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A Reel Life film section

Issue: Summer 2015-6

The Hateful Eight (2015) movie review

Bounty Price

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movie poster, The Hateful Eight, Festivale film review; 220x314

Movie poster, The Hateful Eight
No One Comes Up Here Without a Damn Good Reason

In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive?

It's winter in Wyoming after the Civil War, but men are still wearing bits of their blue or grey uniforms. Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) has hailed down a passing coach and found it has been hired by John (The Hangman) Ruth (Kurt Russell). By the time the coach reaches Minnie's Haberdashery it is loaded down with Warren's three dead captures, John's live and somewhat bloody captive (Jennifer Jason Leigh with an incredible morphing black eye) and the sheriff they were planning to deliver them to, Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins).

You just know they are going to be snowbound by the approaching blizzard along with the Haberdashery's occupants.

movie still, The Hateful Eight, Festivale film review; 534x267

Movie still, Kurt Russell as John "The Hangman" Ruth and Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight (c) The Weinstein Company

From the opening 'Overture' sequence, we also can guess that Tarantino is referencing the classic Westerns of the 1950s, but with a whole lot more potty-mouth.

The next three (count 'em) hours are filled with violence, bloodshed, deceit, suspicion, entrenched prejudices, and the remnants of hatred between the civil war adversaries.

movie still, The Hateful Eight, Festivale Film Review; 534x300

Movie still, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight (c) The Weinstein Company

Tarantino is more than a bit in love with his camera and he tends to dwell on scenery and setup shots. There is no need for 187 minutes of the 70mm cut. There is plenty of scope for judicious trimming.

The Hateful Eight is a Tarantino vision, but it doesn't really bring any new insights to the western genre. This film is for western fans who don't mind a bit of ugly, bloody, brutality. Or for Tarantino fans who like his bloody take on stories.

Watch out for actor Bruce Dern as the confederate general. His whole performance is made from a chair in front of the fire.


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by Ali Kayn
Australian release January 14 in 70mm at select locations and January 21 in digital wide release 2016 (Australia)
For credits and official site details, see below
Search Festivale for more work by the film-makers below.
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See the trailer

See more films to be released in Jan 2016

Just the facts:

Title: The Hateful Eight (2015)
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Running time: Digital - 167 mins 70mm 187 mins
Rating: R 18+

The Players: Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh,

Official website: http://thehatefuleight.com/
IMDb entry

For session times of current films, use the cinema listings on the Movie links page. For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section.

For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database (IMDb).
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