Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Hateful Eight (2015)

1/26/2023

The Hateful Eight (2015) - Tarantino's indulgences take over

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A fearsome bunch of gun-carrying characters appear to be headed towards the same cabin through a blizzard on this exciting poster for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight

A bounty hunter with a wanted woman in his wagon runs upon an old acquaintance in a blizzard en route to Wyoming and brings him along with them; but soon the little company meet trouble at Minnie's Haberdashery.

The Hateful Eight is written and directed by Tennessean master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs (1992)), whose 10th feature it is.

Tarantino's second western, The Hateful Eight takes place in the same somewhat unreal Tarantino world as the preceding Django Unchained (2012). (The feeling is only enforced by Tarantino narrating the film himself.) Robert Richardson's (Breathe (2017)) exceptional 65 mm images and Ennio Morricone's (Days of Heaven (1978)) wily score make this tale of hoodlums easy to take.

In the cast Walton Goggins (The Crow: Salvation (2000)) stands out along with Jennifer Jason Leigh (The First Time (1982, TV movie)), the latter throwing herself head-first into a both frightening and pitiful character. The basic idea is to take a group of diverse, villainous characters and let them fight out their grievances in a cabin during a storm. A lot of sulfurous dialog and blood splatters predictably result, but without the shadow of a hero, it is hard not to feel that The Hateful Eight is somewhat overlong. We recognize some of Tarantino's tricks from past films, and curiously enough for this major wide format revival, he keeps his The Hateful Eight almost entirely indoors.

Some of Tarantino's trademark speechifying is just filler, - and I think it a shame that we don't get more wingspan to the film location-wise. SPOILER - What is one to think of the master filmmaker's career now, as the film ends with two men hanging a woman in a cabin to their great mirthful laughter, whereupon it ends? It feels a bit sad. For a newcomer I'd instead advice to watch Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994) and Jackie Brown (1997).

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood/Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019) - Tarantino gets lost in Hollywood
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Django Unchained (2012) - Tarantino's gutsy, colorful 'Southern'
Inglourious Basterds (2009) - The Movies take revenge on Nazi scum

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Death Proof (2007) - Tarantino's awesome, rubber-burning Grindhouse homage
From Dusk till Dawn (1996) - Tarantino, Rodriguez and chums' enjoyable Mexico vampire extravaganza (writer-star)
Desperado (1995) - Rodriguez' second Mexico actioner is a sexy, latino fireball (actor)
Four Rooms (1995) - Rodriguez, Tarantino & Co. fail with LA hotel anthology comedy (co-director)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 44-62 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: 155.8 mil. $

= Box office success or a big hit (returned somewhere between 2.51-3.54 times its cost)

[The Hateful Eight premiered 7 December (Los Angeles) and runs 168 minutes (long roadshow version runs 187 minutes.) Originally thought as a Django sequel, Tarantino changed it up for his first draft, which leaked online in 2014, upsetting Tarantino to the point of naming the few trusted colleagues he had apparently shared it with and scrapping actually filming it. He instead held a reading with many of the stars present in 2014 and finally deciding to go ahead and film it anyway. Shooting took place from December 2014 - April 2015 in Colorado and Los Angeles, California. The state of Colorado contributed 5 mil. $ to the production. Kurt Russell (Touchback (2011)) accidentally smashed an antic 1870s Martin guitar during shooting, resulting in the Martin Guitar Museum no longer lending guitars out as props in movies anymore. The film was shot on 3 types of 65 mm cameras and transferred to 70 mm film, the widest 70 mm release since Far and Away (1992). The film opened #3, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Daddy's Home, to a 15.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America after getting released as a longer roadshow version for its first week in only 70 mm equipped theaters, making 4.6 mil. $ for a final gross of 54.1 mil. $ (33.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 13.2 mil. $ (8.2 %) and France with 12.3 mil. $ (7.6 %). The film's Box Office Mojo site is flawed, listing the film's 5.4 mil. $ Australian gross twice, both in 2015 and in 2021. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning for Best Score (Morricone's first and only Oscar). It lost Best Supporting Actress (Leigh) to Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl and Cinematography to Emmanuel Lubezki for The Revenant. It also won 1/3 BAFTA nominations, 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for 2 Grammys and won 3 National Board of Review awards, among many other honors. Tarantino returned with Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (2019). Samuel L. Jackson (Common Grounds (1990, miniseries)) returned in Cell (2016); Russell in Deepwater Horizon (2016); and Leigh in Morgan (2016). The Hateful Eight is certified fresh at 74 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hateful Eight?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

1/26/2023

The Hateful Eight (2015) - Tarantino's indulgences take over

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