Tarantino XX arrived on Blu-ray and it is the premiere must-own collection of his work. The set includes Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds. In addition to these films, the set includes two discs with five hours of all-new bonus material, highlighted by a critics’ retrospective on Quentin Tarantino’s groundbreaking catalog of films and “20 Years of Filmmaking" that contains interviews with critics, stars and other masters of cinema. Tarantino XX is my favorite Blu-ray set, and is the most comprehensive look into a director's career that I own.
This disc is so wonderfully packaged with beautiful artwork from Mondo artist Ken Taylor. I liked the art so much that I used it for my Twitter background and header image. The set comes in a nice sleeve with great art on all sides. Inside is one of the coolest packaging I could ever hope for. The panels show off the various art that Taylor did for each film. It captures the various characters from the films, and is beautiful with vibrant colors. The art is also used for the animated chapters of each disc.
Quentin Tarantino has shaped my film going life since I was a senior in high school. Pulp Fiction was the first film directed by Tarantino that I saw. I remember what theater I saw it at, who I saw it with and what we talked about afterwards. I think that Tarantino films either bring people together or force people apart because you love them or hate them. His films are an acquired taste, much like a pint of beer.
I have seen each movie multiple times, and love every single one. If I had to list my favorites in order it would be as follows: Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Kill Bill 1, Kill Bill 2, Jackie Brown, and finally Death Proof. Do not get me wrong, each of these films is truly awesome. Each of the films above have moved me immensely. Watching the films is like going on a journey into one of the coolest universes you can imagine. You can relate to the characters, even though you may not want to admit it.
Read my reviews for:
Pulp Fiction Blu-ray Review
Jackie Brown Blu-ray Review
The bonus discs are pretty epic, and worth the price to buy this set on their own. On disc one, we are treated to a group of veteran film critics talking about how the films impacted their lives and film making as a whole. It is so refreshing to see someone like Stephanie Zacharek sharing her dislike of a movie like Pulp Fiction.
Disc 2 includes The 20 Years of Quentin Tarantino. This feature is wonderful, and takes fans through Tarantino's career as an aspiring director to a mentor to Eli Roth and RZA. It features interviews with the various casts and crews that have been involved in his film career. The coolest part is the way that the interviews are edited together. It starts off with Laurence Bender, longtime Tarantino producer, talking about the creation of Reservoir Dogs. Greg Nicotero, Stacey Sher and Mike Simpson are also included in this interview that takes an in-depth look at the creation of Reservoir Dogs.
The stories are so real and humorous that you will find yourself laughing out loud. This is one of the realest looks inside the making of a movie that I have ever seen. One of the best parts is hearing about Quentin becoming involved with Harvey Weinstein and them taking the film to the Cannes film festival. This disc is a must watch for any Tarantino fan or film fan for that matter!
The mentor sequence shows how wonderful and caring Tarantino is. I love hearing how RZA and Roth just kind of stuck to Quentin like magnets and soaked up as much knowledge from him as they could. This sequence was so inspirational.
Disc 2 also includes a great Q&A after a reunion screening of Jackie Brown. It was cool to hear Robert Forster and Pam Grier sharing their experiences working on the film with Tarantino. There are so many wonderful and personal stories, that I loved watching this piece. The best parts were some of the audience questions. It was cool to hear Quentin talking about what parts he would have done differently.
Finally, this disc also includes an awesome look into Tarantino's next opus, Django Unchained, which I am looking forward to seeing this Christmas.
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