It’s not always a shock to find something a little watered-down for streaming, but rarely do we get even more than we got in the theaters! A shock then to learn that Tarantino himself oversaw an extended edit of 2015’s The Hateful Eight, for Netflix, of all places.
The film appears in the catalogue under two listings: Simply, The Hateful Eight is the two hour and 47 minute theatrical cut of the film. The snow gets muddy and the gunsmoke hazy when looking at the other listing, The Hateful Eight: Extended Version. Listed as a season of television, the Extended Version consists of four episodes of around 50 minutes. Tarantino spoke with Slash Film on the process, and the details of the cut.
Not simply the Roadshow Cut of the film (the three hour and seven minute long 70mm version, which played a limited run and featured an overture and intermission, as well as about six minutes of additional footage), Tarantino clarified that there were “about… 25 minutes if not more.”
Tarantino has expressed a little frustration with Netflix and the general direction of film-going, the shift away from the theatrical experience and towards streaming, but hardly a vehement disdain, and opinions can change.
Regarding this new Extended Version, Tarantino recalls being approached by Netflix with the proposition of compiling a miniseries out of the film, featuring any footage that might have been unreleased entirely, which intrigued Tarantino:
So about a year after it’s released, maybe a little less, me and my editor, Fred Raskin, we got together and then we worked real hard. We edited the film down into 50 minute bits, and we very easily got four episodes out of it. We didn’t re-edit the whole thing from scratch, but we did a whole lot of re-editing, and it plays differently. Some sequences are more similar than others compared to the film, but it has a different feeling. It has a different feeling that I actually really like a lot. And there was [already] a literary aspect to the film anyway, so it definitely has this “chapters unfolding” quality.
Responding to whether he would consider similar treatment of his other films (I still want Kill Bill: The Whole Blood Affair!), Tarantino revealed not quite that, but equally interesting that he has an extended cut of Django Unchained chopped and ready for release. “That’s about… three hours and 15 minutes,” he says, which would be a significant up from its two hours and 45 minute theatrical runtime. It’s mentioned that this is planned for release “some time after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Tarantino’s upcoming period drama set amidst the glitz and gloom of 1969 California.
The interview is a great read from one of mainstream filmmaking’s most colorful personalities. For his passion and knowledge, Tarantino remains one of my favorite directors to read.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is set for a July 26th release.
Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino Tells Us How and Why He Created ‘The Hateful Eight’ Miniseries for Netflix [Slash Film]
