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Several critics, however, were not amused by the film's nihilistic, graphic and comical violence. Larry Ratliff of ''San Antonio Express-News'' noted that "this ambitious, scratched and weathered venture never manages a real death grip on the senses."<ref>http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/movies/stories/MYSA040607.WK.grindhouse.ea5eae.html</ref> Similarly, Dennis Schwartz of ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'' was unimpressed, writing that the film is "as much fun as being in a car crash" and found the features to be little more than "pointless kid fantasy films." He awarded the overall film a C-, eventually noting that, while ''Planet Terror'' at least "caught the spirit" of the genre, ''Death Proof'' was "a complete misfire" filled with "long-winded banter that a grindhouse viewer would never sit through back in the day." <ref>http://www.sover.net/~ozus/grindhouse.htm</ref> This opinion was shared by a number of other critics; Mick LaSalle of the [[San Francisco Chronicle]] awarded the film a high rating, but noted that: "the Rodriguez segment is terrific; the Tarantino one long-winded and juvenile."<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/06/DDGIAP2PIK18.DTL&type=movies</ref> The film ultimately scored an 84% "Certified Fresh" rating on popular website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], earning an average grade of 7.5/10 and recieving almost the same score from the "Cream of the Crop" critics.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grindhouse/</ref>
Several critics, however, were not amused by the film's nihilistic, graphic and comical violence. Larry Ratliff of ''San Antonio Express-News'' noted that "this ambitious, scratched and weathered venture never manages a real death grip on the senses."<ref>http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/movies/stories/MYSA040607.WK.grindhouse.ea5eae.html</ref> Similarly, Dennis Schwartz of ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'' was unimpressed, writing that the film is "as much fun as being in a car crash" and found the features to be little more than "pointless kid fantasy films." He awarded the overall film a C-, eventually noting that, while ''Planet Terror'' at least "caught the spirit" of the genre, ''Death Proof'' was "a complete misfire" filled with "long-winded banter that a grindhouse viewer would never sit through back in the day." <ref>http://www.sover.net/~ozus/grindhouse.htm</ref> This opinion was shared by a number of other critics; Mick LaSalle of the [[San Francisco Chronicle]] awarded the film a high rating, but noted that: "the Rodriguez segment is terrific; the Tarantino one long-winded and juvenile."<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/06/DDGIAP2PIK18.DTL&type=movies</ref> The film ultimately scored an 84% "Certified Fresh" rating on popular website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], earning an average grade of 7.5/10 and recieving almost the same score from the "Cream of the Crop" critics.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grindhouse/</ref>


''Grindhouse'' was surrounded by considerable internet hype, causing many box office analysts to predict an opening weekend total of $20-$30 million.<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/forecast/</ref><ref>http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/Article.php?a=974</ref> Unfortunately, however, the film opened to just $11.5 million for an underwhelming per-theater average of $4,417; the total stood below not only the second weekends of [[Blades of Glory]] and [[Meet the Robinsons]], but was also below the opening weekend of [[Are We Done Yet?]]. Box office analyst Lee Tistaert of popular tracking website [http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/ Lee's Move Info] compared the result with what may have happened if Tarantino's [[Kill Bill]] saga had been released as one film, instead of two seperate volumes. "Is it possible that Tarantino got his wish this time as a result of two back-to-back $60 million grosses?" he asked.
''Grindhouse'' was surrounded by considerable internet hype, causing many box office analysts to predict an opening weekend total of $20-$30 million.<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/forecast/</ref><ref>http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/Article.php?a=974</ref> Unfortunately, however, the film opened to just $11.5 million for an underwhelming per-theater average of $4,417; the total stood below not only the second weekends of [[Blades of Glory]] and [[Meet the Robinsons]], but was also below the opening weekend of [[Are We Done Yet?]]. Box office analyst Lee Tistaert of popular tracking website [http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/ Lee's Move Info] compared the result with what may have happened if Tarantino's [[Kill Bill]] saga had been released as one film, instead of two seperate volumes. "Is it possible that Tarantino got his wish this time as a result of two back-to-back $60 million grosses?" he asked. Others attributed its position to the film's opening on [[Easter]] weekend and noted that, while the film played strongly on both East and West coasts, it did poorly in the South and Midwest.[http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20070408/117606450000.html]


==Allusions to prior films==
==Allusions to prior films==

Revision as of 20:47, 8 April 2007

Template:Two other uses

Grindhouse
File:Grindhouse3.jpg
Grindhouse theatrical poster
Directed byPlanet Terror:
Robert Rodriguez
Death Proof:
Quentin Tarantino
Fake Trailers:
Edgar Wright
Eli Roth
Robert Rodriguez
Rob Zombie
Written byRobert Rodriguez
Quentin Tarantino
Produced byElizabeth Avellan
Erica Steinberg
StarringRose McGowan
Freddy Rodriguez
Josh Brolin
Marley Shelton
Michael Biehn
Kurt Russell
Rosario Dawson
Vanessa Ferlito
Jordan Ladd
Sydney Tamiia Poitier
Tracie Thoms
Zoë Bell
CinematographyRobert Rodriguez
Quentin Tarantino
Edited byRobert Rodriguez
Sally Menke
Music byRobert Rodriguez
Graeme Revell
Distributed byDimension Films
The Weinstein Company
Release dates
April 6, 2007
Running time
Planet Terror:
80 min.
Death Proof:
90 min.
Total:
191 min.[1]
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$53,000,000 [2]

