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List Price: $14.95 | | Label: The Weinstein Company
Salesrank: 857
Released: October 16, 2007 |
| Our Price: $8.44 |
| Used Price: $5.21 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
(Horror) A fun zombie film that busts at the seams with gross special effects amazing action and deliciously over-the-top moments as gun-legged Cherry Darling and one man wrecking crew El Wray try to save the world from a horde of flesh-eating zombies.System Requirements:Run Time: 105 minutes Genre: HORROR UPC: 796019803878
Description of Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition):
Loud, fast, and proudly out of control, Grindhouse is a tribute to the low-budget exploitation movies that lurked at drive-ins and inner city theaters in the '60s and early '70s. Writers/directors Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) cooked up this three-hour double feature as a way to pay homage to these films, and the end result manages to evoke the down-and-dirty vibe of the original films for an audience that may be too young to remember them. Rodriguez's Planet Terror is a rollicking horror/sci-fi/action piece about a plague outbreak that turns citizens into cannibalistic murderers; it's heavy on the gore and explosions but also features a terrific cast of A players (Freddy Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, Marley Shelton) and B-movie vets (Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Tom Savini) and the indelible image of Rose McGowan as a stripper whose torn-off leg is replaced by a high-powered machine gun.
If Tarantino's feature was a nod to the moody, genre-jumping exploitation of the early '70s, Rodriguez's contribution to the Grindhouse aesthetic pays tribute to the manic gorefests from Italy and the States in the early '80s. And much like the film itself, the supplemental features on Terror's double-disc Extended and Unrated presentation have a loose, action-packed and familial vibe that gives fans full access to Rodriguez's one-man-studio approach to moviemaking. The director is featured twice on audio tracks: first, on the feature commentary, which provides a fun tour through the picture's production (as well as information on the upcoming Grindhouse DVD set, which will reunite the two pictures in their theatrical format), and later on the "10-Minute Film School," a fascinating breakneck run through the numerous visual and CGI effects that produced the film's most eye-popping effects, including McGowan's leg/machine gun. Most of the extras echo Rodriguez's informative and entertaining vibe--two featurettes cover the picture's male and female cast (the former offers affectionate tributes to the exploitation vets in the company, including Biehn, Fahey, Michael Parks, and Savini), while "Casting Rebel" is an amusing discussion of how Rodriguez came to bring his own son into the movie, as well as his refusal to disclose the fate of Rebel's character. "Sickos, Bullets, and Explosions" takes a look at Terror's extensive special effects through interviews with stunt coordinator Jeff Dashnaw and members of the visual effects team, while "The Friend, The Doctor, and The Real Estate Agent" chats with three non-actors, all pals of Rodriguez, who wound up with small but significant roles in the picture. The Extended and Unrated aspect of the set is limited to a few extended scenes and extra splatter (sorry, the infamous "Missing Reel" is not recovered for this set), while Grindhouse fans bemoaning the absence of the film's hilarious faux trailers will appreciate the inclusion of Rodriguez's hilarious Machete spot, with Danny Trejo as a death-dealing, lady-loving tough guy gunning for double-crosser Fahey. The set also includes an "Audience Reaction" track: Essentially, it's a whole track of whoops and hollers that allows the viewer to "experience" the film as if they were watching it in an actual grindhouse from back in the day. Its inclusion neither adds to or detracts from enjoying this DVD, but it's wholly indicative of the level of fun Rodriguez had making the picture--and wants to share with his fans. -- Paul Gaita
Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) Reviews:
A Nostalgic Gorefest 
2008-08-13 - Grindhouse was originally released in theatres as a nostalgic look at the matinée style movies of the Grindhouse theatres. These movie theatres would usually display 1, 2 or even 3 movies in a row. The movies were relatively low budget in exchange for high levels of advertising. Both Tarrantino and Rodriguez have spoken of their love for the Grindhouse theatres as kids. They both set about to make two separate movies that would be shown in succession, but in between would feature commercials for further fictional movies. This, in their mind would create the same atmosphere that they experienced as kids. It didn't work and a lot of the time, after the first movie would end (Either Planet Terror or Death Proof) movie go'ers assumed that was it and would leave. Not knowing there is another movie to follow after the commercial breaks. Because of this failure, against their will both Rodriguez and Tarrantino decided to release the movies separately and the success grew from there. I've seen Tarrantino's Death Proof, and I must say I didn't really care for it. This is why we have Planet Terror. In case you don't have the attention span to follow an hour or so of dialogue, then at least you get this movie in which people get blown to pieces every couple of minutes. I am the latter and I absolutely loved this movie.
It had cheesy dialogue that, at times made no sense and had no place in the situation our heroes where presented with. The gore was reminiscent of my beloved classic sci-fi gross out flicks that, instead of using CGI endeavored to create the gore for real (not using actual body parts though). This made some of the craziness more genuine and in Planet Terror actually made my stomach turn.
