Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Distributed by The Weinstein Company
Life as a thrill seeking stuntman isn’t all it might be cracked out to be, especially as one enters the twilight of their career. Long hours, injuries from nasty accidents, and the high cost of health insurance might seem like suitable costs to pay for the euphoric blast of adrenaline; however, getting older in this career may not be as rewarding as getting started in it. Suddenly that adrenaline rush doesn’t come so easily, the twisted scars on your face cut into the roles you can land, and attractive young girls these days don’t even recognize the films you’ve been in. When this happens, this is when you raise the bar. This is when you go that extra mile to give yourself that shocking thrill you so need and deserve.
This is when you go out and start killing people.
Kurt Russell stars as Stuntman Mike in this grimy story of an oddball psycho-killer out on the prowl. Mike’s targets are small groups of lethally hip women, and his weapon of choice is a souped-up muscle car rigged to be completely “Death Proof” for the driver. The film trails the good stuntman as he stalks his prey and eventually puts the pedal to the floor in some of the most explosive and bloody car action ever put on film.
This particular scene comes about midway through the film and is as sudden and thrilling as a 30-second high velocity roller coaster. The last quarter of the film is devoted to a much longer demonstration of road combat and features some breathless stunt work by notable Zoe Bell. It is this portion of the movie that is its biggest savior, as this action is so well done and energized that it brings enough entertainment nearly for an entire film.
While the highs of Death Proof are worth a few cheers, the lows are worth a few snores. As is obvious, both of the Grindhouse films were inspired by that genre of the same name; however they are inspirations only. These are homage to grindhouse films; not replicas. The key word to consider in Tarantino’s approach to Death Proof is “indulgent”. Tarantino indulged his every little whim in the making of this film, over and beyond those things that made the original grindhouse film’s so grindhouse. This indulgence led Tarantino to create some significant pacing problems, particularly in dialogue.
The scenes that need the most clipping were already included in the original theatrical release of Death Proof, and ironically it is the extended footage on the newly released DVD that should have always been there to begin with. Apart from the obvious action, it is the interaction between Kurt Russell’s worthy Stuntman Mike and his young female targets that makes for some of the best of Death Proof’s entertainment. This new DVD release includes a black and white scene of Stuntman Mike doing some preliminary stalking outside of a small convenience store. This scene moves the story forward where some of the other talkie blather doesn’t; it helps build up the tension by showing Mike engaging in some rather socially unacceptable behavior in the form of Tarantino-approved foot love.
The DVD release comes with a number of supplemental materials that sum to a respectable bonus. The first of the 2-DVD set includes trailers and posters and the second has a number of featurettes. These extras highlight much of the work behind the film including Kurt Russell’s role as Stuntman Mike and a well-earned spotlight on Zoe Bell, and all total to nearly 3 hours of additional viewing. Rather conspicuously missing from this release is any commentary track at all, which is a little surprising as you just know Tarantino has a lot to say about it (e.g., “See, I really like this girl’s feet”). Perhaps we’ll see a commentary in a future boxset? Time will tell.
While suffering from the aforementioned pacing flaws, Death Proof is commendable and entertaining both in its high powered action sequences and stylized love for an old and beloved genre. While Grindhouse is never likely to reignite a return to theaters of similar films, both movies within it are quite worthy to own and re-watch over the years. Enjoy it.
Special Features