Grindhouse (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

Product Description Together for the first time the Rodriguez/Tarantino Double Feature GRINDHOUSE is back and better than ever! These rip-roaring and adrenaline-pumping films are now featured in the original theatrical exhibition format. Loaded with over 2 hours of bonus content, including the fan favorite "Rodriguez's 10 Minute Cooking School", this 2-disc Blu-Ray will deliver a new experience like never before! Amazon.com Loud, fast, and proudly out of control, Grindhouse is a tribute to the low-budget exploitation movies that lurked at drive-ins and inner city theaters in the '60s and early '70s. Writers/directors Quentin Tarantino ( Kill Bill) and Robert Rodriguez ( Sin City) cooked up this three-hour double feature as a way to pay homage to these films, and the end result manages to evoke the down-and-dirty vibe of the original films for an audience that may be too young to remember them. Tarantino's Death Proof is the mellower of the two, relatively speaking; it's wordier (as to be expected) and rife with pulp/comic book posturing and eminently quotable dialogue. It also features a terrific lead performance by Kurt Russell as a homicidal stunt man whose weapon of choice is a souped-up car. Tarantino's affection for his own dialogue slows down the action at times, but he does provide showy roles for a host of likable actresses, including Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, and newcomer Zoe Bell, who was Uma Thurman's stunt double in Kill Bill. Detractors may decry the rampant violence and latch onto a sexist undertone in Tarantino's feature, but for those viewers who grew up watching these types of films in either theaters or on VHS, such elements will be probably be more of a virtue than a detrimental factor. Rodriguez's Planet Terror is a rollicking horror/sci-fi/action piece about a plague outbreak that turns citizens into cannibalistic murderers; it's heavy on the gore and explosions but also features a terrific cast of A players (Freddy Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, Marley Shelton) and B-movie vets (Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Tom Savini) and the indelible image of Rose McGowan as a stripper whose torn-off leg is replaced by a high-powered machine gun. - Paul Gaita Additional Features Before purchasing the Grindhouse Collector's Edition Blu-ray, fans should consider how much they love this film. Why? Because the version of Grindhouse presented here is the theatrical release, not the extended versions on the stand-alone discs, so if you want the extra scenes from both films, you'll need to hang onto the individual Blu-ray releases in addition to this two-disc set. However, if you do describe yourself as a Grindhouse devotee, you'll want this set anyway, since it contains a wealth of new extras, all previously unavailable in the United States, including commentary by each of the filmmakers who contributed the faux trailers that played between the films: Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell ( Thanksgiving), Rob Zombie ( Werewolf Women of the SS, which is presented in an extended version), and Edgar Wright (an extended Don't). The trailer for Hobo with a Shotgun, which accompanied the Canadian release of Grindhouse, is also included, as are making-of featurettes for each of the trailers. Speaking of featurettes, the Blu-ray offers behind-the-scenes looks at the cars of Death Proof, the make-up effects of Planet Terror, a 20-minute talk with Tarantino and Rodriguez for The New York Times, and the 2006 Comic Con panel with the cast and crew. The only extraneous bit is a 10-minute cooking school "class" with Rodriguez on making Texas-style barbecue. --Paul Gaita