Once upon a Time in Hollywood [Blu-ray] [Region B] [2019]

I'm no Tarantino fan, but this movie is fantastic.It is so well crafted that it definitely stands out to be the best and longest film where nothing actually happens.That said, it is a superb account of how life was for Tarentino within the Hollywood film industry in contrast to the movie stars' private lives back in the late 60s.Arguably its a tale of 2 fictional movie guys and their strong friendship (one being a TV star elevating to feature films and a washed up stuntman who can now only be a chauffeur for the TV star). We follow their story, the ups and downs of landing a number of castings and other jobs using flashback sequences to show their progress upto the current time frame of 1969. We see how, in their private lives, they cross paths with the young women of the Manson Family cult that serendipitously leads to and embroils them in that infamouly slaughter at Cielo Drive, Beverly Hills. However, Tarantino deftly reworks the nightmare scenario. The brilliance here is the elongated tension that builds throughout culminating into that event enabling a huge amount of trepidation and expectation. Thankfully Tarantino turns the tables onto the cult members instead. It is a wild scene in and of itself and a classic Tarantino climatic coda.This is most definitely his magna opus. A true personal work of cinematic storytelling art.

One of my favourite films. I think it's a blast.

This film has been comprehensively reviewed on its release and subsequently analysed both as a film and as a portrayal of the events of 1969. The director - as I am sure everybody knows is Quinton Tarantino, and it reflects a number of his traits as a script-writer and a director. I have watched a couple of interviews given by Tarantino concerning his intentions and I think it is important to note that during production the book by Tom O'Neill, Chaos, was published and this may have influenced the final edit. Chaos presents the cases for alternative narratives of the Manson Family murders, including a number of conspiracy theories - Tom O'Neil does not commit himself to any of these - and neither does Tarantino. However both the film and the book caste some doubt upon Helter Skelter, that is the cult/ mad/ marginal view of the Manson family - a view which was very convenient for the Hollywood film and musical elite at the time.The casting illustrates the Tarantino style:a) Rick Dalton is played by DiCaprio - a washed up, slightly aging Cowboy star and even worse a TV starb) Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt, his stunt double, an ex-Korean war veteran, expert at unarmed combat, also Dalton's general factotum and driver. These characters are fictional - though perhaps based on genuine heroes of 50s and 60s TVc) Sharon Tate played by Margot Robbie - obviously a real person, both remembered and to some degree mythologizedd) Charles Manson - played by Damon Herriman, who is a bit part player in the filme) other real people, Steve McQueen played by Damien Lewis, who desires Sharon Tate, but is in the 'friend zone', and who some accounts suggests was due to visit Cielo Drive on the night of the murders; Squeaky, played by Dakota Fanning, probably much more important than the official accounts portray; George Spahn, played by Bruce Dern, owner of the Spahn ranch, the usual, but not only place of abode of the Manson family; Bruce Lee played by Mike Moah, before stardom and who taught Sharon Tate some martial arts for her role in The Wrecking Crew, a Mat Helm (Dean Martin), comedy spy-spoothf) some fictional characters, James Stacey played by Timothy Oliphant, as the new kid on the block, who is displacing Dalton as a TV hero; Al Pacino as Schwarz, an agent who saves Dalton's ailing careerg) Composite characters - Pussycat, played by Maya Hawke, who represents a number of the Manson womenh) people who were not there - Sam Wannamaker played by Nicholas Hammond, who had relocated to England because he was suspected of being a Communist sympathiserThe film is often described as mixing fact and fiction, but in fact the scenes involving Sharon Tate either happened or are the things a Hollywood starlet might do; those involving Booth and Dalton are fictionalI have not seen this mentioned, but is it an accident that Booth might refer to John Wilkes Booth and Dalton to one of the Dalton gang?The film was made in 2019 exactly 50 years after the Cielo Drive massacre - surely not a coincidence. Tarantino seems to have sought and gained the approval of the Tate family for his portrayal of Sharon Tate.What happens? The first part of the film represents events dated to February 1969. We see Tate enjoying hanging out with celebrities, dancing, partying, going to see her own film (The Wrecking Crew), inhaling marijuana, socialising with Sebring, a former partner and hair-stylist, spending some time with Roman Polanski, her jet-setting superstar director husband, sleeping in late - in short enjoying the hedonistic life-style of 60s Los Angeles. Meanwhile in another Hollywood, not too far away, the jobbing actor Dalton and his stunt double Booth are auditioning for bit parts in TV westerns, net-working with agents, what today would be called 'influencers' and not getting very far. This is in fact what Charlie Manson was attempting to do throughout 1967 and 1968. These two worlds are brought together in a scene in which Booth repairs Dalton's ariel in his house on Cielo Drive which overlooks the Polanski-Tate home, when Charlie wanders up the drive and knocks on the door, which is answered by Sebring. Manson asks if he can see Terry Melcher (producer of both the Beachboys and Byrds), to be told he has moved - and that is all you see of him. The scene also highlights the fact that 'Tex', the main perpetrator of the killings fired numerous bullets on the night of the murders - bullets which were either not heard or taken to be fire-crackers by neighbours.In these scenes you find out that Dalton once lived in better times, and he owns his house on Cielo Drive because of his past earnings and he can barely pay Booth anymore. You find out a lot of the money has gone on an expensive Hollywood divorce. Booth may have solved the divorce problem - Hollywood gossip claims he killed his ex-wife, and a flash-back shows them on a yacht, arguing and Booth waving a harpoon gun. The audience also finds out that Booth is a stunt double because of his training in the Korean War, in a scene where he fights Bruce Lee. In interview Tarantino states that Lee was well known for actually striking other stuntmen and was as a consequence not very popular.Booth runs into members of the Manson family all over Hollywood. 'Pussycat' thumbs a lift, and makes it clear that sex is not simply on the agenda, but will be given away. Booth realises she is jail-bait, but when he finds out she lives on the Spahn ranch he insists on visiting as the ranch was the scene of many episodes of the TV series starring Dalton. He therefore knows George Spahn. He has a hostile reception, runs into Squeaky, who states George is alright as she "****** his brains out last night". He speaks to George, who is happy with this, but finds his car vandalised when he returns. He punches one of the male Family members (I think this is Clem, who was involved in some of the murders), forces him to repair the car and leaves. The scene accurately reflects the situation in Spahn ranch - it had a staff of ranchers, hired out horses to tourists and guided tours around the California hills. The Family tended the horses (Charlie liked horses more than he liked people), and most importantly people came and went. The Family were not a cult as the term is usually understood - lots of people freely joined and left.The second part of the film occurs in August 1969. Booth and Dalton eventually strike it lucky - Schwarz (Al Pacino) gets Dalton a staring role in a series of films in Italy, made by "the second best Spaghetti Western director". Dalton earns enough to sustain the house on Cielo Drive, pay off his debts, including to Booth. Tate and Polanski go off to Europe where Polanski is directing another film. Tate returns heavily pregnant, goes for a meal with some friends, and they return to Cielo Drive. Meanwhile Tex, Linda Kasabian, Pat Krenwinkel and Susan Aitkens are sent by Charlie to punish the inhabitants of Terry Melcher's old home. So far fact or at least as close to fact as we are likely to get. Thereafter a fictional ending. Dalton sees a car outside of his home - goes out to challenge its occupants. Tex decides to change Charlie's plan and kill Dalton and the occupants of his household with very different results. What follows is violent and may be intended to reflect the violence that occurred within the Polanski/Tate home. The murder of Sharon Tate has been portrayed on film and TV several times and Tarantino has stated that he wanted to respect her memory and the feelings of her family.There are some important structural elements within this film, all of which involve 'mirroring', and they may all relate to the central plot of fiction mirroring real events:a) Dalton and Booth mirror each other - Booth might be the man all men would like to be and Dalton how man actually are; Booth might be 'old' Hollywood and Dalton its 'new' facsimile; both explanations fall foul of the inconvenient fact that Booth is accused of killing his ex-wife - I think it is likely that Tarantino may mean to convey that old Hollywood is full of secrets and scandal, but so is new (he was in the process of cutting his ties with Harvey Weinstein at the time).b) the actors playing Polanski and Manson look very similar and in real life both were/are short men - Steve McQueen says in the film that Tate had a penchant for short men. Polanski is of course the subject of considerable animosity within Hollywood and particularly with the MeToo movementc) Most interestingly is the portrayal of Sharon Tate, as a naïve girl-child with very few lines and somewhat childish joys, and this seems to be contrasted with the prematurely adult Trudi Fraser played by Julia Butters, who was ten at the time. In what is I think the best scene in the film, Trudi is studiously learning her lines, while Dalton is reading a book, and they engage in a conversation as equals, indeed Dalton learns something about acting from Trudi. It raises questions about whether Hollywood infantilises its female stars and whether it prematurely ages its child stars; it may reflect upon how the studio stars were being swept away by 'the new wave' in the late 60s or indeed how Hollywood might be sweeping away 'the old' and replacing it with movies made 'for the modern audience' at present.Subsequent to seeing the film I have read Jeff Guinn, Manson: the life and times of Charles Manson, 2013, which tries to put these events into the social and political context of Sixties California and provides considerable background upon Manson's early life in West Virginia. It describes how Charlie used Helter Skelter to manipulate family members, but puts forward a different and in some sense of the word 'rational' explanation for the killings.