Grindhouse is a 2007 film. In North America, the film is presented as a double feature of two full-length segments, one being a zombie film, Planet Terror, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, and the other being an action film, Death Proof, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, with faux trailers advertising fictional films preceding each segment (actually short films since the movies they advertise don't exist). In much of the rest of the world, the film will be split in two and each feature will be released separately.[3][4]

History and development

The idea for Grindhouse came to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino when Tarantino would set up screenings of double features, complete with trailers preceding and between the films. "[Tarantino] would have some trailers and a movie, and then some more trailers and a second movie," remembers Rodriguez. "I thought, 'We have to re-create this experience for people and show them a double feature like this.' The double feature just came to mind [from] us wanting to re-create that experience."[5]

The film's name originates from the American term for theaters that would play "all the exploitation genres: kung fu, horror, Italian horror—also known as giallo—sexploitation, the "good old boy" redneck car-chase movies, blaxploitation, spaghetti Westerns—all those risible genres that were released in the 70s."[6] According to Rodriguez, "The posters were much better than the movies, but we're actually making something that lives up to the posters."[5]

Rodriguez first came up with the idea for Planet Terror during the production of The Faculty. "I remember telling Elijah Wood and Josh Hartnett, all these young actors, that zombie movies were dead and hadn't been around in a while, but that I thought they were going to come back in a big way because they’d been gone for so long," recalls Rodriguez. "I said, 'We've got to be there first.' I had [a script] I’d started writing. It was about 30 pages, and I said to them, 'There are characters for all of you to play.' We got all excited about it, and then I didn't know where to go with it. The introduction was about as far as I'd gotten, and then I got onto other movies. Sure enough, the zombie [movie] invasion happened and they all came back again, and I was like, 'Ah, I knew that I should've made my zombie film.'" The story was reapproached when Tarantino and Rodriguez developed the idea for Grindhouse.[5]

During the time Planet Terror began to come together, Tarantino developed the story of Death Proof. Tarantino was fascinated by the way stuntmen would "death-proof" their cars so they can be driven headfirst into a brick wall at 60 mph and still protect the driver—as long as he's in the driver's seat. This inspired Tarantino to create a slasher film featuring a deranged stuntman who stalks and murders sexy young women with his "death-proof" car.[5] Tarantino remembers, "I realized I couldn't do a straight slasher film, because with the exception of women-in-prison films, there is no other genre quite as rigid. And if you break that up, you aren't really doing it anymore. It's inorganic, so I realized—let me take the structure of a slasher film and just do what I do. My version is going to be fucked up and disjointed, but it seemingly uses the structure of a slasher film, hopefully against you."[6]

According to Rodriguez, "[Tarantino] had an idea and a complete vision for it right away when he first talked about it. He started to tell me the story and said, 'It's got this death-proof car in it.' I said, 'You have to call it Death Proof.' I helped title the movie, but that's it."[5] Of the car chases, Tarantino stated, "CGI for car stunts doesn't make any sense to me—how is that supposed to be impressive? [...] I don't think there have been any good car chases since I started making films in '92—to me, the last terrific car chase was in Terminator 2. And Final Destination 2 had a magnificent car action piece. In between that, not a lot. Every time a stunt happens, there's twelve cameras and they use every angle for Avid editing, but I don't feel it in my stomach. It's just action."[6]

Production

Rodriguez began filming Planet Terror in Austin, Texas, in March 2006. Director Tarantino began filming Death Proof in August 2006. The first ever footage was shown at 2006's Comic Con and then was aired a few months later, on October 10, 2006, on Spike TV's Scream Awards. Rodriguez and Tarantino were also honored with awards.

Quentin Tarantino attempted to cast both Kal Penn[7] and Sylvester Stallone[8] in Death Proof, but both were unable to work due to prior commitments.

Originally, Rodriguez and Tarantino had planned to make all of the film's fake trailers themselves. According to Rodriguez, "We had so many ideas for trailers. I made Machete. I shot lobby cards and the poster and cut the trailer and sent it to Quentin, and he just flipped out because it looked so vintage and so real. He started showing it around to Eli Roth and to Edgar Wright, and they said, 'Can we do a trailer? We have an idea for a trailer!' We were like, 'Hey, let them shoot it. If we don't get around to shooting ours, we'll put theirs in the movie. If theirs comes out really great, we'll put it in the movie to have some variety.' Then Rob Zombie came up to me in October at the Scream Awards and said, 'I have a trailer: Werewolf Women of the SS.' I said, 'Say no more. Go shoot it. You got me.'"[5]

