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From Dusk Till Dawn

A 1996 action-horror-comedy film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Kurtzman.

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Flawed, Sometimes Offensive, But NEVER Boring

Jun 7, 2004

by Robert1936

Rating:

Directed by Robert Rodriguez with a script written by Quentin Tarantino who also co-stars in it, this film resembles the proverbial little girl with the curl: "When it's good, it's very, very good but when it's bad...." Not much of a plot. Two psychopathic brothers (Clooney and Tarantino) kidnap a fallen-away minister (Keitel) and his two children, commandeer their van, and head south to Mexico to do business with drug dealers at The Titty Twister roadhouse. As in El Mariachi (1992) and then Desperado (1995) which Rodriguez also directed, the emphasis is on interaction between and among characters to create intense moments which may or may not advance the plot, such as it is. Rodriguez is a master of creating a stunning variety of atmospherics (hilarity, menace, confusion, bravado, etc.) amidst truly inspiring posturing by his lead characters. Moments of delicious tenderness are suddenly obliterated by gratuitous violence, both verbal and physical. I probably should have seen it coming but I didn't: Those who frequent Titty Twister roadhouse (only open from dusk until dawn, of course) are vampires. The Gecko brothers and their companions find themselves in harm's way and then....

I always enjoy spotting veteran actors in subordinate roles. In this film, for example, Michael Parks (Texas Ranger Earl McGraw), John Saxon (FBI Agent Stanley Chase), Marc Lawrence (Old Timer) and Selma Hayek (Santanico Pandemonium). At one point, as the roadhouse band performs "Mary Had a Little Lamb," I wondered if Stevie Ray Vaughan was also in this film. (He isn't.) This film is obviously not for everyone. (For Rodriguez and Tarantino, that may well be a badge of honor.) The quality of acting is superior to the plot; the aforementioned atmospherics are superior to whatever "messages" Rodriguez and Tarantino may have intended to send to their audience. Almost everyone who sees this film will either enjoy it or stop watching it long before its conclusion. Whatever.

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More From Dusk Till Dawn reviews

review by Lopez15. February 22, 2010

The Vampire genre gets an overhaul...

Since Dracula first graced the silver screen with his presence in 1931 vampires have become the number #1 horror icon of all time and a major staple of almost every creature feature from then on; from 1931 to 1992 Dracula reigned supreme over the screens as the most terrifying creature ever invented. With his departure after Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" the vampire genre seemed all but dead(no pun intended.) … more

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review by woopak_the_thrill. April 07, 2010

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VAMPIRE "GrindHouse" Horror Flick At Its Best!

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Quick Tip by CDubs7717. July 13, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

A Quick Tip by CDubs7717

Underated film. Clooney is very good. I love Juliet Lewis, too.

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Quick Tip by cruzer79. July 12, 2010

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A Quick Tip by cruzer79

love this move one favs you just dont know what your geting yourself into with this

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Quick Tip by mamasinister. June 27, 2010

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A Quick Tip by mamasinister

do you love exotic vampire belly dancing? then watch this movie!

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review by TheAncientReader. June 01, 2010

posted in Movie Hype

FOR A REALLY BAD MOVIE...THIS ONE IS A LOT OF FUN

If you are into completely gratuitous non-stop violence, then this movie is certainly for your. If you deplore graphic murder, mayhem, blood, gore and more of the same...over and over and over again, then you probably won't like the film very much. But wait! Let me finish... As long as you realize and accept the fact that, as another reviewer has so well stated in his review, that this is purely an exploitation movie, and if you watch it purely for the fun of seeing vampires … more

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review by DindyRobinson. April 08, 2006

posted in Movie Hype

Slow Build Up to Terrific Ending

From Dusk to Dawn is a really fun movie. At first it starts out as one of those types of movies that barely holds my interest- George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino are bank robbers on the run with a hostage. They shoot an Abilene Texas Ranger and a convenience store operator and end up at a sleazy hotel with their hostage where they run into Harvey Keitel, a preacher who has lost his faith upon the death of his wife and is taking his kids to a new life in their motor home. At … more

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review by MzJen_2_review. December 29, 2005

Quentin and Rodriguez are such a pair

This movie I tell you starts out as a cops and robber type deal then ends up horror film. No lie I do like the film despite its unevenness. It was kind of hard for me to "switch gears" when it turned horror, but before long, I was into it. I think Clooney and Tarantino made a great on screen duo. I liked the way they were so opposite, even though they were brothers. To me one of the BEST scenes in this film was when they have the female bank teller hostage in the motel. Clooney goes … more

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see all From Dusk Till Dawn reviews (12)

About the reviewer

Robert Morris (Robert1936)
Ranked #184

Professionally, I am an independent management consultant who specializes in accelerated executive development and breakthrough high-impact organizational performance. I also review mostly business books … more

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Cast: George Clooney, Salma Hayek, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Marc Lawrence, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Aimee Graham, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Parks, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Mike Moroff, Chad Dowdell, John Hawkes, Veena Bidasha, Kelly Preston, John Saxon, Tito Larriva, Ernest Liu, Heidi McNeal, Maria Diaz, Brenda Hillhouse

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Thriller

Release Date: January 19, 1996

MPAA Rating: R

Screen Writer: Quentin Tarantino

DVD Release Date: June 17, 1998

Runtime: 10b minutes

Studio: Dimension Films

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