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Name: Noel's Movie Reviews
Home: West Hills, CA, United States
About Me: My name is Noel Petok. I'm 27 years old. I've written 3 feature length film scripts and 3 short film scripts. I'm a caffeine nut and love to relax at my local Starbucks. If you love film, come chat with me. See my complete profile
Car chases, insane stunts, and buxom ladies, OH MY! The double-dose of Grindhouse films starts off with a bang with Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, made by Dimension Films. True, this film takes audiences into a time-warp into old school, vintage filmmaking of the bygone days of cheesy “B” movies of the drive-in past, but it keeps its nostalgic feel and gives it a fan-base from today’s newest generation. In first viewing of Death Proof I thought why would a great director of Tarantino’s caliber purposely make a film to look cheesy? Boy was I wrong. Not only does Tarantino succeed in giving the film a 70’s “B” movie feel, but he succeeds in making it a modern great piece of work.
Death Proof was written, directed, and produced by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell (from Backdraft), Rosario Dawson (from Sin City, and Rent), Vanessa Ferlito (from TV Series 24), Jordan Ladd, Sydney Poiter (daughter of “The” Sydney Poiter), Tracie Thoms (from Rent), Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and stuntwoman Zoe Bell, with cameos from Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth (director of Hostel). It is a surprise here to see Tarantino credited for director of photography. Death Proof was made in 2007 and was rated “R” and was released on DVD in an extended unrated cut. The story follows “Stuntman Mike” (Kurt Russell), a sociopathic stuntman who has a taste for stalking sexy young ladies. After many encounters he gets himself into trouble when he tangles with the wrong gang of badass babes. Their confrontation escalates to an insane 18-minute car crash duel with one of the girls strapped to the hood of a Dodge Challenger with only one intention; kill everything and everyone in its path.
This film has a basic story that I’m sure fits impeccably with films of the same style in the time period of “B” films of the drive-in days. What it mainly focuses on is Tarantino’s great use of dialogue in the style he’s so popular for, and its action car chases that should have a place in film history. Tarantino obviously doesn’t rely on any spectacular acting in his films, but definitely surpasses other areas in greatness. Death Proof was not noticed in many film festivals but did show up nominated for the coveted Palm D’Or Award at the Cannes Festival. This film will definitely boost an even bigger fan-base for those that love the comedic dialogue that Tarantino continues to write in those not so funny moments.
Death Proof has loads of trivia in its days of shooting and many great technical aspects in the art of filmmaking. It is, in a way, a step down for some great film makers to purposely try to make a film look poor. In this particular account, Quentin Tarantino makes use of crackly audio and static in parts that some may deem necessary, but to me his use of extreme choppy edits pushes the bar one step too far. Some may not care about trivia and some may find them interesting or even funny at times. In the great cameo appearance Tarantino makes, in this film, he has his ever so common line, “That is a tasty beverage,” as made famous in his earlier film Pulp Fiction. Actress/stunt woman Zoe Bell, who stars in Death Proof as herself, also did the stunts for Uma Thurman in the Kill: Bill series. There is not enough one can say about what Zoe Bell does. She is a joy to watch in any line of work she chooses. Another interesting fun fact from Death Proof is in a restaurant scene early in the film where one of the group of girls changes music on a large jukebox. That “jukebox” belongs to Quentin Tarantino himself.
Other than the movie’s extensive trivia facts, director Quentin Tarantino fits in some of his typical trademarks throughout his films. In the second half of the film, there’s a scene where four women are talking in a cafeteria, which is done in a single take that is seven minutes long. Another trademark Tarantino uses are scenes with women bare footed. In Death Proof, Jungle Julia is constantly walking without shoes and Abernathy (Abbie) has her bare feet hanging out of a car window while she is asleep. And yet, another trademark, and probably the most famous, is what Tarantino calls the “trunk shot.” In this film it is changed slightly from the traditional shot looking up at the actors from the trunk of the car to looking up from under the hood of the car.
Would I recommend Death Proof? First off, I’d say anyone squeamish or not into action, pass on this one. But, for those action fanatics that love car chases and incredible stunts, by a female nonetheless, than this is definitely a must see. Also, anyone that has grown to love Tarantino’s line of work, than this is also a must. In closing, thank you Quentin Tarantino for keeping the “Wilhelm Scream” alive and thank you, thank you, for directing Vanessa Ferlito in an amazingly sexy lap-dance.
