From Dusk Till Dawn

"From Dusk" gets the shaft on Blu-Ray courtesy of Echo Bridge; pick up the Alliance Canadian Blu-Ray, which has way superior A/V
"From Dusk 'Till Dawn" is not a great film by any means, but it is entertaining...up to a point. The first half of the film is an effective, stylish and creepy noir/suspense film, with director Robert Rodriguez showing uncharacteristic restraint in his film direction. Clooney and (surprisingly) Tarantino are good in their roles, and play off of each other well. Unfortunately, the second half of the film becomes increasingly silly, as Robert Rodriguez succumbs to his fetish for over-the-top action and cartoonish violence, quickly undoing all the creepy suspense that was so carefully built up over the film's first half and settling for a parody-like tone for the rest of the film.

If done right, over-the-top horror film parodies can be very entertaining, as the first two "Evil Dead" films show. However, that sort of tone usually works best in a short feature format (such as the "Tales From The Crypt" television series). If the film is to be feature length, then a good deal of...

Great exploitation film. Repeat: EXPLOITATION!
A lot of folks have trouble with this film. They are turned off by the over-the-top violence, mayhem, and sex. What they don't understand is that it is nothing more than a really well-made exploitation film. Remember those? Movies which had no higher agenda than providing plenty of fun, cheap thrills, like gratuitous sex and violence? Many of them were made in the late '60s and throughout the '70s? Like Women In Prison films? Blaxploitation? Car-racing movies? Slasher films? Russ Meyer movies? Anyone? Well, for those who DO remember, and who don't need every flick they see to contain lofty statements about the nature of mankind and the universe, you will love this movie. The cast is great: I mean, come on, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Fred Williamson... even Quentin, who can't act, is utilized effectively. Clooney has a great role which no one seemed to appreciate, Hayek does a lewd dance with a snake which will make your shorts explode, and Cheech Marin is,...

Don't Do "Dawn"
Miserable Blu Ray release of a great movie. The picture is cropped from its original aspect ratio, the sound is sub-par, and the picture quality is all over the map. There are moments when the picture is stellar, especially during the beginning moments of the film in the outdoors. Colors pop and the picture is crisp and clear, but then it will suddenly change to something comparable to VHS.

Extras? Forget it! Nothing...zero...zilch.

It's a shame that one of Miramax's best titles wound up in the hands of this company, who produced such a horribly shoddy transfer of this film. Skip it and stick with your DVD.

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