Planet Terror: A Second Look
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, and more
No wonder the movie theatre market is staggering, the home theatre market provides so much insight and intimacy into the movie-going experience. Perfect example: Grindhouse.
For those who have lives, Grindhouse was Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Til’ Dawn, Spy Kids) and QuentinTarantino’s (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) double feature/schlock-fest. It was two brand new movies, from two of modern cinema’s brightest…and it was for the price of one ticket and 3 hours of your time.
It didn’t do well at the box office…but cool people appreciated it. Naturally, it found a home on DVD.
I re-reviewed Quentin’s film Death Proof and (it took me a few months) but I combated all the Planet Terror snobbery and purchased Rodriguez’s movie, as well.
The continuing debate boils down to which film is better. But Rodriguez and Tarantino are two directors with similar taste but different approaches. In my initial review (after seeing it in the theatre), I favored Planet Terror over Death Proof. Then I flipped, a little, once Quentin’s film hit DVD. I was surprised by how rewatchable it was.
Now, that I am the proud owner of both films, I get it where the line is drawn. Death Proof plays better on DVD, because in typical Quentin-style, it’s more methodical (AKA not good for long sits in theatre chairs). Planet Terror plays better in theatres…
Director, Robert Rodriguez is a very kinetic filmmaker. His approach is shoot fast, ask questions later. Planet Terror makes this approach visible with each viewing. That is not to say that his film is choppy. It’s to say the film has an energy that Death Proof doesn’t possess when seeing it in theatres.
This is where Rodriguez is smarter than Quentin. The whole point of Grindhouse was to create a theatre-going experience. The type of film that Audiences can participate in. The film’s jokes, the film’s timing, the film’s action, even the film’s editing is all in an attempt to get the audience to become part of the film. He wants you to laugh at it often, and knowingly scoff at the exploitive nature of it.
He even goes out his way to hire actors with distinct voices and faces. This provides the viewer with a connection (for example when Bruce Willis, Tom Savini, or Tarantino, first appear on screen). They provide personality --- and despite what you may want to say about the B-Movies of your youth (for me it was stuff like Frankenhooker, Killer Clowns from Outer Space, and Toxic Avenger), the bad actors were always distinctive and personable.
Planet Terror is a success where Death Proof fails. Rodriguez makes a crowd-pleaser. Tarantino makes a Tarantino film (which is never bad) with a slow pay-off. Both play well on DVD and both will find a better life in the home theatre market.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, and more
No wonder the movie theatre market is staggering, the home theatre market provides so much insight and intimacy into the movie-going experience. Perfect example: Grindhouse.
For those who have lives, Grindhouse was Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Til’ Dawn, Spy Kids) and QuentinTarantino’s (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) double feature/schlock-fest. It was two brand new movies, from two of modern cinema’s brightest…and it was for the price of one ticket and 3 hours of your time.
It didn’t do well at the box office…but cool people appreciated it. Naturally, it found a home on DVD.
I re-reviewed Quentin’s film Death Proof and (it took me a few months) but I combated all the Planet Terror snobbery and purchased Rodriguez’s movie, as well.
The continuing debate boils down to which film is better. But Rodriguez and Tarantino are two directors with similar taste but different approaches. In my initial review (after seeing it in the theatre), I favored Planet Terror over Death Proof. Then I flipped, a little, once Quentin’s film hit DVD. I was surprised by how rewatchable it was.
Now, that I am the proud owner of both films, I get it where the line is drawn. Death Proof plays better on DVD, because in typical Quentin-style, it’s more methodical (AKA not good for long sits in theatre chairs). Planet Terror plays better in theatres…
Director, Robert Rodriguez is a very kinetic filmmaker. His approach is shoot fast, ask questions later. Planet Terror makes this approach visible with each viewing. That is not to say that his film is choppy. It’s to say the film has an energy that Death Proof doesn’t possess when seeing it in theatres.
This is where Rodriguez is smarter than Quentin. The whole point of Grindhouse was to create a theatre-going experience. The type of film that Audiences can participate in. The film’s jokes, the film’s timing, the film’s action, even the film’s editing is all in an attempt to get the audience to become part of the film. He wants you to laugh at it often, and knowingly scoff at the exploitive nature of it.
He even goes out his way to hire actors with distinct voices and faces. This provides the viewer with a connection (for example when Bruce Willis, Tom Savini, or Tarantino, first appear on screen). They provide personality --- and despite what you may want to say about the B-Movies of your youth (for me it was stuff like Frankenhooker, Killer Clowns from Outer Space, and Toxic Avenger), the bad actors were always distinctive and personable.
Planet Terror is a success where Death Proof fails. Rodriguez makes a crowd-pleaser. Tarantino makes a Tarantino film (which is never bad) with a slow pay-off. Both play well on DVD and both will find a better life in the home theatre market.
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