I first watched this film at the cinema and had rather mixed feelings about it at the time, but watching it again on this DVD has brought home to me how really brilliant Once Upon A Time in ... Hollywood is.Before initially seeing the film at the cinema, I had expected it to be about the Manson family killings at the home of Sharon Tate and being a Tarantino film would be quite violent and gory. How wrong could I be? Instead we have a film that focuses on a tv series actor, Rick Dalton, who is grappling with coming to terms that his career and popularity is waning and who just happens to live next door to Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski on Cielo Drive in Hollywood. So, I came out of the cinema with slightly mixed feelings as my expectations had led me to expect something completely different. However, I am so glad I bought this DVD version as it has enabled me to watch the film again (and again) and marvel at its many strengths, many of which I missed the first time around.Once Upon A Time in ... Hollywood has a really authentic feel about what Los Angeles and Hollywood must have been like in 1969 with its hippy culture, movie theatres, restaurant style bars, clothes, cars, Playboy mansion parties, etc. There are many different references, some more oblique than others, to the period, such as the film posters, the black and white television shows, the ads that interrupt the music on car radio stations, depictions of film genres that were so popular at the time (e.g. Spaghetti Westerns, Kung-Fu martial arts action movies, etc.) and, of course, the music of the period (the Mamas and Papas, Deep Purple, Simon & Garfunkel, Jose Feliciano, Neil Diamond, etc).In addition, the lead actors are brilliant, creating totally believable characters: Brad Pitt as stuntman double Cliff Booth has deservedly received most of the plaudits but I think Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton and Margo Robbie as Sharon Tate are equally outstanding, as are a whole host of other famous actors who appear in the film (such as Al Pacino, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell to name just a few).In addition, many of the scenes are so memorable but for different reasons; the brief but chilling appearance of Charles Manson as seen by a shirtless Cliff Booth who is fixing a t.v. aerial on the roof of Rick Dalton's home; the hilarious scene where Cliff Booth disagrees with Bruce Lee, Cliff Booth's visit to the Spahn Ranch where the Manson Family are living, and the tension created as the dramatic and bloody, climax approaches when Tex, Sadie and other members of the Mason Family start walking up Cielo Drive on that fateful dark, misty night.So, if you haven't seen the film or want to see it again, I highly recommend getting this DVD, turning the house lights down low and the sound volume up and let Once Upon A Time in ... Hollywood take you back to the late nineteen sixties - and if, like me, you were lucky enough to have been around at this time, let it bring back all those long forgotten memories of life in one's younger, carefree days. Thank you Quentin Tarantino for such a wonderfully evocative film.

