Tarantino Week - The Hateful Eight (2015)
Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, with just two days left in Tarantino Week, today we'll be looking at yet another Western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. That Western is 2015's The Hateful Eight. A film that, due to a controversial script leak, was almost unmade, but became so talked about that Tarantino went ahead and made it. So, let's take a look at the eighth film by Quentin Tarantino: The Hateful Eight.
The movie is set in the snowy mountains of Wyoming, where bounty hunter Marquis Warren is taking three dead bodies into the nearby town of Red Rock. Looking for a ride, due to his horse being dead, Warren asks stagecoach driver O.B. for a ride. However, another passenger in the stagecoach had already paid for a private trip, so O.B. suggests Warren speak with the passenger, who is famous bounty hunter John Ruth, who earned the nickname of "the Hangman":due to his proclivity for bringing bounties in alive to be hung. John's latest bounty is in the form of criminal Daisy Domergue, who is the subject of physical abuse by John when she runs her mouth. Warren, it turns out, shared a correspondence with President Lincoln during the Civil War, and carried a letter from Lincoln everywhere he goes. After Daisy spits on the letter, Warren punches her, forcing her and John out of the stagecoach, forcing it to a stop. After a lot of back and forth between Warren, John, and Daisy, O.B. notices another man up ahead, also looking for a ride. John, suspicious of both Warren and this newcomer, has Warren wear handcuffs to be safe. After the newcomer arrives, John recognizes him as Chris Mannix, a former lost-causer rebel soldier. Mannix claims that he is going to Red Rock to serve as their new sheriff. John uncuffs Warren, as he realizes that there's no way that a racist former lost-causer like Mannix would be working with Warren, who is African-American.
The stagecoach arrives at a stagecoach lodge called Minnie's Haberdashery. O.B. is greeted by Senor Bob, who claims to be running the place while Minnie and Sweet Dave were on the other side of the mountain. O.B, Warren, and Mannix help Bob put the horses in the stable, as well as setting up lines to guide them from the lodge to the stable, and from the lodge to the outhouse. Inside the lodge are three other men who had been there for a while: British hangman Oswaldo Mobray, cowboy Joe Gage, and former Confederate general Sanford Smithers. Warren recognizes Smithers, and while eating stew, asks to sit with him for a conversation, and discuss Smithers' son, who was one of many that tried to claim a $30,000 bounty the Confederates placed on the head of Warren. Warren relays details of how he forced Smithers' son to do all sorts of horrible things before killing him, prolonging the suffering due to the fact that it was Smithers' son. Smithers then goes for a gun that Warren placed next to him, and Warren kills Smithers in self-defense. While this was going on, someone had poisoned the kettle of coffee, with Daisy being the only one to see it happen. After Gage and O.B. get rid of Smithers' dead body, both O.B. and John die from the poisoned coffee. Warren then realizes that one of, or all three, Oswaldo, Gage, or Bob was working with Daisy, and was planning to free her after killing John and O.B. Not only that, but they most likely killed Minnie and Sweet Dave before the stagecoach with Warren, John, Mannix, and Daisy arrived. At this point, Warren trusts Mannix, as Mannix nearly drank the poisoned coffee himself. Warren confronts Bob for lying about Minnie and Sweet Dave, kills him, and Gage confesses to poisoning the coffee. However, another man, who was in the basement the whole time, shoots Warren in the gonads, and Mannix is shot in the leg.
