Quentin Tarantino’s latest, The Hateful Eight, will be on at a screen near you. It is a special film in a number of ways.
First, it is the widest release in 70 mm film since Ron Howard’s, Far and Away, in 1992. To digress, I went to the UK premiere of that mediocre film with Maddy. The Chieftains played before Ron Howard introduced the film. Also in the audience were Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and John (then PM) and Norma Major. (OK, that’s the name-dropping done.)
Put simply, it is in a wide-screen format that has been seldom used since the 1950s and 1960s. The problem is that few cinemas are still able to project this format. In the US there are ninety-eight, in the UK just one; so it is fortunate for me that this cinema is The Odeon, Leicester Square. If you are able to see the 70 mm version you will get the whole shooting match – the mot juste for this film.
Secondly, the music is composed by Ennio Morricone. You may recall that in the 1960s he did Westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars. His style has not greatly changed in his latest film. You need to approach the film as an event, more like a Wagner opera than a run of the mill Western. You are given a programme, it opens with Ennio’s overture and has an interval.
Thirdly, it is beautifully and convincingly shot, mostly on location on a ranch in Colorado. The story unfolds slowly. If you hate it, it will be because it develops so slowly. If like me, you love it, it will be for the same reason. It’s a Western, it’s a Road Movie, it’s a Whodunnit. Being Tarantino, it has explicit violence but it is also shot through with humour. If you don’t see the full Roadshow version you will still get a good run for your money.
Have you read The Yellow Earl, a 1965 biography of the 5th Earl of Lonsdale by Douglas Sutherland? Hugh and Grace Lowther went game hunting in Wyoming in 1879. They had mishaps and adventures. One day Grace was left on her own to guard the camp while the rest of the party went hunting. On their return they saw the trail of a lone rider leading towards the camp. Little Henry was a notorious horse thief known to steal and murder. There was a $5,000 bounty on his head. They feared the worst. Sure enough, Little Henry was squatting by the fire with his horse grazing nearby. They rode into camp with fingers on triggers. Unexpectedly, Hugh Lowther and the notorious horse thief fell to pumping each other’s hands and slapping each other’s backs. Little Henry had been at Eton with Hugh. Little Henry did eventually get his just desserts: he was shot by Bat Masterson, Sheriff of Dodge City. This yarn is very Quentin Tarantino, very Hateful Eight.
http://youtu.be/6_UI1GzaWv0
Splendid. Thanks the reminder. I might also see The Revenant which, according to Mark Kerode, ought to be viewed on the biggest screen available.
The Revenant, I’m apprised, has little narrative; though compensates for this by the magnificent action and scenery.
Hmmm, next up for me is Bizet’s, The Pearl Fishers, live from the New York Met. this evening. It’s an excellent production that I’ve seen twice at the ENO.
I need to see this. Love Westerns. Expect you know Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs Miller? Terrific performance from Hugh Millais. Drawling, fur-coated gunslinger: http://lukehoney.typepad.com/the_greasy_spoon/2015/01/hugh-millais-the-name-droppers-cookbook.html
I saw McC & Mrs M a while back and enjoyed it. Altman can turn his hand to anything. If you like a bit of fur The Hateful Eight obliges. To digress, in Ireland in the 1970s Thady Dunraven gave a party with FUR on the invitations. My sister thought it was the dress code. Thady explained; it’s F U R, fuck u Ritchie. Ritchie Ryan was Minister for Finance at the time and had introduced a wealth tax.