Grindhouse (Special Edition) (Blu-ray Disc)

I thoroughly enjoyed Grindhouse when I first saw it back in 2007. Personally I'm partial to Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof over Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. But after watching the films again, back-to-back, with this new Blu-ray release of the intended double feature I can honestly say both suit me just fine.

Previously I reviewed the two-disc DVD editions of both Planet Terror and Death Proof and never purchased or reviewed the subsequent individual Blu-ray releases of each film. So it's been a while since I watched these films, though I did return to Death Proof back in August of 2009 when I ranked Tarantino's films as well as posted a top ten list of my favorite characters from his films. However, for purposes of this review, I did a little DVD-to-Blu-ray comparison and I'll tell you right now this Blu-ray presentation blows the DVD editions away in terms of visuals.

This is, of course, a tricky comparison to make. Grindhouse was intended to look weathered and worn, but that isn't where the improvement necessarily lies. Everything is sharper, detail is improved and the weathered look loses no impact with the improved picture. Additionally, Planet Terror is now presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 as opposed to the 1.78:1 presentation on the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases. For those that enjoyed the extended versions of the films those, however, are not available here and you will need to purchase the individual Blu-ray releases for that.

Originally, I thought I would prefer the extended versions over the theatrical "missing reels" versions, but watching these two films again it was far more entertaining as the films breezed by in just over three hours. Plus, the two primary scenes that were cut from both films are not at all necessary to the story and the "Missing Reel" aspect just gives it a bit more of that grindhouse feel.

Unfortunately, audio lovers are going to have to make due with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track instead of a lossless audio track or the Dolby TrueHD that's available on the individual Blu-ray releases. I'm not entirely sure why this decision was made, but there it is.

This release comes with two discs, the films making up the first and the majority of the bonus features on the second. The films are presented as one feature with the selection of faux trailers serving as in intermission in-between. It does, though, allow you to access any portion of the two films and trialer from the scene selection menu. You can start with any one of the faux trailers in the middle and it will then move straight into Death Proof once they're over.

The only new feature available on the first disc is an audio commentary by Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell on Roth's faux trailer for "Thanksgiving" while the rest of the new additions, aside from the faux trailers, which have never been available before in the States, are available on disc two.

Among the new features on the second disc you get an initial selection pertaining, more-or-less, to the individual films starting with "Robert Rodriguez's 10 Minute Cooking School" teaching you how to barbeque brisket and beef ribs Texas style; "The Makeup Effects of Planet Terror" which is your standard gore featurette; "The Hot Rods of Death Proof" which focuses on the search for the right cars for the film; and "From Texas to Tennessee: The Production Design of Death Proof" which is a rather interesting look at the locations used for the film.

Next is a large batch of making-of features and commentaries for the faux trailers including an audio commentary by director Rob Zombie on an extended version of his trailer for Werewolf Women of the SS. At just under five minutes, the extended Werewolf Women of the SS is more of a short film than a trailer in this form. Edgar Wright also offers a hustled commentary on his 95-second trailer for Don't as well as a commentary on a storyboard-to-trailer comparison feature. Both also get making of featurettes as well as one for Roth's Thanksgiving.

There's also an hour-long interview session with New York Times editor Lynn Hirschberg interviewing Tarantino and Rodriguez for "New York Times Talk", a 24-minute "Comic Con 2006" feature and the Hobo with a Shotgun fake trailer, which featured during the Canadian release of Grindhouse, and like Machete, is getting its own actual movie.

Finally, an exclusive BD-Live feature allows for access to something, but every time I tried to access it it told me I lost my connection so I gave up on it. No sweat off my back, I was only checking for the sake of this review. I couldn't care less about BD-Live features.

If you are interested in the rest of the features ported over from the DVD releases you can read more on those in my DVD review for Planet Terror here and Death Proof here. I'm not going to go into those in interest of trying to keep this review as short as possible. Additionally, a full list of the special features can be found right here.

Overall, I really enjoyed revisiting these films again, especially in their shorter, theatrical release formats. At just over three hours it makes for a fantastically entertaining sit and I don't think I'll ever return to the extended versions again. I highly recommend this release to fans of the films, I don't see why you'd want to watch them any other way.