The protagonist is George Clooney (the two even became friends while working on this film), and among the co-protagonists here come Harvey Keitel and a very young Juliette Lewis who would go on to be a star of the Nineties (see for example Natural Born Killers by Oliver Stone, another film based on a Tarantino’s script, and Strange Days by Kathryn Bigelow). The cast is remarkable, as it was and still is customary for the projects of the actor and director of Italian origins. The director is Tarantino’s friend Robert Rodriguez, who had already collaborated with him in Four Rooms that came out, what a coincidence, in 1995.īut let’s get to From Dusk Till Dawn. Tarantino at that time was still working on his career as an actor, as testified by his interpretation crushed by the critics in Destiny Turns on the Radio, also released in 1995. Among other things, it was the year in which the weird From Dusk Till Dawn came out, based on a script that he wrote for 1,500 dollars kinda as an excuse for Robert Kurtzman’s special effects rather than to write a cinematic masterpiece (in fact, it’s deliberately a B-movie, at least in the second part!). The kidnappers and their victims go inside to await a rendezvous for a money drop, and that's when the vampire plot begins.1995 was a particularly prolific year for Quentin Tarantino. The doorman is played by Cheech Marin, who also plays two other roles, popping up to often he doesn't need the vampire plot to qualify as undead. In Mexico, the mobile home wheels up to the Titty Twister, a scroungy strip joint with a bizarre decor (this goes next door to Jack Rabbit Slim's in the Tarantino Mall). Rodriguez doesn't make it very real, though, wisely handling the death of a harmless bank teller in flashes too quick to be seen, since more detail would sink the macabre mix of violence and humor. His son thinks he knows better: "Dad - I watch the reality shows!" The charm of the dialog in these scenes has a lot of competition from the state-of-the-art mayhem, which leaves blood and brains spattered everywhere. The minister is inclined to cooperate with the desperadoes. Now the minister and his kids are heading south in a mobile home the Gekkos hope to hide in while crossing the border. The minister has left the church after the death of his wife, leaving an opening for another of Tarantino's passages of theological dialog. Holed up in a sleazebag motel, they take hostages: a former Baptist minister ( Harvey Keitel) and his children ( Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu). Richard has helped Seth break out of prison, and now they're heading for the Mexican border with the bank loot, and Richard, who is a rabid loony, is blasting everyone in sight, including innocent bystanders. They've robbed a bank and left a trail of dead and wounded (all toted up by a TV news reporter's digital carnage readout). After the title sequence, we get to know the central characters, Seth and Richard Gekko ( George Clooney and Tarantino). Those who liked the shoot-outs in Rodriguez's " El Mariachi" and " Desperado" will like the second half, which is non-stop mayhem in a scuzzy bikers' and truckers' strip joint, with lots of vampires, exploding eyeballs, cascading guts, and a weapon made out of a powered wooden stake (I guess you could call it a Pneumatic Vampire Drill). Those who loved the invention of Tarantino's dialog in " Pulp Fiction" will like the first half, especially a brilliant pre-title sequence featuring Michael Parks as a Texas Ranger who creates a whole world out of a little dialogue. Actually, a lot of people will hate half of the movie and like the other half.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |