It's weird he tries to make a serious argument when it's a fictional film and the characterization is obviously exaggerated for effect.Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
Like, QT fronting about fighting styles to Joe Rogan just sounds ridiculous.
It's weird he tries to make a serious argument when it's a fictional film and the characterization is obviously exaggerated for effect.
Like, QT fronting about fighting styles to Joe Rogan just sounds ridiculous.
When the Bruce Lee thing first emerged after Cannes I kinda scoffed at it at first, because "depiction =/= endorsement" (or anti-endorsement) has always been a sticking point when discussing Tarantino's films and I've become wary of the nuance-less way many like to interpret them literally (which is admittedly tempting because of Tarantino's real-life self). But when finally watching the film, I was taken aback at the actual scene by how much it actually feels like Lee is being put down in his place. Even with factoring in the in-film context of it possibly being exaggerated conjecture of Cliff's daydream, and out-film context of Tarantino's "research", that still rubs me fairly wrong for one of the few (only?) PoCs in the film with minimal screentime, who's also a real-life famous Asian figure in Hollywood at the time that it was (and still is, tbh) rare in the industry, so the putting down of him troubles me a bit. Still loved the film overall and I don't exactly want it cut or reshot or anything (since it's already done), but I totally get how one Asian critic (I forgot who/which tweet) felt when watched it in theater with white people around him/her laughing at the scene.
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
People laughed at that scene? I didn't feel much of anything one way or the other.
Pretty sure QT's lawyer visibly cringed when Quentin exclaimed, "Linda Lee lied. She's a liar."
Doubly weird bc almost everything Tarantino said about the genesis of "Kung Fu" was wrong, per Wikipedia, which also cited Polly's biography as a source. Like, he got easily verifiable facts wrong.
Also very ugly vibe when he claimed to be a fan of Bruce Lee but then shat on his legacy throughout the interview..??? Don't understand that.
I don't feel like he shit on Bruce's legacy. He made statements about Linda (I have no idea about the validity of either's statements). As a massive Bruce Lee fan, I wasn't the least bit offended by his portrayal in OUATIH...because I know its a movie, not a documentary. SPOILER ALERT...Sharon Tate didn't survive that night.
"per Wikipedia"...lol...cmon man. We will never know the truth on that. Hollywood does what Hollywood does.
Who came up with the first "volcano" movie in 1997??
Who came up with the first "comet" movie in 1998??
Who came up with the first "stuck in a computer program" movie in 1999??
Last edited by Skitch; 07-03-2021 at 07:36 PM.
Tron came out in 1982 though.
Every once in awhile the zeitgeist burps out a couple of movies or shows with the same premise. Shit happens. To apply such an interpretation to origin of "Kung Fu" would have been gracious.
But that isn't what Tarantino did.
Instead, he claimed Bruce directly plagiarized a Hollywood writer, and that his widow then lied about it in her memoir. That's vastly different than talking about the development of "Deep Impact" versus "Armageddon," or "Dark City" versus "The Matrix."
Times past, I would have agreed about Wikipedia. But I discovered last year there are A LOT of bootlegs online. Not just of obscure movies or first run films, but out of print books and decades-old magazine articles.
So you can start with Wikipedia and follow their sources, click around, google a bit, and find shit out, eg:
- Here's a TV interview where Bruce talks about "The Warrior" a full year before "Kung Fu" debuted on television.
- Here's the 1983 Penthouse magazine article quoting an unnamed ABC executive saying they wouldn't cast Lee because of his size and his race.
- Here's an excerpt from Matthew Polly's biography of Lee, which QT allegedly read, which directly contradicts his account of events. (Including the claim that Warners never "paid off" Lee ... except as soon as Lee lost the "Kung Fu" role, the TV division immediately offered him an exclusive development deal.)
That's about 5 minutes of research and I'm not even on Rogan's show claiming I read a fucking book have the inside scoop about "Kung Fu."
I dub this "Best Nerd Burn of the Week, July, 2021."Tron came out in 1982 though.
Tarantino called the dude's wife a liar, tactlessly brought up Lee's mistress, called "Enter the Dragon" garbage, accused Lee of being unprofessional and potentially dangerous on film sets, and generally described him as arrogant and borderline delusional (while actively comparing him to a movie character that Quentin made up and talks about like a 10 year boy talks about his favorite action figure).
The only positive things QT said were related to Lee's athleticism and the action sequences in "Fists of Fury."
Okay, maybe we just have different perceptions about Bruce's legacy.
The things you listed are only shitty if they are false and haven't been described by multiple other people over the years.
My favorite part of the Rogan interview was him talking about Death Proof and the stunt sequences. Everything else seems like it's been talked about before. Probably Death proof too, but that was new to me.
It's been a while since I've see this but yeah that scene really sticks out - like it's part of a different movie.
Loving the book by the way. Can definitely hear Tarantino's voice in this, and there's enough differences and solo scenes that it adds more to this world that Tarantino had created.
Really dug the chapter that has the Charlie Manson movie scene in it. It's just as simple of a scene as the movie, but still has the underlying danger that came with Manson, and a perspective from each of the three characters, all completely unaware of each other.
Finished the book last night.
It's certainly complimentary to the movie, and it's own thing. Enjoyed the mix.
It's at its best when being able to add more context to certain scenes within the movie. Whether it's to show the danger of the Manson Family, the motivations of Charlie himself, or the background of Cliff Booth, Sharon Tate, or Cliff's dog, it's a very good read. It tends to ramble when getting a little too deep into Dalton's TV show plots, sometimes entire chapters about what the show was about. It does get more into the dynamic of Dalton and the young actress, in a way that probably wouldn't have worked on screen, but it does in the book.
Enjoyable if you're a fan of the movie, and it made me watch it immediately afterward, and like the movie even more.
I rewatched the movie last week. It gets better with each rewatch. Still not my fav from QT, but sweet flick.
I listened to that whole interview. The gist I got (can't remember if QT explicitly says David Carradine) is that DC is the one who gave him the real true true on "Kung Fu" and Bruce Lee. Makes sense with his involvement on Kill Bill. I imagine QT thinks Bruce Lee was a boaster and kinda full of shit (which is true) and trusts the DC account of his "Kung Fu" casting.
Also, am I the only one more pissed about QTs dumbass take on Vertigo than on the whole Bruce Lee bruhaha? I cant wrap my head around someone who loves Brian De Palma so much trashing on Vertigo. Does he not see that the museum sequence in Dressed to Kill and the mall sequence in Body Double are ripped straight out of Vertigo? I mean I love De Palma too but I would never trash on Hitchcock esp. Vertigo. The kicker is that on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast QT admits he saw it once back in the 80s rerelease. Its astonishing to me this guy will trash on whats widely considered one of the best movies ever, massively influential on De Palma (and probably everybody else QT likes) based on one screening back in the fuckin 80s when he was all of like 20 years old. He probably thought he was giving a clever hot take back in his video stores and never stopped to consider maybe he is fucking wrong? Plus for a guy that just made a movie with people driving around and hanging out you would think he would like Vertigo since theres lots of driving around and hanging out in SF in Vertigo.
Also also if you wanna ignore the paywall on the BEE podcast with QT, I can DM you a copy of the MP3 if we are able to attach those through matchcut DMs (not sure). Its pretty long and entertaining even if QTs Vertigo take is shit.
Last edited by Pop Trash; 07-20-2021 at 10:48 PM.
Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:
Top Gun: Maverick - 8
Top Gun - 7
McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
Crimes of the Future - 8
Videodrome - 9
Valley Girl - 8
Summer of '42 - 7
In the Line of Fire - 8
Passenger 57 - 7
Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote