There are two important things you should know before reading further on in this review. The first being that I am reviewing the 70MM Roadshow Engagement of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and the second is that this review may contain possible spoilers. I’m going to do my best not to have spoilers, but there is a chance some of what I write could be deemed a spoiler. So if you’re afraid of encountering spoilers read at your own risk. Are we good? Good.

The Hateful Eight opens in the blinding snow of the Wyoming Mountains shortly after the end of the Civil War. A 6-horse carriage is whipping through the snow when it comes to a halting stop. Blocking the path of the carriage is a man sitting atop a pile of frozen, dead bodies. This man is Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a former Union solider turned bounty hunter. Warren explains to the driver, O.B. (James Parks), that he’s looking for a ride into Red Rock. If it was up to O.B. he’d have no problem given Warren a ride, but it isn’t up to O.B. No, instead it is up to the man O.B. is currently working for, the man inside the carriage.

The man inside the carriage is the Hang Man John Ruth (Kurt Russell), another bounty hunter and acquaintance of Warren. With Ruth is Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a wanted fugitive worth $10,000. Unlike Warren Ruth keeps his fugitives alive when he takes them in. When the Hang Man catches you, you hang. After some chit chat Ruth agrees to let Warren ride with them to Red Rock.

As the carriage continues its journey through the snowy mountainside, we begin to learn a bit more about Warren and Ruth. Turns out while Warren fought in the Civil War he was a pen pal of sorts with Abraham Lincoln and has a number of letters from the President. Ruth recalls from one of his previous encounters with Warren that the Major carries one of the letters with him. Ruth asks to see the letter and Warren happily obliges. The scene of Ruth reading the Lincoln letter is one of the greatest single scenes I have ever witnessed from Kurt Russell. He gets so choked up and emotional from reading a letter. You can tell President Lincoln means a great deal to him. It’s a really sweet and beautiful moment in a movie that is otherwise quite cold and harsh.

A minor disagreement between Warren and Daisy ends up with Daisy and Ruth being knocked from the moving carriage. As everyone gets settled to get back in the carriage and continue the trek, another man is spotted walking in the snow. This is Chris Mannix (Walter Goggins), and as it turns out he also needs a ride to Red Rock as he’s apparently been appointed the new sheriff. Ruth doesn’t buy this story for one minute. He doesn’t know Mannix personally, but he knows his family. The Mannix family, Chris included, fought in the Civil War for the Confederates. Mannix is the youngest from his family and even though he fought in the war he doesn’t seem all that threatening, but rather goofy and kind of stupid. Going against his better judgement, Ruth decides to allow Mannix onto the carriage.

With a deadly blizzard right behind them, the carriage makes a stop at Minnie’s Haberdashery. The idea is to hold up here for a few days until the weather passes and then continue on to Red Rock. We can tell from the get-go that something isn’t quite right at Minnie’s, things feel a little off. Minnie is out of town visiting her mother and a Mexican named Bob (Demain Bichir) is watching over the place. Already lodged up inside the Haberdashery are three men – the Red Rock hangman Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), a Confederate general named Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern) and a quiet cowboy by the name of Joe Gage (Michael Madsen).

True to his character, Ruth trusts no one. He is convinced that someone currently in the lodge is planning to break Daisy free, maybe even more than one someone. This is when The Hateful Eight really takes off. We have eight nefarious characters, plus O.B., locked in a cabin during a blizzard, each with a back story that may or may not be true. We know something bad is going to happen but we just don’t know what it is. The tension inside the cabin is thicker than the snow outside.

As we roll through getting to know these diverse individuals waiting for the hammer to drop we get our first death. From that point on The Hateful Eight morphs into one fucked up game of Clue. As the audience we get to kick back and watch the mystery as it unfolds, taking in a heap of bloody carnage along the way.  Tarantino leads us down a trail of twist and turns as we try and figure out the destination.

The Hateful Eight is an absolute masterpiece. It’s a stunning piece of cinema that everyone should take in, preferably in 70MM. Tarantino has done a lot of great work in his career with a number of great titles under his belt, but The Hateful Eight may very well be the film that defines him as a director. I’m a little hesitant to call it his best film because so much of his work has a special place in my heart, but the more I think about it the more I think this is his best film.

