From Dusk Till Dawn: Collector`s Series (2 Disc Set) (US)

Right, engage story mode. I can remember going to see From Dusk Till Dawn at the cinema very clearly. A friend of mine couldn’t stop talking about it, and in particular about a certain Latin lovely with an unusual take on table dancing. He described it as a sort of gangster flick with a twist. Fair enough, I thought, I’ll give it a go. Well about half way through the film I was enjoying the proceedings, it was full of familiar Tarantino dialogue and even featured the man himself in a fairly major role. Add to that Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis and the aforementioned table dancing Salma Hayek, and I thought the film had potential. Then all hell broke loose. I sat there, looking up at the screen, as a hoard of bloodthirsty vampires began slaughtering everyone in sight, and just started laughing. It was so unbelievably over the top, not to mention unexpected, that I couldn’t help it. The thing is, it worked. I couldn’t take it seriously, but that’s the best thing about From Dusk Till Dawn.

This two-disc release from Dimension is a great tribute to an enjoyable film, and is an almost perfect release. Why almost? Well, once again a major film has been released with a non-anamorphic transfer! Even the dodgy region two release is anamorphic, so why this Special Edition is only letterbox is beyond me!?!

Anyway, rant over. The 1.85:1 video, despite it’s lack of 16:9 enhancement, is fine throughout. There are no real problems to speak of, but obviously the level of detail is not as good as it could be.

Sound is good, and comes in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Surround flavours. It doesn’t live up to the standards set by the likes of Saving Private Ryan, but it does feature some good moments, and the various screams and howls in the Titty Twister scenes come from all angles.

Extras are very comprehensive. In addition to some quite unnerving menus (I wasn’t expecting a drooling vampire to come lunging at me when I selected an option), you get a commentary track with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, deleted scenes and alternate takes with commentary, a Hollywood Goes to Hell featurette, the theatrical trailer, some TV spots, a couple of music videos, a stills gallery, The Art of Making the Movie with commentary from Rodriguez and Greg Nicotero, outtakes, and cast and crew bios. The second disc contains arguably the best extra of all – Full Tilt Boogie. This documentary chronicles the making of the film from start to finish, and has a lot of behind the scenes stuff, especially of Clooney and Tarantino clowning around. At over an hour and a half in length, it’s definitely worth at least one viewing.

I haven’t seen any of the sequels to FDTD, and judging by the things I’ve heard I’m not missing much. I guess the reason the sequels aren’t up to much is that there wasn’t a lot there to begin with. If it wasn’t for Tarantino’s involvement, and that of the likes of Keitel, Clooney and Lewis, FDTD would have been a decidedly below average flick. As it is, with their involvement, the film has some great scenes, in both the first and the second acts. Fred Williamson and Tom Savini are great, Cheech Marin is hilarious as Chet Pussy, and there are some great lines of dialogue (Kate - “Where are we going?” Ritchie – “Mexico.” Kate – “What’s in Mexico?” Ritchie - “Mexicans.”). Rodriguez directs the film in a stylish manner and the special effects are surprisingly good. This is a top film for a night in with a few beers and a takeaway. Just don’t take it too seriously.

This is kinda like gettin two (well three) films for the price of one, as Dusk till Dawn is a film of two halfs (plus there`s Full Tilt Boogie). The first half is a tense, comedic get to the border thriller written by Tarantino. The second half is a Bloody, action fest directed by Robert Rodregiez.

The disc itself is probably my favourite, although there is no anamorphic enhancement. The picture is good, not great with some grain and dirt but not much.

The sound is good, with Dolby 5.1 and Dolby Surround. Interestingly, in the commentary, Tarantino says that there are two ways to see Dusk Till Dawn, one in a cinema with Dolby Surround sound where you get the drive-in movie experience, and the other with Dolby Digital where you are insise the bar. This disc pretty much gives you both which is good to try out.

Now, the extras, these are the most entertaining ever! The commentary is funny and insightful, Full Tilt Boogie is probably the 2nd best film documentary ever, and even the promo featurette is superb(watch till the end to see Clooney pretending to be Harvey Keitel stating that "This is a Clooney vehicle... I guess i did it because of him."). The deleted scenes show the stuff no country would allow (blood) and the other assorted stuff is brilliant too.

If you meet any of the following requirements, get this film
1) You have a TV
2) You have a DVD player
3) You don`t mind extreme violence and nonstop swearing.

My opinion of this movie, from the start, was that it sucked. When I saw the front of the box in Hollywood video, I couldn`t bring myself to look at the back. I never wanted to see it.
Finally I got coaxed into it by my friend, and, the movie sucked. I normally like Tarantino`s films, but, I have to say, this is one for which he should hang his head in shame. I can`t believe he had anything to do with this movie. Okay, just to see if this sounds stupid, here`s the movie in a nutshell: There are two bankrobbing brothers, somehow they kidnap this girl (whom tarantino tries to rape), and make a run to mexico where the steal a camper and go to a bar where everybody turns into vampires and tries to kill them.
I`ve been waiting to tell that to the world. This movie was sad. It was for all of the stupid, bloodthirsty animals that make up a majority of our youth. Sick, isn`t it? All this movie did was satisfy Gory desires of an America Gone utterly stupid. and the special effects really did the trick. Tarantino I`m really I hang my head in shame, you should be doing the same.

Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino`s bloodsoaked masterpiece has been released as a special edition...about time! The film is a non-stop rollercoaster ride in which Tarantino`s twisted screenplay meets Rodriquez`s twisted mind. If you like the Horror genre and you don`t mind a bit of ultra-violence and gore then this is the film for you.
The picture is holds up well but it isn`t as good as we have come to expect from DVD. The sound is brilliant with the DD 5.1 option and a Dolby Surround option.
Disc One features an entertaining commentary by Tarantino and Rodriquez and is very informative. Also included on the disc is the deleted and alternete scenes which is just extra gore and violence when the vampires first attack. But Disc Two is where you can find `Full Tilt Boogie` a 90 minute and highly entertaining documentary about the production and making of the film. Possibly the best DVD Documentary to date (Up there with The Thing and Taxi Driver). All in all a good movie, decent picture and sound and excellent extras.