In Texas, a gang leaded by the black market dealer Abby faces a group of renegade militaries leaded by Captain Muldoon in an abandoned military base. During their shootout, Abby shoots a recipient of biological weapon, releasing an experimental highly-contagious gas that turns humans to flesh-eating zombies. Meanwhile, in the local hospital, Dr. Block sees an epidemic with many patients with the same nasty symptoms. When the outbreak affects most of the local population, a group of people with immunity leaded by the mechanic Wray, Sheriff Hague, the stripper Cherry and the Dr. Dakota, fight to survive and become the last hope to save the world.
This was an awesome mind numbing movie that went at a mile a minute. It doesn't seek to be intelligent or even have a go at some random intelligent speeches. Be warned, this movie is stupid and watching it may make you a few points lower in your IQ. One thing I have to tell you is that it's really worth it as it's so much fun. I'm actually disappointed that Tarrantino's installment didn't really deliver for me.
Buy it and enjoy it.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" to the 100th power...but with zombies!!!
2008-08-11 - "Planet Terror" is one of the most unique films I've seen in quite a while. It's a sort of parody/ tribute to the drive-in/ exploitation movies of the 1970s. Now here's my Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Watch "Planet Terror":
1) It's brought to us by Robert Rodriguez, the same man that gave us "From Dusk Till Dawn", so you know this is gonna be something interesting, and especially well-made.
2) ...and, like "From Dusk Till Dawn", this movie starts off serious but is able to do a 180 about 40 minutes into it. This basically means that the pacing of this movie is good and time really flies, even though it's about an hour and forty minutes long.
3) There's plenty of odd characters, and while there isn't any real plot, all the characters contribute to the charm and appeal of this movie.
4) A reason you MUST watch this movie, a girl has a machine gun for a leg! She doesn't get it until the last, twenty minutes or so, but when she DOES get become our loveable Machine Gun Sally...WATCH OUT!!! This includes when she shoots the ground and flies thirty feet over a wall like a comic book superhero. That's a clip you will DEFINITELY wanna watch again.
5) Gore, gore, gore!!! This movie is packed with plenty of horror-related action, alongside LOTS of headshots and the red stuff flies like ducks flying south for the winter.
6) Tom Savini makes an appearance as a police officer, and it's always cool to see Tom land a spot in a cool movie.
7) The whole film even feels like a sort of '70s movie, if you forget the fact that it's a tribute to these types of movies, so we get the nostalgic feel and classic sorta setting.
8) All the actors do a very good job at playing their roles, so this breathes even more life into the film.
9) There are so many, ridiculous moments, like the guy that jumps around like a martial artist and rips zombies apart one after another after another!!! This movie is chock full of awesome moments and true novelty ideas that put a real twist on this type of movie.
and Reason Number 10:
10) This movie is a real treat because it doesn't follow the rulebook on what a horror/action/exploitation movie should be. Like "From Dusk Till Dawn" it is such a novelty item and SO COOL, it's a movie you just can't watch once. It's a fun-filled, action-packed, zombie-raging movie that YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE SERIOUSLY! Just kick back, grab a bottle of your favorite iced tea, and let the DVD play.
Well, if you made it this far into the review, I wanna say thanks!!! If you're looking for a fun, exciting, gory, and actually rather funny movie, "Planet Terror" is a newfound gem that's sure to withstand the test of time, and can almost be called this generation's "From Dusk Till Dawn". Robert Rodriguez sure is making a name for himself as a writer and director, because both these movies are flat-out awesomeness!
If you're looking for a horror/action-comedy movie that'll bring you a good time, "Planet Terror" will be your Knight in Bloody Armor...WITH the machine gun leg! LOL. Thanks for the time, and peace.
Grindhouse Presents, Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated 
2008-08-11 - Could I have watched this at the Starlight Drive-in 35 years ago? No, but it sure feels like it. It has the look and feel of one of the double feature B movies we saw back then. I applaud the production, directing, casting, editing, and camera work. All went into making it look and feel older. The cast does a fine job with their parts and add to the illusion of an older B movie, but with some satire that let's us smile along with them as we know they aren't really serious when in the older movies they were funny unintentionally and they were serious about it. I really enjoyed the characters in this movie and it kept my interest the whole time. Well worth at least a rental and I think this one is a keeper and the price makes it a steal. It has some great acting, effects, and the story is just plain fun. Good quality DVD with plenty of replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "Death Proof", "Sin City", and "Kill Bill". - C. Luster
Good for what it was... would have preferred a serious film 
2008-08-03 - PLANET TERROR was good for what it was..... namely a zombie spoof film that paid homage to Drive-In films of the 1970s.
Of course it was over the top and cheesy.
The budget, special effects, and other film making aspects of the film were quite good which made me think to myself....... "Wow just imagine how good they could have made this film if they had used all these resources to make a serious horror/action film..... man they even had Savini to help them out"
So in summary....... it was good for what it was, but I would have enjoyed it more if they used all those resources to make a serious version of the same basic screenplay idea.
Got a ma-chine leg
2008-07-28 - There was nothing I felt this movie was missing. Any movie where Rose has a machine gun on her leg, is one I will see. New ideas, good performances, great writing and non-stop action make this movie so entertaining. It's worth seeing in the theater and buying.
