Has
near the success of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino ends to rework a script with Robert Kurtzman, intended to be a road-movie thrillers that should be his new creation : A Night in Hell. Intended to interpret Richard Gekho, one of the two brothers, main characters of the film, he says, quickly over the reins of directing to Robert Rodriguez, with whom he had collaborated on Desperado.
A Night in Hell, series B general public assumed, reflects extremely well on the universe of the two filmmakers : to a first part-way road movie / western following the destiny of gangsters very Tarantino, followed by a second half-fantastico-gore oh how Rodriguez. The duality of the film may come as a surprise (and I was actually surprised when the theatrical release) but the fun and the trend of too-much of the film prevail quickly. Playing with their respective codes, a fireworks display of violence and ideas fully locked (for condoms with holy water !) reveals itself under the eyes of the beholder.
”A Night in Hell remains a film genre still as fun to watch nearly 20 years after”
At the same time dialogues tasty and hard hitting, are at the service of a casting quite and comfortable in the madness ambient of the film. Quentin Tarantino, of course, but also George Clooney, in his first role in cinema-notable in the person of Seth Gekho after her emerging success in the series Er, carry the film and the rest of the cast including Salma Hayek, Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis also works well. It should also be noted the presence in the cast of Fred Williamson, actor’s iconic Blaxploitation, as well as Tom Savini (the famous Sex Machine), make-up artist especially on Friday the 13th and the texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and the future favorite actor of the director, and Danny Trejo (Machete).
In short, A Night in Hell remains a film genre still as fun to watch nearly 20 years after. Of course, the visual effects and make-up sometimes have aged badly but the cinema of Tarantino and Rodriguez lends itself to it quite well. And as usual from these developers, the sound characteristic is being treated with here, among others, ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• Production : Robert Rodriguez
• Screenplay : Quentin Tarantino and Robert Kurtzman
• Main actors : Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, Salma Hayek, Harvey Keitel, Danny Trejo…
• Country of origin : United States
• Released : June 26, 1996
• Duration : 1h47mn
• Distributor : Gaumont Buena Vista International
• Synopsis : Two criminals take a family hostage near the mexican border, after a run particularly bloody during which they killed a policeman and kidnapped an employee of a store. They go all together in a bar for road beyond the mexican border, called the “Titty Twister”, establishing that their reserves a lot of surprises once the night has fallen…