Death Proof [2007] - DVD (Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan - Dir: Quentin Tarantino)

Loud, fast, and proudly out of control, Grindhouse is a tribute to the low-budget exploitation movies that lurked at drive-ins and inner city theaters in the '60s and early '70s. Writers/directors Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) cooked up this three-hour double feature as a way to pay homage to these films, and the end result manages to evoke the down-and-dirty vibe of the original films for an audience that may be too young to remember them. Tarantino's Death Proof is the mellower of the two, relatively speaking; it's wordier (as to be expected) and rife with pulp/comic book posturing and eminently quotable dialogue. It also features a terrific lead performance by Kurt Russell as a homicidal stunt man whose weapon of choice is a souped-up car. Tarantino's affection for his own dialogue slows down the action at times, but he does provide showy roles for a host of likable actresses, including Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, and newcomer Zoe Bell, who was Uma Thurman's stunt double in Kill Bill. Detractors may decry the rampant violence and latch onto a sexist undertone in Tarantino's feature, but for those viewers who grew up watching these types of films in either theaters or on VHS, such elements will be probably be more of a virtue than a detrimental factor. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews of Death Proof [2007]

Mr. J. Fraser
Kelso, Scotland
5th January 2009

Death Proof
Death Proof is a criminally under rated movie. People have accused it of being boring but I disagree. Although most of it is people just hanging out in a bar, the characters and dialogue are fun and interesting (fans of Kurt Russell should love this movie), the dusty Austin setting is perfect and every scene is filled with the kind of detail that makes repeat viewings rewarding. The two main story arcs are capped off with some great car action. Kurts car for the first part of the film surely ranks as one of the coolest in film history. Both Planet Terror and Death Proof are excellent movies and make for a terrific double bill. As they're both now available at low prices you should buy both but if you buy only one of them i'd reccommend this.

butterfly
Wales
28th December 2008

Fantastic - I expected no less from a genius
Tarantino has done it again. Using a delicious blend of perfect music, brilliant acting, totally pointless but there anyway dialogue, and high octane car chasing thrills, QT has managed to create what I expect will be another huge CULT hit - the likes of which I relish in.

People who don't like almost fly-on-the-wall like movies, with dialogue like real life, why are you watching Tarantino movies anyway? Have you learned nothing from the Pulp Fiction days?!

Death Proof has fast become one of my favourite movies of all time - old-style filming and an absolutely perfect soundtrack winning me over again - and I highly recommend it to ANYONE - just be patient, the ending is worth anything you don't enjoy in the first three quarters of the film!

G. P. Powis

1st December 2008

Boys film...
One I wanted to go and see and missed - good boys/ car film - made me smile and I really enjoyed it.

Man in the Moon
S Wales
27th November 2008

Self-Indulgent Pointless Vaccuum...
The narrative inventiveness that's given us compelling fare in the past is well and truly gone, hopefully not for good. It's obvious that Tarantino can get a deal just on his name, as no new writer could ever get dross like this financed.

Kurt Russell starts out as an intriguing, likeable character in the initial roadhouse sequence, but immediately plunges to a motiveless, cardboard psychopath. Tarantino's ear for dialogue has completely failed him, and we're exposed to unending, unfunny, trivial bulls--t.

The wish to pay homage a long-gone medium doesn't necessarily make worthy entertainment, and if Tarantino wanted a true homage, then he'd have filmed this on a B-movie showstring, with period film equipment and cast total unknowns (or would that have been too brave?) It's time that QT realises pop culture isn't a bottomless source of creative invention, and there's far more to human life with which to challenge himself.

Tarantino is a rare filmic talent, but it's becoming increasingly clear that he has nothing to say. His best film, Jackie Brown, works so well because it's a film about real people, not disposable cyphers.

Come on, Q - start pushing yourself and give us something new!

A reader
London
13th November 2008

Enjoymentproof
Dolly Parton used to quip, "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap." The same could be said about Quentin Tarantino's Deathproof, a contemporary film post-produced to look like a low-budget grindhouse movie of the 70s. But the problem isn't the look of the film - it's the story, padded out with long scenes of dull dialogue that take you nowhere. A big disappointment.