Jackie Brown (Australia)

7 / 10
2 votes cast
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Six players after half a million dollars. But who`s playing who?
Certificate: MA
Running Time: 154 mins
Retail Price: 29.95
Release Date:

Synopsis:
Samuel L Jackson is a overseas weapon merchant who has a half million dollars currently sitting in Mexico. He recruits Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) an air stewardess for a small Mexican airline, to bring the cash back into the country for him. Of course the cops are on to her, and are out to get Jackson. She has other plans however, and along with Max Cherry, a bailbondsman, she hatches a plot to put Jackson away and swipe the cash. Complications arise and a rollercoaster of a movie unfolds of the hunt for the money.

Special Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Biographies:Director and Actor
Theatrical Trailer

Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1

Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
MPEG2 Stereo English

Directed By:
Quentin Tarantino

Written By:

Starring:
Robert De Niro
Bridget Fonda
Samuel L. Jackson
Michael Keaton
Robert Forster
Pam Grier

Director of Photography:
Guillermo Navarro

Editor:
Sally Menke

Costume Designer:
Mary Claire Hannan

Production Designer:
David Wasco

Producer:
Paul Hellerman
Lawrence Bender

Executive Producer:
Elmore Leonard
Richard N. Gladstein
Bob Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein

Distributor:
Band Apart
Miramax Films

Your Opinions and Comments

8 / 10
Tarantino`s third `proper` film is markedly different to his earlier works. It`s far more relaxed for a start, with a lot of time taken to introduce the main protagonists. A lot of people think the film is too slow, and to be fair that accusation holds some weight. Jackie Brown is a stylish film, but it doesn`t have the `quotability` factor of either Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.

Video is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1, and is of a high standard. There is some aliasing evident at the start of the film, but nothing too serious. Colour reproduction is good.

The sound is very impressive, and is offered up in MPEG or Dolby 5.1 formats. The latter provides a great aural experience, with the varied songs all sounding fantastic. As ever, music plays a big part in this Tarantino film, and each character has his or her own musical accompaniment. The surrounds are used to good effect and the dialogue is always clear above the action.

Extras are a bit of a let down. We get a trailer and some biographies, but the menus are quite nice. They`re not animated, but some of the cooler tunes from the movie play in the background, and there`s the occasional bit of dialogue from the feature.

I found the acting to be of a very high calibre. Sam Jackson is, as ever, very cool as the villain of the piece. Robert De Niro is amusing as his bumbling crook friend, while Pam Grier portrays Jackie herself very skilfully. For me, it is Robert Forster who steals the show as the bail bondsman who falls for Jackie.

This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found it to be a very entertaining film with some fine performances. The picture and sound are both above average, and unlike the UK R2 disc, it`s not a flipper! Is it worth getting? If you`re a fan of the film then yes, however if you`ve never seen it then it might be worth renting the R2 version first.
posted by Chris Gould on 14/2/2001 09:20