No spoilers!I'm not going to do an in depth smart arse review. I'm just going to get to the point.This isn't your average film. It plods along holding your interest with great performances and great shots from beginning to end. The chemistry between DiCaprio and brad pitt is great. The acting is phenomenal and attention to detail is great. If you enjoy good dialogue, great performances, interesting concepts and appreciate attention to detail and are a fan of Tarantino then I'm sure you'll enjoy the film. If you're thinking of buying it because you fancy Brad pitt, think it will be a Will Ferrell type comedy or because you enjoyed Pitts and DiCaprio films in the past, perhaps this is a bit of a gamble. That doesn't mean I dont think you should buy it.But maybe buy it on blu ray or rent it first.To be honest I have a good tv and 4k player and I'm not convinced this is a film worthy of splashing out for the 4k version. Blu Ray would have been good enough.

Brilliant movie, great cast, great storyline which changes the timeline of manson and the actress Sharon Tate.Highly recommended

In 1969 Tinseltown was on it's last legs and the industry was changing, TV was killing the studios and many were closing, public tastes were changing for smaller more gritty films and Rick Dalton wants in. His TV show is going nowhere and his career might be going down the tubes. If he can get a part in a big new western he might get lucky and make it as a star in the new Hollywood. In another part of town Charles Manson, his dreams of being a singer dashed, plans another way to become famous.Spoilers ahead, watch film first!!!!Once upon a time in Hollywood (OUTIH) is Quentin Tarantinos' ninth film and like many of his films it's a slow boiler. Setting up his characters, the environment and subtle character traits (that he can exploit later) is pretty much all that happens for perhaps the first 100 minutes or so. Who these people they are, what they want, their dreams and desires, there squabbles, insecurities, where and how they live and most importantly the close and subtle relationship between Rick and Cliff. This is the meat and bones of the story, yes Manson is about as are his followers, Tate and Polanski are also present but these are really bit players. It's the Rick and Cliff show for the most part and enjoyable it most certainly is. Pitt and DiCaprio are tremendous in their respective parts, Robbie, Pacino and a host of other well know actors pop up do there bit and disappear.This section of the film is never boring, but it's also not exactly cinematic either, some scenes go on for far too long and some could have been dropped altogether or perhaps condensed. The film within a film section was far too long, and although I understand why it was there, it kills what little pace there was and didn't need to be the length it was. We know he's an actor, we know he struggles with doubt, we know he is uncertain of his abilities, we know he thinks he is over the hill, why stretch out what we already know for ages of screen time. This was one section that almost got fast forwarded during the second watch. In my humble opinion Tarantino could have just dropped 15 minutes of runtime and it will have made little difference to the film at all. The film within a film could have been covered in five minutes with some prudent cutting and editing. As a viewer. Tell me it's happening, show me a few minutes and move on, Job done, don't linger longer than is required. As you would expect with a Tarantino movie, you get great dialogue, fantastic performances from all concerned, the sets, costumes and photography are all excellent. However a big shout out has to go the production designer who so faithfully recreated a world now long gone. It all looks absolutely fantastic and totally authentic down to the tiniest detail. You are transported back to the swinging sixties!The way Tarantino decides to deal with the truly dreadful murder of the pregnant Sharon Tate is to “change history” as he has done before. She is not murdered and the murderous Manson cult members are not confronted with a helpless and defenceless suburbanite but someone far more capable of looking after himself. Even though this has been commented on by many as a cheap way out of dealing with a shocking piece of cultural history, I found the idea of the idiotic and drugged up Manson acolytes cocking things up good style and getting their assess kicked quite amusing. However the violence in these final scenes is quite brutal and wiped the grin off my face pretty quick.So we have a fabulous film that just feels and looks right, however, at least for me, is Tarantino beginning to get predictable? Does he have problems NOT making a Tarantino film and as a result does his recent output, although beautifully put together, begin to feel a bit repetitive. The similarities in structure to The Hateful Eight and Inglorious Bastards, where we are all just waiting for the “good stuff” at the end to wind up the movie in a violent and often graphic blood fest to wind things up. Do his fans (me included) feel cheated if we don't get this and does Tarantino just feed us what we want (explosive violence) in a nicely produced seemingly artistic package to assuage our guilt at actually enjoying all the mayhem before our eyes. Are the tremendous artistic endeavours made just a way of hiding the real truth that we actually come for the violence and use the art as a get out of jail free card. Is he actually saying to us, the viewer, you came here for this don't blame me for the violence, you love it and that's why you keep buying the tickets. Is he trolling his audience, is he asking them to look into themselves and ask why they like his movies and why they keep coming back for more.It may be that Tarantino fully recognises that he has niched himself to such a degree that he can no longer tell a story without the violence required by his ticket buying fans. It's telling that when Jackie Brown was released with substantially less violence than Pulp Faction, fans were not at all pleased and the film did not do particularly well. His next film Kill Bill part 1 was a crimson blood fest on steroids, so we can say with a degree of certainty that he looks for stories that can incorporate a fair amount of violence. Film ten, supposedly his last, may very well prove me wrong, but I suspect that the formulae will prevail and that his investors will want more of the same, more of what has been a success in the past, in other words what sells and makes a profit. A true artist, I suspect would not enjoy having these kinds of expectations or imposed parameters placed upon his work. A novelist could not use the same basic idea again and again and neither would they want to in all probability. Perhaps it's now impossible for Tarantino to NOT make a Tarantino movie. Maybe his artistic integrity has been compromised just too far. Perhaps after film ten, he may go into television, Netflix I am sure would be interested. Maybe he can find a new audience on a different platform, perhaps he's done with movies.OUTIH is a fabulous first watch, it's classy, has great performances, a great soundtrack, style seeping out of it's DVD case, and yes the end is very violent indeed, just what the fans want and expect, however subsequent viewings are less successful when you kind of notice the formula beginning to show through. Eighty percent slow build up and then a explosive twenty percent violent orgy with lots of blood to the end credits.Tarantino is without doubt a fantastically talented auteur film maker, but he may have boxed himself into a cinematic black hole that the fans will not let him escape from.

