It may not have delivered upon "Hollywood's" box office expectations, but who gives a fuck. Grindhouse delivers the goods to its fans. Everything you've heard is true. This movie is self indulgent, completely schlocky, b-grade fare totally devoid of a soul. And it fucking rocks.
My wife asked me after our 3+ hours spent in the theater which film I liked better. I told her I couldn't, and wouldn't compare the two films. Tarantino and Rodriguez wisely chose to pay homage to completely different genres, and in totally different ways. It's unfair to compare the two, but ultimately many will. From my perspective, both kicked it old school.
I borrowed the following crossover factoids from Wikipedia.com. Check out the film, then check back and enjoy tidbits below.
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WARNING: Major spoilers ahead (if you haven't seen Grindhouse, read no further!)
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> In Death Proof, Abernathy calls Zoe Bell a cat. Bell was a stunt double in the film Catwoman.
> Abernathy mentions getting a foot massage and Warren, played by Tarantino, asks the women if the shots are "tasty beverages". Both of these were significant details in Pulp Fiction.
> In all of Tarantino's films, the plot is almost always non-linear. This also continues in Grindhouse, though it is very subtle. For example, the DJ on Tammy's radio mentioning Jungle Julia's death and Dakota and her father appearing in the hospital scene in Death Proof (meaning Death Proof actually takes place before Planet Terror).
> The stories in Death Proof are extremely similar; both have a set of female friends with one in each from out of town, they also both have conversations about their "man" situations or "dick department", and in each of those conversations, one of the women in each story seems to be the conservative type: Arlene and Abernathy. Also Abernathy and Julia have crushes on movie directors Cecil and Chris; neither men are seen in the film. This is another subtle but common occurence in Tarantino's works: mentioning extra names which are sometimes used in later films, i.e., Alabama in True Romance is mentioned in Reservoir Dogs, Vincent Vega is mentioned in Reservoir Dogs, the name Scagnetti, Jimmy, etc.
> In Death Proof, the "lapdance code phrase" consists of slightly modified lines from Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. In the 1977 film Telefon, a character recited the same lines over the phone to hypnotically-programmed Soviet sleeper agents, triggering their assigned suicide missions.
> On Dakota's desk in Planet Terror, there is a note pad with a list of things to do: pick up cereal, get crickets, and Kill Bill. Dr. William Block is her husband and just minutes earlier she says goodbye to Bill, not see you later.
> The shot-drinking scene in Death Proof is reminiscient of From Dusk Till Dawn, even the way Quentin slams the shot glass. It seems both directors influenced each others' films in a subtle manner.
> The films Vanishing Point and Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry' are mentioned several times in Death Proof. Both are car chase movies with Dodge Challengers.
> Between the two films, there is a brand name and faux commercial for Acuna Boys products. The Acuna Boys were Esteban Vihaio's men from Kill Bill Vol. 2. In Death Proof, Arlene is seen drinking a beverage from an Acuna Boys restaurant.
> Restaurant scenes are in all of Tarantino's films including two in Death Proof; one is shot just like the opening of Resevoir Dogs.
> Earl McGraw and Edgar McGraw (Son Number 1) appear in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and From Dusk Till Dawn as the same characters. They are also Dakota Block's father and brother.
> In Planet Terror, when Stacy Ferguson's car breaks down, the DJ on the radio says, "In loving memory of Jungle Julia. We miss you." She dies in Death Proof.
> The car chase scene in Death Proof has several "mistakes" such as the cars switching models a few times, probably an homage to Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. Note the dissapearing rearview mirror over and over.
> The "fake" trailer for Thanksgiving features Eli Roth getting decapitated while receiving oral sex from his girlfriend. This trailer also looks very similar to Dario Argento's style of filmming. Argento is thanked in the end credits.
> Robert Rodriguez is credited as his own chef and many other things. Once Upon A Time in Mexico and Sin City have how to cook tips in their DVD special features.
> The skull and lightning bolts logo used on the car in the film's Death Proof poster is inspired by the skull and chopsticks logo used in the international kung fu comedy TV and DVD series known as Kung Faux, as can be seen here at the Kung Faux fan site known as BentoBox.TV, after director Quentin Tarantino met successfully with Kung Faux creator Mic Neumann to discuss working together in the future on the Dragon Dynasty brand of kung fu related film, TV, and DVD projects during the production of Grindhouse.
> In Planet Terror, when El Wray goes to The Bone Shack, JT hands him a pack of Red Apple Cigarettes that also appear in Pulp Fiction and in an ad in Kill Bill Vol. 1.
> The scene where El Wray and Dakota look in the trunk of the car is the infamous trunk scene Tarantino incorporates in his movies, even though Robert Rodriguez directed Planet Terror.
> The grindhouse release opening from other grindhouse films and Kill Bill Vol. 1 are used in the opening scene.
> Stuntman Mike mentions Big Kahuna Burgers in Death Proof, also referenced in Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn and Jackie Brown.
> Tarantino's character in Death Proof refers to a shot he drinks as a "tasty beverage", a line from both Pulp Fiction and his segment in Four Rooms.
> Tarantino played a character named The Rapist in Planet Terror, a character similar to Richard Gecko, whom he portrayed in From Dusk Till Dawn.
> The car that belongs to Abernathy, Kim, Lee, and Zöe in Death Proof has the same colors and paint job as the "Pussy Wagon" that belongs to Buck in Kill Bill. In the Grindhouse companion book, there is a picture of the car near the words "'Lil Pussy Wagon".
> The ending song of Death Proof, Chick Habit is a translated cover of the famous French song "Laisse Tomber les Filles" by France Gall.
> In Death Proof, the songs "Misirlou" and "I Love Jackie" appear in the jukebox of the bar.
> The character of Earl McGraw, who is in both films, originated from Rodriguez's film From Dusk Till Dawn.
> In Death Proof, during the first set of girls scene at the bar, the tank top Kurt Russell's character wears in Big Trouble in Little China is seen hanging on the wall.
> In the car in Death Proof, when Abernathy talks of her boyfriend, she speaks with disdain about how he cheated on her with a Daryl Hannah stand-in. In real life, her friend Zoe Bell was a double for Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill Vol. 2.
> During one of the car chase scenes in Death Proof, Kurt Russell drives through a drive-in marquee advertising a "Scary Movie 4" and "Wolf Creek" double feature.
> Stuntman Mike meets his end in Death Proof by being brutally beaten while the girls stand in a circle around him. Beatrix Kiddo is beaten the exact same way in Kill Bill by the "Deadly Viper Assassination Squad" during the anime flashback scene.



2 comments:
Porq,
Does the hottie get naked? That is my only question.
"Yes"... but you might not get to see it.
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