Django (1966)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

FINAL DAY: Django (1966)

Quentin Tarantino has said that his most recent film Django Unchained (2012) is a tribute to the work of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, the second being the director of this film. When Django came out it was a smash hit and supposedly has over 40 unofficial sequels or spin offs and Tarantino has said that his film is continuing in that tradition. The main character is named Django (obviously) as a tribute to this film, and the soundtrack borrows 5 songs from this film including it's title song, "Django." And Franco Nero, the original Django makes a small but awesome cameo in that film. Quentin Tarantino also lists this film, third in his top 10 spaghetti westerns only behind the second two films of The Dollars Trilogy(thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives).

Well, that's it for the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans. I hope you enjoyed yourself and learned something new, I know I did!

"I've got all the help I need."

Django is an Italian-Spanish spaghetti western by director Sergio Corbucci. The film is set after the American Civil War, when a mysterious drifter rolls into a Southern town dragging a coffin he finds himself caught in a war between a racist ex-Confederate army and a band of Mexican revolutionaries, but he'll find he actually has history with both sides.

[This review will focus on the English-dubbed release that was released in the U.S.]

The characters and actors in this film are all surprisingly decent in this film. I found them all interesting and believable. I especially liked the introduction of the Southerner, Major Jackson who captures Mexican soldiers just to let them run free one at a time then use them as target practice. That really sets up a great antagonist that you really hate right out.

As you would expect, the dub is pretty bad for this film.

I didn't care for the "romance" of this film, luckily it wasn't focused on too much. But I need to see the original, because it's possible that the dubbed dialogue might be at fault for a majority of this. I felt like I understood what they were trying to do but it just wasn't as effective as it could have been. As it is now it seems really sloppy and corny.

I really can see why the character Django (and this film) has over 40 unofficial spin offs. The character is just really cool. He's an former Union soldier who has become a drifter and drags a coffin behind him through the mud, and I love how throughout the film people keep guessing why he has a coffin too; Asking if he's an undertaker, a coffin-maker, if there is someone inside or he's carrying it around for himself. And I'm glad the contents of the coffin weren't saved until the climax of the film either because I was told what it was when I first heard about the film [i.e. I'm glad it wasn't saved for the end like the twists of Planet of the Apes (1968) or Soylent Green (1973)]. And Franco Nero really blew me away too, apparently Sergio Corbucci found him working at a gas station and then turned him into an international star! He's got a great face, really awesome blue eyes and his acting in this film seems like a cool cross between the nonchalant Man with no Name character by Clint Eastwood and the typically righteous John Wayne character.

I like Luis Bacalov's score a lot in this film, his scores are not as often parodied or referenced as Ennio Morricone's work but they're just as effective, exciting and powerful.

I really enjoyed the direction of this film. The staging of all the action is really well placed, the cinematography is really simple and straightforward but very effective. I like how the Corbucci would really speed up the cuts during the intense action sequences so that you think you see more than you do. This is also double effective in the gory or bloody scenes where your mind just fills in the blanks and covers for anything you didn't actually see.

The world of this film is very original. How come in all the westerns I've seen I've never seen a western town after the rain so that the characters are just trudging through thick mud? I love the cloudy, overcast, abandoned and beat-up town that a majority of this film takes place in. It looks so much more "real" than all the American westerns, it really shows great thought (whether or not the mud was actually intentional or not!).

The story of this film is really great too. I like how this film kind of sneakily deals with the American Civil War and things that would have been relevant during this time without being too overt about it, the Klan substitute is a perfect example of this. I love all the twists and turns the story takes along the way, it's very original and clever and it just makes you feel so good afterwards. It really is an exciting film.

Django (1966) is a unique take on the western that's really exciting and at the same time very cool. Highly recommend. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!

Check out this original minimalist poster design I did for this film, click through to buy prints/posters etc. OR check out other movie posters I designed here. :)

This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

And that's it for the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown thanks for reading!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

The Street Fighter (1974)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 9: The Street Fighter (1974)

Quentin Tarantino loves The Street Fighter so much that he wrote it into the background of his first script, True Romance (1993) where the main character talks at length about how cool Sonny Chiba is in it after going to a Street Fighter marathon. Years later he also gave Sonny Chiba a really cool part in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) as the legendary sword maker Hatori Hanzo. Also in Kill Bill: Volume 1, the "Crazy 88 fight sequence" seems to be inspired by the fight on the ship in this film, in both the leads go on a killing rampage killing a ton of people with different weapons, in a ton of different ways and there's even a part where the Bride is running up stairs as she's fighting just like Terry. Tarantino also lists this film in his top 20 favorite grindhouse films (thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives).

