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Jackie Brown

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: they’re 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 doesn’t have the money, and has to help Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson) with his business in order to make some extra money.

But when she’s arrested for possession of cocaine, she goes to Ordell and demands restitution. But Ordell’s money is all in Mexico, so if Jackie helps him bring it all to the states, he’ll 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 who’s 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 Brown’s 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 70’s, 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 it’s been made out to be, but it’s 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, you’ll be thrilled with the DVD. The anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) picture is top-notch. It’s 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 doesn’t require much surround use. It’s not an action movie, and the main attraction is the dialogue. There’s 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 I’ve ever seen for a film. Pop in disc two and you’re treated to a very nice 45-minute documentary entitled “How it Went Down.” There’s 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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Updated May 13, 2006