During editing, Tarantino and Rodriguez came up with the idea of inserting "missing reels" into the film. "[Quentin] was about to show an Italian crime movie with Oliver Reed," Rodriguez recalls, "and he was saying, 'Oh, it's got a missing reel in it. But it's really interesting because after the missing reel, you don't know if he slept with a girl or he didn't because she says he did and he says that he didn't. It leaves you guessing, and the movie still works with 20 minutes gone out of it.' I thought, 'Oh, my God, that's what we’ve got to do. We've got to have a missing reel!' I'm going to use in it in a way where it actually says 'missing reel' for 10 seconds, and then when we come back, you're arriving in the third act. [...] The late second acts in movies are usually the most predictable and the most boring, that's where the good guy really turns out to be the bad guy, and the bad guy is really good, and the couple becomes friends. Suddenly, though, in the third act, all bets are off and it's a whole new story anyway."[5]

Grindhouse is rated R in the United States for strong graphic bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, some sexuality, nudity and drug use. On March 15, 2007, The New York Post reported the film may require heavy and extensive cuts in order to avoid an NC-17 rating.[9] Shortly after, the film officially received an R rating from the MPAA. According to Ain't It Cool News, only minimal cuts were made which ended up totaling 20 seconds according to Tarantino.[10]

Musical score

Rodriguez revealed at Comic-Con 2006 that inspiration for his score came from music composed by John Carpenter. Rodriguez said that during the filming of Planet Terror, Carpenter's music was often played on set.[11]

Planet Terror

Plot

Template:Spoiler In a rural Texas town, go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) decides to quit her low-paying job and find another use for her talents. As Cherry meets her ex-boyfriend El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), a group of government officials led by the deranged Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis) are disturbed to learn that a group of psychotic zombies have broken free of their cages and are already infecting the rest of the town. When the poisonous gas that causes victims to turn into the zombies is released into the night air, the entire world is now at risk of infection. The infected townspeople are treated by Dr. William Block (Josh Brolin) and Dr. Dakota Block (Marley Shelton), an unhappily married couple who fail to treat the zombies' infection quickly enough to prevent an epidemic.

While driving home, El Wray and Cherry are attacked by the zombies. Cherry has her leg severed and is near death while El Wray escapes with minor injuries. Sheriff Hauge (Michael Biehn), fearing that El Wray is a threat to the general public, arrests him shortly before the victims of the poison mutate into zombies. Meanwhile, William, suspecting that Dakota was having a lesbian affair with one of the zombie's victims (Stacey Ferguson), plans to kill her, but is called to treat more patients before he is able to do so. Dakota flees the hospital and, through a series of violent accidents, manages to reach her home and rescues her son, Tony. As for William, he is attacked by a zombie patient with a bone cutter. However, the cutter becomes unplugged before any harm comes to William, so the zombie infects the doctor instead by smearing rotting flesh all over his face.

Cherry, using a wooden post for a leg, flees the hospital with El Wray, killing many zombies along the way. They eventually arrive at JT's grill, a barbeque restaurant owned by Sheriff Hauge's brother, JT, where they gather weapons and prepare for the crusade against the zombies. Meanwhile, Tony accidentally kills himself with Dakota's gun and Dakota is reunited with her father, Earl McGraw. As El Wray and Cherry begin to make love, one of the film's reels is misplaced and several plot turns are missed; the grill is now burning to the ground, Sheriff Hauge has been critically injured and Dakota has arrived at the grill with the others. They flee the area and head towards the Mexican border, killing several zombies before being stopped by the government officials, led by Muldoon, who mow down a line of zombies and then arrest the rebels.

The rebels learn that the government agents are attempting to liquidate the entire area, hoping to stop the spreading disease. As Cherry and Dakota are kidnapped by two rapists, one played by Quentin Tarantino, the others defeat the prison guards and search for Muldoon. They ultimately find him and learn that he killed Osama bin Laden shortly before the events of the film. Rather than being rewarded for killing him, Muldoon and his men are repayed with a faceful of DC2 (the deadly poison), which they must now inhale in small quantities with the use of gas masks in order to sustain the rapid mutation. As Muldoon's supply of the poison depletes, he begins to mutate into a zombie and is killed. Cherry and Dakota then kill the rapists before El Wray replaces her wooden post with an M4 carbine assault rifle, which she promptly uses to defeat the remainder of Muldoon's men and clear the area of zombies.

The others locate two helicopters that they plan on using to escape. In the final battle, both Hauge and JT sacrifice themselves by destroying the building they were in, while the others easily defeat the remaining zombies. Amidst the warfare, William returns and is killed by Dakota's father, while the helicopter pilot uses the helicopter's blades to butcher the other zombies. While saving Cherry from a zombie, however, El Wray is also shot to death, and the remaining survivors flee in the helicopter and take refuge in Mexico, where a new society begins and Cherry (with a minigun replacing her M4) gives birth to El Wray's daughter. Template:Endspoiler

Cast

Actor Role
Rose McGowan Cherry Darling
Freddy Rodriguez El Wray
Josh Brolin Dr. William Block
Marley Shelton Dr. Dakota McGraw Block
Jeff Fahey J.T. Hague
Michael Biehn Sheriff Hague
Rebel Rodriguez Tony Block
Bruce Willis Lt. Muldoon
Naveen Andrews Abby
Julio Oscar Mechoso Romey
Stacy Ferguson Tammy Visan
Nicky Katt Joe
Hung Nguyen Dr. Crane
Tom Savini Deputy Tolo
Carlos Gallardo Deputy Carlos
Skip Reissig Skip
Electra Avellan Crazy Babysitter Twin #1
Elise Avellan Crazy Babysitter Twin #2
Quentin Tarantino Jones the Rapist
Jason Douglas Lewis
Michael Parks Earl McGraw
Jerili Romero Ramona McGraw
Felix Sabates Dr. Felix

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack to Planet Terror was released on April 3rd from Varèse Sarabande, though the score managed to sell on iTunes a week early.