"I hate punks worse than anything, and I would love to see the mob destroyed."

The Street Fighter (1974) is the dubbed version of 激突！殺人拳 [Clash, Killer Fist!] a violent Japanese martial arts film. This film is technically an unofficial follow up to ボディガード牙 [Karate Kiba] (1973) which was recut and released as The Bodyguard (1976) in the U.S. but other than also starring Sonny Chiba, this film is unrelated. This film follows Terry Tsurugi an assassin for hire who follows no school or code except his own.

[This film will focus on the English-dubbed version that was released in the U.S.]

This film has a really good opening sequence, it draws you into the film and is very cool and also sets up the character of Terry right off from the begining. All the fight scenes in this film are pretty clever and unique, it doesn't ever seem like it gets old and with each fight they just keep finding new and creative ways to kill people!

The story in this film is pretty decent too, (SPOILERS:) every time I see this film I'm surprised that they kill off "Ratnose", Terry's humorous sidekick. This is such an Eastern thing, because a Western story would never do this, and yet it really adds a lot to the story, this affects Terry it actually gives meaning to how much more fierce he gets in the last part of the film. This is exactly how Quentin Tarantino could have given the "Crazy 88 fight sequence" in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) more story rather than just a mindless action sequence!

As with most of these types of films from the dub is quite bad, the voice actors are trying way too hard to put more into the performance and match the lips.

This film seems pretty dated when watched today, and the fights go on longer than they need to (admittedly a martial arts-ism). The villains of this film are very flat and one-dimensional, and I think the plot could have been tied together better. I also never understood why there's this part in the end where the antagonist's sister grabs Terry and tells her brother to finish him, then he stabs her through the back to stab terry! This seems completely unnecessary, he's fast but not so fast that you have to kill your own sister to get to him!

It's no surprise that this is the film that turned Sonny Chiba into an international star. His character is really interesting, a school-less, martial arts assassin dressed in black. And he's not invincible: he gets beaten, beat up and captured throughout this film which somehow only seems to make him cooler! Chiba's acting is really great too very intense but always with a bit of humor too.

The Street Fighter (1974) is an action packed martial arts film with a surprisingly good story, starring the amazing Sonny Chiba. 4/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown concludes tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Blow Out (1981)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 8: Blow Out (1981)

Blow Out is Quentin Tarantino's third favorite film of all time. This film is the reason he chose to cast John Travolta as a lead in Pulp Fiction (1994) and his performance in this film is uncannily similar actually. Brian De Palma does a lot of things in this film that Tarantino would later incorporate into his own "style" like the 360 shot to show confusion and this film also drops lots of references to De Palma's previous films but also to other films, sound familiar? Also Tarantino used a piece from this film's amazing score in Death Proof (2007).

"First it's a drink, then it's my place, now it's a hotel?" Things are moving a little fast, aren't they Sally?"

Blow Out is a conspiracy thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. When Jack Terry, a sound designer for low budget films, randomly saves a girl's life from drowning he finds himself wrapped in a huge conspiracy, and his job comes in handy more than you'd think.

This film has a really simple story and a great premise. I also like how the film starts like a neo-noir film, I thought this was an interesting spin on the typical noir film. The simple story makes it easy to follow and allows for a lot of suspense. There's some very suspense-filled parts in this film, and that's a sign of a good film.

The acting in this film is pretty good too. Nancy Allen plays Sally, who is actually a bit annoying but it works for the film. John Lithgow plays the killer in one of his earliest feature roles, and although this is against type for him retrospectively, it actually works pretty well in this film, you've just got to get over the initial shock the first time you see him. And John Travolta has this very dark and moody performance that really adds a lot of depth and makes the role a lot cooler than it would have been otherwise.

The film has some less-believable parts in the end: like the car chase though a parade, (SPOILERS:) the fact the killer hesitated to kill Sally and decides to take her to the roof of a building when he was going to do it in a subway in front of a lot of people only minutes before, and the fact that the cops believed the victim killed the killer while somehow still getting killed? I believe all of this could have been stronger if De Palma didn't let the neo-noir aspects of the film dwindle about half to three-quarters of the way into it only to turn into a more traditional thriller film.

And this last part is a nitpicky thing that most people wouldn't notice, but it bugged me so I'm gonna mention it, there's a part where Jack makes an animation of the car crash with the magazine pictures and he does it totally wrong, to play at a normal speed the pictures would have need to be photographed at least twice and they would have needed to be lined up a hell of a lot better than he did otherwise the finished film would have been very shakey. True this doesn't really matter that much, but it shows a lack of attention to detail and then made me wonder how truthful the sound design parts actually were!

