Review of Death Proof DVD release
Film geeks, around April this year, will remember the release of Grindhouse- Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodreguez’s B-movie double-feature. For those that don’t, Grindhouse was a sprawling action-packed horror thriller science-fiction epic, comprised of two films: Planet Terror and Death Proof.
Like most people who saw it in theatres, I had visions of a double disc box set, complete with novelty packaging, some fake blood and a mini-machine-gun leg attachment thrown in for a ridiculously jacked price. So I was surprised when I saw that, one, the release date had been shoved back to this Fall, and two, Planet Terror and Death Proof were being released separately. What was wrong with Tarantino and Rodreguiz? Did they break up? Did they not want our money?
Death Proof was released this past weekend, so I had the privilege of checking it out and seeing if it was actually worth the $22.99. For those who missed it in theatres, Death Proof is Tarantino’s story of a washed-up stuntman who stalks two separate groups of twenty-something lovelies. The first he slaughters messily, the second exact bloody revenge on him. A slasher movie embedded in a chick-flick.
So what’s on the DVD? Well, we’ve got 2 discs of “extended and uncut material” for one. Stuntman Mike’s lap dance (The cut “reel” that had entire audiences going “TARANTINOOOO!”) is restored, as are several other less pivotal moments. The lengthy girl-talk scenes, which garnered most of its criticism, are stretched yet longer. The usual DVD extras -interviews and behind the scenes shorts- are all present. Notably absent from both (!)DVD releases are the hilarious faux-commercials that broke up the two films in theatres.
Death Proof on its own definitely lacks the punch of Grindhouse. Fans of Tarantino should definitely pick it up; me, I’m waiting for my mini-machine-gun leg attachment edition.