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Grindhouse to be split-up for DVD ? (1 Viewer)

Adam_WM

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Won't buy this or Planet Terror until the GRINDHOUSE release (if it ever happens).
 

Bryan Tuck

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I dunno. I agree that the theatrical release should be preserved, but I really didn't like Death Proof that much. The fact that this screened in competition at Cannes makes me laugh. Submitting one of these films for competition in a festival like Cannes is the total antithesis of what the "Grindhouse" experience was supposed to simulate.

Which is why I guess I was disappointed with Death Proof overall. It seemed like it almost tried to become a "good" movie, and while I normally love Tarantino's character conversations, they didn't belong in a movie like this. I thought Planet Terror was much more fun, and more in keeping with what R&T claimed they were going for. And I agree with George; the missing reel gag in PT worked so much better (didn't realize DP wasn't scripted that way; thanks, Travis).

I think the smarter thing would be to release it both ways right off the bat; i.e. separate releases and "theatrical experience." I know that sounds opposite of conventional wisdom, but a few years back, when Fox was doing it's whole single-disc now, 2-disc later thing (The Day After Tomorrow, I, Robot, etc.), there were a couple of those that I considered buying, but decided to wait on. Then, when the SEs finally came out, I had decided not to buy the movies after all. You wait too long, and the interest dies down.

So, again, I dunno. I'd like for the whole experience to be preserved, but Planet Terror is the only one that I'm really interested in buying, so that part of me is sort of glad that they're being released separately.
 

Sean Richardson

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that's interesting because I felt exactly the opposite. I felt like 'Planet Terror' was trying to have it both ways -- deliberately badly acted, deliberately written by the numbers, deliberately cheesy, etc. -- which seems to miss the spirit of the original grindhouse movies, where they were trying as hard as they could to make things that were good. Tarantino tried (and, in my mind, succeeded) to make a real movie in the style of grindhouse cinema, where Rodriguez seemed to only embrace the style inasmuch as he could make fun of it.
 

Derek Miner

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I agree for the most part. Actors trying to act bad is distinctly different than bad acting. 'Planet Terror' was so much pastiche to me that I felt off-kilter through most of the movie, like I was missing something.
 

George_W_K

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I guess that's why I liked Planet Terror so much more than Death Proof because it was more of a satire of a bad movie instead of just imitating a bad movie. When the hero was riding on the mini bike, I almost fell out of my seat from laughter. In Death Proof there was a lot of dialogue that just went no where and while I understand that's what these movies were like back in the day, there's a reason these movies were considered bad. I'm not saying I didn't like Death Proof, it was ok, but I would have preferred more of a satire.
 

Grant H

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So does anyone know if they're really putting back the missing reel in Death Proof. That was the lap dance, so I can only see that addition improving the film. I'd actually approve of this move since Planet Terror had the abused print look, but Death Proof pretty much looked like a new movie to me. The missing reel gag doesn't work quite as well.

The best part of the Grindhouse experience is arguably the previews though. Will they be included on both releases? And will we see them in all their unrated glory?
 

Nathan V

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I agree with Travis- Robert made fun of low-budget 70s movies, while Quentin decided to go ahead and make one, albeit in his own style. Two different aproaches, both very engaging. And for my part I'd have to say Death Proof looks nothing like a new movie- the faded quality of the stock and color tones screamed 70s.

Regards,
Nathan
 

Jason Seaver

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Although, by the time we're getting into the big car chase in the last act, Tarantino lets the picture get pretty clean - he wants us to see what's going on.

Will I be considered a bad person if I allow that a part of me likes the idea that, at least for a while, you only get the full Grindhouse experience if see it in a theater?
 

Stephen_J_H

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No. The Drive-In Classics line with Distorto Sound option was a decent simulacrum of the drive-in experience, but if Grindhouse has to be experienced in the theatre for a while, I have no complaints. I may even catch it this weekend.
 

Jason Seaver

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I'm also thinking in slightly petty terms - if you couldn't be bothered to go to the theater for a single-admission double feature that paid tribute to a theatrical experience, well, no fake trailers for you.
 

Chris Lockwood

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> People keeping talking about a "film" but this is two seperate movies, not one.

That's funny- why is there a title (Grindhouse) for the whole thing, why did the theatrical experience involve buying one ticket to see it all, and why are they being discussed together in this thread? Why haven't I seen any articles or news about either part by itself?

This is 2 movies in the same way that the 1980s Twilight Zone was 4 movies.

I just assumed when this came out on DVD, it would be a 2 or 3 disc set that had everything plus some extras. I guess they don't want many of us to buy it.
 

Jeff Newcomb

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Because in North America, the two movies were marketed as one experience called "Grindhouse." They were not marketed that way anywhere else in the world. They were released as separate features. Tarantino and Rodriguez may have come up with the idea together, and they may have collaborated on the marketing, but they made two very distinct feature length films. I am glad that I got to experience the Grindhouse double-feature, but outside of the cinema, it kind of loses its appeal to me anyway.
 

JeffMc

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I'm amazed at the people who keep preaching that GRINDHOUSE should NEVER be available on DVD because it was simply a "theatrical experience". Well, that could be said about any movie. No movie should be on DVD because they were made for theaters. And the fact remains, neither DEATH PROOF or PLANET TERROR would ever have been made at all except for being part of the complete GRINDHOUSE film. There were other countries (such as the UK) that were supposed to get the GH version as well, until it flopped here and the plans changed.

Great, a lot of people want the separate releases because they can't conceive that the full GH experience would work on their home-theater system. That's fine. But based on threads and comments all over the web, it seems a LOT more of the fans want the complete experience they saw in the theater: scratches, missing reels, fake trailers in the right spots, ratings bumpers, Acuna Boys restaurant ad, etc. - they want GRINDHOUSE and they want it at home. Joe Blow only wants "DEATH PROOF" so he dictates that GRINDHOUSE should not be on DVD. It's only for theaters. Mark Moron only wants PLANET TERROR becuse DEATH PROOF sucks so he's glad he won't have to buy GH so that he won't have to own DEATH PROOF. Good for him. People who don't want GRINDHOUSE don't have to buy it! I don't want SPIDER-MAN 2 so I won't buy that. SPIDER-MAN 2 should only be seen on the big screen anyway - it doesn't translate to home theaters. Duh.

People who want GRINDHOUSE aren't telling everybody else that the separate-restored releases shouldn't be put out as well. So it's really amazing that certain people keep wanting to dictate that a certain major film release (with its own opening and closing credits and produced and eventually sold as one entity) should never be seen on DVD. You don't want it. Don't buy it. But don't tell everybody else we are wrong because we want the original theatrical release. If GRINDHOUSE had been a success in theaters, it DEFINITELY would have been released on DVD, no question whatsoever.
 

Jason Seaver

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I don't think anybody is saying that Grindhouse should never be available on DVD... Although I, personally, wouldn't really mind if it's not, at least not right away. This is, admittedly, mostly for petty reasons - I would love to see all the people who talk about not going to theaters have to rethink that position for future movies, both in terms of laughing at them and to get theaters more business. I'm not proud of thinking that, but the thought is there.

It'll happen eventually - The Weinsteins won't be able to resist an "Original Grindhouse Double Feature Edition" in a couple years - but in the meantime, there's something that feels right and proper about that double feature being something ephemeral and lost, like the grindhouses themselves.
 

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