Friday

Did you know that Quentin Tarantino has directed six films, not five? Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Death Proof (coming soon) and, as Alex informed me, My Best Friend's Birthday (not to be confused with My Best Friend's Wedding). How could it be that there is another Tarantino film out there that no one knows about? Well, of course, it's not a major movie - home-made, never publicly released, and only half of it survives. We get so used to knowing and seeing everything these days, that we are surprised to find major gaps of information we didn't know. Frequently, however, with important artists there will be a first novel, or a first movie, that was never published/released. They're never perfect on their debut. You can see what remains of My Best Friend's Birthday for yourself on YouTube. Apparently, the best bits were re-used for Tony Scott's True Romance, and some of the ideas, songs, and actors reappear in Reservoir Dogs. As much as I respect Tarantino, there is something in me that wishes he could apply his style and technique to a serious drama. Perhaps you'll argue Kill Bill, and the upcoming Death Proof, are serious dramas, but I don't think so. You're never really allowed to sympathise with anyone - it's all too plastic. Not that I think that's bad, but I'd like to see him try to apply it to a different situation. He seems to be going the opposite way to Woody Allen, strangely, who started off very unreal and has increasingly become more serious. My Best Friend's Birthday was apparently about a guy just trying to do something right. Death Proof is about an invincible car.