The budget of the Avengers of 2012 was 220 million dollars, while the budget of Deuce Of Spades, released a year earlier, was only 250 thousand dollars. You can’t help wondering: what could have been filmed in 2011 for a quarter of a million? The film industry nowadays is a very serious business, turning huge amounts of money, and every year there is less and less space for fans with a camera: few people will want to dig into a bunch of second-rate films that don’t even have an article on English Wikipedia, in search of rarely seen diamonds.
But I belong to that rare type of people who prefer fresh movies from Albert Pyun to the next Avengers, and I am ready to state with full responsibility: Deuce of Spades is one of those very diamonds in the pile of amateur cinema of our time. This, oddly enough, is not a thrash and not a bi-movie, which are so many among low-budget films. Deuce of Spades is a real, full-fledged and serious drama, which is the fruit of the work of an ordinary girl with a love of music, cars and beautiful stories – Faith Granger. This film is an author’s movie from beginning to end, since in her first film Faith was both a director, an actress, a screenwriter, a producer, a cameraman, a composer, an artist, and an editor.
The list of films “without an article on the English Wikipedia” Deuce of Spades falls rather due to an extremely rare and unpopular topic at the moment: this is a movie about California of the 50s, rock’n’roll and hot rods. And hot rods come first here. Damn it, yes Deuce of Spades is probably the best movie about cars of all time. I can’t find a word to describe how good this movie is in my eyes. He is, at least, a genius, because few people have managed to make such a beautiful and interesting story the first time, having such a modest amount of money in their hands. And there are so many cars in the film that a separate video was shot about them on the bonus disc – but even it shows at best a third of the magnificent fleet that can be seen on the screen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiMItDwlIBM
The plot of the film begins in our time with the fact that Faith buys an old Ford, in which there are many unusual things: some of the details are factory prototypes, the logo on the steering wheel is a kind of signature of a little-known but talented hot rod builder, and behind the back of the sofa is a letter – a touching declaration of love by a certain Betty. Faith decides to learn more about her new car, and from that moment on, the film increasingly takes us to the fifties.
The second most important component of the film about hot rods after the hot rods themselves is racing. There's a lot of racing in the Two of Spades, and they seriously affect the plot of the film.
In fact, Deuce of Spades can be divided into two parts. The first is a nostalgic modernity in which Faith tries to understand the history of her hot rod. But Faith is more of a storyteller than a protagonist. Yes, she influences the plot, and that’s where it all starts, but still Deuce of Spades is not a story about Faith at all, and the shots set in our time, for the most part, only connect one moment from the past with another. Old people’s stories and old letters transfer the action on the screen to the second part of the film – California of the last century, in which the real protagonist Deuce of Spades and the first owner of the hot rod of the same name named Johnny Callaway lives. Johnny listens to rock and roll, builds hot rods, arranges races, falls in love – in general, he lives the ordinary life of an American teenage rebel of the 1950 model. And it’s more the story of Johnny – his and his car. Johnny and his Deuce are like a single whole, and both are equally important for the plot, at the end of which we will have one of the best endings in my memory.
In short, Deuce of Spades is one of those films that I cannot criticize. This movie put pressure on all my erogenous zones, so I just lay on the couch and watched it in complete ecstasy, calmly passing all the minuses by myself. And when guys like William “The Leadslinger” Hines and Gene Winfield appeared on the screen, I kind of screamed with delight. So I can only agitate with all my might for you to immediately watch the Deuce of Spades, and if you have already watched it, then you should definitely review it again. And, as befits a good fan, I just have to mention that you really should buy a CD with this movie somewhere: after all, how else can I hope for another Faith Granger movie? Personally, I am the proud owner of a six-disc collector’s edition. I understand that not everyone can afford this, and therefore I consider it my duty to share the soundtrack and deleted scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cj3rJ5aYw4
Deleted scenes can also be viewed in the original quality, with the translated audio track:
https://boosty.to/rockthistown/posts/0ca1bd44-7e27-4466-ac23-081067791409
You can also download failed takes, deleted scenes with director’s comments and a short video about the film’s cars (1.61 GB):
Download the full soundtrack of the movie Deuce of Spades (mp3, 163 MB):
Okay, okay, let’s finally try to think objectively for a couple of seconds. So… does Deuce of Spades have any downsides? Well, who doesn’t have them? Among the opinions of other people, I saw the following: unprofessional acting, unsuccessful plans, dialogues that can be compared in quality with cheap porn movies of the eighties… In other words: it is worth setting out to spread the first work of an amateur director – and you will succeed. And “non-professional actors” are not actors at all: due to the critical lack of money, the roles were given to the same fans of cars and the 50s, like Faith Granger herself. But here’s the other side of an objective opinion for you: you just don’t have a choice. Try to remember at least one movie, most of the action of which takes place in California of the last century, with a soundtrack full of classic rock and roll, and a plot entirely built around the 32nd year of release hot rod.
Probably, it is what you like more that will determine your attitude to the film. If you love hot rods, rockabilly and views of sunny California – welcome aboard. But if you like cinema more as art, then Deuce of Spades is most likely not your film. But listen to the connoisseur of Albert Pyun’s creativity: a good film is determined not only by professional acting, high-quality dialogues and skillful work of the operator. The atmosphere, the soul, the heart – call it what you want, but if it is not, then any creativity will be dry and two-dimensional. Deuce of Spades is a movie with a soul, imbued through and through with love for bygone times, old cars and music of the last century.After all, Faith Granger and her team had been working on the film for two years: many had their main jobs, and on weekends, the hot rodders would go out in droves to make movies, and many worked on the set for two or even three. Yes, Granger is far from the only one who has worked in several positions at once – many people have given their all working on this film.
So finally, I want to say this: even if you don’t share a passion for hot rods and rock’n’roll, if you came to this site by accident, check out the Two of Spades. Give this movie a chance – such films deserve it.
I watched the Deuce of Spades for one day, downloaded it to my phone and watched it at home on my way to/from work. I was delighted. A completely non-commercial author’s film, very soulful. There are tears in some scenes. Such a simple story, but told skillfully, beautifully and stylishly. Special respect for the music for the film, it is fascinating, and the soundtrack contains songs from modern (!) rockabilly. I’ve known some bands like King Drapes and Hi Strung Ramblers before. There is no retro touch, everything looks as if it happened yesterday, without unnecessary nostalgia.
Do you think so? It seemed to me that all these old men’s stories about the past were exactly the dose of nostalgia for which I fell in love with this movie. Or is it a kind of “necessary nostalgia”?