"The Hateful Eight" is an interesting film in the filmography of Quentin Tarantino. Upon my first watch, I wasn't sure what to think of it. But after reading the screenplay and having a lot of time to sit on it, the more I have come to love that film. The characters have their violent and evil sides, but John Ruth (Kurt Russell), Major Marquis Warren (Sam Jackson), and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) are characters that I really appreciate and enjoy.
The theatrical version is a long film, but the Extended Cut splits it up into four episodes, all about 50 minutes in length. Having seen the theatrical version first, this really excited me, but when you get to the realization that only eighteen minutes of footages is added to the entire film, it did make me think of it differently.
Some of the added scenes (specifically the sequence in the fourth episode where Michael Madsen attempts to shoot Kurt Russell from under the table, which is excellent) are a fun to see and pick out, but most of them don't add much to the overall story or film experience.
I also feel like the "show" isn't edited in a really interesting way. It could have been changed up, because it is the exact same film verbatim with a few additional scenes added throughout the runtime. Each episode has the same opening credits and ending credits, which kind of pad out the runtime and make each episode feel longer than they actually are.
Once it returns to streaming, I highly recommend checking out either version of this film. If you've never seen the theatrical version, this would make for an excellent first viewing, but if you've seen the theatrical, then you're not missing out on a ton by skipping this.
"The Hateful Eight" (2015): 9/10 "The Hateful Eight Extended Version" (2019): 8/10.
The theatrical version is a long film, but the Extended Cut splits it up into four episodes, all about 50 minutes in length. Having seen the theatrical version first, this really excited me, but when you get to the realization that only eighteen minutes of footages is added to the entire film, it did make me think of it differently.
Some of the added scenes (specifically the sequence in the fourth episode where Michael Madsen attempts to shoot Kurt Russell from under the table, which is excellent) are a fun to see and pick out, but most of them don't add much to the overall story or film experience.
I also feel like the "show" isn't edited in a really interesting way. It could have been changed up, because it is the exact same film verbatim with a few additional scenes added throughout the runtime. Each episode has the same opening credits and ending credits, which kind of pad out the runtime and make each episode feel longer than they actually are.
Once it returns to streaming, I highly recommend checking out either version of this film. If you've never seen the theatrical version, this would make for an excellent first viewing, but if you've seen the theatrical, then you're not missing out on a ton by skipping this.
"The Hateful Eight" (2015): 9/10 "The Hateful Eight Extended Version" (2019): 8/10.