[quote=“Knoxville Kingpin”]
I never had understood what was supossed to be so cool about the car chase in DP. While it was a wee but funny at times it felt like I had seen it before (except for the hottie on the hood). Its just a car chase and there was nothing ground breaking or specail about it. This film seems to be made out to be something it is not. Its a good film, not great by any means. Its a fun time and a great movie to watch with other fans.
IMO its not on par with the rest of his work but I think he never wanted it to be held up to Pulp or Dogs but simply as a nice period piece that he enjoyed making. Its sorta like QT made this film mainly for himself. Its what he wanted to do and he didnt really care if the critics liked it or not. He knew the hard core fans would love it no matter what. They would get what he was going for, although I think its lost on many a fan. Im talking about the ones who talk like its the best film he has ever made. How insulting!!! Its not a masterpiece but it is a nice experiment in film making. It didnt quite work for me as the two parts didnt gel and were an odd contrast with each other. I loved the first half (am I the only one?) but the second half seemed so lame (except for miss Bell) I dont want to watch it again. Im hoping the full cut will add enough depth for me to enjoy the entire film. I actually cant wait to see it as I have high hopes. Im almost certain the full cut will be nothing less than awesome!
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I cant see the movie through your eyes. So I cant say you are wrong. You have a certain meter that you measure films by just like I do. I dont like to use the word masterpiece too much. I mean Death Proof is a very cool film, is it the pinnacle of all cinema? No. Its a QT exploitation film, not a Sergio Leone epic.
Really, when was the last time you went to a film and saw a live action car chase. Zero CGI? My last time was Ronin. I saw it on TV a few times too. That was a really awesome car chase in Europe going the wrong way on a freeway. John Frankenheimer a veteran of films for over 30 years. That guy was a genius.
For me, the car chase in Death Proof is closer to the one we saw in Bullitt. Its not so much about the danger element, but the exhilleration aspect. In that area it delivered for me totally. It was also really funny in parts. It was a QT style car chase.
In regards to the two halves. I loved both. The first half had one part I felt dragged a bit which was that Arlene/Barry conversation. It wasnt my favorite. But other than that, it went perfectly. It flowed really well for me. I dont think the two halves were supposed to gel completely. Its one distinct group of girls and another group of distinct girls. Also, the first half plays like a weird mix of bar movie/slasher film, while the 2nd plays like a road movie/car chase film. Each half has its own dynamic and rhythm.
Id say give it another viewing when it hits DVD. Maybe it will start to grow on you after awhile.
Its nowwhere near as exciting as Bullitt. That was a car chase. To me the best for my money was/is The French Connection. classic
Well, simply because I havent seen an old style dirt road car chase in awhile doesnt make it exciting to me. It was one car following another car. The big stunt was one car crashing thru a movie sign. Of course Zoe riding the hood like TJ Hooker was something I havent seen in awhile but to me the whole set up leading to that scene seemed trite. I actually couldnt believe how bad it was all glued together. I hope the real cut will fix that.
To me, the Dukes of Hazard TV series had better car chases every week. I find nothing special about this aspect of DP. IMO, its the weekest part of the entire film. I liked the rest but somehow I expected soooooooo much more from this part of the movie. I was totally let down.
I dunno, I dont keep track of car chases or the use of CGI in them. I actually like CGI (ok shoot me now) as I think it adds a wonderful aspect to film. Meaning there are a lot of things that cant be done in real life without killing someone. Maybe the Italian Job was the last car chase I noted that didnt have CGI. Like I said, I dont really take note of this anymore. Its not an issue unless it distracts from the movie.
I see that some of my posts were deleted. I’ll say it again. I’m not comparing anything to pulp fiction…only the fact that pulp fiction was ground-breaking. I want more ground-breaking films, but for some reason there just aren’t any. Pete seems to get hung-up on the inclusion of Pulp in my paragraph…this is his tragic flaw.
Well when you become a real fan of a director you have to realize that theres only so much humanly possible they can do within the boundaries of the genres they work in. All they can be expected to do is bring something fresh and personal to each movie they make. Its objective to everyone whats great and whats not. For some people who watch Death Proof its nothing that great, for others its really an amazing work of exploitation art. I’m in the latter category.
I do not expect QT to top Pulp Fiction each time he makes a film simply because he makes different kinds of films and creates different kinds of stories with each project. I dont compare, I simply take each new film for what it is and judge it on how it goes up against films of the genre. For me, Death Proof is a really refreshing take on the standard slasher films, it combines several genres into one and becomes something else I personally havent seen before. You cant say Death Proof is a copy of anything because it really isnt. Its an amalgam of subgenres/ideas/themes that QT has processed and spit out into something from his own brain. Its not for everyone I guess. Thats okay too.
Once again, I didn’t say he should top Pulp Fiction. I said that he should do something ground-breaking again. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Apple did something ground-breaking more than once - and I’m sure that QT can too. I never never never ever said that he should top Pulp Fiction. If you would put down the big gulp and the kit-kat bar you may be able to see that.
Kilgore, artists dont think that way man. Artists dont sit down and say, “man I gotta do something groundbreaking again”. Shit just doesnt work that way. Life doesnt work that way. Also if thats the only reason you like Tarantino is because of Pulp, you really arent a true fan in my book. I mean, honestly.
