Death Proof

[Zeeboe]

This is one of my favorite movies. I'm a huge Kurt Russell and Quentin Tarantino fan, and seeing those two work together, and combine the styles that made them famous was a dream come true. I also love that the first half was short in beautiful downtown Austin, Texas. My hometown. Finally, I'm a big fan of old-school early 80's horror, and this film pays a very good homage to that genre.

Anytime I present one of my favorite films to people who have never seen it before, I feel almost like it's my movie, and I love watching their reactions.

I recently introduced this movie to two young female friends of mine. One is 18, the other is 19. They've never seen Death Proof before, never heard of Kurt Russell, or seen any of his movies.....and both were really happy to see Stuntman Mike's death.

The 18-year old kept saying over and over again...."He needs to die. He needs to die." While the 19-year old laughed right away when Stuntman Mike got shot, and was laughing through out his suffering. Both laughed at the final shot, and clapped. The 19-year old yelled out "Girl power!", and both loved the movie.

I remember when I first saw "Death Proof" in the theater, all the women in the audience laughed and clapped at Stuntman Mike's death, then I came on the web, and discovered the whole country of women who saw the movie were also LOLing and cheering.

On a personal note - I am a straight guy, and I not only love this movie, but I also do think it sometimes gets the bad rep it gets because it is a "girl power" movie. Although every guy I've met in real life loves it too.

While it does have a girl power feel to it, it's a feel good movie. It has all the stuff that makes a movie good, it's entertaining, it's scary, but not too dark or intense, and it has a happy ending that honestly makes almost everyone (at least most women) wanna stand up, clap, and cheer.


As I typed, neither one of my young female friends had ever heard of Kurt Russell, or seen any of his other movies, and I was happy to introduce the greatness that is Kurt Russell to a new generation. He played a very, very memorable and unforgetable character. I'm happy Quentin picked Kurt to play the character. I honestly don't think anyone else would have been better. That's the great thing about Quentin - He knows just who to hire for roles, and he gives actors who have sadly faded away some a chance for a comeback, and he introduces a new generation of people to them so they can see why they are so great, and he always gives them characters to play people will always remember.

I was tempted to bring up that Kurt use to play the hero in many action movies back in the 80's, but I didn't want to spoil their illusions. If they wanna hate Stuntman Mike, that's okay. :)..........and I figure, Kurt and Quentin aimed for that kind of response from people...especially the women. They wanted women to laugh, clap, and cheer, and that's what they got, and I don't wanna mess that up in any way. :) As a true Kurt Russell and Quentin fan, I should not attempt mess up what they were going for.

When I said, "Ouch" after Stuntman Mike got his car crashed into by the girls for the first time, the 19-year old looked at me with shock. It made me laugh. I show just a tiny bit of compassion for the guy, and she wanted to hurt me. lol. I knew then it would be wise not to defend him. :)

....Even I sometimes laugh at Stuntman Mike's pain, and I did last not. Mostly because as I typed, I'm a huge and life-long Kurt Russell fan, and I can sense Kurt was having a lot of fun acting that way. lol.

[Corporate CockSnogger]

k

[Skippord]

thx 4 ur take

[Downunder]

I think it's the best of the Grindhouse double feature, but I'm fucked if I'm going to write that much about it.

[Shadow]

And you put that behind spoiler tags because?

[KayfabeMan]

I got to spend some time with 'The Babysitter Twins', Elise and Elektra Avellan last year while working a convention they were at in Florida.

http://a538.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/l_b20b3dbc5e65a373acd644de001d03e1.jpg


They were incredibly sexy.

[Zeeboe]

And you put that behind spoiler tags because?

Because maybe not every person on planet earth has seen the film?

[CSL]

Russell was quite far down the list of people to potentially play Stuntman Mike. And the female parts of your tale could not sound more made up.

[Zeeboe]

Russell was quite far down the list of people to potentially play Stuntman Mike.

I'm well aware of that. It was actually Robert Rodriguez who talked QT into hiring Kurt Russell.

Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone and Ving Rhames were consider for the role, and I have no doubt they would have been great, but the problem is, is all three of those guys look too dangerous looking, and too much like they could be serial killers, and I don't think too many young women would accept rides from them. In my view, because Kurt Russell played the part he gave Stuntman Mike that "Ted Bundy" vibe to him.

i.e. Kurt Russell looks like a nice guy you can trust, and the great thing about Kurt is he can play that Disney fatherly kinda role one second, but within a split second go to being a freakin' bad-ass, and be 100% convincing no matter which role persona he's taking on.

I could name several other films where the leads who ended up playing the roles did not almost get the part, but thank God things worked out the way they did because Kurt Russell IS Stuntman Mike. He was born to play that part, and was custom made to be the character. He was beyond perfect, and I believe no other actor could have given a better performance because he was just so beyond fantastic. It's almost like Quentin Tarantino gave birth to Kurt Russell, and after he invented Stuntman Mike, he created an actor who could play him.

That one shot where Kurt is sitting at the bar, and he turns around, and we see his one eye as he looks at the group of girls.....freakin' signature shot right there, man. :y:

[thedamndest]

Guys, please don't ruin the Death Proof thread for everyone else who wants to talk about this gem.

[CSL]

Guys, please don't ruin the Death Proof thread for everyone else who wants to talk about this gem.

I'd say more of a 'misty stone' than a gem. 6/10 tops. But that's a different thread completely.

[Fignuts]

It's alright. Kurt Russel was great, but everything else was pretty average to me.

[Skippord]

It's almost like Quentin Tarantino gave birth to Kurt Russell, and after he invented Stuntman Mike, he created an actor who could play him.
uh

[Zeeboe]

Oh, don't look so deep into it. Heck, I'm actually almost quoting QT himself when talking about the character "Marv" from Sin City played by Mickey Rourke.

[Shadow]

I got to spend some time with 'The Babysitter Twins', Elise and Elektra Avellan last year while working a convention they were at in Florida.

http://a538.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/l_b20b3dbc5e65a373acd644de001d03e1.jpg


They were incredibly sexy.

....good lord that's hot.

[Schlomey]

twas a wonderful revenge tale. Great ending. Good chase scene. Kurt was gold. Beginning was a big dragging but it def. aged well in its hour and a half :)

[KayfabeMan]

....good lord that's hot.

Isn't it?

They're just incredibly hot.

[mitch_h]

Thought it was boring and self-indulgent

[LuigiD]

I thought the movie was quite awful to be honest. I was excited to see it since I liked the other Grindhouse films but..
Half the movie was girls talking about random crap that I didn't care about. I spent most of the movie hoping for something cool to happen. I liked the character of Kurt Russel and there was funny moments here and there..but besides for that? no desire to ever see it again.

[Zeeboe]

Well, no film is universally loved or hated. And for me, it just has so many things and people I love in it, how can I not be a fan? (Kurt Russell, QT, Austin, Texas, classic rock, classic cars, and a homage to early 80's horror.)

On the web, there seems to be mixed feelings, but in real life, everyone I've come across in real life has had nothing but positive things to say about it. Especially women. :lol: It's a violent chick flick.

The first time I saw it, it was hard to get into because after watching Planet Terror, to go from a fast-paced film to a more slow-paced movie was hard, and I shamefully admit that with the exception of the Kurt Russell scenes, I was not into it at all, but it grew on me very quickly. It reminded me of the original Jaws, Halloween, and Friday the 13th in some ways. Those three movies have a lot of talking scenes, and they build up to the action, so by the time it's there, you're ready for it. It also reminded me of "Jason Goes to Hell" because in that movie, you're waiting for Jason to show up, and when he does, it's awesome. It was the same deal for me with the second half of Death Proof. I think some people (even the Stuntman Mike haters) are just waiting for him to come back in.

Also, out of all the movies I've seen in the theater, when the bad guy gets his, I've never heard such a reaction. While my first emotions when I saw Kurt Russell on the screen were positive, most younger people's reactions today are negative. But regardless, it's an intense reaction, and rather Kurt is a hero or a bad guy, he's played such great characters, that you can never forget Kurt Russell or that memorable role he played.

And I am proud to see that Kurt can not only do a great job at being a family man, a bad-ass action hero, but also a slasher. He seems to really be able to make people's skin crawl, and scare them.

[Sixx]

The 19-year old yelled out "Girl power!", and both loved the movie.



Maybe you should introduce her to the Powerpuff Girls and Spice World.

[Zeeboe]

Maybe you should introduce her to the Powerpuff Girls and Spice World.

But then I may have to sit through it. :(

[ORANGE-LOCKE]

I'm just glad we got a "Big Kahuna Burger" nod in the movie....after all,they say it is a "tasty burger"

[Prez]

Death Proof was good. I guess it depends a lot on whether or not you like QT's dialogue, and I do, so I enjoyed the parts with the girls just shooting the shit. The chase scene was killer and much like Inglourious Basterds, he built up the bad guy and gave the audience the payoff they wanted in the end. I wouldn't call it a great film and when you compare it to his first four it's extremely simple (which was his intention). It succeeds at what it sets out to do.

[Zeeboe]

I was celebrating QT's birthday yesterday, & did not even realize it was his birthday. I watched Inglourious Basterds for the first time yesterday, and then rewatched Death Proof on blu-ray, which I had just recently bought on that format. Then I went on the imdb, and saw that it was QT's 47th birthday. Pretty cool!

My 18-year old friend also informed me yesterday that she added the songs "Chick Habit" and "Down in Mexico" to her cell phone. She and my other friend had mentioned the movie to their friends too, so I'm glad I was able to introduce them to it.

I tell ya, Death Proof may become a cult classic in the years to come hopefully because sadly a lot of people have not heard of it. I think it got lost in the grindhouse shuffle. Even though I freakin' loved the concept of Grindhouse, it's a shame it bombed. It's because sadly a lot of people in the mainstream didn't understand the theme of it. I remember seeing "Grindhouse" at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, Texas, and it was fun and entertaining as hell, and everyone in the theater totally understood it, and laughed at all the right parts. But the Alamo Drafthouse theater's whole theme is like an old-school drive-in/grindhouse theater. Seeing "Grindhouse" there was one of my very best movie experiences ever. But I sometimes think maybe it would have been better off as far as popularity goes if Death Proof and Planet Terror would have been separate because as I typed, I don't think a lot of people got the whole grindhouse theme. Also, the intentional mistakes in both movies I think confuse a lot of movie watchers, so maybe those should have been removed as well. But at the same time, I freakin' loved watching Grindhouse, and would not want to trade that experience for anything.

I think Death Proof may become another "lost classic". I'd compare it to films like Hitch Hike, Jailbait, Hard Candy, and Funny Games. Those are very unknown movies, but anytime people watch them, they just love them and have a profound impact on them but because of low budgets, they never got much attention, and were never watched by the right people. I know in some cases, some unknown films become hits...such as the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rocky, and in more recent years, Precious, but those movies were also viewed by the right people who threw their money in to support it, but the truth is, not all great unknown films are watched by the right people due to lack of promotion. Also, in the case of those three movies, most likely someone who knew someone who know someone watched it, recommended it, and it was passed along until the right person saw it. But in a way, Death Proof being either a lost classic or a cult classic in a few years only adds to the old-school grindhouse theme it has.

Death Proof has all these 2006 references, so I'm thinking in the future, when 2006 is like a novelty to the future generation the way 1980's is a novelty to some people in my generation, Death Proof will become a cult favorite.

[OverTaker]

Haven't seen Death Proof yet and I want to from all the hype and Russel.

Sorry to go off topic, what do you think of Kill Bill?

[Zeeboe]

Haven't seen Death Proof yet and I want to from all the hype and Russel.

Sorry to go off topic, what do you think of Kill Bill?

Great film. :y: I'm hoping one of these days they'll release a blu-ray/DVD of both Kill Bill movies all in one film.