Poor White Trash II aka Scum of the Earth (1974)
Originally known as Death is a Family Affair and perhaps better known as Poor White Trash Part II, this S.F. Brownrigg movie belongs squarely within the genre of hicksploitation or redneck films. After Don’t Look In the Basement, where else can he go? Downward, it seems, as this movie is awash in, well, scum while still […]
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Originally conceived it as a novel and sequel to Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight marks both a major change in Tarantino’s career — it’s the last he’d make for The Weinstein Company, as he ended his relationship with them following allegations of sexual abuse against Harvey Weinstein — while yearning back for the days of 70 […]
My Best Friend’s Birthday (1988)
My Best Friend’s Birthday was co-written by Craig Hamann and Quentin Tarantino when the director was still working at Manhattan Beach’s Video Archives. With just $5,000 they spent four years making the film along with several of their video store and acting school friends, including Roger Avary. The original cut was about 70 minutes long, but due to […]
Exploring: The 8 Films of Quentin Tarantino’s Rolling Thunder Pictures
Once Quentin Tarantino gained an industry foothold as a new, unique voice in cinema, he set forth to pay tribute to his celluloid senseis—beyond the homage-plethoras within his own films—and the video store candy that served as his “film school” and shaped his cinematic philosophies. Courtesy of the enthusiastic backing of the Brothers Weinstein, Tarantino […]
Four Rooms (1995)
If you’ve dove deep into the B&S Movies’ blood pool, you’re acquainted with this site’s affections for the Amicus and Hammer anthology films of the ‘70s—call them an omnibus film or portmanteau if you like. For the uninitiated: It’s a subgenre of films where the finished product is comprised of three to five short films […]
Sam’s appearance on Wake Up Heavy! discussing Under the Silver Lake
I’ve been a big fan of the Wake Up Heavy! podcast for some time. So I was beyond excited when I got asked to be a guest and discuss Under the Silver Lake, one of my favorite movies from this year. Check it out — and listen to everything else on the show, I really love […]
Django Unchained (2012)
I’m fascinated by spaghetti westerns. How can Italian directors, many of whom never set foot on American soil, reinvent an entirely foreign genre, that of the Western? How can they take the basics of the John Wayne-style cowboy film and transform it into a world with no morality? All Italian Westerns owe a debt to […]
Exploring: Movies that influenced Quentin Tarantino
No matter how you feel about Quentin Tarantino’s films — obviously, I’m a fan — you have to admit that he’s been able to get more eyes on films that many folks would never watch otherwise. Thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives, The Grindhouse Archives and some other interviews spread all over the internet, I’ve been […]
Inglorious Basterds (2009)
Enzo G. Castellari’s The Inglorious Basterds — known in Italy as Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato or That Damned Armored Train — is a 1978 film that ran near constantly on cable throughout the late 70s and early 80s. In case you’re wondering just how important this film was to Quentin Tarantino, check out his excitement as […]
Grindhouse: Death Proof (2007)
When it came time to create his part of Grindhouse, Quentin Tarantino had to figure out a genre. He said, “I realized I couldn’t do a straight slasher film, because with the exception of women-in-prison films, there is no other genre quite as rigid.” What he ended up with is a movie about a killer who […]
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