Grindhouse should have had an intermission.

Before the freakin' SIXTH time (I'm addicted) I was about to sit down and partake in the Rodriguez and Tarantino Double Feature (this time at UVIC Cinecenta), a staffer at the cinema approached the audience and told us that there would be a brief, two minute break in-between the shows, as they wound Planet Terror and Death Proof onto separate platters. "Cool", I said to a nearby filmgoer as we chatted briefly about what we were going to see.

Planet Terror came and went as per usual, and what was interesting was how the projectionist simply let the film tail out of the projector, letting every last frame of film dance through the projector. For the kind of scratched, banged up film this was, it was kind of a cool effect. (Not only that, the "faded white stock" that was seen in-between all the trailers at the start of PT was repeated at the end of reel 6, but it's been cut out of every print I've seen to date.)

Only about two or three minutes passed as I again talked to the nearby filmgoer, adjusted in my seat and stretched. A few people got up and made a quick run for the bathroom and made it back. To help matters, Cinecenta was smart enough to attach a trailer for one of their upcoming movies before the "Fake trailers" and DP began.

None of this would be worth mentioning if not for the fact that the audience participation was dramatically improved because of this. The few minutes of breathing room gave them a bit more time to adjust and they sat through the dialogue sequences with nary a twitch. And those final, insane twenty minutes of Zoe the Cat going nuts on Stuntman Mike drew applause and cheers (mostly from myself) much more so than my previous screenings.

This is my only minor criticism of the otherwise miraculous Grindhouse experience: there's no intermission and there should have been. All 12 reels have been ordered by the filmmakers and studio to play out straight, forcing anyone who chooses to hit the commode to go at the "fake previews" and miss half of them. And there's no cool down from PT, either, which is unfortunate. For exhibitors, this could be a godsend for anyone who wants to hit up some refills at the concession stand.

I'm not saying that ALL longer films should have an intermission; Magnolia needs you to hold on for those 189 minutes, for example. But since double bills in these old Grindhouses gave you a quick break to pee and load up on goodies, they should have figured out a way to include a five minute rolling stock clip ("Let's all go to the lobby!") or split the film onto different platters, as this cinema did tonight. The quick break made the film even better than it already was.

Jason
efilmcritic.com