  1. Grindhouse (Main Titles) - (Robert Rodriguez)
  2. Doc Block - (Robert Rodriguez & Carl Thiel)
  3. The Sickos - (Robert Rodriguez & Graeme Revell)
  4. You Belong to Me - Performed by Rose McGowan (Pee Wee King, Chilton Price & Redd Stewart
  5. Go Go Not Cry Cry - (Robert Rodriguez & Rick Del Castillo)
  6. Hospital Epimedic - (Graeme Revell & Robert Rodriguez)
  7. Useless Talent #32 - Performed by Rose McGowan (Rebecca Rodriguez & Robert Rodriguez)
  8. His Prescription... Pain - (Robert Rodriguez & Carl Thiel)
  9. Cherry Darling - (Robert Rodriguez)
  10. The Grindhouse Blues - (Robert Rodriguez)
  11. El Rray - (Robert Rodriguez)
  12. Police Station Assault - (Robert Rodriguez)
  13. Dakota - (Robert Rodriguez & Carl Thiel)
  14. Zero to Fifty In Four - (Robert Rodriguez)
  15. Fury Road - (Robert Rodriguez)
  16. Helicopter Sicko Chopper - (Graeme Revell & Robert Rodriguez)
  17. The Ring in the Jacket - (Robert Rodriguez & George Oldziey)
  18. Killer Legs - (Robert Rodriguez & Rick Del Castillo)
  19. Melting Member - (Graeme Revell & Robert Rodriguez)
  20. Too Drunk to Fuck - Performed by Nouvelle Vague (Jello Biafra)
  21. Cherry's Dance of Death - Performed by Chingon (Robert Rodriguez)
  22. Two Against the World - Performed by Rose McGowan (Rebecca Rodriguez & Robert Rodriguez)

Death Proof

Plot

Template:Spoiler The film begins with three friends, Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), Shanna (Jordan Ladd) and radio disc jockey Jungle Julia Lucai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier), wandering around Austin, Texas on Julia's birthday. To celebrate, the girls go to Guero's Mexican restaurant for margaritas and the Texas Chili Parlor for some ice-cold Shiner beer. Over margaritas, Julia tells Arlene that earlier that day she made a radio announcement, promising any boy who calls Arlene "Butterfly" and recites her a segment of poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening will be given a free lap dance. Meanwhile, Pam (Rose McGowan), a childhood enemy of Jungle Julia's, is also at the bar, eventually encountering Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), a body double for Hollywood action films.

The girls go through the day without any offers, but Mike eventually lets on that he knows about the challenge and recites the poem. After getting the lap dance (which is omitted from the film due to a "missing reel"), Mike offers to take Pam home in his 1971 Chevy Nova SS, a special vehicle he claims to use specifically for filming action sequences. However, Mike is soon revealed to be a homicidal maniac who takes great pleasure in killing young women on the road. First, he brutally murders Pam by swerving aggressively to injure and frighten her, and then accelerating rapidly and braking hard, which leads to a deadly impact with the Plexiglass enclosure that surrounds the passenger seat. Next, he crashes into the other three girls (along with Jungle Julia's pot dealer, Lanna Frank (Monica Staggs), whom they met up with at the bar) at a combined speed of two hundred miles per hour, resulting in a gruesome, violent death for each girl, shown in slow motion four times, with the camera focusing on each death in turn (Shanna is thrown out of the car and breaks her head across the highway; Lanna Frank is impaled by the steering wheel; Jungle Julia's right leg is ripped off as she's crushed by the car; and Arlene has her face ripped off by Stuntman Mike's tires).

Mike only suffers minor injuries, however, and because the girls were driving while intoxicated, he is cleared of all charges, much to the chagrin of Texas Ranger Earl McGraw (Michael Parks), who knows that Mike is guilty of "vehicular homicide." He then moves to Tennessee, eventually targeting Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), and Kim (Tracie Thoms) and Zoë Bell, a group of women working below the line in Hollywood. Kim, Abernathy and Zoë eventually take a 1970 Dodge Challenger on a test drive, during which Zoë plays a dangerous game which she calls "Ship's Mast", lying on the front windshield as Kim drives the car far at high-speed. Mike, in his "new" 1970 Dodge Charger, chases after them, repeatedly crashing into their car and nearly killing Zoë multiple times.

