Jackie Brown on DVD
After the unexpected success of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino
became the hottest new thing in Hollywood, and many waited for his next
cinematic shoe to drop.
Three years later, they got what they wanted in Jackie Brown.
Based on the novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard,
Jackie Brown features a cast of characters with one thing in common:
theyre all willing to do anything and betray anyone to get their hands on
a pile of cash.
Pam Grier stars in the title role, a sexy, forty-something flight
attendant who wants nothing more than to go off on her own. Unfortunately, she
doesnt have the money, and has to help Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson) with
his business in order to make some extra money.
But when shes arrested for possession of cocaine, she goes
to Ordell and demands restitution. But Ordells money is all in Mexico, so
if Jackie helps him bring it all to the states, hell give her a
percentage.
And so, with the help of Max Cherry (Robert Forster), Melanie
(Bridget Fonda), Ray (Michael Keaton) and Louis (Robert De Niro), they come up
with a plan and put it into effect.
But whos playing whom? Does Jackie really plan to help
Ordell, or is she planning to keep it all for herself? Or is Louis planning to
keep it all for himself.
You get the idea.
Jackie Browns biggest asset is the witty dialogue by
Tarantino. He proved in Pulp Fiction that he had a knack for dialogue, even if
the abundance of words ended up making the movie twice as long; because you
see, Jackie Brown could probably check in at a little over 90 minutes, but from
all the very much unnecessary banter back and forth between the main
characters, Mr. Tarantino takes it a little wee bit overboard and the movie
stands at over two and a half hours.
Almost as beneficial as the dialogue is the cast. Pam Grier seems
to be playing on her blaxploitation flicks of the 70s, and holds up the
film very well. Samuel L. Jackson is always cool to watch, and he plays a very
convincing sleazebag. Michael Keaton is one of the most underrated, underused
actors in Hollywood, and it looks like he had a lot of fun working on this
film. Bridget Fonda and Robert De Niro spend much of the film smoking a bong,
and Robert Forster is a welcome addition to the ensemble.
Jackie Brown may not be a great movie, and definitely not an
instant classic as its been made out to be, but its enjoyable
enough. Fans of Quentin Tarantino will definitely love it, since it has all his
trademarks all over it. It moves pretty slowly, but the eventual payoff is
worth the wait.
And if you are a fan of the film, youll be thrilled with
the DVD. The anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) picture is top-notch. Its
crisp and clear, colors are rich, and there are no foreign artifacts. The
sound, which gives you a choice of either 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS, is equally
impressive, despite the fact that it doesnt require much surround use.
Its not an action movie, and the main attraction is the dialogue.
Theres a very nice balance between the dialogue, the music, and the sound
effects, which use mostly the front channels but occasionally make use of the
rears. As far as what you need, this is a very nice soundtrack.
This DVD set features more extras than you will probably have time
to watch. To start it off, there are introductions for many of the features by
Mr. Tarantino himself. Disc one also features one of the more interesting Fact
Tracks Ive ever seen for a film. Pop in disc two and youre treated
to a very nice 45-minute documentary entitled How it Went Down.
Theres also an hour-long interview with Quentin Tarantino, 25 minutes of
deleted/extended scenes, the five-minute sequence of Chicks Who Like
Guns, some extensive still galleries, Siskel & Ebert At the
Movies, Jackie Brown on MTV, and some promotional spots. To top it off,
there is some neat packaging with some very nice liner notes, including a
letter from Elmore Leonard.
If you love the movie, this is as good a DVD as you could possibly
want.
Jackie Brown, from Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment
154 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital,
DTS
Starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda,
Michael Keaton and Robert De Niro
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Written
for the screen and directed by Quentin Tarantino
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