Death Proof
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| Death Proof | |
|---|---|
.jpg/200px-Death_Proof_(Netherlands).jpg) Dutch theatrical release poster. |
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| Directed by | Quentin Tarantino |
| Produced by | Elizabeth Avellan Erica Steinberg Robert Rodriguez Quentin Tarantino |
| Written by | Quentin Tarantino |
| Starring | Kurt Russell Rosario Dawson Vanessa Ferlito Jordan Ladd Sydney Poitier Tracie Thoms Mary Elizabeth Winstead Zoë Bell Rose McGowan Marley Shelton Marcy Harriell |
| Cinematography | Robert Rodriguez Quentin Tarantino |
| Editing by | Sally Menke |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films The Weinstein Company |
| Release date(s) | September 21, 2007 |
| Running time | 114 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Death Proof is a 2007 film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, about a psychopathic stunt man who targets young women, murdering them with his "death proof" stunt car. The film, a tribute to the slasher film/serial killer genre, stars Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoë Bell and Rose McGowan. Death Proof was released theatrically in the United States as part of a double feature with Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror under the title Grindhouse in order to replicate the experience of viewing exploitation films in a "grindhouse" theater.
Grindhouse was released on April 6, 2007. Ticket sales performed significantly below box office analysts' expectations despite strong reviews. In much of the rest of the world, each feature was released separately, with Death Proof screened in an extended version.[1][2] Two soundtracks were also released for the features and include music and audio snippets from the film. Death Proof was released separately on DVD in the United States on September 18, 2007.
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[edit] Plot
Three friends – Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), Shanna (Jordan Ladd) and radio disc jockey "Jungle Julia" Lucai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) – are driving down Colorado Street in Austin, Texas to celebrate Jungle Julia's birthday, unknowingly followed by a man in a souped-up 1970 Chevy Nova. While drinking at Güero's Taco Bar, Jungle Julia reveals that she made a radio announcement earlier that morning, offering a free lap dance from Arlene in return for calling her Butterfly, buying her a drink and reciting a segment of the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". As the night goes on, the girls run into Pam (Rose McGowan), a childhood adversary of Jungle Julia's, who is being studied by Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), a stunt double for Hollywood action films. He spends the night flirting with the women, working his way up to Arlene, who realizes that he's been following them all day but gives in to his charm. After giving Mike the lap dance (omitted from the film with a fake "Missing Reel" apology notice), Arlene leaves with Jungle Julia, Shanna, and their marijuana dealer, Lanna Frank (Monica Staggs).
Mike offers Pam a ride in his car, assuring her that it's "death proof". Pam sits in a plexi-glass sealed passenger seat, with no seatbelt. In the car, he reveals himself to be a sadist, and begins to ride at extreme speeds and swerve the car around, thrashing Pam around the box. Pam is still alive, and pleads with Mike to let her out of the car, but Mike ignores her and informs her that the car is only death proof for the driver. He then slams on the brake, causing her to smash her face on the dashboard, killing her. Mike then chases after the other four girls. Finding their car on an empty road, he speeds past them and spins his car around. He proceeds to race at the girls' car head-on at full speed with his headlights off, and turns them back on at the last moment. Mike crashes into them, killing them.
At the hospital, it is revealed that Mike suffered only minor injuries. Because the girls were driving while intoxicated and Mike had not consumed any alcohol, he is cleared of all criminal charges, angering Texas Ranger Earl McGraw (Michael Parks), who knows the stuntman is guilty, but decides not to investigate due to the lack of evidence.
Fourteen months later, Lee Montgomery (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Abernathy Ross (Rosario Dawson), and Kim Mathis (Tracie Thoms) are traveling through Lebanon, Tennessee and stop at a convenience store where Mike has stationed himself. When Kim goes inside, Lee moves into the driver's seat and starts listening to her iPod with Abernathy still trying to sleep in the backseat. Mike then gets out of his car and begins playing with Abernathy's bare feet which are hanging out of the car window. When she wakes up, Mike pretends he bumped into her while looking for his car keys. He gets into his car and takes off. Abernathy catches one last glimpse of Mike's car speeding off, which the other two don't notice, before the three depart. The trio pick up their friend, stuntwoman Zoë Bell (playing herself), at the airport, who informs them she wants to test-drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger, the car from the film Vanishing Point. Later, she reveals her true motives: she wants to play a game called "Ship's Mast," in which she will hang onto the car's hood with two belts while someone else drives at high speeds. When the Girls reach the barn where the Dodge is being sold Kim reluctantly agrees to help with the stunt and Abernathy tags along, while Lee finds herself left behind to placate the car's owner.
