Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Planet Terror - customized Grindhouse screenings

US 2007. PC: Dimension Films. EX: Sandra Condito, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein. P: Elizabeth Avellán, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Erica Steinberg. D+SC+DP+M+co-ED: Robert Rodriguez. CAST: Rose McGowan (Cherry Darling), Freddy Rodriguez (Wray), Josh Brolin (Dr. William Block), Michael Biehn (sheriff Hague), Bruce Willis (ltn. Muldoon). Released by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion (Tarantino Connection), Helsinki, 29 Dec 2009.

In the European release of Planet Terror only one fake trailer is included: Machete, directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Antti Suonio and Lauri Lehtinen had customized our Grindhouse screenings with actual exploitation trailers.

PLANET TERROR:
- Kill! (FR/ES/IT/DE 1971), D: Romain Gary, with Jean Seberg, James Mason, Stephen Boyd, Curd Jürgens
- La novia ensangrentada / The Blood Spattered Bride (ES 1972), D: Vicente Aranda

DEATH PROOF:
- Komissar X: Jagd auf Unbekannt / Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill / Miehemme X: Tapaus kultatytöt (DE/IT/YU 1966)
- Huo feng huang / Red Phoenix / Kung-fu punainen salama (TW 1981)
- Il mercenario / A Professional Gun (IT/ES 1968), D: Sergio Corbucci, with Franco Nero, Jack Palance

I saw the trailers before Planet Terror and some 20 minutes of Planet Terror only. Interesting aspects:
- Planet Terror (but not Death Proof) is digitally mastered, but they have simulated photochemical film aging, colour blemishes, scratches, and bad joins
- the crying go-go dancer Cherry Darling
- the film seems like gory nonsense with an unflinching commitment to the basic instincts of sex and violence

I have admired Robert Rodriguez's powerful cinema instinct since El Mariachi, but he seems to have little to say.

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