‘The Hateful Eight’ Blu-ray Combo Pack Review

Quentin Tarantino‘s eighth film, The Hateful Eight, almost didn’t happen due to a leaked script, but we are glad Tarantino decided to go forward with the film. The Hateful Eight delivers in typical Tarantino fashion, which in other words means: great dialogue, unpredictability, a multidimensional cast of characters and over the top death sequences. Tarantino shows yet again, how he loves to make films in his own way.

The film follows a bounty hunter, The Hangman (Kurt Russell), and his prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), as they are caught in Wyoming in the middle of winter. The two find shelter in a haberdasher’s cabin, filled with a colorful cast of characters.

Once you think of a Tarantino film involving a huge cast, you already know that there will be all sorts of different personalities and egos that clash. This is where the you know what, hits the fan and all chaos ensues. Same goes for this film. The amazing part about it is that Tarantino usually has this for the base of his films but every film he does is completely different from the next (excluding the Kill Bill films). The way that he writes his films, he creates stories within stories and he does it so well that it doesn’t take away from the main plot of the film. Tarantino translates his stories and his characters very well on screen.

Tarantino’s all-stars (as he likes to call his cast) were just that, all-stars. To see Kurt Russell in such a bada** role again is just awesome. From his look to his personality, it was a perfect role for Russell. When it comes to Samuel L. Jackson, you already know what to expect from him in a Tarantino film. A foul mouthed, take no b.s. type of character. In my opinion, these are the only roles that seem to fit him really well. The standout in the film was Jennifer Jason Leigh. Her performance as Daisy Domergue, earned her an Oscar nomination for good reason. Jennifer Jason Leigh had great chemistry with Kurt Russell. One of the characters in the film seemed very familiar. Tim Roth‘s portrayal of Oswaldo Mobray reminded me a lot of Christoph Waltz character in Inglorious Basterds, mainly because of the speaking patterns of both characters. Not sure if that was done on purpose or coincidence but the similarity was there.

Since Tarantino shot with 65mm film to show on 70mm Roadshow, you see a lot more landscape when it comes to the scenes shot in the outdoors, which is where you can tell the difference in film. But you can’t really get the full experience of this unless you seen it in the limited 70mm Roadshow release.

The Hateful Eight was also Tarantino’s longest film. The length of the film Roadshow version was just over three hours long but the version that is included with the Blu-ray/DVD is 168 minutes. The difference is that the Roadshow version had a twelve minute intermission. The length of the film would be a problem if the movie wasn’t entertaining but it is very pretty entertaining. Though it starts off a bit slow, the story moves along at a good pace once they get towards the end of chapter one.

This film was another Tarantino masterpiece. If you are a fan of his films, you’ll love this one as well. I would give the film as a whole a 4 out of 5 but since this is a Blu-ray combo pack review, I have to take all of the special features, the quality of the discs and more into consideration.

So let’s talk special features.

There’s only two special features included with the Blu-ray combo pack. You get a behind-the-scenes look of the film and a “Guide to Glorious 70mm”, which is hosted by Samuel L. Jackson. Both of the features go into the reasons of how the film was shot in 65mm and why it was shot using 65mm, plus what a 70mm Roadshow is. These features together only add just over thirteen extra minutes and aspiring filmmakers would enjoy them.

Quality

The quality of the Blu-ray was pretty good. You still get the widescreen feel since it’s in widescreen presentation 2.76:1 but it would obviously be a better experience at the limited 70mm screening. The audio is different for the Blu-ray and DVD, as it is in most cases. Blu-ray is English: DTSHD-MA 5.1 (Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1) and the DVD is English: Dolby Digital 5.1 with the Spanish being the same.

Menus

The menus for the Blu-ray and DVD are nearly identical. The have the options to play the film, select scenes, setup and bonus features. The only difference is the obvious one, which is the quality.

Packaging

The packing of the Blu-ray combo pack is simple, yet cool. The cardboard protective slip cover  has 3D texture and opens up like a book, which displays artwork. In the Blu-ray case you get the Blu-ray, DVD and a digital HD code for Ultraviolet. The Blu-ray disc has the same image as the box art cover, while the DVD is just silver with black writing.

Verdict

As far as the film goes, it’s definitely a must-see film and I really loved it. When it comes to the Blu-ray combo pack, I’m glad I own it but I feel that there could have been more features or at least the features that were included with the in-home release, could have been a bit longer. I give The Hateful Eight Blu-ray combo pack 7 out of 10.