From Dusk Till Dawn
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Details At A Glance
|
General
|
Extras
|
| Category |
Comedy/Horror |
Theatrical Trailer(s) |
None |
| Rating |
 |
Other Trailer(s) |
None |
| Year Released |
1997 |
Commentary Tracks |
None |
| Running Time |
103:27
(not 108 minutes as stated on the packaging) |
Other Extras |
None |
| RSDL/Flipper |
No/No |
Cast & Crew
|
| Start Up |
Movie |
| Region |
2, 4 |
Director |
Robert Rodriguez |
Studio
Distributor
|
Warner Home Video
|
Starring |
George Clooney
Quentin Tarantino
Harvey Keitel
Juliette Lewis |
| RRP |
$34.95 |
Music |
Graeme Revell |
|
Video
|
Audio
|
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame |
No |
MPEG |
None |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio |
1.78:1 |
Dolby Digital |
5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement |
Yes |
Soundtrack Languages |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0  ) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio |
1.85:1 |
Miscellaneous
|
| Macrovision |
No |
Smoking |
Yes |
| Subtitles |
English
French
English for the Hearing Impaired |
Annoying Product Placement |
No |
| Action In or After Credits |
No |
Plot Synopsis
Okay, you might have guessed by now that I have a slight
penchant for Robert Rodriguez's films. It's understandable, given
that he has basically taken the cost of my home stereo system and made
an award-winning film out of it. However, this is certainly one film he
has done which I am not going to commend right off the bat. Why, do I hear
you ask? Well, because it has Quentin Tarantino in it for more than
ten minutes, and in one of his most utterly annoying, masturbatory roles
to date for starters. Another good reason is that the dialogue, which is
mostly written by Tarantino, soon gets on the nerves because of its blatantly
feminophobic, xenophobic slant. As for the plot, it goes something like
this: Seth and Richard Gecko (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino
respectively) are on the run from the law in every state of the USA. They
flee to Mexico, taking Father Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), and
his two children Scott (Ernest Liu) and Kate (Juliette Lewis)
as hostages along the way. They eventually come to a bar called the Titty
Twister (okay, you can stop groaning now), which, as it turns out, is a
haven for vampires.
Other well-known names that appear in this film include
Danny
Trejo (the knife-thrower in Desperado
for those who don't already know), who plays a rather huge bartender, Salma
Hayek as a blood-thirsty table dancer, as well as Cheech Marin,
Cheech
Marin, and Cheech Marin. Yes, that's a long-hand way of telling
you that he appears as three distinct characters in the film. His performance
as Chet Pussy (the spruiker that the Gecko brothers beat up outside the
bar) is a memorable moment in the world of comedy by itself. However, since
I have the time, I have to tell you that Salma Hayek is a wonderful
example of Tarantino's anti-women style of writing. Her character is deliberately
made to be about as likeable as a mutated hybrid of Kenneth Starr, Ronald
Reagan, and George Bush, although I think this was a good idea because
she certainly didn't strike me as a human being in Desperado.
For those who read my review of that film and found my comments about Hayek's
acting offensive, all I can say is that I am trying to get across the fact
that her characters fail to elicit the slightest bit of sympathy from me.
Tito
and Tarantula, or members thereof, also make an appearance in the film
as the bar's band.
Transfer Quality
Video
This is a textbook video transfer, presented at an aspect
ratio of 1.78:1, with what appears to be a true 16x9 transfer. Although
the aspect ratio differs slightly from the original theatrical exhibition,
there doesn't really appear to be anything lost in the transition. The
transfer is consistently sharp and clear, although some of the backgrounds
tend to be blurred (usually deliberately by the director). Shadow detail
is surprisingly good, although there are surprisingly few shots with more
than twenty percent darkness in them. No low-level noise was apparent,
although I wasn't looking all that hard for it to begin with. No MPEG artefacts
were found, film-to-video artefacts were unnoticeable, and film artefacts
were so rare that they were a pleasant surprise when found. Essentially,
you're going to have to go looking for artefacts in this DVD rather than
the other way around.
Audio
The audio on this disc is presented in two flavours:
English Dolby Digital 5.1, and French Dolby Digital 2.0, which is incorrectly
labelled as Dolby Digital 5.1 on the packaging for some reason. The dialogue
was mostly clear and audible, although there were some moments where the
clarity of the dialogue was lost because of overbalance towards the music
or sound effects. These, on the minor occasions when they did occur, were
quite mild. However, audio sync seemed to be a real problem with this disc.
Although this problem is minimized on my player, it does become noticeable
in at least ten percent of the film. I believe this may be a problem with
the film itself rather than the disc, because of Robert Rodriguez's
approach to editing. From memory, the same problem was noticed with the
VCR version a couple of years ago.
Although Graeme Revell
is credited with writing the music score on this film, I would estimate
that less than twenty percent of the total music in the film is actually
his work. Other pleasant favourites by the likes of Tito and Tarantula
and ZZ Top pop up quite frequently. Jon Wayne's
Texas
Funeral is a laugh-a-minute song, and lyrics are even provided if you
turn on the English for the Hard Of Hearing subtitles!
Extras
Extras? This is a Touchstone release, so don't expect
any extras.
R4 vs R1
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
Although I don't foresee myself getting a 16x9 television
anytime soon, I would still prefer it to a pair of theatrical trailers.
[Addendum 27th January. Ed: Dean has now acquired
a 16x9 capable TV set.]
Summary
From Dusk Till Dawn is one of Robert Rodriguez's
weaker films, presented on a quality DVD.
The video quality is first-rate, although this may
be more because of the source material than anything else.
The audio quality is excellent except for sync problems
that vary according to player. While this was a problem often remarked
upon on a friend's locally-made Sony DVD player, it was hardly noticeable
on my German-made Grundig.
The extras are standard Touchstone fare: non-existent.
| Video |
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| Audio |
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| Extras |
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| Plot |
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| Overall |
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© Dean McIntosh
January 14, 2000
Amended January 27, 2000
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Review Equipment
|
| |
|
| DVD |
Grundig GDV 100 D |
| Display |
Panasonic 51cm and 68 cm models, via RCA inputs. Sony
90 cm model, via RCA inputs. |
| Audio Decoder |
None |
| Amplification |
Sony STR-DE535 |
| Speakers |
Panasonic S-J1500D front speakers, Sharp CP-303A back
speakers, Sony SS-CN120 centre speaker, Yamaha B100-115SE subwoofer |