If nothing else, this film is proof that Brian De Palma is an amazing director. The cinematography stands out with it variety of shots and beautiful shot choices. I especially liked the high angle shots and the split screen shots (like the image at the top of this post) and the use of lots of quiet moments combined with the (fittingly) good sound design show great skill.

(SPOILERS:) Also the ending really showed a sign of great skill, I thought "well this is predictable, he's going to get there right in time and save her," but when he doesn't this really made me like the film that much more. It kind of saved a lot of things I didn't like about the second half of the film.

And lastly I got to mention the great score to this film, every song in this film is really great! A tiny bit of it seems rather dated, but it still really helps achieve some great emotional parts and some very chilling thriller parts too.

Blow Out (1981) is an unexpectedly thrilling story with amazing direction, and a great score. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 7: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Quentin Tarantino's favorite film of all time and he even goes so far as to call it "the greatest achievement in the history of cinema." He's put tiny references to this film in his movies throughout his career: The memorable scene in Pulp Fiction (1994) where Samuel L. Jackson eats a guy's food to intimidate him before he kills him is lifted from the introduction of Angel Eyes in this film, the opening shot of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) is a tribute to a shot in this film where Blondie is lying almost dead from dehydration in the desert and Tuco has his gun to his head (there's a screenshot comparison here thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives), and Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds (2009) picks a can of snuff off of a dead soldier and uses it just like Tuco does in this film. This film also is thought to have originated the Mexican standoff, which is one of Quentin Tarantino's film trademarks.

“Every gun makes its own tune.”

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good, the Ugly, the Bad] (1966) known in the U.S. as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is an Italian spaghetti western from director Sergio Leone. This film is the third in a loose trilogy known as The Dollars Trilogy along with A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), however this film takes place during the American Civil War which would make this film a prequel to the other two. This film is about three men: The Man with No Name, known here as "Blondie"(the Good), Angel Eyes (the Bad), and Tuco (the Ugly) who are trying to out smart each other to get to a 200,000 dollar confederate treasure.

[This review is of the original full Italian version of the film which runs about 175 minutes long]

I really like how simple and straightforward the story is, this allows for a lot of time with the characters and lets them pull the story forward rather than random outside events. I also like how despite not liking each other and trying to lose each other Blondie and Tuco constantly find they have to team up together throughout the course of this film to accomplish their own goals, this adds a very interesting dynamic of mistrust and humor to the film.

This film has some pacing issues, probably the worst part is how lengthy the first half of the film feels. I think this is because the antagonist, Angel Eyes is absent from the film for a good hour before returning at about the halfway point, and also it's not until about 40+ minutes into the movie that you find out that there is a treasure!

This film is packed full of great ideas: I like how Tuco, straight out of being stranded in the desert, is able to hold up an old gun shop owner; I like how Tuco is able to track Blondie by puffing on his cigarillo butts to see how close he is; I like the torture scene while the Union army is playing music; and I love how this film is set during the American Civil War. The idea of three gunmen who could careless about the war going on in the background is such a great idea, it really sets this film apart from the other two. And the part near the end where Blondie and Tuco run into a drunken Union Captain who is just so sick of the war might be the greatest single part of this film.

I really like the characters in this film. This film even gives a little more of a backstory to the Man with No Name and really gives him all the coolest moments in the film. Lee Van Cleef returns in this film playing a different (but just as cool) character called Angel Eyes. I also like how Tuco works not only as the comic relief for the film but can be very villainous in his own right, the introduction of his brother, who he hadn't seen in 9 years, really adds a lot of depth to the character as well more so than most Mexican comic sidekick characters in these type of films.

Ennino Morricone also returns as the composer for this film and this score might be the best of the three films. It really adds a lot of emotion to the heartfelt scenes, excitement to the action and the very memorable theme will really get you whistling along with it.

And lastly (as usual) I really like Sergio Leone's direction in this film. The amazing cinematography combines with the great story in such a cool way. I love how much of this film is actually silent, the characters convey so much with minimal speaking parts and the English dub actually adds more unnecessary dialogue than the original Italian version does.

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly] (1966) is an epic spaghetti western film that may be the greatest Italian western ever made. Stylish, fun and cool this film isn't to be missed. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

The Killing (1956)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 6: The Killing (1956)

The Killing is the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's first film Reservoir Dogs (1992). Like Reservoir Dogs, this film revolves around a heist carried out by complete strangers who are working together. This film is also told in a non-linear fashion not only like Reservoir Dogs but like a majority of the films in Quentin Tarantino's career. (SPOILERS:) This film also ends in a very similar fashion as Reservoir Dogs with a foul up in the plan, leading to everyone getting killed except for one man getting caught by the police.

“Five years have taught me one thing, if nothing else, anytime you take a chance you better be sure the rewards are worth the risk because they can put you away just as fast for a ten dollar heist as they can for a million dollar job.”

The Killing(1956) is a heist, film noir from early in director Stanley Kubrick's career. It revolves around a group of strangers who come together to pull off a robbery at a horse racing track.

The characters in this movie are really interesting. I like how they're all seemingly normal people who each have their own personal reasons for committing the crime. This adds a lot of drama to the heist because for some of these guys you're really rooting for them. Some of the characters are pretty simple but they're all distinct and very interesting.

Most of the actors are good in this film but the ones who's performances really stand out to me are Elisha Cook, Jr. who plays the nervous bet teller, and Marie Windsor the teller's wife who doesn't love him but attempts to get in on the money and also Sterling Hayden has a really solid performance as Johnny the recently released criminal who is the mastermind behind the whole heist. These three add a lot to the film to ground it emotionally and their performances are really caught my interest in the movie.

I liked the plan for the heist, it's a bit complicated and could have been simplified (as Reservoir Dogs (1992) would much later do), but it's very intricate and well thought out, which makes it very interesting to watch as it playing out.

Although the ending is satisfying I think there's one too many coincidences in the end for my taste. The one that really sticks out to me is the one involving the random dog at the airport.

The best thing about this film is how the non-linear storytelling enhances the heist. At the beginning of the film this is intentionally confusing, to bring your attention to it. But by the end it's used to show a wider picture of the whole crime. It's pretty genius actually. And this really helps to enhance the drama of the story as you watch each of the puzzle pieces fit into the larger crime.

And lastly I want to mention the direction of this film. It's no wonder to me that this film is what really put Stanley Kubrick on the map early in his career because this is a film that could have easily not worked half as well if it had a lesser director at the helm. A lot of the camera moves are simple but interesting and the film really does a whole lot with a very little budget.

The Killing (1956) is a great low budget heist movie that is an early example of Stanley Kubrick's genius direction. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

King Boxer (1972)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 5: King Boxer [aka Five Fingers of Death] (1972)

If you sit down to watch King Boxer the very first thing you will notice is the "Ironside" theme that while it didn't originate in this film is used in a very similar manner to the way Quentin Tarantino uses it it Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003). A major part of this film involves the "Iron Fist" technique that the hero learns from an aging master and uses it to defeat his betrayers very similar to the "Five-point-exploding-heart" technique the Bride uses in Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004). Another Kill Bill: Volume 2 moment is the eye-plucking technique which is used multiple times in this film. You also may also notice some of the very fast zooms from this film in Kill Bill and most recently in Django Unchained (2012). After watching this film its plain to see why Tarantino continues to put this film in his top 10 films of all time and King Boxer has the distinction of being one of only a handful of films that Quentin Tarantino has recorded a feature-length commentary for which is avalible on the Dragon Dynasty Special Edition DVD .

“But you must be cautious... the Iron Fist is deadly and must only be used for righteous deeds. It must not be used in private duels.”

King Boxer: Number One Fist in the World [天下第一拳] (1972) known as Five Fingers of Death (in the U.S.), has the distinction of being the very first kung fu film to be released in America. An aging master fears he can no longer further his star pupil Chi-Hao's training and sends him to train under the Shen school. He proves to be a quick learner and very soon becomes one of the best of Shen's pupils. However not everyone is happy about Chi-Hao's progress. This is a film about betrayal and trying to be the best.

[This review is of the original uncut Chinese version]

The fight sequences in this film are all around good. I appreciate that each of the fight sequences don't drag on longer than necessary and I enjoyed how they are grounded in realism but the film isn't afraid to push the fights slightly into the fantastical with things like guys jumping 12 feet into the air. Also the violence of the fighting really escalates beautifully.

The score of this film (though I'm not exactly sure how much was original for this film) is really great the way it's used. It really adds a lot to the power and drama of the characters and story.

There is some odd pacing in this film, this is especially noticeable in the first half of the film where they seem to rush trough training sequences (there's even a continuity error, so we're not sure exactly how long Chi-Hao has been at the new school). Lots of sequences cut very abruptly at the end of action not allowing the scene to play out to a natural end and "breathe."

Also some of the acting is less than good, but by the second half of the film this wasn't as bothersome to me.