After an extensive chase, Mike congratulates the women and prepares to leave, only to be shot by Kim (who fires on him several more times as he flees). Zoë, thought killed when she was flung from the car's hood into the weeds, turns out to be alive and unharmed (foreshadowed earlier in the film when Kim described her taking a long and dangerous fall without injury). His illusions of invincibility shattered, Mike panics while sterilizing his wound with Four Roses bourbon and taking a few drinks to calm his nerves (earlier in the film, he claimed to be a teetotaler in order to win Pam's trust). The girls decide to take revenge, chasing him on the country road and crashing into him before violently beating him in the face with a metal pole. After another extensive chase sequence, Mike's car flips over and the girls drag him out of the car, violently punching and kicking him in the face many times before Abernathy finally crushes his head in with the heel of her boot.

Cast

Actor Role
Kurt Russell Stuntman Mike Mikki
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Lee Montgomery
Tracie Thoms Kim
Rosario Dawson Abernathy
Zoë Bell Herself
Vanessa Ferlito Arlene
Jordan Ladd Shanna
Rose McGowan Pam
Sydney Tamiia Poitier Jungle Julia Lucai
Omar Doom Nate
Michael Bacall Omar
Eli Roth Dov
Quentin Tarantino Warren
Monica Staggs Lanna Franks
Michael Parks Earl McGraw
James Parks Edgar McGraw
Helen Kim Peg
Tim Murphy Bartender
Marta Mendoza Sonia
Electra Avellan Crazy Babysitter Twin #1
Elise Avellan Crazy Babysitter Twin #2
Marley Shelton Dr. Dakota McGraw Block
Jonathan Loughran Jasper
Tina Rodriguez Juana
Kelley Robins LaQuanda

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack was also released on April 3 from Maverick Records. It also includes trademark audio snippets from the film.

  1. "The Last Race" — Jack Nitzsche
  2. "Baby, It's You" — Smith
  3. "Paranoia Prima" — Ennio Morricone
  4. "Planning & Scheming" — Eli Roth & Michael Bacall
  5. "Jeepster" — T. Rex
  6. "Stuntman Mike" — Rose McGowan & Kurt Russell
  7. "Staggolee" — Pacific Gas & Electric
  8. "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)" — Joe Tex
  9. "Good Love, Bad Love" — Eddie Floyd
  10. "Down In Mexico" — The Coasters
  11. "Hold Tight" - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
  12. "Sally and Jack (From the Motion Picture Blow Out)" — Pino Donaggio
  13. "It's So Easy" — Willy DeVille
  14. "Whatever-However" — Tracie Thoms & Zoe Bell
  15. "Riot In Thunder Alley" — Eddie Beram
  16. "Chick Habit" - April March

Faux trailers

Template:Spoiler Before both segments there will be trailers advertising fake films. According to Rodriguez, it was Tarantino's idea to film fake trailers for Grindhouse. "I didn't even know about it until I read it in the trades. It said something like 'Rodriguez and Tarantino doing a double feature and Tarantino says there's gonna be fake trailers.' And I thought, 'There are?'"[6] The Canadian theatrical release includes the SXSW winning faux trailer Hobo with a Shotgun.

Machete

File:N503701224 33711 16.jpg
Danny Trejo in Machete.

In an interview with Danny Trejo, the actor said that he will be in a fake trailer for a movie called Machete. It was later announced that the trailer will be made as a direct-to-DVD feature film.[12] This continues a theme for Trejo's characters in Rodriguez movies who often have knife-like names, such as Razor Charlie in From Dusk Till Dawn, Razor Eddie From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, Navajas (Spanish for knives) in Desperado and Machete in Spy Kids.[13] Rodriguez wrote Machete in 1993 as a full feature for Trejo. "I had cast him in Desperado and I remember thinking, 'Wow, this guy should have his own series of Mexican exploitation movies like Charles Bronson or like Jean Claude Van Damme.' So I wrote him this idea of a federale from Mexico who gets hired to do hatchet jobs in the U.S. I had heard sometimes FBI or DEA have a really tough job that they don't want to get their own agents killed on, they'll hire an agent from Mexico to come do the job for $25,000. I thought, 'That's Machete. He would come and do a really dangerous job for a lot of money to him but for everyone else over here it's peanuts.' But I never got around to making it."[6]

Actor Role
Danny Trejo Machete
Jeff Fahey The Well-Dressed Man
Cheech Marin Father Benicio Del Toro

Werewolf Women of the S.S.

Rob Zombie contributed a faux trailer called Werewolf Women of the S.S., featuring Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu, Udo Kier as SS officer Franz Hess, and Zombie's wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, and Sybil Danning as SS officers/sisters Eva (The Black Widow of Berlin) and Gretchen Krupp, along with wrestlers Andrew Martin and Vladimir Kozlov, and Olja Hrustic, Meriah Nelson, and Lorielle New as the Werewolf Women. According to Zombie, "Basically, I had two ideas. It was either going to be a Nazi movie or a women-in-prison film, and I went with the Nazis. There's all those movies like Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS; Fraulein Devil; and Love Camp 7—I've always found that to be the most bizarre genre."[6]

File:FuManchu1.jpg
Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu in Werewolf Women of the SS
Actor Role
Nicolas Cage Dr. Fu Manchu
Udo Kier Commandant Franz Hess
Sheri Moon Eva Krupp
Sybil Danning Gretchen Krupp
Bill Moseley Dr. Heinrich von Strasser
Tom Towles Lt. Boorman
Andrew Martin Nazi Stormtrooper
Vladimir Kozlov Nazi Stormtrooper
Olja Hrustic Werewolf Woman
Meriah Nelson Werewolf Woman
Lorelle New Werewolf Woman


Don't

File:Katie Melua in Grindhouse.JPG
Katie Melua in Don't.

Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright contributed a trailer called Don't, a 1970's Britsploitation meets Mondo trailer.[14] The trailer features appearances from Jason Isaacs, Matthew MacFadyen, singer Katie Melua, Georgina Chapman, Emily Booth, Stuart Wilson, Lucy Punch, Wright regulars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and a voice-over by Will Arnett.[15] According to Wright, "In the '70s, when American International would release European horror films, they'd give them snazzier titles. And the one that inspired me was this Jorge Grau film: In the UK, it's called The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. In Spain and in Italy, I think it's called Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead. But in the States, it was called Don't Open the Window. I just loved the fact that there isn't a big window scene in the film—it's all based around the spin and the voiceover not really telling you what the hell is going on in the film."[6]

Actor Role
Jason Isaacs Bearded Man
Matthew MacFadyen Hatchet Victim
Katie Melua
Georgina Chapman
Emily Booth
Stuart Wilson Old Man
Lucy Punch Running Blonde Woman
Simon Pegg Cannibal
Nick Frost "Baby" Eater
Will Arnett Announcer

Thanksgiving

File:N503701224 42725 6621.jpg
Vendula Kristek in Thanksgiving.

Eli Roth contributed a promo for the slasher opus Thanksgiving, starring Jeff Rendell as the villainous Pilgrim, Jordan Ladd, Jay Hernandez, and Roth himself as his intended victims, and Michael Biehn as the Sheriff. According to Roth, "My friend Jeff, who plays the killer pilgrim—we grew up in Massachusetts, we were huge slasher movie fans and every November we were waiting for the Thanksgiving slasher movie. We had the whole movie worked out: A kid who's in love with a turkey and then his father killed it and then he killed his family and went away to a mental institution and came back and took revenge on the town. I called Jeff and said, 'Dude, guess what, we don't have to make the movie, we can just shoot the best parts.'"[6] The design for the titles in Thanksgiving were based on a Mad magazine slasher parody entitled Arbor Day.[6]

Actor Role
Jeff Rendell The Pilgrim
Liliya Malkina The Grandmother
Kevin Wasner The Turkey Pilgrim
Mike McCarty The Rioter
Michael Biehn The Sheriff
Mark Bakunas The Deputy
The Klando Majorettes Screaming Girls
Vendula Kristek The Cheerleader
Petr Vancura The Boyfriend
Jordan Ladd Judy
Eli Roth Tucker
Jay Hernandez Bobby
Dan Frisch The Human Turkey
Chris Briggs The Vomiting Cousin
Karel Vanásek The Grandfather
Katherin-Ellen Zabehlicky The Granddaughter

Template:End spoiler

Reception

Grindhouse opened on April 6, 2007 to mostly positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly awarded the film an "A" rating, praising it as a" crazily funny and exciting tribute to the grimy glory days of 1970s exploitation films" that "will leave you laughing, gasping, thrilled at a movie that knows, at long last, how to put the bad back in badass." [16] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also awarded the film a perfect rating, commenting that "by stooping low without selling out, this babes-and-bullets tour de force gets you high on movies again." [17] Popular critic James Berardinelli also enjoyed the film but was not as positive as other critics. Awarding the film three stars (Out of four), Berardinelli found the film to be "cinema as an expression of pulp with attitude... [Rodriguez and Tarantino] are speaking from the hearts... but that doesn't mean everyone sitting in the theater will get it." [18]

Several critics, however, were not amused by the film's nihilistic, graphic and comical violence. Larry Ratliff of San Antonio Express-News noted that "this ambitious, scratched and weathered venture never manages a real death grip on the senses."[19] Similarly, Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews was unimpressed, writing that the film is "as much fun as being in a car crash" and found the features to be little more than "pointless kid fantasy films." He awarded the overall film a C-, eventually noting that, while Planet Terror at least "caught the spirit" of the genre, Death Proof was "a complete misfire" filled with "long-winded banter that a grindhouse viewer would never sit through back in the day." [20] This opinion was shared by a number of other critics; Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle awarded the film a high rating, but noted that: "the Rodriguez segment is terrific; the Tarantino one long-winded and juvenile."[21] The film ultimately scored an 84% "Certified Fresh" rating on popular website Rotten Tomatoes, earning an average grade of 7.5/10 and recieving almost the same score from the "Cream of the Crop" critics.[22]

Grindhouse was surrounded by considerable internet hype, causing many box office analysts to predict an opening weekend total of $20-$30 million.[23][24] Unfortunately, however, the film opened to just $11.5 million for an underwhelming per-theater average of $4,417; the total stood below not only the second weekends of Blades of Glory and Meet the Robinsons, but was also below the opening weekend of Are We Done Yet?. Box office analyst Lee Tistaert of popular tracking website Lee's Move Info compared the result with what may have happened if Tarantino's Kill Bill saga had been released as one film, instead of two seperate volumes. "Is it possible that Tarantino got his wish this time as a result of two back-to-back $60 million grosses?" he asked. Others attributed its position to the film's opening on Easter weekend and noted that, while the film played strongly on both East and West coasts, it did poorly in the South and Midwest.[1]

Allusions to prior films

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  • In Death Proof, Abernathy calls Zoe Bell a cat. Bell was a stunt double in the film Catwoman.
  • Abernathy mentions getting a foot massage and Warren, played by Tarantino, asks the women if the shots are "tasty beverages." Both of these were significant details in Pulp Fiction.
  • In all of QT's films the story or stories jump back and forth in order of events. This also continues in Grindhouse, though it is very subtle ie; the dj on Tammy's radio and Dakota and her father appearing in the hospital scene in Death Proof. Meaning, Death Proof actually takes place before Planet Terror.
  • The stories in Death Proof are extremely similar; both have a set of female friends with one in each from out of town, they also both have conversations about their "Man" situations or dick department, and in each of those conversations one of the women in each story seems to be the conservative types, Arlene and Abernathy. Also Abernathy and Julia have crushes on movie directors Cecil and Chris neither men are seen in the film. This is another subtle but common occurence in Tarantino's works: mentioning extra names which are sometimes used in later films. ie; Alabama, in True Romance is mentioned in Reservoir Dogs, Vic and Vincent Vega, brothers in Scagnetti, Jimmy,
  • In Death Proof, the "lapdance code phrase" consists of slightly modified lines from Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. In the 1977 film Telefon, a character recited the same lines over the phone to hypnotically-programmed Soviet sleeper agents, triggering their assigned suicide missions.)
  • Stuntman Mike's character is loosely based on the character of Vaughan from the 1973 novel, Crash. This reference is exposed in the dialog of the two police in the hospital scene where they discuss Stuntman Mike's sexual fetishism of car crashes.
  • On Dakota's desk in Planet Terror, there is a note pad with a list of things to do: pick up cereal, get crickets, and Kill Bill. Dr. William Block is her husband and just minutes earlier she says goodbye to Bill, not see you later.
  • The shot-drinking scene in Death Proof is reminiscient of From Dusk till Dawn, even the way Quentin slams the shot glass. It seems both directors influenced each others films in a subtle manner.
  • Between the two films, there is a brand name and faux commercial for Acuna Boys products. The Acuna Boys were Esteban Vihaio's men from Kill Bill Vol. 2. In Death Proof, Arlene is seen drinking a beverage from an Acuna boys restaurant.
  • Restaurant scenes are in all of QT's films including two in Death Proof, one is shot just like the opening of Resevoir Dog's.
  • Earl McGraw and Edgar McGraw (Son Number 1) appear in Kill Bill vol. 1 as the same characters. They are also Dakota's father and brother, and McGraw appears in both films.
  • In Planet Terror when Stacy Ferguson's car breaks down, the DJ on the radio says, "In Loving memory of Jungle Julia. We miss you." She dies in Death Proof.
  • The car chase scene in Death Proof has several "mistakes" such as the cars switching models a few times, probably an homage to Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. Note the dissapearing rearview mirror over and over.
  • The "fake" trailer for Thanksgiving features Eli Roth getting his head cut off while getting oral sex from his girlfriend. This trailer also looks very similar to Dario Argento's style of filmming, he is thanked in the credits.
  • Robert Rodriguez is credited as his own chef and many other things, Once Upon A Time in Mexico and Sin City have how to cook tips on their dvd's.
  • The "Skull & Lightning Bolts" logo used on the car in the film's Death Proof poster is inspired by the the "Skull & Chopsticks" logo used in the international kung fu comedy tv and dvd series known as Kung Faux, as can be seen here at the Kung Faux fan site known as BentoBox.TV, after Director Quentin Tarantino met successfully with Kung Faux creator Mic Neumann to discuss working together in the future on the Dragon Dynasty brand of kung fu related film, tv, and dvd projects during the production of the film "Grindhouse".
  • In Planet Terror, when El Wray goes to The Bone Shack, JT hands him a pack of Red Apple Cigarettes that also appear in Pulp Fiction and in an ad in Kill Bill Vol. 1
  • The scene where El Wray and Dakota look in the trunk of the car is a trunk scene Tarantino incorporates in his movies, even though Robert Rodriguez directed Planet Terror.
  • They use the grindhouse release opening from other Grindhouse films and Kill Bill Vol. 1
  • Tarintino's Character in Death Proof refers to a shot he drinks as a "Tasty Beverage" a line from both Pulp Fiction and his segment in Four Rooms.
  • Tarantino played a character named The Rapist in Planet Terror, a character similar to Richie Gecko, whom he portrayed in From Dusk Till Dawn.
  • In Planet Terror, before Tammy is attacked by the Sickos, there is a broadcast mentioning Jungle Julia's demise in Death Proof.
  • The car that belongs to Abernathy, Kim, Lee, and Zöe in Death Proof has the same colors and paint job as the "Pussy Wagon" that belongs to Buck in Kill Bill. In the Grindhouse companion book, there is a picture of the car near the words "'Lil Pussy Wagon".
  • In Death Proof, The songs "Misirlou" and "I Love Jackie" appear in the jukebox of the bar.
  • The character of Earl McGraw, who is in both films, originated from Rodriguez's film From Dusk Till Dawn.
  • In Death Proof, during the first set of girl's scene at the bar, the tank top Kurt Russell's character wears in Big Trouble in Little China is seen hanging on the wall.

