hayek ) smells the blood.
3. "She leaps upon the man, biting the wound, killing him, and drinking the blood" - The wound is on his hand, and she bites him in the neck. Yes, she does drink a lot of his blood, and he does die from the wound, but not until a little while later.
4. "not noticing that the Titty Twister was erected near Aztec ruins" The Titty Twister is located in the top of the Aztec temple.
5. "The film anticipates Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by using Michael Parks ( twice ) and having a setting in Barstow, California" - This film does not use Michael Parks twice, though he does reappear in FDTD 3. And From Dusk Till Dawn does not have a setting in Barstow, California ( but Kill Bill does ) . The only two places in this film are Texas ( Big Springs and El Paso ) and Mexico ( Digallo ). And the only other places mentioned is Rollings, Kansas ( were Seth was serving time and Richie pulled off a daring daylight escape, while Seth was at the courthouse ). A high-speed pursuit through downtown Wichita is also mentioned, and El Ray, Mexico ( the Gecko brothers destination ). But it does anticipate Kill Bill with a setting in El Paso, Texas ( which is where "The Texas Wedding Chapel Massacre" occurs ), and Michael Parks reprises his role as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw ( probably a salute to Ali MacGraw from The Getaway 1972 ).
6. "It should be pointed out that in the American two-disc set the labels are mixed up, so that the movie has the label for the documentary, and vice versa" - on my copy; both discs have the label of the film ( non for Full Tilt Boogie).
7. "Jacob's poignant speech to Kate about faith in the diner; later, Seth's rousing theological argument with him during the siege; and finally, the painful choices that Seth faces when his own brother has turned" - You just got the order mixed up; the first one is correct - but Seth kills Richie, before he has the "rousing theological argument" with Jacob.
Jackie Brown
1. "Fourteen years later he made a movie based on a Leonard novel that featured the same two criminal characters that appeared in that book" - Shouldn't that be three characters; Ordell Robbie, Louis Gara and Melanie Ralston?
2. "When he meets up with Ordell, they are both surprised that there is no money" - Actually; there is $ 40 000.
Kill Bill
1. "A woman awakes from a four year coma to recall that she was shot by Bill, the father of her unborn child, on the day of her marriage to another man" - She was shot during the wedding-rehearsal, not on the day of the marriage.
2. "Bill himself, who it turns out is living in Mexico with the Bride's now five-year-old daughter" - That would be four-year-old daughter, wouldn't it?
3. "Stabs another woman to death in front of her daughter" - The Bride ( Thurman ) didn't stab Vernita Green ( Fox ) to death - she throws the knife.
4. "Chapter 3: The Blood Splattered Bride" - The Blood Splattered Bride is chapter 2 - chapter 3, is; The Origin of O-Ren.
5. "And Bill goes on to "mentor" Elle after The Bride leaves" - He must have started mentoring her before The Bride leaves ( Elle and The Bride worked together ), but Bill didn't get "romantically" involved with Elle ( Hannah ) until Beatrix left.
SIN CITY:
1. "Tarantino worked with Clive Owen, Benicio Del Toro, and Brittany Murphy on the scene" - From what I've understand, Tarantino directed the scene between Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro in the car, and Brittany Murphy was not in it.
Posted at 05:15 PM Read More
New edition of FILM GEEK FILES
There is a sudden rash of new Quentin
Tarantino titles coming out, led by
Quentin Tarantino: The Film Geek
Files, a new edition of Paul A. Woods's
important anthology of essays on all of Tarantino's
films.
I haven't checked it carefully to see if old articles were dropped or new ones added to the already published section of the book, but there is a new section on Kill Bill. This includes "Quentin Bloody Quentin," an essay by Henry Cabot Black, a review of Vol. 1 by Wesley Morris, the much pilfered interview with Tarantino by Tomohiro Machiyama in which the writer gets Tarantino to lay out most of the references and movies he drew upon, a review of Vol. 2 by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, and an interview with Tarantino by Fred Topel about Vol. 2.
I haven't checked it carefully to see if old articles were dropped or new ones added to the already published section of the book, but there is a new section on Kill Bill. This includes "Quentin Bloody Quentin," an essay by Henry Cabot Black, a review of Vol. 1 by Wesley Morris, the much pilfered interview with Tarantino by Tomohiro Machiyama in which the writer gets Tarantino to lay out most of the references and movies he drew upon, a review of Vol. 2 by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, and an interview with Tarantino by Fred Topel about Vol. 2.