Hours before Warren, John, and the others arrived, another stagecoach, driven by Ed and Six-Horse Judy, arrives at Minnie's, with four passengers inside: Bob, Oswaldo, Gage, and a man named Jody. Jody and his men, after dropping everyone's guard, proceed to kill Minnie, Sweet Dave, Judy, Ed, and two others who worked for Minnie. Jody then convinces Smithers, who had been there for a few days, to keep quiet about what had just happened. Afterwards, Jody and his men put the horses away, dump the bodies, and set weapons aside for later use, and Jody enters the basement, waiting for John to arrive. Back at the present time, Warren and Mannix force Jody to disarm himself and climb out of the basement. Warren then kills Jody for taking too long, and Daisy reveals that herself, Oswaldo, Bob, and Gage were all part of Jody's gang, and that Jody was her brother. Bob's real name was Marco the Mexican, Oswaldo's real name was English Pete Hicox, and Gage's real name was Grouch Douglas. Daisy, looking to make a deal with Mannix, offers him a chance to go on and become sheriff of Red Rock by killing Warren and letting Daisy go once the blizzard subsides in a couple days, even going so far as to letting him collect the bounty on Pete, who was likely to die from his wound soon. Warren and Mannix finish Pete off, and kill Grouch, unswayed by their warning of Jody's fifteen other men waiting in Red Rock. In honor of John Ruth, and because they're both going to die anyway, Warren and Mannix hang Daisy from the rafters, ending the evil hag's life. Warren then allows Mannix to read his Lincoln letter, which was revealed earlier a forgery by Warren, and Mannix admires one detail in the letter, where a line reads: "Old Mary Todd is calling, so I guess it must be time for bed." Both Warren and Mannix die as friends, ending the movie.
As stated earlier, The Hateful Eight nearly did not happen, as an earlier draft of the script was leaked online. After a successful live reading, however, Tarantino went ahead with making the film. And that turned out to be the right decision, as the movie was terrific. Story wise, I feel The Hateful Eight could have used a bit of a touch-up, but it was okay. The three areas where the movie shines are in the music, the cast, and the cinematography. Tarantino shot the film on 70 mm film stock, making the film absolutely gorgeous to look at. The lead cast of Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern, as well as the supporting cast of James Parks, Zoe Bell, Channing Tatum, and others, were all fantastic. Heck, for what little screen time he got, I enjoyed Channing Tatum in this movie quite a bit. Finally, the music score, composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone, was completely fantastic and almost otherworldly. Overall, The Hateful Eight, while not perfect, is a very enjoyable Tarantino film, and I'm giving it a rating of 4.25/5. This is Chuck signing off. Tomorrow, we'll head to Hollywood of the late 60's as we conclude Tarantino Week with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The movie is set in the snowy mountains of Wyoming, where bounty hunter Marquis Warren is taking three dead bodies into the nearby town of Red Rock. Looking for a ride, due to his horse being dead, Warren asks stagecoach driver O.B. for a ride. However, another passenger in the stagecoach had already paid for a private trip, so O.B. suggests Warren speak with the passenger, who is famous bounty hunter John Ruth, who earned the nickname of "the Hangman":due to his proclivity for bringing bounties in alive to be hung. John's latest bounty is in the form of criminal Daisy Domergue, who is the subject of physical abuse by John when she runs her mouth. Warren, it turns out, shared a correspondence with President Lincoln during the Civil War, and carried a letter from Lincoln everywhere he goes. After Daisy spits on the letter, Warren punches her, forcing her and John out of the stagecoach, forcing it to a stop. After a lot of back and forth between Warren, John, and Daisy, O.B. notices another man up ahead, also looking for a ride. John, suspicious of both Warren and this newcomer, has Warren wear handcuffs to be safe. After the newcomer arrives, John recognizes him as Chris Mannix, a former lost-causer rebel soldier. Mannix claims that he is going to Red Rock to serve as their new sheriff. John uncuffs Warren, as he realizes that there's no way that a racist former lost-causer like Mannix would be working with Warren, who is African-American.
