The cheap "B" horror film has long been a staple in Hollywood. But, what would happen to a "B" horror film if it was written by a gifted writer with a genuine love of movies, directed by one of the most creative young directors ever and cast with first rate actors? 'From Dusk Till Dawn' is what would happen. Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by my new favorite director, Robert Rodriguez, From Dusk Till Dawn stars George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis. Also on hand in either supporting or cameo roles are Cheech Marin (as 3 characters!), Michael Parks, Fred Williamson, Tom Savini, John Saxon, Kelly Preston and the "drop dead" gorgous Salma Heyek (she can bite my neck anytime).
'From Dusk Till Dawn' starts out as a blood-soaked road movie with the malevolent Gecko brothers (Clooney and Tarantino) on the run from the law. Harvey Keitel is Jake Fuller, a preacher who has lost his faith following the death of his wife and is on the run from his emotional pain. The brothers abduct Fuller and his two children to use to get across the Mexican border where the brothers are to strike a deal with a Mexican outlaw for sanctuary. Their rendevous is a bar straight out of Dante's Inferno called the Titty Twister. Only, this is no ordinary roadhouse and, at this point, 'From Dusk Till Dawn' becomes a decidedly extraordinary gonzo-biker-vampire movie.
The video transfer of this special-effects extravaganza is excellent. In many ways, superior to the print I saw in the theatre. Colors are accurate and highly saturated. The image is extremely sharp with excellent detail. Contrast and brightness are very good with deeper blacks and better shadow detail than I recall from the theatrical presentation. The image has been matted to the proper theatrical ratio of 1.85:1. This widescreen framing is essential to director Rodriguez's striking visual compositions.
The soundtrack is a high-energy mix of rock music, explosions, gunfire and assorted general mayhem. Wide dynamics, lots of directional effects and good surround envelopement greatly enhance the often over-the-top action. Dimension Films and Buena Vista Video have released 'From Dusk Till Dawn' on laser in two flavors, a standard movie-only edition and an "exclusive director's edition" (more on this in a minute). If you have taken the "Dolby Digital" plunge with your home theatre sound system, this director's edition is the one for you because this contains a terrific Dolby Digital track that is a noticable improvement over the regular Dolby 2-track. Dynamics are better, particularly the low end,and seperations are cleaner with more detail, especially in the surrounds. The discrete mix also has a number of cool split surround effects.
As I mentioned, 'From Dusk Till Dawn' was released in two editions. Though I did not review the movie-only edition, I expect the transfer and chapter information is the same as the director's edition. The film runs 108 minutes and the disc contains 26 chapters for the feature. The side break occurs in the middle of a scene but I did not find it disruptive. During the film on analog/right channel is a very entertaining commentary by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino (both laserdisc fans). This is a commentary track that I might actually listen to more than once. The director's edition also includes a second CLV disc of supplements. Included is the theatrical trailer and a number of TV trailers, a couple of music videos (The Tarantulas and ZZ Top), some amusing outtakes and a collection of stills. There is also a very good production documentary, 'Hollywood Goes To Hell', that focuses on Rodriguez and Tarantino's friendship and filmmaking styles. There is also additional commentary by Rodriguez using both finished and production footage. This commentary is a bit more technical in nature than the commentary on the same scenes during the film where Rodriguez and Tarantino focus more on characters and motivation behind what they did. I personally like Rodriguez's commentary style and find this a good companion to the main commentary.
List price of the movie-only disc is $34.95 and the director's edition is $69.95. I would highly recommend the director's edition. Even if you don't have AC-3 hardware, the supplemental material more than justifies the
additional cost."Okay ramblers, let's get ramblin'."
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