I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Quentin Tarantino. He’s an undeniably talented writer/director and I have a great affection for some of his earliest films, but there’s something about his work that leaves me cold. It’s not cold in the Coen Brothers or Stanley Kubrick sense. Their filmmaking often feels sort of antiseptic, and Tarantino doesn’t feel that way at all. But I’m very rarely emotionally connected to his characters. Take Kill Bill, Vol. 1 & 2 for example. I love both of those films. They exude style and are insanely entertaining. But despite having a runtime of over four hours and nearly every minute of that being filled with Uma Thurman’s Bride character on screen, I don’t actually care all that much for her plight. She’s cool and fierce, but if she died at the end and never got her revenge, and didn’t see her daughter, I don’t know that I’d be all that upset about it. That little scene at the end of Kill Bill, Vol. 2 where she’s watching TV with said daughter feels tacked on. Actually, it feels like Tarantino is trying to pull at our heartstrings but I never feel it.
Buy Inglourious Basterds Blu-rayThe entirety of Inglourius Basterds feels that way to me. Tarantino’s talent as a director is fully on display during that film. There is some terrific dialogue and wonderful acting. There are several scenes where he’s ratcheting up the tension like an old pro. The trouble is, again, I don’t care about the characters enough to feel that tension on an emotional level.
In the opening scene, an SS Officer (a remarkable Christoph Walz) interrogates a French farmer, knowing he’s been hiding some Jewish people. We see them under the floorboards, shaking with fear. It is a well-crafted scene. But I don’t know those people under the floorboards. I know they are Jewish. I know that the Nazi calls himself a “Jew Hunter.” That’s terrifying in real life. The actual Holocaust was one of the worst tragedies imaginable. Real Nazis suck. But this is a movie. Those are actors. I need more connection to them to care.
That’s a lot of words describing what I don’t like about Tarantino in an article designed to tell you that Inglourious Basterds is my Pick of the Week. Here’s the thing, despite my reservations, I still liked the movie. Also, I haven’t seen it in well over a decade so it needs a revisiting. Maybe I’ll love it this time. But really I know it is a beloved film and this release by Arrow Video looks amazing.
They seem to have ported over the 4K UHD video from a previous release but they added loads of new extras including an audio commentary, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage. There are many more archival extras included, too. And they’ve packed it with postcards, a poster, a beer coaster, and a nice booklet with photos and essays.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Sometimes I Think About Dying. Daisy Ridley stars as a woman who, well, sometimes thinks about dying. Also, she makes a guy at work laugh. They start dating. Some other stuff happens but I don’t know what. The synopsis for this film is vague, but the reviews have been good.
Shaw Brothers Classics, Vol. Five: Shout Factory brings us another nice-looking set of Shaw Brothers films. This one features: The Silent Swordsman / Rape of the Sword / The Fastest Sword / Twin Blades of Doom / Twelve Deadly Coins / Vengeance is a Golden Blade / A Taste of Cold Steel / The Iron Buddha / The Jade Faced Assassin / Mission Impossible / Six Assassins
Romance and Cigarettes: John Turtorro’s directorial debut is a simple story about a middle-aged, middle-class guy (James Gandolfini) who starts cheating on his wife (Susan Sarandon) with a much younger woman (Kate Winslet), but it is told in a very imaginative way. Like a musical, the characters often break out into song, but unlike most musicals, they are singing old pop songs and country ditties, or rather they are singing along to those tunes. It doesn’t quite work, but it is still a good time at the movies.
Omni Loop: Mary Louise Parker stars in this Groundhog Day scenario about a woman with a black hole in her chest that makes her relive the last five days of her life. She’ll have to solve time travel to make things right again.
Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling: Semi-autobiographical story about Richard Pryor’s life (which also stars and was directed by the famed comedian) gets the Criterion treatment.
The Mother and the Whore: Jean Eustache directed this controversial film about a love triangle in Paris that utilizes extremely long takes and intimate confessionals. Criterion has the release.
Incubus: A succubus grows tired of luring sinful men into her lair and decides to pick on a good, moral man instead. That man is played by William Shatner. Arrow Video has the release.
Chinatown: This fantastic neo-noir from Roman Polaski with Jack Nicholson as a detective digging into the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles gets a 4K UHD transfer from Paramount.
Snowpiercer: Bong Joon-ho’s science fiction film about one lone train full of the last human survivors on Earth gets a new 4K transfer and an Amazon exclusive release.