During this game, Mike arrives suddenly, and targets them with his 1969 Dodge Charger, repeatedly crashing into them, and eventually Zoë is thrown from the hood. Kim, who carries a gun for protection, shoots Mike in the left arm, causing him to flee. Zoë, due to her training and agility, is unharmed except for a "bruise on her bum." The three girls decide to take revenge against their attacker. At this point the character roles abruptly switch, as Stuntman Mike becomes hysterical. His intended victims, on the other hand, become enraged in their pursuit, jeering and laughing at their foe's efforts. Stuntman Mike's injury forces him to stop and attempt to tend to his wound. In doing so, he releases his safety harness. Kim crashes into the back of his Charger and Zoë attacks him with a pipe, but Mike flees again without refastening his harness, thus nullifying much of the "death proof" aspect of his car. An extended chase scene follows; just when he thinks he has escaped, the pursuing vehicle blindsides him and he crashes to a stop, breaking his right arm. Screaming in pain, he is hauled out of the car and the three women administer a vicious beating. Stuntman Mike is knocked to the ground, and the women leap in celebration, caught in a midair freeze-frame as the film ends. As the film credits roll, the movie cuts back to the girls; Abernathy raises her leg and smashes Stuntman Mike's face with an axe kick, apparently killing him.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kurt Russell | Stuntman Mike McKay |
| Rosario Dawson | Abernathy "Abbie" Ross |
| Vanessa Ferlito | Arlene/"Butterfly" |
| Jordan Ladd | Shanna 'Banana' |
| Rose McGowan | Pam Greer |
| Sydney Tamiia Poitier | Jungle Julia Lucai |
| Tracie Thoms | Kim Mathis |
| Mary Elizabeth Winstead | Lee Montgomery |
| Zoë Bell | Herself |
| Marcy Harriell | Marcy |
| Omar Doom | Nate |
| Michael Bacall | Omar |
| Quentin Tarantino | Warren |
| Eli Roth | Dov |
| Monica Staggs | Lanna-Frank |
| Michael Parks | Earl McGraw |
| James Parks | Edgar McGraw |
| Tim Murphy | Timmy the Bartender |
| Marta Mendoza | Punky Bruiser |
| Electra Avellan | Crazy Babysitter Twin #1 |
| Elise Avellan | Crazy Babysitter Twin #2 |
| Marley Shelton | Dr. Dakota Block |
| Jonathan Loughran | Jasper |
| Nicky Katt | Counter Guy |
[edit] History and development
The story for Death Proof developed from Quentin Tarantino's fascination for the way stuntmen would "death-proof" their cars. As long as they were driving, stuntmen could slam their cars headfirst into a brick wall at 60 miles per hour and survive. This inspired Tarantino to create a slasher film featuring a deranged stuntman who stalks and murders sexy young women with his "death-proof" car.[3] Tarantino remembers, "I realized I couldn't do a straight slasher film, because with the exception of women-in-prison films, there is no other genre quite as rigid. And if you break that up, you aren't really doing it anymore. It's inorganic, so I realized—let me take the structure of a slasher film and just do what I do. My version is going to be fucked up and disjointed, but it seemingly uses the structure of a slasher film, hopefully against you."[4] According to Robert Rodriguez, "[Tarantino] had an idea and a complete vision for it right away when he first talked about it. He started to tell me the story and said, 'It's got this death-proof car in it.' I said, 'You have to call it Death Proof.' I helped title the movie, but that's it."[3] Of the car chases, Tarantino stated, "CGI for car stunts doesn't make any sense to me—how is that supposed to be impressive? [...] I don't think there have been any good car chases since I started making films in '92—to me, the last terrific car chase was in Terminator 2. And Final Destination 2 had a magnificent car action piece. In between that, not a lot. Every time a stunt happens, there's twelve cameras and they use every angle for Avid editing, but I don't feel it in my stomach. It's just action."[4]
[edit] Production
Quentin Tarantino acted as cinematographer on Death Proof. Although Robert Rodriguez had previously worked as the cinematographer on six of his own feature films, Death Proof marked Tarantino's first credit as a cinematographer.[5][6]
Tarantino attempted to cast both Kal Penn[7] and Sylvester Stallone[8] in Death Proof, but both were unable to work due to prior commitments. In an interview, Tarantino revealed that he decided to cast Kurt Russell as the killer stunt driver because "for people of my generation, he's a true hero...but now, there's a whole audience out there that doesn't know what Kurt Russell can do. When I open the newspaper and see an ad that says 'Kurt Russell in Dreamer,' or 'Kurt Russell in Miracle,' I'm not disparaging these movies, but I'm thinking: When is Kurt Russell going to be a badass again?"[9] Eli Roth, Planet Terror leading actress Rose McGowan and Tarantino himself appear in small roles.
