Death Proof (Blu-ray) (2007)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Featurette-Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof Featurette-Kurt Russel as Stuntman Mike Featurette-Finding Quentin's Gals Featurette-The Guys of Death Proof Featurette-Introducting Zoe Bell Featurette-Quentin's Greatest Collaborator: Editor Sally Menke Trailer-Death Proof and Double Dare Featurette-The Hot Rods of Death Proof Gallery-Photo-International Poster Gallery Music Highlights-Extended Music Cues
Rating
Year Of Production	2007
Running Time	113:00
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Quentin Tarantino
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Kurt Russell Zoe Bell Rosario Dawson Vanessa Ferlito Sydney Tamiia Poitier Tracie Thoms
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired Spanish	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Quentin Tarantino is one of the most adept and stylish wordsmiths in the history of cinema. In his hands the banalities of modern life are rendered fresh and vital. So it is difficult to explain then the scriptological mess that is Death Proof. What could have led the man who wrote several of the sharpest films in recent memory to pen something that commits the very worst transgression in the Tarantino Commandments - the sin of being boring?

     It can't be the format. The history of the Grindhouse Project, the plan to recreate the feel of a 70s schlock cinema experience, is well known. Combining the two films of Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez into one cinema experience, complete with fake trailers and missing film reels, seemed like a hoot on paper. For reasons that aren't entirely clear it nosedived at the Box Office and Harvey "Scissorhands" Weinstein separated the two films and tried to make them individual money earners. It didn't work. Perhaps they were conjoined twins who shared only one heart? The Grindhouse set can now be purchased on Blu-ray. Perhaps this remains the only way to experience the films at their best? In order to release the film as a solo effort Tarantino stuck 27 minutes back into the film. Twenty seven minutes that was left out in the first place. Twenty seven long minutes.

     The plot of Death Proof is so flimsy that it is barely worth the ink to write it down. Not that this is a criticism. The grindhouse films of the 60s and 70s were well known for their illogical plots, often poor acting and banal dialogue. But generally they were brief, full of appalling conduct and instantly forgettable. This is the sort of élan which Death Proof, in this extended version, should but doesn't possess. So, back to the plot. A trio of girls drive to a bar in Austin Texas where they hang out. They meet up with Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) who creeps them out a little, particularly given he drives a matte black 1971 Chevy Nova with a skull on the bonnet. When home time comes he offers a lift to another girl (Rose McGowan) then involves them all in a horrendous accident. Cut to a new place, Lebanon Tennessee and a new bunch of girls including Rosario Dawson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Stuntman Mike appears, gets them involved in a deadly road game. The end.

     As said, the plot is not really a problem. What is a problem is the interminable dialogue between each set of girls. As they talk about men and good times the air slowly leaks out of the film. There is some decent non-CGI action particularly involving real stuntwoman Kiwi (or is she Australian? ) Zoe Bell. It is fantastic to see some real stunts in a modern film but I wish it wasn't such a chore getting there.

     The scenes that work are not just the action moments but some of the dread laden moments in the bar as Mike starts to unwind his creepiness. Russell proves how well he can walk the line of charm and evil. The car itself deserves a mention - a black, scary beast.

     I wanted to like Death Proof but in the end it was just a little too dull. Although Tarantino drops his references everywhere, most particularly to the 70s existential car movie Vanishing Point, the film is really only enjoyable in parts. Shame Quentin. Who knows, shorn of 27 minutes it might just be the hoot and holler it promised to be on paper.

Video

     Death Proof was reviewed on DVD when it was released on that format. The film is in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

     Ben faced the same problem as I do now. How do you rate the quality of a transfer where the film has been manipulated to make it look intentionally bad; faded, scratched and damaged? The answer is to look deeper into the movie. When the film starts it is a mess of added marks and faded image. It looks, intentionally, rubbish. Even worse, for High Definition viewers is that many of the scratches look "new". I can't mark the film down for artefacts and excessive grain because it is meant to be there! After the first "set of girls", however, Tarantino firstly displays the film in a crisp black and white and then lets the film assume a normal colour image quality and the finer details of the Blu-ray emerge. In fact, it has a pleasing level of detail, particularly in the close-ups and the colours are suitably garish. The flesh tones are pretty accurate.

     Aside from the "defects" referred to above there are no technical problems with this transfer.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired and Spanish.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The prime soundtrack for Death Proof is English True HD. There is a wealth of other language options in Dolby Digital 5.1. These include English, French, Italian and Spanish.

     As with the image quality the film initially has a number of pops, crackles and sonic blemishes intentionally added to the track to make it sound like rubbish. It does. Dialogue is often choppy with words missing where the print has been spliced and badly joined back together. Again this is meant to be there so it can't be criticized.

     Otherwise the dialogue is clear and easy to understand.Tarantino has opted for a pretty raw sound for the film. The bass rumbles with Mike's car and the surrounds are well used in the chase scenes.

     As usual, Tarantino has dug into some obscure archives for the music for the film. This time he uses some distinctly Italian tunes from the 60s and 70s, some from films, including Ennio Morricone. The standout, also used for the menu screen is Serge Gainsbourg's Chick Habit as performed by April March. Real grindhouse stuff.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Death Proof came out at the same time as this Blu-ray in a double DVD edition with heaps of extras. They are reviewed in the DVD review. It is perhaps not surprising that, except for a few minor additions, the extras on the Blu-ray are the same. They are:

The Hot Rods of Death Proof

Trailers for Death Proof Double Dare

Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof

Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike

Introducing Zoe Bell

Finding Quentin's Gals

The Guys of Death Proof (8:14)

Casting Rebel

Uncut Version of Baby It's You

Quentin’s Greatest Collaborator : Editor Sally Menke

    The couple of extra extras for the Blu-ray are:

International Poster Gallery

     A selection of posters for the film including one, inexplicably, featuring Danny Trejo.

Extended Music Cues

     This is like a juke box. Three tunes are available to listen to in full. They are
Ennio Morricone - Unexpected Violence Guido and Mauritzio de Angelis - Gangster Story Franco Micalizzi - Italia a Man Armata

    The versions available in different Regions have the same feature set and specifications as this release.

Death Proof is a surprising mis-step for Tarantino. A chance to just go wild with the promise of low brow destruction has been missed in favour of dull dialogue and little action. When the action does happen it is pretty hot though.

     The look and sound of the film is as good as the conceit allows.

     The extras are pretty good though nothing really special for Blu-ray owners.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall