Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

“Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.”

Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film has been called his ‘love letter to Hollywood’ and his magnus opus that celebrates everything he loves about the industry and what he remembers about it during the period of his youth. Whether or not you agree with these descriptions one thing is clear, Quentin Tarantino, as usual, pours every bit of himself into this film with iconography from things he absolutely loves.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is broken up into several stories, fragmented in a much more subtle Tarantino-esque non-linear fashion that mainly employs flashbacks to explain some of the exposition needed for a particular phrase or sequence. Also using brief moments of narration, Tarantino really does utilize every tool available to him that he’s used in the past to build in alternate 1969 Hollywood where the only difference is that Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth exist, and live next to Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski on Cielo Drive. If you are familiar in the least with Tarantino’s other work that tells the story of some kind of wrong or injustice and his tendency to tell some kind of revisionist history, you might be able to infer where the story ultimately leads, but the ride to get there, is one hell of a ride that takes you back in time to the glory days of Hollywood.

The film is peppered with recreations of 1950’s television series, 60’s radio jingles, commercials, advertisements, etc. One of the most fascinating things about the film is how accurate of a depiction everything is. The fictional television series Bounty Law is dead on, almost comical at the intense music accompanying the cliffhanger commercial teasers for the next weeks episode, including the focus on the Western type genre that was still immensely popular during this time-period, which is slowly phasing out, just like Rick Dalton and his popularity as he tries to find his place in the new Hollywood that is emerging. The setting itself is one of the main features of the film, giving it the interesting dynamics to work with in the story, the nostalgia for those who grew up during the time period, and the sense of wonderment for those who are fascinated by the history of one of the most influential places in the country.

While the focus of the story ultimately ends up on Cielo Drive, what I enjoyed most about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the fact that we’re introduced to the fictional characters of Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth, two men with vastly different backgrounds but nonetheless loyal to each other to the very end. We get to witness the ups and downs in their lives, especially with Rick Dalton coming to terms with his age and diminishing popularity. Along the way there are some great interactions between several historical characters with some hilarious moments, showing just how much of a tour de force both of these men are, that are able to change the lives of so many people they’re involved with. With a running time of almost three hours, there is so much story and exposition that the film never seemed that long to me. Granted, the first time I saw it in theaters it took about until the halfway point for me to really start to get into the film, as I hadn’t accepted the fact this was basically an exposition of 1969 Hollywood. As cool as the backseat shots of people driving to old radio commercials are, there came a point when I didn’t think there would be anything else to the story; but that moment came when Cliff Booth visited Spahn Ranch and the film shifted gears into something much more interesting. What Quentin Tarantino does best is create tension when he needs it, and that tension boils over at the end, creating one of the most chaotic, violent, and fantastic sequences in his career. I loved the ending, and went back and re-watched it several times just to feel that oddly gratifying feeling myself and I’m sure everyone else got.

Tarantino uses the majority of his usual players. Of course, we see the easily recognizable ones like Zoë Bell and Michael Madsen, but also employs a wide range of talent I was quite surprised about, especially a lot of the women at Spahn Ranch that didn’t even get much face time on screen. Margot Robbie plays a fantastic Sharon Tate, capturing the kind-hearted nature and thriving spirit she is always portrayed as having. Brad Pitt as usual plays a very cool and collected character who is a definite bad-ass with a questionable past. Despite this, he will do anything for his friend. Leonardo DiCaprio gives another phenomenal performance for Tarantino as Rick Dalton. The evolution of his character, his pitfalls and the inner demons he struggles with, are all excellently captured by DiCaprio in some truly breathtaking sequences. Tarantino knows how to get the best out of his actors and this is no different.

Video

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1. This is an absolutely beautiful film. Colors are a bit muted to keep in with the tone of the film and the era of the 60’s, but come across beautifully when contrasted with the black and white sequences. As nice as this picture is, I really want to check out the 4k version, as I’m sure it looks even better.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. In addition to his unique filmmaking style, Tarantino is also known for the songs he uses in his films, which is one of the best parts of this film. The score is fantastic, with some of the best songs of the era used perfectly in conjunction with the story. The audio itself sounds great as well, with a nice balance between the surrounds and dialogue of the center channel.

Special Features

There are some really great extras on this disc. One thing I wish Quentin would do is commentaries for his films, however, he unfortunately doesn’t do them. You do get to hear him talk about the film briefly in some of the supplemental material, so you’ll have to make due.

These include:

• Quentin Tarantino’s Love Letter to Hollywood
• Bob Richardson – For the Love of Film
• Shop Talk – The Cars of 1969
• Restoring Hollywood – The Production Design of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
• The Fashion of 1969

If Quentin Tarantino sticks to his original vow of only doing ten films then we only have one more to go. I don’t think I want to live in a world where there is no possibility of seeing another Tarantino flick, with his brash and hilarious interviews to go along with them. With Inglorious Basterds I was a bit up in the air with his revisionist history at first, but now I just want him to right every injustice throughout history in his own style. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t Tarantino’s best film, but it’s high up there in an already impressive filmography that his fans will surely enjoy.