Death Proof uses various unconventional techniques to make the film appear more like those that were shown in grindhouse theaters in the 1970s. Throughout the feature, the film was intentionally damaged to make it look like many of the exploitation films of the 1970s which were generally shipped around from theater to theater and usually ended up in bad shape. A notable example of one of the film's deliberate jump-cuts is seen at the beginning, when the title Quentin Tarantino's Thunderbolt is shown for a few moments before abruptly being replaced by an insert with the title Death Proof, appearing in white lettering on a black background.[10]
On the editing of Death Proof, Tarantino stated "There is half-an-hour's difference between my Death Proof and what is playing in Grindhouse. [...] I was like a brutish American exploitation distributor who cut the movie down almost to the point of incoherence. I cut it down to the bone and took all the fat off it to see if it could still exist, and it worked."[11] An extended, 127-minute version of Death Proof was screened in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 60th Cannes Film Festival.[11][12][13][14] Tarantino is quoted as saying "It works great as a double feature, but I'm just as excited if not more excited about actually having the world see Death Proof unfiltered. [...] It will be the first time everyone sees Death Proof by itself, including me."[11]
The soundtrack for Death Proof consists entirely of non-original music, including excerpts from the scores of other films. A soundtrack album was released on April 3, 2007, alongside the Planet Terror soundtrack. Both albums featured dialogue excerpts from the film.
[edit] Theatrical release
Death Proof was released in the United States alongside Planet Terror as part of a double feature under the title Grindhouse. Both films were released separately in extended versions internationally, approximately two months apart.[15] The additional material includes scenes that were replaced in the American theatrical release version with a "missing reel" title card, such as the lap dance scene. A total of 27 minutes were added for this version. One of the first screenings of Death Proof was made at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 20. 2007, with star Zoë Bell attending the screenings.[16] The Dutch poster artwork for Death Proof claimed that the film would feature "coming attractions" from Robert Rodriguez.[17] In the United Kingdom, Death Proof was released on September 21, 2007 and in Australia on November 1, 2007.[18] In reaction to the possibility of a split in a foreign release, Tarantino stated "Especially if they were dealing with non-English language countries, they don't really have this tradition ... not only do they not really know what a grind house is, they don't even have the double feature tradition. So you are kind of trying to teach us something else."[19]
[edit] Soundtrack
The Death Proof OST is the soundtrack to Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's segment of Grindhouse. It includes trademark audio snippets from various scenes in the film.
[edit] DVD release
Death Proof was released on DVD in the United States on September 18, 2007 in a two-disc special edition featuring the extended version of the film, documentaries on the casting of the film, the various muscle cars and Tarantino's relationship with editor Sally Menke, trailers, and an international poster gallery.[20]
[edit] References
- ^ The Grindhouse Split. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
- ^ Grindhouse News. ESplatter. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
- ^ a b Cotton, Mike (April 4, 2007). House Party. Wizard Universe. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
- ^ a b Online Exclusive: Horror Film Directors Dish About 'Grindhouse' Trailers. Rolling Stone.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
- ^ Robert Rodriguez filmography. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ Quentin Tarantino filmography. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter. Did You Know: Kal Penn was cast in Tarantino's Grindhouse?. Ifilm. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter. Tarantino wanted Stallone for Grindhouse. Ifilm. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ Nashawaty, Chris (March 30, 2007), “Bloodbath and Beyond”, Entertainment Weekly: 27-30, <http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20015706,00.html>
- ^ VFX World. Grindhouse: Pistol-Packing VFX. Retrieved on April 18, 2007.
- ^ a b c Quentin Tarantino: I'm proud of my flop. Telegraph.co.uk (April 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
- ^ Director Tarantino in competition in Cannes. Yahoo (2007-04-19).
- ^ Death Proof. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
- ^ Cannes Film Festival archives. Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
- ^ Alles Over Quentin Tarantino (Dutch) (2007-03-18). Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (May 22, 2007). Review of Death Proof. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
- ^ Dutch Death Proof poster art. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ Grindhouse Dismantled (2007-04-30). Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes. Tarantino Chops Feature Length "Death Proof" For "Grindhouse". Retrieved on April 18, 2007.
- ^ ASIN: B000R7HY0K. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Death Proof at the Internet Movie Database
- Death Proof at Rotten Tomatoes
- Death Proof's review in Cahiers du cinéma (in english)
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