Posted at 04:41 PM Read More
Tue - September 20, 2005
Tarantino at the Emmys
Tarantino attended the Emmys Sunday night,
September 18, 2005, but did not win in the category for which he was nominated,
Directing for a Drama
Series, where he lost out to J. J. Abrams,
for directing the pilot to
Lost,
a bittersweet win given that Tarantino is or was a big fan of Abrams's
Alias.
When he was shown it was in close up so I didn't catch who his date was, if
anybody.
Posted at 01:45 PM Read More
Sun - June 26, 2005
Wired on ReMixes
The new
Wired
has a display on Tarantino as a master remixer and sampler. The short article by
Beth Pinsker cites six examples of lifts Tarantino made from various movies. The
one that was new to me concerned the influence of Kubrick's intensely violent
scenes in A Clockwork
Orange on Tarantino's own signature
scenes of violence.
qtkubrick.jpeg
qtkubrick.jpeg
Posted at 11:44 AM Read More
Thu - May 26, 2005
New Tarantino movie, Grind House
Variety reports today that the new Weinstein Company has announced its first slate of releases, which begin in late October, after the last day of the Miramax contract expires. Two are of interest here.
One is a "sequel" to Sin City, or perhaps the adaptation of another set of stories from Frank Miller's universe.
No mention if Rodriguez intends to have Tarantino direct another episode.
Also, Rodriguez and Tarantino will each direct one hour of Grind House, doubtlessly an homage to 1970s horror. Rumors circulated a while ago that Tarantino was interested in doing a franchise horror film and this project may be an outgrowth of that interest. Variety quotes Tarantino as hoping that Grind House will inspire a whole series.
Posted at 10:23 AM Read More
Wed - May 18, 2005
Ming and QT
One of my editors over at MoviePoopShoot.com
had the good fortune to find himself in the orbit of Tarantino at the opening of
Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike
Back, and managed to get this shot of
himself with the director.
Posted at 11:47 AM Read More
Tarantino in Double Dare
The documentary about New Zealand stuntwoman
Zoe Bell, who did
Xena
for several years, is finally out. Tarantino figures in the film because the
director, Amanda Micheli, had the good fortune to follow Bell during the time
she was auditioning for stunt work in
Kill Bill.
She really lucked out, and so does the
viewer, who gets to see a modest seeming Tarantino at the auditions.
Bell is contrasted in the film with her mentor Jeannie Epper, a long time stunt woman from a stunt family who appeared in many of Tarantino's favorite films, including Foxy Brown. Tarantino gave her a small part in Kill Bill as the reverend's wife.
Bell is contrasted in the film with her mentor Jeannie Epper, a long time stunt woman from a stunt family who appeared in many of Tarantino's favorite films, including Foxy Brown. Tarantino gave her a small part in Kill Bill as the reverend's wife.
Posted at 11:45 AM Read More
David Carradine on Kill Bill
Two new books are forthcoming about
Kill
Bill. One is the script itself , by Tarantino, due out in
late September (the official date is October 5) from Miramax Books, which may
not be in existence much longer after that. The ISBN is 1401359361, and the
cover price currently is $10.95.
But before that, on September 1st from HarperPerennial comes David Carradine's The Kill Bill Diary : The Making of a Tarantino Classic as Seen Through the Eyes of a Screen Legend ($16.95, ISBN 0060823461). Despite the bombast of the subtitle, Carradine was only in, by my count, seven scenes, some of them using only his voice. In other words, was he on the set long enough to keep what we might truly call a "diary"? And I wonder if this is ghosted by anyone, and by whom. The potential ghoster might very well be someone who writes for a highly pro-Tarantino website whose webmaster kept his own diary of a visit to the set.
But before that, on September 1st from HarperPerennial comes David Carradine's The Kill Bill Diary : The Making of a Tarantino Classic as Seen Through the Eyes of a Screen Legend ($16.95, ISBN 0060823461). Despite the bombast of the subtitle, Carradine was only in, by my count, seven scenes, some of them using only his voice. In other words, was he on the set long enough to keep what we might truly call a "diary"? And I wonder if this is ghosted by anyone, and by whom. The potential ghoster might very well be someone who writes for a highly pro-Tarantino website whose webmaster kept his own diary of a visit to the set.
Posted at 11:38 AM Read More
Ron Rosenbaum on Kill Bill and Sin City
Ron Rosenbaum had some kind words to say about Kill Bill: An Unofficial Casebook in his Edgy Enthusiast column in the New York Observer two weeks ago within the context of disparaging Sin City and late Tarantino as part of the Cinema of Stupidity. I don't think that the column is still up (the Observer now charges for back articles), but if you email me I can forward a PDF version.
Posted at 11:24 AM Read More
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Published On: Dec 08, 2006 08:21 PM
Published On: Dec 08, 2006 08:21 PM