Jackie Brown [VHS] [1998]

I saw this in the cinema when it first came out and came out thinking it was brilliant. What makes this movie work so well is it's chilled out vibe. This is conveyed through the excellent sound track, derived from the blaxploitation movies of the 70s. I would say that this is the best soundtrack used yet in one of Quentins movies.

The film runs at a slow pace which can put off some viewers, but I found that there was enough going on in the plot to keep me watching. It may not have the same level of violence as most Tarentino movies, but the characters are deep and develop well over the 2.5 hours.

The dialogue, as can be expected by a Tarrentino movie is brilliant. It is rare to have a director with such talent that can make a hollywood movie, but have the ability to create this "Art House" vibe and make a movie that is different from the mainstream. Jackie Brown is the height of Tarrentinos movie making talent and I would recommed this to anyone who has a sense of style and taste, who isn't afraid of going against the flow.

Jackie Brown (Grier) is a 45-year-old stewardess for Cabo Air, but she also has a backyard job, she is also a courier for 40-something year old Verona Beach gunrunner Ordell Robbie (Jackson), who'as plan is to get his fortune down to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. But when Jackie is arrested for suspected drugs trafficking, Ordell knows he needs to speed up his final plan of retirement. Helped (in some way) by his old friend and fellow convict Louis Gara (De Niro) and well shagged Beach Bunny Melanie (Fonda), Ordell and Jackie plan the final payoff. But Jackie has plans of her own and Ordell's money.....

Many people shun this movie because it doesn't contain Tarantino's ultra-violence, quirky dialogue and junky characters. The whole point of the movie is taking a novel and adapting it as his own. If Tarantino had taken RUM PUNCH and taken all the characters and situations out and written his own movie, then it wouldn't be an adaptation. The vilence and dialogue aren't there, but the movie is still a wonderful piece of homage to the 1970's genre of Blaxploitation (Cleopatra Jones, Foxy Brown, etc) Also, using 70's Blaxploitation queen Pam Grier for the lead role only helps the movie to be as entertaining and original as it is.

The film really excited me. All the different characters who had very different personalities came together to try and get a 500k sum in cash. The relationship between De Niro and Sam is so well thought through. This exceptional film with a great story combining a sexy stewardess (Jackie Brown) an ex con and also a stoned out loser.

Those of you who have Jackie Brown on DVD know that this is going be great. First of all, you dont have to change sides which was a pain in the first one. Then you have a second disc with loads of extra features.

It will include cool DVD games for the PC, deleted scenes, interview with Quentin, original documentary and at least 10 other special features. This is well worth buying.