The Hateful Eight [Blu-ray]

The first thing you need to know is that this film is visually stunning. Tarantino decided to film it in 70mm in a nod to the old westerns of the 1950's. Just the opening titles are breathtaking. The second thing you need to know is that the soundtrack is by Ennio Morricone. Yes, THE Ennio Morricone who wrote the music for 'A Fistful of Dollars' (1964), 'For a Few Dollars More' (1965) and 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' (1966). OK..now we've explained that we'll discuss the movie but without revealing anything. It's a moody & atmospheric film. Deep snow features throughout and you can't help but feel the cold as you watch this 161 minute film. The cast is exemplary with a few Tarantino favourites like Samuel L Jackson, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth but it's Kurt Russel and Jennifer Jason Leigh who shine throughout. It wouldn't be a Tarantino film without language that's now frowned upon and violence when you least expect it. Can't discuss the plot as that's better for you to find out yourselves as you settle in for the ride. Personally I think this is by far the best Quentin Tarantino film ever. He knocked it out the park with this one and I am very happy I now have a copy.

Excellent film, just a pity Amazon are charging for almost every film you want to watch these days, most you can’t even rent and being forced to buy! Also as a prime member the fact we get “adverts” in films is ridiculous! Amazon getting worse n worse

Tarantino movies are 'always' something a bit special. And the hateful eight is certainly no different. What a Tarantino film offers better than any other modern movies......is great scenes with men in rooms conversing. And he doesn't mind dragging out the conversation either. Now I understand many people do not like it when a scene is dragged out. But that is because of their experiences with movies with bad dialogue that didn't need to be dragged out. Quentin has always been up at the top (if not the top) of directors and writers that can turn an average low-key dialogue scene. Into something magnificent. Being able to force career best work out of his cast. Many many times. And that's one of the things about the hateful eight that is so on point. The hateful eight cast. Nobody can ever be carried in a Tarantino film. Everyone involved knows it's going to be intensely difficult. Yet every A-lister would give their right leg to be a part of the madness. Picking out a star performance is almost impossible thanks to everyone involved. From Kurt Russell's hilarious bounty hunter performance to Jennifer Jason Leighs slapped about Daisy. To (in my opinion) a career best performance in Walton Goggins newly promoted Sheriff Chris Mannix. Other Tarantino regulars are on par here too, as you would expect. Samuel L Jackson gives Quentin his best as usual. As does Madsen and the incredibly talented Tiim Roth. Though the hateful eight will not be the best Tarantino movie you have ever seen. That's only because of the sheer masterpiece's he has directed in the past. So saying that, the hateful eight is a must-see brilliant film. There is but a few directors alive, that can place 95% of a movie in one room........yet hold the attention of an entire audience. Here be another cult classic.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5. A refreshingly less self-indulgent gem from Tarantino which has a tight script that most interestingly harks back to his two earliest films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction in terms of suspenseful paranoia and non-linear chronological plot twists. I won't bother with a detailed synopsis. I'm sure that most people reading this review know that this is a western in the "dudes who aren't necessarily who they claim to be and who don't necessarily like each other all stranded together in a blizzard" mold, right? And I'm sure people reading this also know that the main thrust of the story is Kurt Russell's grizzled bounty hunter's quest to see his present captive (as played by an uglied-up Jennifer Jason Leigh) see the end of a hangman's rope, right? Okay, good. With that out of the way, now onto my review: This is a very impressive film. I especially liked the effective (and perhaps quite brave) choice to use of the 2.76:1 Ultra Panavision 70 Widescreen format, which was a little jarring at first - but my eyes soon adjusted; I only wish I'd seen this on the silver screen as I think it would have looked achingly gorgeous and epic at that scale. As for the story and the performances, many of the fine actors in this are returning Tarantino alumni, so it's evident that they all work together really well and do a fantastic job giving breath to the lines that their writer-director has bestowed upon them. As ever, Samuel L. Jackson essays his role with a song in his heart and is a joy to behold, as is Kurt Russell in a part that fits him like a glove... the real revelation, though, is Walton Goggins, whom despite being given such an initially unlikeable racist hillbilly role to play, somehow manages to practically steal the entire film in the last reel - no small feat, I'll tell you... So yes, I quite liked this and I would recommend it - a welcome return to form from a director who, it has to be said, is sometimes a victim of his own smug pretentiousness. As good as both Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained both were (especially after the hideous Death Proof), they were nowhere near as good as this film, in my opinion - which is interesting, given that this was originally intended to be a Django sequel before Tarantino decided that the script was veering elsewhere. Okay, I think that's just about covered everything that I wanted to cover. Thanks for reading my review.

