In 1991, we saw the debut film of a director called Quentin Tarantino, that film was Reservoir Dogs and it was one of the best films of that year by far.
Proving that was no flash in the pan, his next film would reap even more acclaim, and turn John Travolta back into a leading man, that film was of course Pulp Fiction.
Tarantino’s films have continued to not disappoint, including the under-rated yet we find excellent, Jackie Brown. Possibly his least successful film was Death Proof but we loved the idea behind it, by releasing it in a double film presentation with a Robert Rodriguez film called Planet Terror under the banner of Grind House.
For his 8th full length feature film (he has done other directing work, a segment in film Four Rooms, as well as TV episodes of CSI and ER) he brings us The Hateful Eight.
However, the film was shot in ultra Panavision and in 7omm, and as a result, the film would be shown in celluloid format initially, which cancels out the majority of cinemas who have now converted to a digital format. This caused unrest over who would distribute the film, resulting in Cineworld refusing to show the film, and with no other cinema near me showing it, this was the first Tarantino film I would not see on the big screen.
This caused unrest over who would distribute the film, resulting in Cineworld refusing to show the film. With no other cinema near me showing it, this was the first Tarantino film I would not see on the big screen.
Feeling hard done by, I added it to my LoveFilm library and forget about it. It arrived this week and for us personally, the magic of Tarantino is still for all to see.
The film is set in post civil war times, and plays like a spaghetti western, we follow initially 2 bounty hunters, Major Warren (Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson) & John Ruth (Kurt Russell).
The biggest difference of the 2 is Warren is trying to collect a bounty on the dead, whereas Ruth wants to collect it on the very much alive Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh)
As they find themselves needing to get out of the blizzard, they are approached by Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) who needs shelter, to which they initially refuse, until they discover he is to be sheriff at the town they are aiming for, so they need him to collect their bounty.
Eventually, they seek shelter from the blizzard at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a lodge for stagecoaches and we meet the rest of the 8: Bob, the Mexican (Demian Bichir); Joe Gage (Michael Madsen); Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth) and General Smithers (Bruce Dern)
Earlier we learn that these existing 4 have killed everyone at the lodge, and are with Jody (Channing Tatum) who we learn is Daisy’s brother, waiting for the chance to set her free.
After some lengthy dialogue, this film plays out like Reservoir Dogs with guns going off aplenty and it can be pretty gory at times. It should certainly be noted that this film is extremely violent, some of the beatings that Daisy receives are brutal.
The film, with no one trusting each other, also made us think of John Carpenter’s The Thing, especially with the blizzard setting.
The filming in panoramic vision works well with the film, the landscapes are for all to see. The film also had a great score from legendary Ennio Morricone too
Despite the near 3 hour run time, the film never drags, but the second half of the film is definitely more intense. The film can also be very gory at times, from vomiting of blood from drinking poison to grizzly shootings.
The film also does have a handy interval should you wish to stop and come back to it. You can catch up as you get a narration from Tarantino recapping what happened.
This may not be as good as His Django Unchained or Pulp fiction, but it certainly is another good Tarantino film, if you like him, we think you’ll like this too.
Do you have a favourite Tarantino film? Did you like the Hateful Eight? We would love to hear from you here at Barking Mad About Films
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