Product Description

A deranged stuntman stalks his victims from the safety of his killer car, but when he picks on the wrong group of badass babes, all bets are off in an adrenaline-pumping, high speed, white-knuckle automotive duel of epic proportions, where anything can happen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #834 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-18
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
Loud, fast, and proudly out of control, Grindhouse is a tribute to the low-budget exploitation movies that lurked at drive-ins and inner city theaters in the '60s and early '70s. Writers/directors Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) cooked up this three-hour double feature as a way to pay homage to these films, and the end result manages to evoke the down-and-dirty vibe of the original films for an audience that may be too young to remember them. Tarantino's Death Proof is the mellower of the two, relatively speaking; it's wordier (as to be expected) and rife with pulp/comic book posturing and eminently quotable dialogue. It also features a terrific lead performance by Kurt Russell as a homicidal stunt man whose weapon of choice is a souped-up car. Tarantino's affection for his own dialogue slows down the action at times, but he does provide showy roles for a host of likable actresses, including Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, and newcomer Zoe Bell, who was Uma Thurman's stunt double in Kill Bill. Detractors may decry the rampant violence and latch onto a sexist undertone in Tarantino's feature, but for those viewers who grew up watching these types of films in either theaters or on VHS, such elements will be probably be more of a virtue than a detrimental factor. -- Paul Gaita

On the DVD
In regard to the Extended and Unrated part of Death Proof's two-disc DVD presentation, director Quentin Tarantino has essentially provided the version of the film he showed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, which ran some 30 minutes longer than the 85-minute version shown during Grindhouse's theatrical run. The additional footage is given mainly to dialogue between the female cast, as well as the much-discussed lapdance sequence featuring Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike and Vanessa Ferlito's Butterfly, which was removed from the theatrical version (and replaced with an amusing "Missing Reel" edit). Hardcore devotees of Tarantino's dialogue and its penchant for referring all manner of obscure pop culture material will undoubtedly enjoy the additional scenes, while those that felt that the theatrical version slowed to a crawl due to the conversations may find themselves reaching for the fast-forward button. However, it's hard to imagine that any self-respecting grindhouse movie fan would take issue with the restored lapdance.

As for the special features, which get the entire second disc in the set, they highlight a fun and familial atmosphere behind the scenes that contrasts greatly with the white-knuckle action of Death Proof. It's also sure to please Tarantino fans by providing a further look into the decisions and thought processes that brought the film to life. The director is featured prominently throughout the six short featurettes that comprise the special features; it's a fair trade for a traditional commentary track (which Tarantino excels at), and he gives his standard passionate and knowledgeable testimony about his cast and crew, as well as his reasons for hiring the diverse players in the feature. Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof is a conversation with the many veteran stunt men who handled the film's elaborate automotive action, including such industry heroes as Buddy Joe Hooker. Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike is an affectionate valentine to the much-loved leading man from Tarantino (who discusses Russell's career and image down to the most obscure detail) and his castmates, and Finding Quentin's Gals is an involved conversation with the director on how he found his powerhouse actresses, with reactions from Vanessa Ferlito, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and stuntwoman-turned-actress Zoe Bell. The latter two actresses also get their own featurettes; Winstead's full-bodied vocal rendition of "Baby, It's You" is shown in its entirety, and Tarantino's discovery of Bell in the documentary Double Dare, which lead to her turn as Uma Thurman's stunt double in Kill Bill, and her debut as an actress in Death Proof are covered in Introducing Zoe Bell. The Guys of Death Proof is a loose and funny look at the film's male supporting cast, including cult favorite Michael Parks and director Eli Roth (who cringes visibly while recalling how his character disparages Kurt Russell), and Quentin's Greatest Collaborator: Editor Sally Menke is a self-explanatory tribute to his longtime partner-in-crime, which includes numerous on-camera greetings to her from cast and crew. A trailer for the terrific Double Dare rounds out the extras. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

You have got to be kidding?
Watching Death Proof is an excercise in patience as this is the most boring movie I have ever seen. Judging by the writer/director and how good Planet Terror was, I thought Death Proof would be a blast to watch. I was wrong and therefore subjected to about 100 minutes of alleged actors blab their way through this film. I guess its called character development which went the way of the DoDo in the first 2 minutes. The scenes with the cars were bordering on idiotic and again we are subjected to a pile of dialogue by the actors. Whats Quentins thing with womens feet in almost every movie he made?

If you own Death Proof on DVD use the case as an ashtray or coaster. If not, save your money and definatly two hours of your life and watch a test pattern instead.

Excellent homage to '70's exploitation films
This is the version of the grindhouse experience that went up in the cinemas in Sweden, the doublebill version didn't get shown which at least I would have liked to have seen and it's also not coming out on DVD, so I can not compare this extended version with the cinema version with the missing reels. But this is a tour de force that never releases it's grip on it's audience with it's full speed ahead mentality. Kurt Russell delivers one of his best perfomances ever and Quentin Tarantiono's direction, script and choice of music propels this film into a frenzied ending where the young women he has been terrorizing on the road gives him his just punishment.
If you like films such as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (Supercharger Edition) or Vanishing Pointthis is highly recommended.
Added May 8,
I have just seen the excellent japanese 6 disc "Grindhouse - the complete box" which includes the US theatrical release version as well as the extended versions of "Death Proof and "Planet Terror" the presentation of the films is excellent the DVD's looks like old vinyl albums and the box is dressed with lobby cards for both features. Now that I have finally seen the theatrical cut of the film, I can't understand why it wasn't exhibited here in Sweden, as it is an excellent piece of filmmaking and I give it a rating of ****½. It is available from amazon.co.jp,but is Region 2 encoded so it won't playback on US (Region 1) DVD players.

Gets better the more you watch it
The first time I watched this movie, I thought it was a little slow and not as good as Planet Terror. Planet Terror is fast paced and action packed, and this one seemed to have a lot of superfulous scenes. Then came the car accident scene and I was riveted. It was, hands down, the best car crash scene I have ever seen. Horrifying without being terribly gory (there is some gore, but it is really muted compared with your typical slasher flick). A moment of cinematic poetry. Same with the second half of the movie; a lot of dialogue that builds to an amazing car chase scene. But then I watched it again and since I knew what was coming I could focus more on the interaction between the characters and the character study, and I was able to pick out the very subtle nuances that made the dialogue more enjoyable. Kurt Russell is the bad guy you root for, not so much because the girls are so unlikeable, but because he is so likeable, even though he's derranged. Butterfly's character is striking, most notably during her exchange with Stuntman Mike prior to her dance. Rose McGowan shines as Pam (I love the scene where she's talking about her connection to Jungle Julia). Bottom line, it may take a few viewings, but this movie offers some good lines, although you have to pay attention to get them all, some seriously AMAZING songs (the dance scene comes to mind), and some phenomenal stunts/car scenes.