The Hateful Eight is one of those rare films where every little thing comes together just right. The story, the setting, the acting, the cinematography, the music, everything. I’m not sure who you would call the lead in The Hateful Eight because it’s a true ensemble piece, but I’d go with Samuel L. Jackson. Give him all the lead actor awards ever right now please. He deserves it. Major Marquis Warren is a character that only Jackson can pull off. He has total command of every scene that very few actors are able to replicate. It pleases me greatly to know Jackson still has these performances in him.

Every other male actor in the film should be up for any best supporting role out there. Seriously, they’re all that good. If I had to pick one that stands out just above the rest, however, I’d go with Walter Goggins. Mannix is such a complex character with an arc rarely seen in most characters on screen these days. When you look at where Mannix starts and then see where he ends, you realize it’s quite the achievement.

I have to send a little love Michael Madsen’s way has he is fantastic. Why is it that only Quentin Tarantino can get a great performance out of Madsen and no one else can? I get that some actors work better with certain directors but the difference of Madsen with any other director versus how he is with Tarantino is so extreme. I’m talking a Grand Canyon-sized gap. I can’t wrap my head around it. Anyway, it’s so damn nice to see him in another great role. Been far too long, my friend!

My program from my screening of the Roadshow Engagement.

Not to be outdone by the fellas, is Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Daisy. Man is she good. Daisy sort of serves as the centerpiece of the film, everything kind of revolves around her. With so many big, strong personalities in play you need an actress with the chops of Leigh to maintain the story. Daisy is a hard character to pull off. She has a rough go of it at times. Things happen to her that you don’t expect to see happen to a lady, but then Daisy reminds you that she’s a despicable, heinous person so you kind of enjoy seeing her punishment. What makes her so interesting is that she’s also very charming in a strange way. Even though you know she deserves what’s coming to her, you don’t want her to get it too bad. You want to keep her around because you kind of like her. She provides the most laughs and just fascinates you in general.

Tying everything together is the score of one Ennio Morricone. This is the first time Tarantino has used an original score and what a first original score it is. I haven’t heard a score this good in a really long time. It has the distinct vibes of a western but feels very rooted in horror. That shouldn’t come as a great surprise as Morrionce’s “Regan’s Theme” from Exorcist II is used along with some of his music from The Thing. But even the new original music has a strong horror vibe. It really works as it does a wonderful job helping build the tension. I truly think this will go down as an iconic score.

A few complaints I’ve heard from people regarding the film is that there is too much dialogue, too much violence and the characters are too mean. Of course there is a lot of dialogue, it’s a Tarantino film. What makes it special is that it’s terrific dialogue. At no point is this film ever boring. The Roadshow Engagement clocks in at 187 minutes. That’s a long time and yet I could have easily watched another three hours of these characters. As far as the violence goes there is a lot of it. It may be Tarantino’s bloodiest film to date, but the violence is pretty sporadic. Even though it only comes in spurts it’s extremely gory. Major kudos must be given to Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger for doing a wonderful job with the makeup effects. As far as the characters being too mean, you’re watching a movie called The Hateful Eight, so what in the world did you expect?

In case you can’t tell by now I really, really, really, really loved The Hateful Eight. Not only because it’s a fabulous movie, but Tarantino made it an event. And he did so with a fairly modest budget of $44 million. Take a look at the budget of major studio films from the last few years. How many have a budget of $44 million or less? How many did so with a cast of A-list actors? You’re not likely to find many.

People say a lot of things about QT. People say he’s egotistical and pretentious and all kinds of other things that are mostly terrible. To me Tarantino is a dude that really loves and respects the art of film. He makes movies that he would like to watch. It just so happens that I too like to watch those movies. If we could get one or two movies a year presented the same way Tarantino presented The Hateful Eight, the world of cinema would be in a much better place.

Watching the film on 70MM with an overture and an intermission, with programs handed out before the movie started is something I’ll never forget. It was like attending a play. It felt like a big deal. And that’s how movies should always feel, but in general we don’t treat them that way anymore. We kind of take the movies for granted and that’s a real shame. The Hateful Eight is not only a great movie, but its Tarantino’s attempt at changing our perception of film. Whether or not he succeeds remains to be seen, but for this lover of cinema the effort is something truly appreciated.