I loved this movie from start to finish. It had everything you want from a Tarantino production. I have been reading the one star reviews and wonder if I saw a different movie to you. DiCaprio and Pitt light up the screen with just really being normal. Julia Butters steals the scenes she's in and for an 8 year old to be in this movie and have lines to say was brilliant (Kill Bill did have kids I know, but not like this one.) I found The Hateful Eight dreadfully boring, but this went all over the place. There is a strange bit when Pitt's character goes to see an old friend who owns the ranch that the Manson family live although you do get Pitt beating a guy up who's punctured the tyre on his car.As for the Sharon Tate stuff, did people really want to see a young pregnant girl killed and her blood smeared across the walls. I think some of you out there need to take a long hard look at yourselves. In my humble opinion the film doesn't drag at all and is as fun as Pulp Fiction and I will be watching it again and again.

Dvd meme pas en Français.... tres deçus....

Deutsche Sprache nicht vorhanden

… of Mobile, Alabama, where the chickensnot little bayatch ran to grandmama's house after she took part in the real atrocity on Cielo Drive (and got arrested). I have been living here (moved from up north to work and do good deeds) trying whatever I can to make Mobile's image right after what she made it famous for. Yes, this is probably Tarantino's best since "Pulp Fiction" and a stunning portrayal of the decaying years of the late '60s in an entertainment town that had lost its way for awhile.I really enjoyed the soundtrack of sometimes marginally rememberable songs and radio commercials (the Heaven Scent ad was unusually well placed in context to what was going on in front of the camera when it appeared). I know Tarantino has gone off on a run of films in which historical bad buys get theirs in alternate endings as opposed to real history, but this one, much more than Inglorious Basterds and Django, had a good bit more credibility. It should have in real life ended this way. A fun, irreverent and salty piece worth the length of time it took to watch!

Brad Pitt dà una pista a Di Caprio !

Achtung! Nur englisch! Untertiel auch !