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

[TravisR]

Me neither. I think that once I see the extended cut of Death Proof (which I presume is Tarantino's favored version since it's seems safe to assume he'd show his preferred version at Cannes), I doubt I'll be seriously interested in seeing the shorter version of it again.

That being said, I'd still like to have Grindhouse if only for the fun of being able to get the grindhouse theater double feature vibe that Tarantino and Rodriguez were going for.

 

[Jeff Newcomb]

I certainly never said that the Grindhouse experience should never be made available on DVD. I just don't think that it's a big deal that it's not right now. Just because I'm not up in arms that two films that were presented as a double feature in theaters are not being presented that way on DVD, doesn't mean I'm trying to stop anyone from ever being able to buy it that way.

If the Weinsteins choose to make that experience available down the road too, that's great. Hell, I might even buy it. They could even include "The Complete Grindhouse Experience" as a bonus disc with the individual Death Proof and Planet Terror special editions.

 

[George_W_K]

I put together a home "theater" so I could have as close to the theater experience at home as possible. That's why I'm at this forum. That's why I want the Grindhouse to be one feature like at the theater. I think it'll be just fine at home with not much lost, at least for me. Just invite a few people over and have a Grindhouse party.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

That's just WRONG!!!

 

[Ruz-El]

I don't understand how having the movies split on seperate DVDs counts as ruining the experiance.

See, you put in the "Planet Terror" DVD, and it should have the Machette trailor, some old bumpers, then the movie. Then you put in "Death Proof", and you see some more trailers and bumpers, then the movie.

You've just replicated the theatrical experiance. It's not like they're selling you each disc from "Lawrence Of Arabia" seperately. The only thing missing would be the "GRINDHOUSE" scroll that opened the pictures (which could play as an intro to the menues), and the final credits for all the trailers and such. That gets a big "who cares" from me.

By having 2 releases, you'll probably end up with a 4 disc set of Grindhouse, and if they come out on the same day, there will probably be a bundled with both packed together at a cheaper price.

Canadians should be the ones crying foul, I doubt any edition will have the "Hobo With A Shotgun" trailer that was better then many of the official ones.

I'm going to wait until the official announcments before I start complaining.

 

[JeffMc]

If you've been following the story, you would know, at least at this point, that DEATH PROOF has been restored to a 117-minute length. Therefore, it will not be the same version as seen in GRINDHOUSE. Missing reel replaced and I have no idea if the scratches and jump-cuts, etc. have also been cleaned up (yes, I know, there were a lot less in the second half of DP anyway). So this is simply not about connecting two DVD's together and it becomes the same entity. Plus, since it looks like PLANET TERROR is not coming out around the same time, I don't think the Weinstein Company is concerned one bit about preserving the GH experience on DVD at this particular moment. It looks like it's a pure Tarantino push here (and I have a feeling the only reason we are seeing the KILL BILL 4-disc right now is as a major-release tie-in to recoup some of the GH financial loss). I don't think that Acuna Boys trailer or any of the others will be shown before DP on this DVD, and even if they are, it's still not the same DP unless they include both versions on the two discs. Now that would be great, so you may be right - let's just wait and see. I do think we'll eventually see a GH release someday after everything else is milked dry. It appears that Weinstein doesn't have a lot of faith in PT on its own, though, so they may be waiting to see how well DP and KB does before they figure out what the next release will be, either GH or PT. All conjecture, of course...

 

[TravisR]

I think the much more likely scenario is that they're just waiting a couple of weeks in order to release it closer to Halloween since it's a horror movie.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

So I finally saw this on the weekend and enjoyed it. Ironically, it was playing at a discount theatre in West Edmonton Mall, so I got 2 features for $3.50, which harks back to the Grindhouse days if anything does.

