Tarantino decided to change the mold of the typical Christmas Day movie release this year with his eighth movie, "The Hateful Eight." The announcement of the eighth film written and directed by Tarantino sparked the curiosity of fans, but also enticed the critics. Statements were made to relate this new cinematic to his previous 1996 film "From Dusk Till Dawn" and also, a much lesser known 1972 Chinese film, "The Black Tavern."
In January 2015, a script of the film was leaked by an overeager fan. Tarantino threatened to scrap the film but the zealous filmmaker decided to continue forward with his odyssey. Soon after the script leak it was said Tarantino was to film the movie on wide 70 mm high resolution film and it would have the widest release on 70 mm film since 1992's "Far And Away." The 70 mm screenings will also show an extra six minutes and an intermission. Along with the use of film for wider backdrops and action blocks Tarantino was reluctantly able to sign on an incredible composer, Ennio Morricone.
Morricone is the well-known composer behind other westerns such as "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," and "Once Upon a Time in the West." Morricone previously made statements that he refused to work with Tarantino after his pieces were used in Tarantino's previous films. It wasn't until "Django Unchained" that Morricone had written exclusively for a Tarantino film, and will now be contributing a mostly original soundtrack to the latest masterpiece.
Tarantino, seemingly still set in his ways, has a very familiar cast. Major roles are played by Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Zoë Bell and James Parks, leaving only four roles to actors that have not previously worked with Tarantino. The biggest shock of the casting is Channing Tatum. On Tatum's latest appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," they discussed that Tatum only received the role through pestering email correspondence over a month-long period. Tatum refused to discuss specifics of his role in the film stating that the cast was trying to keep it a secret.
The western mystery takes place shortly, though it's rumored to be eight years after the Civil War in Wyoming and in the same universe as "Django Unchained." A bounty hunter is traveling to the town of Red Rock with a prisoner and stops overnight at a stopover in a mountain pass to wait out a strong blizzard. Here the bounty hunter and his prisoner meet some company and the eight travelers wait out the storm together.
The initial December 25 release will only be in specially formatted theaters exclusively for the 70 mm format for the initial cinematic release. The nationwide release will not be until January 1, and January 8 in the UK to extend the motif.
Are you planning on seeing "The Hateful Eight?" Have you already seen it? Share your thoughts.
