Tarantino's audio commentary ruins this

Yes, but not in a good way.


I'm watching Michael Moore expose the Awful Truth/I'm listening to Public Enemy and Reagan Youth...

Tarantino never "steals the show" as you put it; he just "steals" the ideas of other, better artists and claims them as his own..

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

Lolz I saw it on Channel 4 aaages ago too, I found it quite amusing. Apparently a Brit DVD has just come out here (or so Ebay tells me lol), but I haven't seen it anywhere.

Ok I just watched this movie...I really enjoyed it, BUT I must take issue with a few things.

First off, Tarantino's intro to the movie IS annoying as hell. I love the guy, but JEEZ, they should have had him do a re-take or something. His delivery of those "lines" from the script was jaw-droppingly awful...maybe that was the point?

But his OUTRO was terrific! Instead of distractingly looking down at the teleprompter/cue cards, he actually looks INTO the camera and tells some great stories about the movie. You'd think it was a different person.

Next, I completely disagree about the Tarantino commentary track, if anything, he gives this film WAAAAY more credit than it deserves, and really "sells" it to Jack Hill.. I also thought his interpretations of the film's dialogue were more on the money than even Hill was aware of. There IS a distinctive style to that dialogue that works in a weirdly ambiguous way. Its the combination of campy nostalgia and quasi-fetishistic female inflections and dynamics (Maggie's reaction to the "search" for example) that really makes this film work IMO. Its truly unique, whether accidental or not.

Tarantino seemed MUCH more enamoured of the actresses than Hill, and I for one agree with him. I thought the actresses did a great job and I was surprised how infrequently I found myself laughing AT this movie. I laughed like hell at Coffy, but not this one. Yes, that "If you leave, it'll be BAD!" line gets a (wonderful) condescending laugh, but much of the other campy dialogue worked exceedingly well.

I don't think Tarantino ruins this film with his commentary, in fact I wish he'd record MORE commentaries. The guy's a walking film encyclopedia, lets see his knowedge put to more use!!! That being said, there WERE a few moments during which Hill seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable due to Tarantino's poking fun at a few continuity errors, and I thought that was a bit arrogant. Its obvious he's a much better director than Hill, why rub it in? Still, his observations were very perceptive.

Did I mention the movie is about as fun as can be? See it.

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I'm sure nothing means more to him than a high school diploma, especially with all the millions he's making now, huh?

Grow up and move on.

Yeah, he endlessly refers to his own films while sniffling on coke drip.

Mr. Tarantino is a good writer/director. But he should keep his mouth shut and NEVER appear in one of his films.

I just finished watching the DVD with Quentin and Hill's commentary track -- after seeing the film many, many times before, including on the big screen here in LA (introduced by the great Johnny Legend).

Anyway, I did find Quentin overbearing at times and he could be a bit overly-enthusiastic but you wanna know something? Hill by himself is kind of a quiet guy and I think he needed someone like Quentin to get him going on some of the cast stories and such. Sure, maybe Quentin could have toned himself down 10-20% but a commentary by Hill alone might not have been that interesting. \

My .02 worth.

"Why on earth would Quentin Tarantino even consider himself worthy of commenting on a film he didn't make? I realized he helped get it into distribution, but so what?"

So what? As a fan and a distributer he is a nice choice for the commentary. I haven't heard it though so I can't comment on how good or bad it really is.....

"Honestly, I'd rather just watch a movie again rather than hear the commentary, but I'd be even less inclined to hear Quentin babbling about this film." Ditto for John Waters' commentary for "Mommie Dearest." I can provide my own witty observations about a film I didn't make."

I respect your feelings but some people (and I am one of them) actually enjoy commentary when it's good and informative in a fun way. I will actually buy a film I have seen before if I have heard that the commentary is good.
I have heard some truely bad commentary of many films from directors and actors who are inarticulate. I am surprised by your comment about John Waters. Having seen Mommie Dearest countless times before the age of DVD, and having been a fan of John Waters for years, I found his commentary to be one of the best! I never watch that film anymore without his commentary. I already know the lines by heart! My friends and I watch with John Waters because it's like watching with another friend.
We can all "provide (our) own witty observations about a film (we) didn't make...." but he reflected many of my feelings and did it in an entertaining manner.

As for Switchblade Sisters, I absolutly loved it! My kind of movie!

"Fasten your seat belts!
It's going to be a bumpy night!"

I saw it in a rat infested grindhouse when it first came out.

Believe it or not, people did know about films before Tarantino.

Bite me, fanboy! -- Lobo

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