Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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.

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.

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.

What a HORRENDOUS waste of time this is!!! I have never felt sooooo cheated in my entire life! The most dragged out and boring piece of crap I have ever had the displeasure of watching. You know the boring scene in Pulp Fiction where they are riding around in the car talking? That is this ENTIRE film! This was one of the most anticipated films and overrated films of all time. This was just plain bad. The second worst movie EVER!!! That's right... if it wasn't for Slumber Party Massacre 2, this would take the top spot!!

Quentin Tarantino made quite a name for himself in 1994 when he brought Pulp Fiction to audiences. And it seemed like he could do no wrong as he produced one hit after another (albeit, separated by years). When he an Robert Rodriguez got together to do Grindhouse, I figured I'd know what to expect given Tarantino's style. A lot of good dialog, style, action and violence.

Death Proof has a simple plot. A stunt driver (Kurt Russell) gets a thrill out of crashing his car and, of course, performing dangerous stunts. He has named his car "Death Proof" and that's exactly what it is. This is demonstrated in one of the movies few good moments when he collides with another car head on and still lives while everyone else in the oncoming car dies. It seems like nothing will ever stop him until he finally picks the wrong group of people tango with.

So it's a simple story, but it misses a few of Quentin Tarantino's trades. The conversations the characters have aren't interesting. You do, at least, learn a lot about them. You really come to know these characters, but even then, it's hard to care about most of them. With a title like Death Proof, you'd expect the film to be filled with a lot of action. Unfortunately, there's hardly any. A lot of the movie consists of the characters sitting around and talking. Again, it wouldn't be so bad if the conversations they were having were filled with the clever, witty dialog Quentin Tarantino's films are known for.

The film begins to pick up near the end when we're treated to an incredible car chase, but the resolution is less than worthwhile. As the ending comes about it's hard to get over the fact that the conclusion isn't very satisfying.

The last thing the movie really suffers from is that it's slow. The movie itself isn't really that long, but it feels longer than it has to be because it moves slowly. Tarantino's films usually don't move fast to begin with, but in the past he has usually gone to great lengths to get us interested in the character's struggles and make them likable. Even when they're doing terrible things. You don't exactly get that from Death Proof, and that's sad considering this is Tarantino's shortest film to date.

Death Proof isn't a terrible movie by any means. It's just really slow. It has a good idea going for it but the payoff and pacing make it hard to sit through more than once.