Blair Loveday
It has been quite a few years since I last saw Grindhouse, but my long time memory was I loved Death Proof, but didn’t really get Planet Terror.
So with the opportunity to check them out again, I was so eager. That’s a great time for the 4 discs of awesome that is Grindhouse – Special Edition.
If Grindhouse is new to you, it is a cracking experience. There are two movies in one cracking experience.
Robert Rodriguez created the fascinating horror comedy Planet Terror. At the end of that you get to enjoy some fake trailers made by other famous directors, and that leads you into the incredible action thriller Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino.
The best way to enjoy this series is to put three hours aside, and watch the full experience in one go.
But it’s OK if you don’t have that kind of time, both movies are totally independent and watched on their own. Even better, this collection has one disc with the full experience, then 2 discs have extended versions of the respective movies. Just wanna watch Death Proof tonight? Check out the extended version on one of the discs.
Speaking of Death Proof, it is as good as I remember.
Kurt Russell plays Stuntman Mike. Stuntman Mike likes to meet ladies, and murder them with his stunt car which is built to be death proof. It’s an insane movie that has moments of gore, but so much more than that. The incredible New Zealand stuntwoman Zoe Bell plays one of the main characters. This means she gets to take part in some amazing acting, as well as doing her actual stunts for some wicked practical car action. A slowish start pays the hell off in an insanely excellent second half.
Planet Terror is a chaotic movie that, after watching again, I really like.
We follow a few different stories as a virus is breaking out. Watch chaos unleash in a hospital and then the streets, and as you will have seen from all the posters, results in Rose McGowan having a gun for her leg. It’s really funny at times, it’s excessively violent at times, and on the whole is a cracking horror comedy.
This collection includes the three forementioned discs, and a fourth that is loaded with extra Special Features. There is everything from general behind the scenes stuff to Robert Rodriguez showing how to make a brisket. There is so much to like there, but one highlight is a piece about Zoe Bell. It was really interesting to learn about how she got her big break on Kill Bill, which is what lead to Tarantino opting to bring her in for an acting role.
Grindhouse is an excellent experience on its own. This collection offers you so much more, from the versions of the movies themselves, to the extra features. If Grindhouse isn’t in your collection yet, then this is a great way to add it.