Tarantino style film credits? Check Haunting original score that's awesome at start and ties film together? Check Over extended opening sequence that dwells on a sculpture of christ and some beautiful mountains? Check Brilliantly acted by every single actor - including even Mr Tatum? Check Couldn't look away - and had to re watch the beginning at the end? Even better second time? Check Controversial over use of racist word - but put into a context that works as an honest reflection on American's historical problems? Check A faint whiff of trouble as this is partly produced by you know who - and leading lady not treated well - but again context of story spot on....? Check I could go on with this list - but I think you get the idea. My favorite Mr T films are still Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction - but this comes 'mighteeee close' - just like the equally fab Django and Inglorious I get everything that Tarantino wants from his films from beginning to end - there is no let up usually .... The game changer in this film is the contrast between space and claustraphobic tension - you feel the director pining for character and poetry in this film - thanks to the white landscapes, the amazing score and the fantastic script (again) Quentin fulfills his ambition mostly. I loved it. Was transfixed and amazed and a bit frightened too. Like Wes Anderson and Wim Wenders (our other great modern masters with their own outstanding filmic artistry and signature) you want more of what they love to do - but end the film faintly wishing to be TOTALLY bamboozled by something completely new - because all these directors are clearly capable of doing something unexpected which would be even more brilliant....but like many an obsessed artist - they are happy in their own sheds. And I really dont blame them. Guilermo Del Toro is my other modern director who's work I really like (OMG Pans Labyrinth) but for me he hits his style a little less full on in some films because you feel he's been waiting for the proper funding perhaps and some films are made as a route to get to his true calling (Shape of Water is his best since Pans by a mile.......) - well Quentin does not wait - he does - and that makes his work very immediate and understandably Tarantino esque each time. The twists and turns - through the dialogue are particularly brilliant. A must watch.....or listen........I wrote a poem after called The Hope For Higher Praise.........its a good poem thanks to this film.

The latest movie from director Quentin Tarantino. Like his last one, it's a western. In Wyoming, bounty hunter John Ruth [Kurt Russell] is on the way to the town of Red Rock via stage, along with his prisoner. The charming Daisy Domergue [Jennifer Jason Leigh]. There's a storm coming along. They end up picking up two passengers. Bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren [Samuel L. Jackson] and Chris Mannix [Walton Goggins] one time guerrilla now - supposedly - town sheriff. A stop off at Minnie's, a stagecoach way station, turns out to be a longer one than intended. As the storm makes it impossible to leave. Not that, once the travellers and those already there get together, everyone may make it out alive anyway... Shot in 65mm film, this has absolutely gorgeous cinematography. It's a western made the way they used to do it. There are some stunning snow covered landscape shots. It's very much a character drama/detective story. As the characters interact and secrets come to light. Like most of the director's work, there are long conversations. But they do all set the scene and add to the characters, and they do all lead somewhere. And there are narrative tricks, twists and turns. In a plot that is very well put together and develops at just the right pace. It's as violent as you would expect. A couple of bits being nearer the knuckle than anything even this director has done before. And it gives good actors strong parts they can really get their teeth into and make the most of. As with some of Tarantino's other films, this one takes an actor who had somewhat vanished off the radar - in this case Jennifer Jason Leigh - and gives them a career redifining role that really shows off their talents. Even with all this strong characterisation, Michael Madsen's character does feel a little underdeveloped. And this is not quite as good a film as Django Unchained, simply because since it's the director's second western in a row, it doesn't feel as original as that did. But those are only minor complaints. All in all it's memorable movie making, and worth five stars. The dvd has the following language and subtitle options: Languages: English. Subtitles: English. The disc goes straight into the film when loaded with no ads or trailers. Be aware that, when it comes to chapter selection, it only has a handful of these. The exact same chapters the film is divided into. So you will have a lot of fast forwarding to do if you want to get a certain point in the middle of one. There are two extras: Beyond the eight: a four minute long behind the scenes feature. Which is just one of those promotional pieces with cast and crew extolling the project. Sam Jackson's guide to glorious 70mm, however, is a fascinating seven minute long look at how the film was shot, and how it was done and released in the manner of certain films of old. Well worth a watch, especially for movie buffs.