The cinematography in this film is really surprisingly fantastic. I was really surprised at how great the camerawork is; It really seems like every shot has a lot of real thought put into it where is the best place to put the camera. And there's a lot of really clever and creative things they came up with in this film that I think even someone who doesn't know much about cinematography would notice how unique some of the cool things they do are.

Easily the greatest thing about this film is its story. It starts off really simple and even pretty similar to other kung fu or martial arts films you've seen before, but as it goes on it has some really interesting twists and turns that keep you constantly guessing at how the story is going to play out for these characters. I like how this film has a lot of direct allusions to, and themes from films like Shane (1953) and other American westerns.

And this is a film that like many other kung fu films has tons of characters, but UNLIKE most other kung fu films this film handles all the characters beautifully! I love how almost every single character that is introduced in this film is addressed, gets nicely wrapped up and has a payoff by the third act.

King Boxer (1972) is a pretty typical and yet solid kung fu film but it stands out because of its amazing story and stylish direction. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Taxi Driver (1976)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 4: Taxi Driver (1976)

Taxi Driver might seem like an obvious choice but I felt like putting it on this list because Tarantino has been adding a lot of little homages to this film throughout his career. Tarantino considers this film a masterpiece and frequently lists it in his top three favorite films of all time (once again thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives for compiling these lists.) This film has frequent Tarantino-collaborator Harvey Keitel in it and years later Tarantino even gave this films lead, Robert De Niro another role of a very socially awkward guy in Jackie Brown (1997). Tarantino's first script True Romance (1993) features a somewhat large subplot of a guy killing a pimp to save a young girl from her life of prostitution (just like this film) and he's even wearing a green army jacket when he does it (though this choice might've been thanks to Tony Scott the director of that film). In Bruce Willis' segment of Pulp Fiction (1994), Bruce Willis's character runs into a taxi driver named Esmeralda Villalobos who drives a cab that's very similar to the one in this film (kinda strange for a film set in the 90's no?) And most recently in Django Unchained (2012), Christoph Waltz's character Dr. Schultz uses a hidden mechanized derringer pistol similar to the one Travis builds in this film.

"All the animals come out at night."

Taxi Driver (1976) is a dark and moody character study of a lonely, frustrated and bored man directed by Martin Scorsese. The film follows Travis Bickle a former Marine living in New York City who begins driving a Taxi because he can't sleep at night. As the film goes on we see how sick of the world Travis really is.

I love the world that is portrayed in this film. I love how real it all feels, I like how scary some of the random people they show seem and I really like how you can almost feel the mood of driving around the city at night. Things like the cab drivers meeting up at diners between shifts to just sit around and talk really seem to ground this odd movie for me.

All the acting is good in this film but I was especially blown away by the young Jodie Foster as the young prostitute Iris. This was her first major film role, and at 13 it's no surprise that she got an Academy Award nomination for this part because she seems wise beyond her years in this film.

This is admittedly nitpicky but there seems to be a little bit of a missed opportunity to show how Travis feels after killing the man in the convenience store. He seems scared in the moment, but this is his first time killing a person (as far as we know) and the first time he actually does something about the "filth" and crime of the city. I would have liked more of a scene showing if he enjoyed it or if it scared him or if he felt bad about it or whatever, the film just kind of moves on after this.

One of the best things about this film is how interesting it is. I really think this is one of the best character driven stories on film and something about combination of the unique setting, strange characters and moody atmosphere really drags you into the film and keeps your attention.

I love how the film treats the lead character Travis Bickle. It's not too obvious about the oddness of Travis Bickle in the very beginning but as the film goes on you slowly start to realize that there might not be something right about this guy. You eventually seem him get strange obsessions in his head and even jump to weird conclusions. But I really like the very little things, like Travis will say something slightly odd and then you see the person talking to him kind of get uncomfortable or give a slight roll of their eyes, this something I'm sure most people can relate to. Robert De Niro's performance is really great in all of it's subtleties and how earnest he seems int this role. It's really hard not to feel for and like the guy.

The music of this film really adds a lot to the mood of it. The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann who is probably most well known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), etc.) but also for the score to Citizen Kane (1941) & the opening to The Twilight Zone television show. Unlike most of his previous work however, the score to this film is predominately built around a jazzy saxophone line that seems to meander through the darkness of the city, really cool.

I also think it's really magnificent how the pace of this film seems to change with the mood of the main character we're following. At the beginning of the film Travis lacks direction, he can't sleep and the sequences seem really drawn out and dream like but later on as Travis' gets more fed up with the world around him scenes go by a lot faster and tension really seems to build effortlessly. The mood of this film is pure art, absolutely beautiful.

Taxi Driver (1976) is an very artistic film and probably the best character-driven story ever told on film. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links: