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(29/2/16)
“It’s intricacies form the whole Tarantino package, from a welling lore to the innovation of using a 70mm format”
From the rather inconspicuous and chilling opening, aided with Ennio Morricone’s haunting soundtrack, seeing “THE EIGHTH FILM BY QUENTIN TARANTINO” be projected onto my vulnerable eyes for the first time was certainly a shivering moment. There has been so much anticipation surrounding this movie as I have always been leached in by Tarantino’s works, a director who, admittedly, thrives off polarizing controversy, homages to older works (particularly the 70s era), grandiose soundtracks, spaghetti westerns, slapstick dialogue, and exploitation (in some cases, blaxploitation). I knew The Hateful Eight wouldn’t detract from that list, but like Tarantino’s style, he would also explore some new techniques and delve into different subject matters. The Hateful Eight is certainly his most eerie and intimidating work yet, surpassing Death Proof (2007), which follows the tale of eight mysterious people who are caught up in Minnie’s Haberdashery during a blizzard in Wyoming – all for it to be sucked into a frenzy of lies and deception. “One of them fellas is not who he says he is” exclaims John Ruth, played brilliantly by Kurt Russell.
Tarantino has managed to pull off a horror flick without the element of horror. It subversives itself more on mystery of our seemingly hateful characters, aided with the claustrophobic environment of the locked-in haberdashery, the inescapable blizzard, and the original score as touched on previously. Furthermore, our entourage of hateful’s provide themselves with backgrounds that are destined for trouble when mixed with the others. To exemplify, we have an ex-Confederate general, a black ex-Union Major, a bounty hunter and hangman, his bounty, and a sheriff to point out a few. A very interesting narrative is pulled out by Tarantino here as he has essentially amalgamated elements from his debut movie Reservoir Dogs (1992) and The Thing (1982). What is also intriguing is how Morricone has captured similar vibes from The Thing into The Hateful Eight, even using 34-year-old scores from John Carpenter’s movie in this one (a technique that Tarantino often uses). The real horror element in The Hateful Eight is, of course, the disastrous blizzard that has essentially imprisoned the characters. Bereft of it, and suffice to say, The Hateful Eight would have a more feeble yet still entertaining story.
I had the very privilege of watching the film in theatres twice, the latter being projected in Ultra-Panavision 70mm in Leicester Square which, to the best of my knowledge, was the only 70mm projection of it in the UK, certainly in England to say the least. Gazing upon such wide fixtures assuredly propped up multitudes of reverence and admiration, exemplifying the beauty of cinema and what it’s really about. This very rare and exceptional format hadn’t been done since 1966 with Khartoum (1966), with only an assortment of other films which were able to do it such as Ben-Hur (1959) and Battle of the Bulge (1965). It without a doubt created the immersion of going to a special event, such as that of a premiere. Upon arriving, a “Special Roadshow” programme handout was given out, which fulfilled an array of glorious photographs from the production to the technical aspects of how it was filmed, such as the incredible aspect ratio of the motion picture (that being 2.76:1, whereas most films use either 1.85:1 or 2.39:1). Succeeding this was the overture, which presented itself with an impeccable arty screenshot and Ennio Morricone’s spine-bending score, setting up the chaos of what was to ensue. This ultimately got me going for what was to follow; when the lush veils of snowy mountains and howling forests blissfully revealed themselves I was astonished at how wide something could be shot and then subsequently projected. A four horse stagecoach sets off from the right, only for it to take a handful of minutes to reach the other side. There was so much periphery and something I had never seen nor envisioned in cinema in my lifetime. The brilliance of it also is that I could tell it was being projected on celluloid, seeing the occasional blimps of the reel being shone through the projector. This made the experience more warmer and immersive, as I was literally watching film.
Extra scenes were also added in contrast to my first viewing in a standard theatre, which ran at 2 hours 47 minutes compared to the 3 hours 7 minutes you see on 70mm. Though commendable to treat fans with extra footage on 70mm, and granted it sets up some more stable character development and story, my slants about this is idea that the film in itself is too long for the substance of the picture. More fun but frivolous dialogue is thrown about which effectively exhausts the audience, and I was grateful for the 12 minute interval we received to relax from Tarantino’s slapstick writing.
Delving into Tarantino’s frequenters (Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, James Parks and Bruce Dern) was once again appealing to witness as the synergy of the bunch oozes miraculously from the screenplay to screen. Newcomers are also welcomed, such as Jennifer Jason Leigh, who has merited an Oscar nomination for her role as Daisy Domergue, Demian Bichir and Channing Tatum. Goggins’ performance is most definitely overlooked as he is the backbone of why the cast interacts so much. He liaisons with everybody; the good, the bad, and the hateful, as does Jackson and Russell in their respective supporting roles.
To rally this up, you will most definitely see this picture knowing Tarantino was the at the helm of the ship, and if you were expecting a grandiose of foul-mouthing, violence, quirky names and anecdotes, you won’t be of disappoint. It’s intricacies form the whole Tarantino package, from a welling lore to the innovation of using a 70mm format. Disregarding the movie’s overall length, The Hateful Eight is summed up as a merge from other greats, humbling Reservoir Dogs (1992), The Thing (1982) and even to the likes of 12 Angry Men (1957). An ideal recommendation for Western fanatics and mystery goers.
Matthew Alfrey
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