From Dusk Till Dawn (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #64

Seth Gecko, played by George Clooney, is in prison for armed robbery. His brother Richie, played by Quentin Tarantino, breaks him out of jail. They rob a bank and head towards the Mexican border to retire with their riches, killing 16 people on the way. Seth is a cold-hearted killer, but he's a professional. He only kills if he has to. Richie is a paranoid psychopath, who hears voices and can't keep his sexual urges under control. Seth is ashamed of his brother, but he still loves him and tries to look after him.

At a motel near the Mexican border the brothers meet Jacob Fuller, who's on holiday with his two children. He used to be a Baptist pastor, but he quit his job after having a disagreement with God. He hasn't completely lost his faith; he still believes that God exists. He just doesn't love God any more, because God allowed his wife to die a slow painful death after a car crash.

These are his children, Scott and Kate. Scott's adopted, in case you couldn't guess. Scott's wearing a T-Shirt that says "Precinct 13". This is a subtle hint that the film is in part based on John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13".

Seth forces Jacob to drive him and his brother across the border. As I've already said, he's very professional and promises to leave Jacob's family unharmed if they do whatever he says. Richie has other plans with Kate, but Seth says he'll keep her safe.

This was the first film in which I saw the actress Juliette Lewis, and I was immediately impressed with her acting abilities. Since then I've seen her in a lot of films. It could be argued that she always plays the same character in her 1990's films: an innocent little girl. But she does it so well! I prefer her 1990's roles to the films that she made later.

Isn't she beautiful? Those eyes!

Could this be her signature role? Possibly.

In Mexico the Gecko brothers and Jacob's family take a break in a biker's bar called the Titty Twister. Ugh! I wouldn't be seen dead in a place like that. The name enough is enough to put me off. And this man welcoming the guests at the door would make me turn and run.

The Titty Twister is the home of a vampire clan. My regular readers know that I have vampire fantasies, but not when they're this ugly. I'll never complain about the ugly vampires in "Buffy" again.

Not all the vampires look so bad. Salma Hayek, whose stage name is Santanico Pandemonium, looks quite delicious.

She seems to have a leading position among the vampires.

And she can dance with a snake!

She has a tempting offer for Seth:

"I'm not gonna drain you completely. You'll be my slave".

"You'll be my footstool, and at my command you'll lick the dog shit from my boot heel".

"Since you'll be my dog, your new name will be Spot".

"Welcome to slavery".

If it had been me, I would have asked for more time to think it over. As it turned out, Seth shot her. That's not cool!

"I don't surrender to vampires! I'm Batman!"

Or is that another film?

"From Dusk Till Dawn" is a brilliant film, written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It's a throwback to the Italian horror films of the 1970's, but with modern production values.

I know his name has become unpopular in recent years, but the film would never have been made without the backing of Harvey Weinstein. In fact, none of Quentin Tarantino's films would have been made. The people who criticise Harvey Weinstein don't realise how important he's been in the film industry. He's done more for the advancement of cinema than anyone else in the last 40 years. That's no excuse for the way he's abused women. The "casting couch culture" has been commonplace in Hollywood for a hundred years, and Harvey Weinstein was convicted to set an example. In court he was found innocent of most of the charges against him, but he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sexual assault and third degree rape.

Was it right to punish Harvey Weinstein so harshly? In my opinion, Yes. I just regret that it had to come to it. He's not the worst offender in the last 100 years. If other directors and producers had been punished for their crimes 50 years ago, Harvey Weinstein would have been too scared to abuse his position.

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