I must beg to differ with all of you on which is the superior film and whether Planet Terror is a satire of grindhouse cinema. Both films are great, and they represent two different paradigms of grindhouse filmmaking. Planet Terror is from the Roger Corman-New World Pictures paradigm, where everything is gleefully over the top and not taken too terribly seriously (e.g. Death Race 2000, which I saw as an impresssionable youngster at the drive-in). Death Proof is QT's love letter to Jack Hill, borrowing heavily from the likes of Coffy and Switchblade Sisters. A mismatch? Maybe, but who says that in the grindhouse days, films were perfectly paired? A lot of double features in the 70s and 80s (grindhouses and drive-ins included) were based on what the distributor was willing to send. I remember seeing Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Foul Play at the drive-in, just as one example. You don't get more disparate than that.

In other words, this project replicates the grindhouse experience almost perfectly. I'm just sad we won't get to see any sequels, as a Don't/Thanksgiving double feature would be priceless.

 

[BrettGallman]

Actually, Eli Roth has discussed doing a sequel. He claims he wants to shoot it in about a week for $500,000. That would be interesting.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

And would be truer to the grindhouse genre. The only thing that bugged me about Planet Terror was that the effects were just a li'l too slick. A minor quibble, and one that didn't ruin my enjoyment of the film.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I, for one, will be very disappointed not to have "Grindhouse" on DVD in the same form that I saw it in theaters. When I walked out of the theater after seeing it, one of my first thoughts was that I couldn't wait for the DVD -- it would have been perfect for a home theater viewing, the way the "Warner Night at the Movies" feature on some of their DVDs is.

If they want to release the films separately, that's fine, I have no problem with that. But I strongly believe that those releases should be secondary to a release that features "Grindhouse" as it was seen in theaters. I don't think it flopped because people didn't like it; when I saw it, it was a Sunday afternoon showing after it had been out for a couple weeks, the place was pretty much packed, and everyone had a great time. I think the marketing was botched beyond belief, and most people didn't even have a chance to find out what they were missing out on.

Whether it's for viewing in my home theater, or a rental for some teenager's slumber party, "Grindhouse" should have a DVD release that is faithful to the original theatrical presentation. While I'd prefer it to be the "main" release of the films, I don't really care that much if it's as a bonus disc in a set, a stand-alone, or whatever. I just want to have it. And I'd prefer to have it sooner vs. later. I don't really care about buying either of the films on their own. What I want is to be able to have a bunch of friends over late one night and show them what I saw in theaters, as I saw it.

I'll be disappointed if I don't get that chance, or if I have to wait for a secondary DVD release way down the line. Boo.

 

[Ruz-El]

I can understand wanting to preserve the theatrical experiance. I just figured from day one this would be split across 2 discs regardless of scenes being cut back into it, to accomodate commentaries, features, etc. If all the material that was in the theaters are released on the 2 sets, I really don't see how the theater experiance is destroyed.

 

[Ed Moroughan]

How about a 3 disc set. Disc 1 - Grindhouse (theater version), Disc 2 - Planet Terror (uncut, if there is such a thing), Disc 3 - Death Proof (uncut). Marketed at $25. Yay! One wishes...

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Make it a 4-disc, with special features on a disc all their own and I'm there.

 

[BarryS]

I disagree with the general consensus. I'm glad the two films are being separated. I think Planet Terror and Death Proof will work even better as stand-alone features. Particularly Death Proof. I deeply love Grindhouse as a whole, but I think it's a bit too much for one sitting. A review of the Cannes cut of Death Proof from Variety had this to say, which I totally agree with:

"when "Death Proof" was part of the giant "Grindhouse" package, the big car chase kicked in around the two-and-a-half-hour point, meaning a certain fatigue factor had inevitably set in. If only for that reason, or perhaps because it's so well executed that it bears repeat scrutiny very well, the chase -- as well as the fisticuffs capper -- proves even more exhilarating the second time around."

Bring on the Death Proof extended DVD!! I can't wait.

 

[Mike Heenan]

ACtually he wants to do a movie that consists solely of trailers which would be in the vein of Kentucky Fried Movie, etc.

 

[DexterPQ]

October 16th:
Planet Terror (2 Disc Set)

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Wow, they didnt even bother to release them on the same day. Terrible !