Death Proof (2007)

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino (written by)

Release Date:

31 May 2007 (Hungary)

Genre:

Crime

Tagline:

A White-Hot Juggernaut At 200 Miles Per Hour!

Plot:

Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.

Plot Keywords:

Face Ripping Off | Death In Title | Vehicular Homicide | Villain Played By Lead Actor | Sex Talk

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Stuntman Mike
Zoe Bell	...	Herself (as Zoë Bell)
Rosario Dawson	...	Abernathy
Vanessa Ferlito	...	Arlene
Sydney Tamiia Poitier	...	Jungle Julia (as Sydney Poitier)
Tracie Thoms	...	Kim
Rose McGowan	...	Pam
Jordan Ladd	...	Shanna
Mary Elizabeth Winstead	...	Lee
Quentin Tarantino	...	Warren
Marcy Harriell	...	Marcy
Eli Roth	...	Dov
Omar Doom	...	Nate
Michael Bacall	...	Omar
Monica Staggs	...	Lanna Frank

Also Known As:

Grindhouse Presents: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (USA) (DVD title)
Grindhouse: Death Proof (International: English title)
Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (USA) (complete title)
Quentin Tarantino's Thunder Bolt (USA) (informal alternative title)
Quentin Tarantino's Thunder Bolt! (USA) (working title)
Thunder Bolt (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

114 min (international version) | USA:90 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | UK:18 | Australia:MA (2007) | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R (No. 43396) | Ireland:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Brazil:16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Spain:18 | Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | Australia:MA (Original rating) | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Hong Kong:IIB | Germany:16 | Hungary:18 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

In the uncut European version, Kim says she has to pee while at a liquor store. Lee and Abernathy respond, "That's a little more information then we needed to know." This is a reference to Pulp Fiction (1994) in which Uma Thurman says this to John Travolta.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the closing credits, Buellton, California, is misspelled as "Buelleton."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Arlene: [shouting to Jungle Julia] Hold on, I gotta come up! I gotta take the world's biggest fuckin' piss!

Movie Connections:

References Shaft (1971)

Soundtrack:

Gangster Story

Tarantino's GRINDHOUSE!!!

While Quentin Tarantino's half of 2007's Grindhouse double-feature is a great film, I would consider it the weaker film of the two. Tarantino attempts to invoke the feel of the slasher and car chase exploitation films of the 70s. The film revolves around Stuntman Mike, a demented individual who gets his kicks from stalking women and killing them with his "death-proof" stunt cars. The film boasts an awesome cast, the usual hip Tarantino dialogue, and one of the best car chases I've ever seen but it suffers a bit from slow pacing and an inconstant feeling between the two halves of the movie.

Two of my favorite aspects of any Tarantino film are the casting and the dialogue, and he continues to please with his latest film. To start, Kurt Russell was AWESOME as Stuntman Mike. He starts with the creepy vibe of a deliberate, calculated stalker with deranged tendencies and we eventually see him evolve into, well, something else COMPLETELY; I won't go into too much detail because I'd hate to ruin it for those who haven't seen it. I don't think any other actor would have fit as well into this role as Russell does.

The stuntman's prey were just as vital to the film and we get some great performances from the women. All-in-all, there are eight women that cross Mike's path through the course of this film. Syndey Poitier was fun to hate (well, I hated her...) as the arrogant Jungle Julia; despite having seen her "tender" side in a minor subplot (that goes by so fast you'll miss it if you blink), I was hoping she'd get what was coming to her. Vanessa Ferlito was probably the best of the first four girls, as she was the most relatable, and I think most of the audience will find themselves hoping she pulls through until the end. Jordan Ladd's character of Shanna...well, she's there; there isn't too much development for her so she always seemed to sink into the background of scenes she was in. Finally, the first group of girls to encounter Mike includes Rose McGowan who injects her usual brand of sexiness and sarcastic humor into the first act. The second group of girls is way more fun to watch. We get great performances from Tracie Thoms and Rosario Dawson while it appears Mary Elizabeth Winstead's only reason for being there is to look good in a cheerleader uniform. The most impressive performance from the "victims" came from newcomer Zoe Bell; Bell has worked as a stuntwoman in movies for a couple years and met Tarantino while acting as Uma Thurman's stunt double in his Kill Bill saga. This movie is Bell's first attempt at acting and she has enough charisma to make the audience love her and, later, keeps them on the edge of their seat when she's strapped to the hood of a speeding 1970 Dodge Challenger.

Which brings me to the best reason to see this movie: the final car chase. It completely blew me away when I first saw it in theaters. We are treated to an intense car chase with some gorgeous classics...a 1969 Dodge Charger and a 1970 Dodge Challenger. The scene had to be nearly 20 minutes long and it includes some of the most intense car-based stunts I've seen on film. Once again, I've got to say that Bell was incredible and she has got some serious nerve to do what she does in this movie. Any problems I had with this film while watching were completely erased by the time the final chase had come to an end.

I didn't really have many complaints about Tarantino's Grindhouse feature but there were a couple things that grated on me. I felt that there was a bit too much character development in between the two great action scenes. After about 10 minutes, I had a good feel for the characters. I knew who I liked or disliked and why, and I was eager to get to the real action but there were points where it felt like it took forever. I love Tarantino's dialogue, but I felt there was a little more talking than necessary this time around. My only other problem with the film was that the two acts felt like two different movies. The first act held true to the gritty, Grindhouse-feel while the second half seemed more cleaned-up and modern. For instance, in the second half of the film, it seemed as if Tarantino and editor Sally Menke gave up on the scratched, worn film reel look as I don't remember seeing much of it after we introduced to the new girls. As a result, it gave the movie an inconstant feel.

Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons by quite a bit and, though it may stall a bit at times, Tarantino's movie still manages to rock from start to finish. It may not have been as entertaining as Robert Rodriguez's portion but it was still a great film and one that I'd recommend (ESPECIALLY if you can watch the complete Grindhouse double-feature with trailers...that had to be my absolute favorite movie of 2007).