In 1996, when the American indie scene was at their feet after the resounding success of Pulp Fiction and Desperate, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, instead of delving into psychological dramas or honing their signature styles, shot From Dusk till Dawn, a film that begins as a cynical neo-noir, and it ends like a bloody carnival in hell. This film is a cult comedy horror, as well as an experimental hybrid, where each half belongs to one of the two rebel directors. Below is a short story about the shooting with interesting facts.
Tarantino didn’t want to direct it, he was working on the script. Robert Kurtzman was a master of special effects, and he hired Tarantino to rewrite his vampire movie script. He gave him $1,500 and promised to help him on his subsequent projects. But Kurtzman himself couldn’t make it, he had been butting heads with studios for 10 years and couldn’t find any financing, because there were 2 films in one, and no one bought it. They said it was too violent or vulgar (which is exactly what made him so cool).
And years later, Quentin went back to his script and realized that it was a great exploitation film. He gave it to Rodriguez to read and he was delighted with such a cool stuff.
And then Pulp Fiction happened (by the way, Jules’ monologue was originally written for the Fuller family) and all the studios were ready to work with him, Quentin said yes, provided that Rodriguez directed the film. A film with a budget of 19 million was born out of Quentin’s sick, twisted mind. This amount was more than the budget of all their films combined.
“We decided to make our own Cannibal Holocaust with an 18 million budget, and if the readers of Fangoria* see it, then that’s great”
* horror magazine
So the guys got complete freedom and started looking for actors. Juliette Lewis was at the top and Quentin was happy that he managed to get the best young actress. And, of course, Cheech Marin with three roles! Rodriguez said that they had table readings with the actors. And in the process, sometimes you associate characters with completely different actors, you change them. They didn’t have an actor for the role of border guy, and Cheech played him as well.
– Hey Cheech, you’re going to play three characters!
“Oh, I get paid three times?”
There was also B-movie star Fred Williamson and makeup artist Tom Savini. Savini recalled that he and Tarantino had met before: he was a guest at a movie convention and there was a young Quentin who invited him to come to their video rental on Manhattan Beach and sign the videotapes. Which, in general, Savini did. Tarantino: “Tom is more famous in the cinematic lexicon than all of us and our actors combined.” Tom joked that his job for three days in a row was to watch Selma Hayek dance. The directors saw her in these underwear and replaced the supposed Blonde Death with Santanico Pandemonium, which was actually the name of one of the old movies, the poster of which Quentin had seen in a video store.
Selma is generally afraid of snakes, but that’s the only way she could get this role. Rodriguez lied, saying that he offered the role to Madonna, and that if you don’t accept, you’ll lose. Selma Hayek was a shy girl, but when the music started, she came out and everyone was killed. And of course, then there was the foot fetish, Tarantino’s thing. Quentin is licking Selma’s fingers, and George Clooney is getting into a fight with a big hairy rat!
The biggest challenge was finding someone to play Seth Gecko. John Travolta, Michael Madsen, Christopher Walken, and even Antonio Banderas were offered, but all had reasons to refuse. And Tarantino previously shot an episode of ER as a guest director, remembered George Clooney and invited him to the project. There was a moment in the ER when Dr. Ross saw that his little patient had bruises and realized that the father was beating his child; he got angry, went to the emergency room and immediately started beating this guy. So here Rodriguez gave him the opportunity to play the one who makes people a patients for the Emergency Room. Clooney could no longer play doctors after “From Dusk Till Dawn”, and even became Batman.
In 1996, Tarantino found himself in the same company with Val Kilmer, Burt Reynolds and Marlon Brando, receiving a Golden Raspberry nomination for his acting work. However, many regarded this role of Tarantino as the best of his career, as he was able to portray a psychopath without grimacing like Jim Carrey, and without saying a ton of phrases. Quentin decided to play a schizoid man sentenced to death and not tell jokes, leaving them to George.
The film was shot in LA, and then in the town of Barstow in the Mojave Desert. In the days when Rodriguez wasn’t filming vampire scenes, he was hanging around the set, playing guitar and figuring out how to make the episodes even more diabolical and disgusting, shocking the audience.
The Miramax studio had high hopes for the film, it started off well in the first weekend, but then lost its momentum and eventually earned $ 30 million at the box office. The press didn’t help the film either, most of the reviews were bad, they criticized both Tarantino and Rodriguez and Clooney. Critics liked the first part better, but the second – what the hell? But it was such an idea: a surprise, a kind of needle in a haystack.
However, “From Dusk till Dawn,” which takes place in just 24 hours, has since become a cult classic that still entertains people. Without it, there would be no “Sinners.” And there is also the best movie opening and ending with the magnificent Dark Night from The Blasters.
“This is exactly the movie we wanted to make. If you have a problem with this movie, then that’s just your problem!”
This is a monument to an era when talented video rental fans, having reached big budgets and stars, could shoot the craziest story from their video collection. And to do it with such skill, energy and conviction that even after decades, this double structure, the transition from the darkness of the criminal world to the darkness of the supernatural, makes one admire this bloody, hooligan and absolutely unique amalgam of genres. “From Dusk Till Dawn” is a celebration of disobedience in the heart of the mainstream.
