The Hateful Eight (2015)
★★★★ — The Hateful Eight (2015)
Quentin Tarantino's eighth feature (he counts them, and makes sure you know it) arrived in late 2015 off the back of Django Unchained, itself a considerable commercial and awards success. Shot on 70mm Ultra Panavision by Robert Richardson, a format that had been effectively dormant since the 1960s, the production required Tarantino and The Weinstein Company to negotiate with Panavision to restore vintage lenses and retrofit selected theatres across the United States for a roadshow release before the wider run. The $44 million budget was modest for a film of this ambition and technical scope. Jennifer Jason Leigh received her first Academy Award nomination for the role, a notable career moment after decades of consistently strong work that had rarely translated into awards recognition.
I fell asleep the first few times, but I do love it?! I gotta admit… the first few times I tried watching this, I passed out not long after they arrived at the Haberdashery. And that’s really early. Tarantino’s slow-burn storytelling is usually gripping, but something about this one just acted as a cinematic lullaby for me. But once I actually made it through (watching it with my girlfriend rather than alone this time), I have to say, it’s fantastic. The tension builds like a pressure cooker, the performances are top-tier (Kurt Russell and Samuel L. Jackson kill it), and the president’s letter reveal is one of Tarantino’s best twists. The whole thing plays out like an old-school stage play dipped in blood and betrayal. Reservoir dogs but in the wild west. Still, I gotta knock it down a little. If a film puts me to sleep multiple times before I finally power through, that’s gotta count for something.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 2015 | Watched: 2024-12-03
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Quentin Tarantino: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019) · Inglourious Basterds (2009) · Pulp Fiction (1994) · Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
More with Samuel L. Jackson: Snakes on a Plane (2006) · Black Snake Moan (2006) · Jumper (2008) · Pulp Fiction (1994)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More mystery: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · One Way or Another (1975)
