review: DEATH PROOF

Weinstein Company  //  Buy from Amazon.com Dressed in the excessive and sensationalistic style of the cult exploitation genre, Kurt Russell (Poseidon, Escape From New York) stars as a deranged stuntman turned psycho serial killer who stalks his victims from behind the wheel of a roving, revving, racing death machine, but when he picks on the wrong group of badass babes, all bets are off in an adrenaline-pumping, high speed vehicular duel of epic proportions. Nearly 30 minutes longer than the original theatrical version, the Unrated Extended cut includes footage never-before-seen domestically, including the conspicuous 'missing reel' of Ferlito's lap dance, and a black-and-white segment in the second 'act,' offering a prelude to Russell's Stuntman Mike character. Judging from the box office returns, audiences just didn't gravitate to the "Grindhouse" double-pairing of Tarantino's "Death Proof" and Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror," but suffice it to say that I was there on opening night and I LOVED the film(s) - I hadn't enjoyed myself that much in a theater in I don't know how long... 2 entertaining flicks, with hilarious fake trailers in-between - what's not to love?! Truthfully, I thought Tarantino's entry was the weaker of the two, and found myself almost feeling bad for the guy while watching most of "Death Proof" as it is such a painfully self-indulgent film, with Quentin getting off on himself and including his oh-so-witty dialogue that almost seems to be a mockery of itself by this point. For most of this, I thought Tarantino did film-by-numbers, as it had all of his cliches and stereotypes, making it seem like a "been there, done that" type of deal... ... until the final car chase scene, and concluding scene - those 15 minutes or so (esp. the last 2 minutes) made me love this film, despite all of its (many) faults and the long-winded nature of the dialogue. What a car chase scene! What a finale!! DAMN!! Video Given a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Tarantino's half of the "Grindhouse" duo looks top-notch from start to finish. With some "fake" film grain/damage appearing in the first half, the tone is set for a gritty piece o' cinema, but just as with Kevin Costner's faux British accent in "Robin Hood," the film damage disappears soon enough, leaving behind a clean, retro-looking film. Audio Very immersive and rock solid Dolby 5.1 surround mix delivers the ear candy in fine form. Of note is the soundtrack to the film, which continues Tarantino's long-running trend for including little-known-but-perfectly-selected tracks into his films. Extras "Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof" featurette "Introducing Zoe Bell" featurette "Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike" featurette "Finding Quentin's Gals" featurette uncut version of "Baby It's You" "The Guys of Death Proof" featurette "Quentin's Greatest Collaborator: Editor Sally Menke" featurette still gallery trailers (but not the cool fake trailers that ran between the 2 "Grindhouse" flicks) Closing Thoughts Talky, self-indulgent film with an ending that makes it all worthwhile + 2nd disc of extras = well worth checking out