The Hateful Eight

I’ve said in past reviews that Quentin Tarantino is my favorite film maker. Hell, I’ve even made a list of his films last year, ranking them according to my opinion. And if you remember that list, you’ll know that I said that “Django Unchained” was my favorite film he’s made. The film had a very enriching revenge story, the action scenes were intense and exciting, the dialogue was very Tarantino-esque, and the characters were as memorable as the performances from their actors. While there were bits and pieces of it in “Kill Bill,” it’s nice to see Tarantino give out a full-out western film, with audiences enjoying it so damn much. In fact, even Tarantino himself had a good time making it, that he decided to make another one, entitled “The Hateful Eight.”

Now before we get into this film, it’s important to address the amount of controversy that’s been around this film for a couple years now. In early 2014, an early draft of “The Hateful Eight” was leaked online by someone who Tarantino was looking to cast in the film, and hearing about this pissed him off. It got to him so badly, that the guy said he would shelve the idea completely, and work on another project entirely. Fans, like myself, where praying desperately that he would change his mind and consider making the film after all, and this went on for months. Later on that summer, Tarantino gathered some of his collaborators and friends to do a live reading of the script on stage for an audience, which received great reception.

Due to the reception that the script was getting, Tarantino did the right thing and decided to make the film after all. It was an official confirmation, when Robert Rodriguez said that in front of his next movie, “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For,” would play a teaser trailer of the film, even before it went into production. And it wasn’t just to get the film a Christmas release again, like with “Django,” he went as far as to film the entire movie in 70mm Panavision film, a format that was popular with epic films like “Ben-Hur,” “The Ten Commandments,” "Lawrence of Arabia," and “The Sound of Music.” It would also be given the Roadshow treatment, with a program of the film, overture, intermission, and being shown at theaters that still used live film stock cameras.

“The Hateful Eight” features what you expect: eight different people, stuck in a blizzard, and have something detestable about them. Of those people, a bounty hunter named John “The Hangman” Ruth is taking the murderous Daisy Domergue to Red Rock City to hang. However, during his stay with some of the other people, he feels that maybe someone might be conspiring with Daisy to get her free.

Now, is this one of Tarantino’s best films? Well, after seeing the film three, I would say yes. It actually reminded me a lot of “Reservoir Dogs,” where we learn more about these characters as they interact in one location, and shows us the story in a non-linear way. Now that can sometimes backfire, but the way the film is executed makes it feel natural in a way only Tarantino would do it. Hell, it even has two of the actors FROM “Reservoir Dogs” in the film.

Speaking of the actors, let’s talk about them. Most of the cast playing the eight guys consist of former Tarantino collaborators: Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction), Bruce Dern (Django Unchained), Walton Goggins (Django Unchained), Kurt Russell (Death Proof), and of course, Samuel L. “Motha Fucka” Jackson. Then we have newcomers: Demian Bichir and Jennifer Jason Leigh. They’re all wonderful to watch, either playing characters that are intimidating, make you laugh your ass off, or both. If there’s one thing that I love about Tarantino’s films, it’s how the characters work off of each other so fluently. This isn’t a film where you’re watching actors; you’re watching these actual characters interact with each other.

Jackson definitely gives one of the best performances of his career, making him the most intimidating character to sit and watch. Those cold eyes staring at you could mean either two things: you’re dead or he’s trying to get under your skin. Walton Goggins was also very entertaining, and was easily the funniest character in the film. His eccentric attitude and over joyous attitude made me as happy as he was. He does have his serious moments, but he shines best when he’s over the top goofy. After this, “Cowboys & Aliens,” and “Django Unchained,” it just seems like Goggins was born to partake in modern day westerns, because does a damn good job in them. But out of the whole eight, Jennifer Jason Leigh stole the show as Daisy Domergue. Not only was she very funny, but her devious attitude was so captivating, like no matter what she had something up her sleeve to do or say. Even after getting hit so many times in the face, she never once loses that essence of evil bubbling in her soul, that you can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on screen. Jason Leigh is one of those actresses that’s been known to be very memorable without earning a single Oscar nomination, but that might be about to change after this performance. Other supporting actors like Zoe Bell, James Parks, Gene Jones, and even Channing Tatum were incredibly well acted.

The music by Ennio Morricone was absolutely excellent. It’s nice to see the man return with another western score added to his filmography after forty years, because it sounds glorious. Fun fact: Ennio Morricone also did the music for John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” which also starred Kurt Russell. Morricone had a couple unused tracks that never made it to the finished project. With this in mind, Tarantino decided to take those unused tracks and put them into his film. It makes sense, because listening to them on their own, I thought the music was to a horror film…and they originally were. That’s pretty damn cool!

As someone who lives in a town that still has a theater playing 70mm film, it was really neat to see this film get the roadshow treatment. It’s a damn shame that not many other films do this now a days, but it’s become a difficult method to do, especially with how common digital filmmaking is nowadays. But as long as we have directors like Tarantino, who will still shoot on live film stock, there might be some hope that further generations will follow suite to keep the format alive in some form or another.

Overall, “The Hateful Eight” is another masterpiece from Quentin Tarantino. Is my favorite? No, “Django Unchained” still holds that title, but this film’s definitely in the Top 5. I’m really hoping more people go see it, but I wish more movie theaters would consider bringing live film again. I want audiences to get the same kind of experience that I had watching it, on classic 70mm film with the whole roadshow package included. Oh well…hopefully it’ll happen someday.

Rating: 10/10

Next Time: Top 15 Best and Worst Films of 2015