Great ensemble cast with suspense and jeopardy.

Depp. Moss. Hirst. Tarantino. Jiang Zemin. Oasis. The 90s made their mark and Reservoir Dogs (the ear sadism, soundtrack, blood and intensity) and Pulp Fiction (the soundtrack, humour, blood, eclecticism and - oh I forgot to mention: Thurman. ) Made QT the hottest, coolest cinematic property of the decade, sans argument. He was original, daring and struck his own tone. But Time is cruel, and inevitably, even crueller than the baddies he serves up in this tedious bowl of guts and ennui. This may be a "Tarantino film" in more than name alone but if so, I missed it. The soundtrack is mundane where it isn't simply bereft. The stage setting invites unflattering comparison with another, better and crueller though less bloody 90s phenomenon, Glengarry Glen Ross. (QT: that bit of it - the setting, the stagey bit, the actual production and direction bit, was already done exponentially better by someone else; that never used to be you.) Another Tarantino masterstroke used to be casting. And it's nice to see an old master revisiting his early hits (smoke me another Jackson; play Madsen for me; grate that Roth). But having JJ Leigh ( . . ?) do impressions of Christopher Walken in Sleepy Hollow - there go the 90s again - was eye-catchingly bizarre. Perhaps we are supposed to view these sorts of things as self-referential or nostalgic to the point where we as an audience gush with pleasure at the invitation? No more, QT; it's been done. Already. By you! And what genius you might have, or have had, clearly reached its apogee in the last decade of the last century. The trends you set in the 90s have both run their course and been absorbed; taken up. Like the souls in this picture: so have you. Nowadays there are better things to watch. (PS: do let me know either when you think Kill Bill only ever deserved to be one, already declining film, or when you can count to nine.)

This movie edition has turned out to be Region A locked (North America) so my european Panasonic bluray player cannot read the disc. Further more movie's box has been damaged during shipping due to inappropriate packaging (standard amazon's cardboard envelope). Languages: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio Subtitles: English SDH (deaf or hard hearing) and spanish Screen format: 2.76:1

Even though there are a lot here that say this is a masterpiece of which I concur wholeheartedly with, I will take it a little further than that, and say it’s sumptuously with it’s whole package an deliciously makes my heart tender with delight, an don’t forget Glee, “The Hateful Eight” is a masterpiece in it’s own right no doubt about it, but the thing I love about it is, it’s the build up to it’s final conclusion, an so that I’ve seen here some people seem to think that others wont like it that way, I Think I can judge for myself whether that works for me or not, I think so, if you can’t understand the preparation it took for all the dialogue for every scene that can hold your attention for so long you just don’t have fait in speaking or listening to anything, understanding seems like a big step for people these days, I guess the abbreviated social media got them stump for words, an it’s even harder when you tell the truth, what’s the best thing here is, there was only fifteen people in the movie an it work to perfection, the original Eight an the two cooks (woman) the helper an the girl in the Davey-crochet out-fit an the man in the chair, plus Daisy Domergue brother, that was a shock to see my goodness I’ll leave it at that, an plus I’ve seen a lot of movies when people use the big N” word but in this one it was used in the most peculiar an funny way that I don’t think was offence, at least not to me, an especially when Walton Goggins was trying to say Daisy’s last name “Domergue” I couldn’t stop laughing, for laughing sake, I don’t know how Quentin Tarantino come up with that name, he must’ve been laughing, like i was, This Is A Masterpiece..An I Love It.. Love It.

Tarantino's best film in my opinion, but maybe I am biased towards westerns, mysteries, and interesting dialogue. It looks crisp on Blu-ray at a nice 1080p. No problems with the case or disk. This is a good one for inclement days.

Stupendo

Once again a few years back saw this film and enjoyed looking at it,