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Grindhouse split controversy

During the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, Glen Basner, responsible for international releases for The Weinstein Company, made clear that the film would be split in two in non-English speaking countries. The films would be called Grindhouse: Planet Terror and Grindhouse: Death Proof, and will be released approximately 2 months apart.[25] The faux trailers for Death Proof will be directed by Rodriguez, while those for Planet Terror will be by Tarantino. No mention was made of the trailers by Roth, Wright, or Zombie.[26][27] European fans of Tarantino have expressed their outrage in film forums and with online petitions, with many suggesting they will boycott the films, or possibly illegally download them.

While The Weinstein Company has stated that the film will be split because non-American audiences have no experience with the concept of double features, many European fans see it as an attempt to increase profits by forcing audiences to pay twice for a film that is shown as a single entity in the United States.[28]

Sequel possibilities

Both Rodriguez and Tarantino have said that they are interested in making a sequel to Grindhouse.[29] Tarantino said that he wants to shoot an "old-school Kung Fu movie in Mandarin with subtitles in some countries, and release a shorter, dubbed cut in others" for his segment.[30] The fact that Quentin Tarantino met with Kung Faux creator, Mic Neumann, during the early phase of production on his "Death Proof" portion of "Grindhouse" and even adapted the "Skull" logo used in Kung Faux into a an almost identical "Skull" logo for Stuntman Mike's Chevy Nova bodes well for this classic kung fu film concoction and collaboration to be actually served up in the very near future.( See "Trivia" section )

References

  1. ^ Joiner, Whitney (January 28, 2007). "Directors Who Go Together, Like Blood and Guts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ "'Blades' Stays on Top With $23 Million". Yahoo. 2007-04-08.
  3. ^ "The Grindhouse Split". Retrieved 2007-03-29. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Grindhouse News". ESplatter. Retrieved 2007-03-29. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Cotton, Mike (April 4, 2007). "House Party". Wizard Universe. Retrieved 2007-04-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Online Exclusive: Horror Film Directors Dish About 'Grindhouse' Trailers". Rolling Stone.com. Retrieved 2007-04-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Peter Sciretta. "Did You Know: Kal Penn was cast in Tarantino's Grindhouse?". Ifilm. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Peter Sciretta. "Tarantino wanted Stallone for Grindhouse". Ifilm. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Richard Johnson (March 15, 2007). "Page Six: RATING WOES FOR 'GRINDHOUSE'". The New York Post. Retrieved 2007-03-19. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Harry Knowles. "Austinites! Zombify for the GRINDHOUSE premiere and get Free Stuff from AICN!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-03-23. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Quint. "Updated! GRINDHOUSE news from Comic-Con! Snake Plissken to be Tarantino's villain! Plus more!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Sciretta, Peter (March 12, 2007). "Grindhouse: Rodriguez to turn They Call Him Machete into Feature Length Movie". /film. Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Elaine Lamkin. "Grindhouse, SIn City 2: Star Danny Trejo". Bloody-Disgusting.com. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Elaine Lamkin. "Shaun of the Grindhouse". Ifilm. Retrieved 2007-01-29. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ Mark Olsen (2007-04-01). "These plotlines get hacked to bits". LA Times. calendarlive.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20033672,00.html
  17. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/14022227/review/14022289/grindhouse
  18. ^ http://www.reelviews.net/movies/g/grindhouse.html
  19. ^ http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/movies/stories/MYSA040607.WK.grindhouse.ea5eae.html
  20. ^ http://www.sover.net/~ozus/grindhouse.htm
  21. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/06/DDGIAP2PIK18.DTL&type=movies
  22. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grindhouse/
  23. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/forecast/
  24. ^ http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/Article.php?a=974
  25. ^ "Alles Over Quentin Tarantino" (in Dutch). 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2007-03-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  26. ^ Dutch Death Proof poster art; Retrieved on 2007-03-30
  27. ^ Dutch Planet Terror poster art; Retrieved on 2007-03-30
  28. ^ Zagt, Ab (2007-03-1). "De goedkope trucs van Tarantino" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2007-03-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Peter Sciretta (2006). "Rodriguez talks Grindhouse Sequel". /FILM. Retrieved 2007-04-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  30. ^ Peter Sciretta (2007). "Tarantino Plans Kung Fu Grindhouse Sequel". /FILM. Retrieved 2007-04-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • When the four girls go to pick up the car the car they drive in have the same colors as Uma Thurmans Attire in Kill Bill Vol. 1
  • There are references and relations to both movies. Like when Stunt Man Mike is being treated after the first car crash he is being treated at the same hospital as in Planet Terror. Another is when El Wray and Cherry have sex in one room there is a picture of Jungle Julia and friends at the Bone Shack.
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