Death Proof (Blu-ray)

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This of course leads us to the roaring climax, which is one of the most thrilling car chases ever caught on film. There´s no CGI or camera tricks here, just real cars traveling at relentless speeds for a good twenty minutes or so. I don´t know if I´d say that this sequence put the film entirely back on the rails, but it definitely helped steer it in the right direction.

On the downside, I´ve always felt Tarantino is a gifted writer and some of the most memorable cinematic lines come from his films. However, while some of the conversations between the females were intriguing, there were other times where the jibber-jabber got to be a little irritating. To be fair, I suppose an argument can be made that this was done on purpose to capture the essence of seventies exploitation, but it was almost too realistic. I think if he had trimmed the dialogue down a little and maybe included another victim in its place, we would have had the same effect and a film that flowed along more smoother.

The music is another weaker element. While I thoroughly enjoyed the soundtracks for "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," and both "Kill Bill" volumes, in this one the tunes all sounded the same to me. Again, he could have intentionally selected this collection of forgotten seventies beats as a nod to the genre, I just thought it was a bit overdone.

When it all boils down, I still like "Death Proof," it´s just that on its lonesome and in the extended form (which over twenty minutes have been added by the way) it loses some of the magic it had when it was part of "Grindhouse." There's more frivolous chitchat, more musical cues, and it feels like the few parts that dragged before drag even longer now. I still appreciate the style and attention to detail, I just think it isn't as fun and as cohesive as "Planet Terror."

Video:
"Death Proof" prowls onto Blu-ray on a dual-layer BD-50 (MPEG-4/AVC codec) and is presented in its original theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Unlike "Planet Terror" which was digitally manipulated to appear like an old degraded film, the celluloid for "Death Proof" was actually physically roughed up to get the worn out look.

The first half of the movie is intentionally plagued by dirt, flecks, scratches, skips, and other imperfections, but the finished product isn´t as battered and broken as "Planet Terror." For the latter half, though, the transfer cleans up significantly at the onset of a brief black-and-white interlude and is free of most debris from that point onward. Colors are vibrant, especially the hot pink and bright yellow outfits, and black levels are impressive even during the first half. Detail is also nicely done, although there is an overall softness to the entire film. Even with the intended dilapidated first chapter, "Death Proof" looks solid on Blu-ray.

Audio:
Genius Products offers "Death Proof" with a lossless English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 that is center channel heavy for much of the film. Dialogue is slightly obscured and quieter than the rest of the movie, but this could be Tarantino´s intent to make the audio sound a little bit older. When the music kicks in or engines start roaring, it´s quite jarring and loaded with heavy bass, plus there are decent surround effects such as the pouring rain outside the bar. I didn´t think the audio was as robust as "Planet Terror," but it still was decent for what it was supposed to be.

Also included are Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in English, French, Spanish, and Italian, as well as optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

Extras:
The Blu-ray of "Death Proof" just comes with the same assortment of bonus features found on the previously released DVD.

Starting things off is Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof (20:39) that takes a detailed look at the car stunts and the drivers behind the wheels. If you like cars, you´ll love this featurette.

Next comes a quartet of featurettes highlighting the cast: Finding Quentin's Gals (21:13), The Guys of Death Proof (8:14), Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike (9:32), and Introducing Zoë Bell (8:57).

Quentin's Greatest Collaborator: Editor Sally Menke (4:36) is basically just a short clip of Tarantino giving props to the editor he uses for all of his films.

The bonus supplements conclude with The Uncut Version of Baby It's You (1:46) performed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Double Dare Trailer (2:34), Death Proof International Trailer (2:20), an International Poster Gallery showing a variety of "Death Proof" movie posters, and a three-tune juke box under Extended Music Cues.

The Blu-ray is also labeled as BD-Live enabled, but just like "Planet Terror," this feature hasn´t been activated yet.

The Final Cut:
"Death Proof" isn´t one of Tarantino´s strongest films, but it does what it was meant to by uncannily replicating the seventies exploitation genre and evolving into something fresh and modern. The Blu-ray has improved video and audio, however it does feel kind of like ordering a banana split and just getting a cold banana. You can´t serve a dessert like this without some ice cream ("Planet Terror") or chocolate sauce and a cherry (the phony movie trailers). Here´s hoping Genius Products puts out a "Grindhouse" Ultimate Collector´s Edition sometime in the near future with the complete "Grindhouse" experience--and give the cult classic the justice it deserves.

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