GRINDHOUSE

[Benjamin Haines]

I got Planet Terror Monday night after midnight at Wal-Mart, and the DVD is great. The framing issue is something of an enigma. It's slightly cropped on all sides, but it's not as heavily cropped as you would expect it to be when chopped down from 2.35:1 (like the US version of Mothra vs. Godzilla on CM's new DVD, for example). The only conclusion I can come to with this is that the movie was shot in 1.85:1 and then cropped to 2.35:1 for the theater, and then the original 1.85:1 print was cropped a bit on all sides to make this 1.78:1 DVD transfer. I don't see the logic in any of that at all, but it's the only thing I can think of that makes sense.

Regardless, the framing isn't even a noticeable issue during viewing, and the film still looks as gloriously scratched-up as it did in the theater. I actually like this uncut version of Planet Terror even more than the one that played in theaters. I thought the theatrical cut had perfect pacing and I was worried that would be ruined here with the 15 minutes or so of extra footage, but it's just as good as ever. Most of the added bits are either a few extra seconds of gore here and there or slightly extended scenes of dialogue and exposition toward the beginning of the flick. Several of the extended parts actually flesh out some of the characters a bit more, which is a plus. It's all interesting, none of it drags, and the pacing doesn't miss a beat. Love it. Haven't had a chance to dig into much of the special features yet, but the wonderful Machete trailer is still here as part of the film itself, along with the "The Following Film is Restricted" titles and the like, including the "GRINDHOUSE" red-letter title that scrolls by the screen to open the film just like the theatrical version. No complaints from me there.

Also, just like how Death Proof came with a coupon for $5 off Planet Terror, likewise the latter comes with a coupon for $5 off the former. That's kind of a head-scratcher. I bought both of these at Wal-Mart, and they won't allow returns for DVDs that have been opened. So I brought my copy of Death Proof back with my receipt and told them the second disc wouldn't play, and they let me exchange it for a new copy (oblivious to the fact that I had already used the Planet Terror coupon that came with the copy I exchanged). I didn't open that new copy of Death Proof, and today I went back and returned it with the new receipt that I got with it and got all of my money back. Then I went and bought a brand new copy of Death Proof with the $5 off coupon that came with Planet Terror! Consequently, I now have an extra coupon for $5 off Planet Terror. Anybody want it?

And for those of you who think that the Weinsteins are pulling a cheap cash grab by releasing these films separately, you're right, that's probably what they're trying to do. But let it be known that with these coupons I got the uncut versions of both Planet Terror and Death Proof and all of the special features, 4 discs altogether, for just $23.92 in total. I encourage all of you who loved these two great movies to do the same. And hey, if these releases sell well enough then maybe we'll get the theatrical version on DVD later on down the road!

[Benjamin Haines]

[MouthForWar]

[Benjamin Haines]

[RapZiLLa54]

So I went to wal-mart yesterday to pick up The Karate Kid on blu ray (yes the new one!!) and low and behold.....

Grindhouse on Blu-Ray in its original theatre form...... My head nearly exploded lol. My hold out on these individual movies has finally paid off!!!

[jellydonut25]

[DannyBeane]

[RapZiLLa54]

[MouthForWar]

The new Blu-Ray is fantastic. I picked that and Splice up last night. Even as someone who despises Death Proof, I had to cave in and buy it. Its got all the fake trailers and bumpers. Its the exact same thing you saw in the theaters. Its got a lot of new special features, including extended versions of the fake trailers with commentaries as well as the making of the fake trailers. It even has the Hobo With A Shotgun trailer! And even though the Machete trailer isn't listed on the artwork, don't fret, its still there! My guess is the Weinsteins just didn't want to give the actual Machete movie any free promotion (Fox put out the movie). Even if you're like me and only enjoy one of the two films, the extras, the fake trailers, etc. make this a very worthy investment.

Only thing is the Blu-Ray is the theatrical versions of the films, so if you have the old DVD releases, you might wanna hold onto those still.

[jellydonut25]