Hateful Eight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hateful Eight.

This country invented the western movie genre. Directors like John Ford, Anthony Mann, Raoul Walsh, John Sturgess, Sam Peckinpah, and Clint Eastwood all moved the genre forward and made great if not epic films. Tarantino’s  newest can be added to that list. While firmly rooted in the classic past and paying homage to his famed predecessors  He has made a film that is unmistakably his own.  In casting a team of great actors , many from his own previous films the play has the added gravitas that only this crew could deliver. 

There are four shining stars on display here.

One. Is the writing (Tarantino)

Two. The breathtaking 70mm cinematography (Robert Richardson)

Three. The haunting music soundtrack by  Ennio Morricone

Four. Samuel L  Jackson.  Undoubtedly the star of this film.

Jackson is to Tarantino, as Marcello Mastroianni was to Fellini

When he is on the screen, (A lot of the time) he owns it, its as simple as that.

That is not in any way to belittle the rest of the cast.

The mustachioed brilliant Kurt Russell as bounty hunter John Ruth

Jennifer Jason-Liegh as Daisy Domergue his much battered prisoner

Tim Roth as Brit Oswaldo Mobray

Michael Masden as Joe Gage

Bruce Dern wonderful as confederate General Sandy Smithers are the main players.

It’s a set up, they are all stranded in a remote cabin during a winter storm, Ruth taking his prisoner to the nearby town to be hanged so he can claim the bounty. They soon take sides form alliances and circle each other like a pack of dogs. It becomes clear that Ruth’s task will not go unchallenged. The climactic violence which Tarantino has become famous for slowly builds to a crescendo that will not leave fans disappointed. In casting these wonderful actors Tarantino much like Peckinpah in  The Wild Bunch chose exactly the right people rather than bending to any current trend. 
A Modern Masterpiece.  500 stars