Barnes & Noble

Quentin Tarantino's unique brand of hip black comedy and deadpan violence works like a charm in Jackie Brown, the follow-up to his seminal Pulp Fiction. Based on the novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty), this slick, easygoing caper film stars Pam Grier as an airline stewardess who becomes involved with a bail bondsman (Robert Forster) after she’s busted smuggling money for gunrunner Samuel L. Jackson. Tarantino gets everything right here: Grier (of Foxy Brown fame) is perfectly cast as the smart, strong, sexy -- and refreshingly middle-aged -- heroine, and Tarantino punches up her pedigree with a funk-heavy soundtrack designed to evoke classic ‘70s blaxpoitation films. Meanwhile, the combination of Tarantino and Leonard (the godfather of cool crime fiction) is a match made in heaven: The dialogue snaps, crackles, and pops. But the film's surprise is TV and B-movie veteran Forster, whose Oscar-nominated performance evokes the straight-shooting, rock-solid decency of a bygone era and helps make his nascent screen romance with Grier one of the most appealing you'll ever see. Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, and Michael Keaton round out the film's killer cast. Tarantino's style has been endlessly -- and often badly -- imitated, but Jackie Brown proves there’s nothing like the real thing. The two-DVD set includes a making-of documentary, an interview with Tarantino, deleted and alternate scenes, and the complete "Chicks with Guns" video. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed this adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1995 Rum Punch, switching the action from Miami to LA, and altering the central character from white to black. Ruthless arms dealer Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), who lives with perpetually stoned beach-babe Melanie (Bridget Fonda), teams with his old buddy Louis Gara (Robert De Niro), just released from prison after serving four years for armed robbery. ATF agent Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) and cop Mark Dargus (Michael Bowen) bust stewardess Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), who was smuggling money into the country for Ordell. Ordell springs Jackie, but when middle-aged bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster) picks her up at the jail, he's attracted to her, and they choose a romantic route with detours. Mistrust and suspicions surface after Jackie pits Ordell and the cops against each other, convincing Ordell that she's going to double-cross the cops. Tarantino commented on the film's budget: "Jackie Brown only cost $12 million. You can't lose. You absolutely, positively can't lose. And you don't have to compromise." Bhob Stewart

USA Today

Adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch, Tarantino's first feature since Pulp Fiction gets boosts from the filmmaker's typically attitude-laden dialogue and plot twists to equal anything in Get Shorty. Mike Clark

Product Details

• UPC: 786936161564
• Source: MIRAMAX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 2:34:00
• Sales Rank: 14,141

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