So Grindhouse, the most face-meltingly awesome theatrical film experience of the decade, is released to a collective huh? by the slack-jawed numb-nutses of our great nation, collecting less than twenty million dollars in two weeks, meanwhile a teeny-bopper rip off of Rear Window makes more than that in its first weekend. Normally, I don't give two shits about box office receipts, but Tarantino and Rodriguez have publically stated that a positive reception of Grindhouse would lead to more double-features in the future. Instead, a bunch of theaters are de-coupling Planet Terror and Death Proof, reducing the awesomeness factor of both films by a solid 75% in the process and pretty much guaranteeing that Grindhouse will go down as a failed experiment thanks to the teeming legions of dullards who shuffle, herd-like to the cinema each weekend.
Eat a dick, America.
3 comments:
I saw the double-feature on Sunday and had arguably what may become one of my most cherished experiences at a movie theatre....ever. I laughed my ass off, I was horrified, and I even caught myself thinking a lot about things I never expected to THINK about at a set of movies such as these.
Point: The culture is, you are right, eating its own tail. In denying the possibility of experimentation and 'difference' in how moviegoers experience film, the very possibility of change and innovation for the future--to say nothing else of the hopes of young and upcoming film makers--is being denied. When things like this fail, and other brainless, formulaic, tried and true structures win, what happens? Mediocrity, mediocrity, mediocrity, and slow decline.
Time to get me a shotgun.
Mr Gant would do well to follow this man's example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LlazPgxKrA
As for the box office, I can't say I'm surprised. As much as it was a rapturous shot of pleasure to my face, I also know I'm in the minority of filmgoers who would really want to see it. Experiments in film making and presentation aside (along with my own love of gore), I can easily see why most Americans would pass on seeing zombies bursting goo and getting hit by trucks and an hour of 8 Tarantinos talking. Yes, it really sucks that it probably won't get the figures to make double features happen again on a large scale, but they did succeed in making an instant (and I do mean instant) cult classic. Its easy to see this continuing to get late/midnight screenings at small theaters for years to come, and could potentially open the door for other, smaller names to do the same thing (aiming for a readymade audience that will eat it up and fuck the rest).
Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but this could lead to a silver age of 'grindhouse' cinema, making up for the ambiance and availability of cheap cinemas with more flexible budgets, more attention to the delicate craft of exploitation, and (likely) willingness to work out of love -- I'm sure Eli Roth/Neil Marshall/Rob Zombie/even Tarantino and Rodriguez would be willing to sacrifice time and money for it, if the audience is still enthusiastic (note: Machete is getting primed for a DVD-only release).
In short, this movie wasn't for the people going to see Wild Hogs or Disturbia -- it was for us, goddamn it. That's a market; that's an audience. So, if you're...
thinking...
about writing it off...
DONT
Curt, your little list of directors has actually perked me up a little. It's easy to forget, but there really is a promising crop of talented young directors who are steeped in the cinematic grammar of OVER THE TOP. Just looking at the directors who shot the fake trailers for Grindhouse, you're talking about guys who have consistently pushed the envelope of acceptable cinema and done so with some serious craft. And for me, the point is that stylishly executed over the topness should be the goal here. Let's face it, there's something silly about commemorating B-movies when the B-movie aesthetic has taken over the mainstream for thirty years now. What makes it a worthwhile endeavor is resurrecting the sheer, exhilerating depravity of grindhouse cinema, and guys like Rodriguez, Tarantino, Zombie, Roth, Edgar Wright, and Neil Marshal have the balls and audacity to create a cinema that is both depraved and expertly crafted. Mostly, what you get in hollywood films is artless depravity or well shot drudgery. But, as Grindhouse shows, well shot depravity is possible and, when pulled off well, completely intoxicating. I agree with Curt about the cult staying power of Grindhouse (let's make a date to see it at the Times in about six months, okay?). And, even if the double feature concept is dead, at least we can recreate the contact high of Grindhouse at home in a year with a DVD triple feature of the upcoming Hot Fuzz, Hostel 2 and Rob Zombie's Halloween.
Post a Comment