The stagecoach arrives at a stagecoach lodge called Minnie's Haberdashery. O.B. is greeted by Senor Bob, who claims to be running the place while Minnie and Sweet Dave were on the other side of the mountain. O.B, Warren, and Mannix help Bob put the horses in the stable, as well as setting up lines to guide them from the lodge to the stable, and from the lodge to the outhouse. Inside the lodge are three other men who had been there for a while: British hangman Oswaldo Mobray, cowboy Joe Gage, and former Confederate general Sanford Smithers. Warren recognizes Smithers, and while eating stew, asks to sit with him for a conversation, and discuss Smithers' son, who was one of many that tried to claim a $30,000 bounty the Confederates placed on the head of Warren. Warren relays details of how he forced Smithers' son to do all sorts of horrible things before killing him, prolonging the suffering due to the fact that it was Smithers' son. Smithers then goes for a gun that Warren placed next to him, and Warren kills Smithers in self-defense. While this was going on, someone had poisoned the kettle of coffee, with Daisy being the only one to see it happen. After Gage and O.B. get rid of Smithers' dead body, both O.B. and John die from the poisoned coffee. Warren then realizes that one of, or all three, Oswaldo, Gage, or Bob was working with Daisy, and was planning to free her after killing John and O.B. Not only that, but they most likely killed Minnie and Sweet Dave before the stagecoach with Warren, John, Mannix, and Daisy arrived. At this point, Warren trusts Mannix, as Mannix nearly drank the poisoned coffee himself. Warren confronts Bob for lying about Minnie and Sweet Dave, kills him, and Gage confesses to poisoning the coffee. However, another man, who was in the basement the whole time, shoots Warren in the gonads, and Mannix is shot in the leg.
Hours before Warren, John, and the others arrived, another stagecoach, driven by Ed and Six-Horse Judy, arrives at Minnie's, with four passengers inside: Bob, Oswaldo, Gage, and a man named Jody. Jody and his men, after dropping everyone's guard, proceed to kill Minnie, Sweet Dave, Judy, Ed, and two others who worked for Minnie. Jody then convinces Smithers, who had been there for a few days, to keep quiet about what had just happened. Afterwards, Jody and his men put the horses away, dump the bodies, and set weapons aside for later use, and Jody enters the basement, waiting for John to arrive. Back at the present time, Warren and Mannix force Jody to disarm himself and climb out of the basement. Warren then kills Jody for taking too long, and Daisy reveals that herself, Oswaldo, Bob, and Gage were all part of Jody's gang, and that Jody was her brother. Bob's real name was Marco the Mexican, Oswaldo's real name was English Pete Hicox, and Gage's real name was Grouch Douglas. Daisy, looking to make a deal with Mannix, offers him a chance to go on and become sheriff of Red Rock by killing Warren and letting Daisy go once the blizzard subsides in a couple days, even going so far as to letting him collect the bounty on Pete, who was likely to die from his wound soon. Warren and Mannix finish Pete off, and kill Grouch, unswayed by their warning of Jody's fifteen other men waiting in Red Rock. In honor of John Ruth, and because they're both going to die anyway, Warren and Mannix hang Daisy from the rafters, ending the evil hag's life. Warren then allows Mannix to read his Lincoln letter, which was revealed earlier a forgery by Warren, and Mannix admires one detail in the letter, where a line reads: "Old Mary Todd is calling, so I guess it must be time for bed." Both Warren and Mannix die as friends, ending the movie.
As stated earlier, The Hateful Eight nearly did not happen, as an earlier draft of the script was leaked online. After a successful live reading, however, Tarantino went ahead with making the film. And that turned out to be the right decision, as the movie was terrific. Story wise, I feel The Hateful Eight could have used a bit of a touch-up, but it was okay. The three areas where the movie shines are in the music, the cast, and the cinematography. Tarantino shot the film on 70 mm film stock, making the film absolutely gorgeous to look at. The lead cast of Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern, as well as the supporting cast of James Parks, Zoe Bell, Channing Tatum, and others, were all fantastic. Heck, for what little screen time he got, I enjoyed Channing Tatum in this movie quite a bit. Finally, the music score, composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone, was completely fantastic and almost otherworldly. Overall, The Hateful Eight, while not perfect, is a very enjoyable Tarantino film, and I'm giving it a rating of 4.25/5. This is Chuck signing off. Tomorrow, we'll head to Hollywood of the late 60's as we conclude Tarantino Week with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
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