It’s time for The Hateful Eight blu-ray review, I’m a big fan of Tarantino films so I feel it’s well overdue in looking at the blu-ray release of his latest film.
Does this latest film The Hateful Eight (2015) still have that Tarantino magic? Let’s find out…
- The Hateful Eight (2015)
- UK Rating 18
- Discs: 1
- Released By: Entertainment in Video
- Narrated by: Quentin Tarantino
Plot
John Ruth a.k.a. “The Hangman” (Kurt Russell) is on route to the town of Red Rock with his prisoner Daisy Domergue. As they try to stay ahead of the blizzard they encounter a couple of people stranded in the snow that require transport. First they encounter Major Marquis Warren a.k.a. “The Bounty Hunter” (Samuel L. Jackson) and then Chris Mannix a.k.a.”The Sheriff” (Walton Goggins)
Is this a mere coincidence that John Ruth encounters these two strangers on his journey or are they after his prisoner?
Things become further complicated upon their arrival at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach lodge. There are yet more strangers awaiting The Hangman. What is really going on here? Well you are just going to have to watch the film to find out but trust me it’s definitely worth it.
Written by Quentin Tarantino.
Style / Direction
The Hateful Eight is immediately recognisable as a Tarantino film. As with all Quentin Tarantino film its very dialogue heavy, but then it is written and directed by Tarantino. His use of dialogue is spot on ranging from the funny to the downright insulting.
Every character is interesting, leaving you wanting to know more about their back stories.
The film begins in the snowy west with a stagecoach trying to keep ahead of the incoming blizzard. Those snowy camera shots are pretty spectacular and really ramp up the expectations for the rest of the film.
The rest of the film actually takes place at Minnie’s Haberdashery stagecoach lodge. Now this where a film could easily become bogged down and the pace and interest levels drop. Not with a Tarantino film though, this is where all the interesting, funny and abusive situations will occur. The film is separated into chapters starting with the stagecoach containing John Ruth a.k.a. “The Hangman” and his prisoner Daisy Domergue and their way to Red Rock.
The next chapter sees them at the lodge followed by Tarantino moving on to show what happened earlier that day, this is a really nice way of storytelling and only goes to enhance the overall story.
The story moves along a good pace with no real lulls in proceedings.
If you like Tarantino’s style of directing and storytelling then you are simply going to love The Hateful Eight.
Tarantino shot The Hateful Eight in 70mm or 65mm that was blown-up to 70mm, you can find out more on the how and why buy watching the extras on the Blu-ray.
The cinematography is by Robert Richardson.
Music / Audio Effects
Ennio Morricone provides the perfect score that fits both the tone and style of a Tarantino film. There are of course a few songs to really give it that ultimate Tarantino effect. It’s all very well done.
Acting / Characters
With a truly outstanding cast you would like to think something special is about to happen and boy oh boy are these performances special.
Every character in The Hateful Eight is incredibly well written and constructed, add to that the choice of the actors playing them is also inspired. Put simply there is not a bad performance anywhere to be found.
Kurt Russell plays John Ruth a.k.a. “The Hangman” and is simply superb, he’s a kind of no nonsense bounty hunter that always brings in his prisoners alive so they can be hanged hence the nickname.
Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the prisoner Daisy Domergue and is really strange character. She doesn’t have that much dialogue early on in the film but the lines she has are good ones. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays this role to perfection and is an intriguing character for most of the film.
Next up we have Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren a.k.a. “The Bounty Hunter” he is a black man in a country in which he is constantly verbally abused, but don’t worry Major Marquis can more than handle himself plus he has a letter from Abraham Lincoln. Samuel L is simply outstanding as Marquis holding your attention throughout.
To be honest every character and actor has something interesting going on, whether it be, Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix a.k.a.”The Sheriff”, Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray, Bruce Dern as General Sanford “Sandy” Smithers, Michael Madsen as Joe Gage or Demián Bichir as Bob.
With so many interesting characters in one small stagecoach lodge you know something special is about to happen.
Conclusion: The Hateful Eight (2015) Film Review
The Hateful Eight has an outstanding cast but does Tarantino manage to pull off a masterpiece? Well the answer to that question has to be, absolutely! From start to finish I found myself completely caught up with both the story and the characters. Everything has been so carefully constructed that in the end The Hateful Eight is indeed a masterpiece that should already be considered a true classic.
One thing is for sure if you like Quentin Tarantino previous films then you will almost certainly love The Hateful Eight. Even if you were not overly keen on his previous work but are a film lover I still think you need to see The Hateful Eight.
At 167 minutes long never once did I check the time, I was so engrossed in proceedings. If you didn’t manage to see this at the cinema then the next best thing is the Blu-ray, so take my advice make sure you add The Hateful Eight on to your must see films list.
If you like my The Hateful Eight blu-ray review you may want to check out these films:
Conclusion: The Hateful Eight Blu-ray Review
Clearly the picture and sound are outstanding as it’s a brand new film but what else do you get when you purchase the Blu-ray version?
Extras
- Sam Jackson’s Guide To Glorious 70mm
- Beyond The Eight: A Behind the scenes look
Only two extras and both are quite short, however both are informative and interesting. Remember quality not quantity, Lord of the Rings extras anyone?
The Hateful Eight (2015) blu-ray is available now from Amazon.
The Amazon links on this page are affiliate / associate links. By buying through the links we may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price you pay.
Popcorn Cinema Rating: The Hateful Eight (2015)
MOVIE RATING: MUST SEE
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
EXTRAS: GOOD
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
The Hateful Eight (2015) Film Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster with the trailer…
Clip may not be representative of the Blu-ray version
That’s my The Hateful Eight blu-ray review, if you have any thoughts on this film leave them in the comment section.
Summary: The Hateful Eight (2015) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: The Hateful Eight (2015)
Duration: 167 mins
Director(s): Quentin Tarantino
Actor(s): Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Michael Madsen, Demián Bichir, James Parks, Channing Tatum, Zoë Bell
Genre: Western, Drama
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Rating
Summary
The Hateful Eight is truly amazing film, so much so it’s an instant classic.
