Managed to see all of Grindhouse for the first time, this week. I had seen Deathproof before, and I dislike it less now that I have seen it as it was supposed to be seen.
Grindhouse cinema was not really something I remember - apart from being too young, and being forced to watch all my B-Grade exploitation movies on VHS, it really wasn't part of the Australian culture. Drive-in was about as close as we ever got to grindhouse.
And the pseudo-retro thing nags at me a bit, as well. It is much more obviously pseudo when it starts with a go-go dancer that has no disco hot pants or platforms, and has a pole instead. It reminds me of those McDonald's ads that were ostensibly set in Australia, in the 1930's, to give kids who were born in the '70's the idea that McDonald's had been in Australia longer than they had. There is a lot of commercial convenience in this revision of the seventies -the type of exploitation of women portrayed in these movies is pure noughties, post spice girls, post Madonna type exploitation. It is not the Farrah Fawcett/ Pam Grier type of 'new woman' - but I guess if it was, it wouldn't be watchable.
Planet Terror comes much closer to the sophisticated send up of naive '70's B-Grade, (which were usually slashers) - it has the same kind of juvenile thrill to it. Seeing Death Proof after it, with the actors and sets from the previous movie, made Death Proof more watchable as well.
Still, it annoys me. It is hard to say exactly why, because they do what they do so slickly. Maybe it is that. The music grates on me especially. The Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mike & Titch song is like the C&W soundtrack to "Reservoir Dogs". Why does he choose the most lacklustre, crap and already overexposed songs? Didn't he get it the first time? Stop trying to make fetch happen! It isn't going to happen, Tarantino. The kids are not going to start singing crap pop songs that deserved to die when they did, just because you are such a cool producer.
I guess part of it is that you can see that it was a lot more fun for the people making it, it is full of hidden jokes and references that you would have to be part of the crew or cast to really appreciate. Which creates an impression like those low-level music awards ceremonies on MTV, where the host and the award winners keep on going on about what a great party they are going to have afterwards.
Anyway, as you can probably guess, I am not a Tarantino fan, even if he is a truly brilliant and original producer. Also, I did not see Kill Bill, and there seem to be references here (at least, there are references to Uma Thurman, and they are not all Pulp Fiction references.) Still, as this edition of Deathproof skipped all the lap dance and also the carpark outside the drugstore scene where we learn some of Stuntman Mikes and all of Lees backstory, I don't think it is essential to understanding the films. I might have to see a version that is Planet Terror all on it's own, to find out what happened between the jail sex scene and the scene where the Rib Shack blows, too.