What exactly do you think was groundbreaking about Pulp? Just so I know what youre saying. The non linear storyline? That was already done in Reservoir Dogs.
Whats your wife been puttin in your grits? You still dont know what youre talkin about.
[quote=“Pete”]
Kilgore, artists dont think that way man. Artists dont sit down and say, “man I gotta do something groundbreaking again”. Shit just doesnt work that way. Life doesnt work that way.
What exactly do you think was groundbreaking about Pulp? Just so I know what youre saying.
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yes they do. ground-breaking is what put QT on the map. Ground-breaking is what put Nirvana on the map. It’s what put Pink Floyd on the map. It’s what put Hitchcock on the map. Do I need to list more? Once an artist fails to be ground-breaking it is over. I don’t think that QT would be happy with himself if his days of being ground-breaking were over. I’m not saying that he’s a one-hit wonder because he’s not - but he hasn’t duplicated the feeling that Pulp gave his audience.
Also - If artists weren’t about being ground-breaking there would only be one other explanation for the reason that they do what they do - MONEY. I don’t think that QT is in it for the money…so I’m quite positive that he’s in it to be ground-breaking…or is he?
QTs career is over I guess. Hes out to make entertaining movies and put his own spins on diff genres. Not to break some kind of ground. Maybe HIS own ground, but not anyone elses.
QTs def not in it for money, hes making films now to push the limits of his talents as far as he can and try new things with each project.
But hes also not trying to appease Pulp Fiction fans either. In fact I think hes been moving away from that film as much as he can for his own artistic happiness.
What you seem to be saying at the core of your statement is that you want Pulp Fiction 2. Nothing else will be accepted or be good enough for you, the master of manure farming.
Kilgore, I think it’s just a case of the artists you’ve mentioned (including QT) doing what they enjoy the way they want to do it and just critics and fans CALLING it groundbreaking because it IS so different. If an artist were to wake up in the morning and say, “Okay, I’m going to write today, and if it ain’t groundbreaking, I’m throwing it out,” that artist would go completely and utterly insane. You can’t reinvent the wheel every time you go out to bat… people can THINK you did, and you can be like, “Wow, that wasn’t nothing! I guess people really love me!” If an artist creates their art with what they think people expect from them in their head, they’d never get anything done.
Some artists are really only in it for the money… but others just live day by day having ideas they think are cool and work on em… and hopefully someone else will think they’re cool too.
I disagree. I have been a performing guitarist for many many bands during my lifetime. The one caveat of being a “cool” band is that you do something that nobody else does or has ever done. If you are just some cover band that plays stuff that you can hear on a jukebox- you SUCK. In my opinion, DP is exactly that. I liked it, don’t get me wrong. But it ain’t ground-breaking. My original point was that I liked DP, but just wished that it had been more ground-breaking. I wish that a lot more of the directors and musicians out there were more ground-breaking. It’s not just in music and cinema. The whole world is on this 1970’s kick where they want everything to be “throw-back”. You see it in fashion, you see it in cinema, you even see it in the new automobile models (check out the new Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro - both look almost like the 1970 models did). <LINK_TEXT text=“Engines, Transmissions, Components and Upgrades | Performance … amoconcept”>Engines, Transmissions, Components and Upgrades | Performance</LINK_TEXT> http://www.drulie.com/IMAGES/2008Challenger_b.jpg This is lame. I want new stuff that will make me say “wow…that’s something like I’ve never seen in my life”. The main thing is that I’m not trying to compare DP to Pulp. Only a fool would do something like that because it’s not an apples to apples comparason.
I don’t think Kilgore’s dim at all. He may have bigger expectations and parameters for his favorite artist than we do, maybe. I don’t know, I can’t begin to assume what he’s thinking or what he isn’t thinking. I can only say it isn’t easy to be a popular artist in any genre when you already have a multitude of fans that have now placed the bar at a certain level and if you don’t rise above that level you’re done. It’s a lot to ask for.
Now having said that, whenever Quentin talks about Inglorious Bastards, he says that it’s something he always wanted to do but no entertainment medium had even come close to being able to present it the way he was imagining it, but that now it’s “getting there.” I can’t wait. It’s going to be amazing. I have complete and total faith in that.
I can say I have NEVER been disappointed in anything Quentin has ever done.
Kilgore: Well, you can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets through first. I dont think artists can control what others perceive to be groundbreaking, they have to be true to themselves and do what they think is cool first. I dont think QT was ever out to be known as a groundbreaking artist, he was simply making the kinds of films he always wanted to see. It so happened that his first two films were loved by alot of people that liked his style alot. He cant keep doing the same things again and again. I dont think he really ever has, which is great.
The name of this thread is “Death Proof Critique” - and yet you jump on anybody’s ass whose critique differs from yours. There used to be a country full of people that think like you - USSR - and they had KGB officers ready to fuck anybody who opposed them up. I think that you should have your own agency - PCP - the Pete Cinema Police - anyone who doesn’t agree with the authority of Pete will be drawn and quartered. Or even worse, they can be done like veal - caged in your bedroom and forced to exist on big gulps and butterfingers - and most of all - denied any form of exercise…this will of course fatten the victim up and prepare him for the re-education process. :o
