Death Proof (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino (written by)

Release Date:

31 May 2007 (Hungary)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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:

Stuntman | Revenge | Female Bonding | Face Ripping Off | Dark Humor

Awards:

3 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) | Japan:113 min | USA:90 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

In an interview with Newsweek, Quentin Tarantino stated he came up with the idea of Death Proof when he was talking to a friend about buying a car. Tarantino wanted to buy a Volvo because he "didn't want to die in some auto accident like the one in Pulp Fiction (1994)". In regards to the safety of the car, his friend had said, "Well, you could take any car and give it to a stunt team, and for $10,000 or $15,000, they can death-proof it for you." The "death proof" phrase had stuck to Tarantino after that.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Through out the movie they simulate splices in the film, sometimes in key places like people's names. In movie projectors, the sound head is in a different location than the shutter/lens area and so the sound is a foot or two ahead of the picture frame that it corresponds with, so a splice will show a flicker then a second later hit the sound head and play static. In the movie, the sound and visual affects of the splice are simultaneous.

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 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Chick Habit

I don't understand why, but this is the film of the year for me

I can't figure this out, and I sincerely apologise if this is a useless review but Tarantino has done it again.

I find it difficult to explain why this film hit the spot when so many others did not. Tarantino definitely has a handle on reality, and doesn't need to create artificial story lines and make believe monsters to thrill and intrigue his audience. This is a film that illustrates our everyday idiosyncrasies and shows us both the real, yet dark side of humanity, and shows us that real life is far more exciting and intriguing than fantasy.

The dialogue between characters was funny, real, and interesting. Bringing together a variety of different characters (eg cheerleader, successful celebrity, ghetto girlie etc), he illustrates the common traits of the human psychology that we all pretend don't exist. Most other films take us into unrealistic fantasy, Tarantino knows reality is far more exciting!

Kurt Russell surpassed himself. He's been absent for too long, and his part in Death Proof leaves me wanting to see more from him. His acting was superb and I hope this film relights his career and we see more from him soon.

I definitely saw touches of Pulp Fiction in this film, but in a subtly different way.

Cinematography was awesome, and the use of weird and wonderful camera techniques made this film more than just interesting.

When it comes to films I'm a tough critic, I'm disappointed far more than I'm surprised so giving a 10 out of 10 for me is very unusual.

This is a clever, interesting, and unusual film that will appeal to serious lovers of movies. Tarantino is both a movie scholar and genius. I bow before you Quentin and hope desperately to see more like this.

Many thanks ... Shaun