Full Tilt Boogie

This film comes included with the From Dusk Till Dawn Collectors Series DVD and it is quite a find. This isn't just about how someone did this or blah blah blah did that, this film is a real tribute to the entire crew of the film and the comradry that forms between them all on the set as well as off it. The film is basically a journey through the production of From Dusk Till Dawn from problems with the unions to sandstorms and burning sets to dealing with George and Quintin on set, which I might add, make one crazy pair (God I love that opening scene). Will you learn anything important about film-making? I'd say it's hard not to walk away from this a little more knowledgeable about the sheer heart and determination put in by people who's names you'd probably never give a second glance to but they deserve more than just a crawl by mention in the end credits and that's what this film gives them. So if you liked From Dusk Till Dawn... that doesn't necessarily mean you'll like this, BUT if you like going behind the scenes and hanging out with a film crew as they get drunk by a pool, I say you can't do any better than to go for the Full Tilt Boogie.

I just purchased the Collector's Edition of "From Dusk Till Dawn" about a week ago, and last night finally got around to viewing the "Full Tilt Boogie" documentary, which details the making of the project from conception to post-production. Star/writer Quentin Tarantino, director Robert Rodriguez, stars George Clooney and Harvey Keitel and producer Lawrence Bender all give their insight into the making of one of the '90s' most "cult"-heavy flicks.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the movie, I think it's good because it's unique - something that doesn't really come out of Hollywood very often: a movie where you don't know what is going to happen next, and when you think you do...you're wrong.

It's a thriller in the vein of "Pulp Fiction" that suddenly shifts into comedy, then into slapstick, then back into crime thriller, then into horror, then into comedy... it never stops and really is an original film.

The documentary details the making of the film and opens at a comic book convention (Fangoria) where Rodriguez and Tarantino are being interviewed about their upcoming project.

From then it starts back at the beginning and goes through the entire process.

It's not a great documentary but it is a good one with insightful interviews and a comprehensive scope. I don't really think the film as a whole warrants any kind of "classic" treatment - the DVD is worthy of a finer picture some might say - but considering some of the awful five-minute HBO making-ofs that are on TV all the time nowadays, "Full Tilt Boogie" is a return to form.

The idea of watching a documentary about the making of From Dusk Till Dawn that's almost as long as From Dusk Till Dawn was intriguing, and I'd say that for about an hour, it was really good. It wore out its welcome after a while, though, and I got a bit tired of how it rambled on throughout the final half-hour or so. It might not help that it starts in such a ridiculous and fun way, and then doesn't quite keep that level of energy up. It also ignores certain people involved with the movie in a way that felt a bit odd, and there's also not much consistency in what it chooses to go in-depth on. Some parts are super interesting, while other parts of the documentary prove repetitive.

It's an odd beast of a making-of-documentary. A lot of it's close to very good, but other parts wore me down a bit.

When Sarah Kelly asked Quentin Tarantino for a project, he gave her an opportunity to document the making of "From Dusk Till Dawn" the South of the Border-Vampire flick in which he starred with George Clooney, directed by his pal Robert Rodriguez.

What we get is a frank, behind the scenes, none of that prepackaged, smooth-edged stuff you see in the press packs, or on ET.

Pace yourself. For in today's world of sound and media bytes, 97 minutes may seem an eternity, but this is a well- paced, fun from start to finish feature. And don't look for Harvey Keitel, he's camera-shy when it comes to these things.

"Full Tilt Boogie" does not provide any great insight into the making of "From Dusk 'Til Dawn", nor does it really glimpse in depth into the world of Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez. It does, however, showcase how calm & humble George Clooney remains in a karaoke bar despite being hounded by women and hangers-on. The film serves more as an episodic confessional for a non-union film crew; explaining how they feel about their work (few consider themselves in a creative light, they are all unabashedly in it "for the money"), why they're in the film business (money or avoidance of the 9-to-5 routine), the best perks available (free beer, getting to watch movie stars eat), and how the crew spends their time off (getting "sloppy drunk" & playing a lot of guitar). There's a minor story involving union protests over the use of non-union crew members, but it unfolds without any real interest. Rodriguez & Tarantino give a brief interview where they share some funny thoughts on the work of Stephen King, there are also short moments with Clooney, as well as a playful Juliette Lewis; and Harvey Keitel gives a brief, bizarre and distant interview to Tarantino towards the end of the documentary (sorry fellas, no Salma to be found here).

I enjoyed "Full Tilt Boogie" because I got to know what it's like to work on a film set, albeit not on the set of "From Dusk 'Til Dawn". But ultimately, the film didn't really end up telling me much about the people featured in it. And it didn't follow up on some items. For example, they didn't reveal who won the "Best Butt" contest? Oh well, I guess this film is for the hardcore fans.