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. System Requirements:Run Time: 113 minutes Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 796019803885

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #751 in DVD
• Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
• 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
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• 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

big dissapointment
i'm a big fan of tarantinos work and really wanted to love this movie.. everyone is right that except for the car chases and basically any scene with stuntman mike the movie is boring, lame , the ending is stupid.. i liked it better when tarantino made movies for guys ... girls talking about and Italian womens magazine is not keeping my interest. sorry

If you can stay awake through the first half of the movie...
... you're in for a humdinger of a ride. Otherwise, just fast-forward through Texas and pick up the story in Tennessee.

Here is Stuntman Mike, walking into a bar, looking for a girl he can entice into his killer car. Seems Mike is a played-out stuntman with a grudge at the world, especially the distaff half, and he gets his jollies by killing them off in his very own Deathmobile. Mike has a jacked-up stunt car that he's made practically impregnable on the driver's side but he's turned the passenger side into a death trap. As at least one unfortunate young lady is going to find out, to her everlasting regret. He also uses his car as a battering ram to demolish an oncoming car and everyone in it.

When Tarantino is good, he is very, very, good, but unfortunately he's less than very good in "Death Proof". The first half of the movie is a crashing bore. The bar scene drags out interminably to no point. None of the girls is remotely interesting. Jungle Julia, played by Sydney Poitier, is a tiresome beeyotch who needs some attitude adjustment (maybe a backhanded slap across the mouth might help); Butterfly, played by Vanessa Ferlito, is just plain embarassing with her pathetic attempt at a lap dance, and the other two girls are just plain forgettable. I can't even remember their names, that's how little of an impression they make on the viewer. And Tarantino needs to retire Michael Parks as the small town Texas sheriff and Son Number One. It was halfway funny in "Kill Bill" but it got old fast.

Patched up and with the Killmobile lusting for more blood, Stuntman Mike moves to Lebanon, Tennessee, and the second half of the film is as fun as the first half was boring. Mike runs into four more girls he'd like to feed to the death car, but these girls engage us in a way the four women in Texas never did. They're fun and refreshingly free of attitude. Rosario Dawson as Abernathy shows a nice sense of comedy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fetching as Lee, Zoe Bell (playing herself) shows some acting ability besides being a world-class stuntwoman (she was Uma Thurman's stunt double in "Kill Bill") and Tracie Thoms bring just the right amount of street into the role of Kim. There's a lot of pointless chattering among these four as well, but unlike the first group, these girls are fun to listen to and we laugh along with them.

Stuntman Mike wants to turn these ladies into car-fodder as well, but turns out he's messed with the wrong women this time. These chicks know how to give as good as they get and then some. The last twenty minutes of the film are a wild ride with a bang-up ending, literally and figuratively. (I did think Dawson's high-kick coup de grace was just a tad over the top, but that's a minor cavil.) Ole Mike might want to consider taking up needlepoint as a hobby in his declining years.

The second half of the movie almost makes up for the deadly first half, but the first half is bad enough to make me give his film three stars instead of four. There are plenty of car chases and car crashes, severed limbs and blood and gore throughout the film to satisfy the horror fans, but when all is said and done, it's not enough. The main problem with "Death Proof" is that, in the end, it's only half a movie.

Judy Lind

A lot of fun!
I love the 70's look & feel in the first half of the film (jumpy film, crappy sound), although I wish it had actually been set in the 70's (it took something away when one of the girls pulled out her cellphone). But, that's a very minor complaint because otherwise, this film was loads of fun. The female leads did a good job, Kurt was in top form and terrifically cast as Stuntman Mike. All-in-all, it was one wild ride even if it did start a little slow. If you enjoyed B-movie hot rod-themed pictures in the theater in the 70's that the characters allude to ("Vanishing Point", "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry", "Gone In 60 Seconds"), you'll really get a kick out of this - I liked it a lot!