wonderdawg Everyone wants to be an insider. A veritable cottage industry has sprung up in recent years devoted to taking us "behind the scenes" on movie sets. One of the best films of this type is FULL TILT BOOGIE. In 1997, 26 year old aspiring film-maker Sarah Kelly talked Quentin Tarentino into letting her take a camera crew onto the set to chronicle the making of his gangsters vs. vampires horror epic "From Dusk Until Dawn". Viewers expecting a DVD-style "how'd they do that" featurette obsessed with special effects will be disappointed. But if an insightful and entertaining look at the creative process of film-making, and the people who make it happen, sounds good to you and/or you're considering a career in the industry, this movie is highly recommended. There is plenty of footage of the stars at work and at play but we also get to meet the unsung heroes behind the camera: the production designer, the art director, the craft services guy, the personal assistants, the grips, the drivers. This is Kelly's first directing attempt. Previously she had worked as a production assistant on "Pulp Fiction". Because she is not a slick, seasoned filmmaker, the cast and crew relax and let down their guard. At its best, "Full Tilt Boogie" plays like a candid and engaging "home movie" of day to day life on the chaotic set of a "no frills" independent film. There are the long hours ("we started the day at five in the morning, now it's ten-thirty at night and I'm still working on my computer on time codes"), the bad food ("for lunch all I got was a piece of chicken and two pieces of bread and a melted brownie"), the on set accidents (the saloon set almost burns to the ground after a pyrotechnics shot flares out of control) and the threat of a strike (producer Lawrence Bender has hired non-union crew members, thus incurring the wrath of the powerful IATSE union). Mother Nature also gets in the act. A sandstorm shuts down production; there is a rain delay and the daily challenges of location shooting in 122 degree California desert heat. No wonder people have to blow off steam in the nearby town of Barstow. Kelly's camera catches Juliette Lewis singing karaoke, a local girl flirts with George Clooney and Quentin and his posse warble Merle Haggard tunes by the motel pool (until other guests complain about the noise). In one scene Kelly encourages the crew to dish about on set romances. "I could sleep with any woman on this set," Quentin boasts. He's kidding. (I think.) When various crew members are asked why they chose the film biz, the responses range from prosaic ("for the money") to poetic. "That moment, that 1/1000th of a second as the shutter clicks, it's immortalized on film, " says one youthful crew worker dreamily. "I get a real rush out of that. It's documenting history, history that doesn't exist, we're making it up and it comes to life and I love it." 'Nuff said.

MisterWhiplash What better way to see two of the filmmakers out of the 90s American quasi-new-wave to collaborate together then on a movie like this? More than ten years before Grindhouse Tarantino and Rodriguez teamed up- following subsequent re-writes by Tarantino of the script for Rodriguez to direct- for From Dusk Till Dawn, a drive-in movie for the 90s with lots of violence, lots of nudity and gore, some very disturbing scenes (not just with the vampires), and innuendo for two movies. Plus, did I mention vampires? This takes one into the film-making process in not just the big scheme of things but the smaller bits, like what Tarantino and Clooney's personal assistants have to do for them, or the little stories told in the breaks between shootings (the one that struck as the funniest, if bragging, was one involving a missing extra beer keg).It's not all completely fun and games, despite the opening scene showing the "follies" of Tarantino and Clooney trying to go through the 'back-way' to get to the set. There's drama involving the guilds, specifically the director and actor guilds, and it becomes a bump to get over in order to just continue making the movie. Later on there's detailing of just how much work has to go into making one of the vampires, and how much set-up there is in just doing one shot in the big action sequences at the T**y twister. There's even some insight from Harvey Keitel (prefaced by a very funny assortment of title cards). It's put together mostly for the fans of the filmmakers, and it wont get someone to see how extraordinary directing can be like in the making of Fanny & Alexander or something. It's a fun little doc for a very fun midnight movie; where else will you see Fred Williamson interviewed, seriously, in full vampire makeup?

Coventry Full Tilt Boogie is a longer version of what you normally find as an extra on DVD's. It's a making of documentary focusing on the entire production process of From Dusk Till Dawn, Robert Rodriguez' fun vampire film and scripted by Quentin Tarantino. Director Sarah Kelley (previously a production assistant for QT) follows around about everyone who even has the slightest connection to the film. From essential crewmembers to extra actors who just walk through the screen for half a second. She even dedicates a chapter on the difficulties that occurred with the Union of independent filmmakers. Some parts are really interesting, like the interviews with the always-amazing Tarantino, but most of what you see is tedious and redundant. Like it usually is the case with documentaries, it's a lot more fun shooting them than actually watching it.

JawsOfJosh "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.