'Grindhouse' films

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WGH

'Grindhouse' films
« on: 24 Dec 2020, 09:33 pm »
"A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theater that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults."1

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up in 2007 to make a double feature that pays homage to 1970's exploitation films that once were shown in the "grindhouse" theaters.

Planet Terror is written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Death Proof was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Each film is headlined by fake trailers of the same genre. Three spin-off films were later made, based on Grindhouse's fake trailers: Machete, Machete Kills (Netflix) and Hobo with a Shotgun.


1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindhouse

WGH

Re: 'Grindhouse' films
« Reply #1 on: 24 Dec 2020, 10:17 pm »


Planet Terror (2007) definitely earned it's R rating, what a wild ride and a blast to watch. A horror comedy, Planet Terror is 100% grindhouse exploiting everything: action, zombies, trucks, zombies, guns, zombies, military, zombies, plus a happy ending (watch to the very end of the credits). What's not to like?

Planet Terror plays like a classic 'B' movie including the look of a well worn 35mm film but it has 'A list' actors, directing and writing.

Robert Rodriguez has been making excellent films since 1992's El Mariachi following up in 1995 with Desperado and 1996's classic From Dusk till Dawn.
He also directed Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, Machete, Machete Kills (available on Netflix) and Alita: Battle Angel.

You may not know some of the 'A list' actors but you know their faces:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Terror
Rose McGowan
Freddy Rodriguez
Josh Brolin
Marley Shelton
Jeff Fahey
Michael Biehn
Bruce Willis
Quentin Tarantino
Michael Parks

Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCFQtc6BzyM&ab_channel=MovieclipsClassicTrailers

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RDavidson

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Re: 'Grindhouse' films
« Reply #2 on: 25 Dec 2020, 04:30 am »
Being a double feature, in the spirit of how old grindhouse movies were often shown in theaters, Death Proof definitely deserves a nod too. Of the two, I actually like Death Proof better than Planet Terror. However, I think Planet Terror has more of a true 'B' movie style but taken to another level, as Rodrigues is known for. Fun stuff.

WGH

Re: 'Grindhouse' films
« Reply #3 on: 29 Mar 2021, 10:42 pm »


Death Proof (2007) has no socially redeeming values at all, it is trashy, exploitative and violent, Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is conniving and despicable. All and all a perfect Grindhouse film your parents would hate.

The film is in the middle of Tarantino's filmography, it comes after his early successes: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill vol 1 & 2 and has all the director's trademark touches such as extended dialog with an underlying tension along with unexpected violence.

In the 1970's before CGI, car crashes and stunts were done with modified "death-proof" cars, so a driver could survive high-speed crashes and collisions. Stuntman Mike uses his car for a more nefarious purpose, to kill teenage girls, preferably while they are driving. He is as nasty as they come.



The film's second half is where the rubber meets the road when Mike tries his antics on three girls who will not back down. The car chases are for real and just as dangerous as they look. Real life stuntwoman Zoe Bell hangs on for dear life. Zoe was also the stunt double for Uma Thurman in the Kill Bill films.



Death Proof has been artificially aged, the film is weathered, discolored, and scratched with jagged jump cuts to mimic the wear-and-tear on an old film print that was damaged and repaired. I can imagine a person streaming Death Proof in 20 years not knowing anything about Quentin Tarantino and thinking they just discovered an authentic 1970's drive-in movie.

Tarantino is the writer, director and cinematographer, the film is his inspired re-telling of a classic exploitation slasher film. Rent it for your kids if you dare.



Trailers: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028528/?ref_=vp_back

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fredgarvin

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Re: 'Grindhouse' films
« Reply #4 on: 30 Mar 2021, 03:31 pm »
A returning Vietnam vet loses his family to a murderous home invasion and decides to seek out and kill the killers. Trucks, guns, a handsome hook. It has it all.

Rolling Thunder