-Tarantino said the film "only cost 12 million to make." How does this compare to other films in 1998? Is the action good enough without a huge budget?
-The orginial of this film used a white woman to play Jackie. Why was a black woman chosed this time around?
I really should proof this stuff before posting.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your second question, it was the book "Rum Punch" which featured Jackie as a white woman. When reading through an interview from a British newspaper, The Guardian, Tarantino discusses why he picked Pam Grier instead of a white actress for the film. He felt that having a black actress gave the film more depth as the character was being messed with by the cops (a more graphic term was used in the film) and "worked her way down the ladder" so to speak.
ReplyDeleteInterview:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/1998/jan/05/quentintarantino.guardianinterviewsatbfisouthbank1
Very true, Hannah! After I submitted my post, I recalled that it was a book first and Jackie was white. Thanks for the clarification! What did you think about the depth? I personally thought Pam was fantastic. I loved this movie the first time that I saw it. I am a big fan of Tarantino. The goings on between Bridgette Fonda and Robert DeNiro were great comic relief. Yes, I think for Tarantiono's rendition, Jackie was best played by a black woman.
DeleteI have a hard time believing this movie cost 12 million dollars to make. Who ever payed that bill I think they need a refund. I am not an expert on the cost of movies, but the action was more the showing of guns and shooting people, a mall and a few houses, blood splattering, cars being shot. If I had not known the era in which the film was made, I would have thought this movie followed action movies more from the 70's. I guess I am not fond of this movie at all, and really found a great deal of degrading offense with the entire movie. I have to say I hated this movie and find no value in someone paying 12 million dollars to have it made. There were a great deal of scenes that could have been cut or shortened and do not understand why this was not achieved. Sorry Mr. Tarantino, but there could have been more action or change of venues / cities to make the film more interesting. Less "Nigger" would have been appreciated, and I'm even a "white person".
ReplyDeleteI think the way Samuel L. Jackson's character spoke was a very realistic interpretation of a black man in that position in the 90s. It made him seem like he came straight out of the ghetto doing illegal business and possessed very little class; I think if he would have spoken like a white person it would have been awkward.
DeleteI really enjoyed this film and could see how one would find it maybe degrading or offensive if you are not familiar with the culture from which the movie came. With that being said I agree with Mark that this is a very realistic interpretation and talking 'white' would be awkward in his role. Tarantino had been bashed by Spike Lee for his use of the N-word which led Jackson to stand up for Tarantino and back him saying he had no problem with it and it made realistic portrayals. Also, in my opinion, some of the scenes may have seemed much longer because Tarantino chooses to use long single takes in certain situations which may have made them seem longer. To me these scenes seemed short compared to those of our previous movie of Silkwood which I thought were very drawn out and dry.
DeleteI think this movie had more action and change of venues than any other movie we have watched this semester.
Delete12 mil. was not a lot to spend on a major production at the time. Tarantino was thrilled that he got away with spending so little. I liked the raw filming and lack of todays super duper action scenes. I like a little X Men big screen excitement, but raw films are my favorite.
DeleteI found it interesting how the films became more violent the more current we got. In Philadelphia Story, to more "violent" part is when Tracy is pushed by C.K Dexter Haven at the beginning of the film. Next we see Buck and another man duel, and although we see the guns, we never hear shots or see anything. After that we progress to Walter killing Mr. Dietrichson, but we don't actually see that happen either. Some Like It Hot is the first movie where we actually see people die, but no blood or anything. Jackie Brown is the first movie where blood is shown, and the point blank killing. In Some Like It Hot, we expect the mob to kill people, and nothing is said about it, but in Jackie Brown when the girl is killed in the parking lot, I was taken aback, and I definitely didn't expect it. Fargo again is a film where I didn't expect the point blank killings, but it was almost expected coming from thieves and liars like Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare characters.
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