Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, as the success of both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction in the 1990s indicated that independent films could become mainstream hits that resonate with viewers outside of an arthouse audience. Tarantino has never failed to generate enthusiasm for his work, but his 2015 western The Hateful Eight is not typically referred to as one of his best; while it received respectful reviews during its initial debut, it did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture like Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, or Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Although there’s a lot to like about the version of the film released in theaters, the most complete version of The Hateful Eight is a director’s cut released as a four-part Netflix miniseries.
‘The Hateful Eight’ Was Re-Released as a Miniseries

The Hateful Eight is as much an Agatha Christie-style mystery as it is a classical western, as Tarantino told a story about a group of various shady individuals trapped together in a haberdashery in the middle of the Wyoming Territory in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Although Tarantino has always made it no secret that he is a massive fan of classical westerns, The Hateful Eight was perhaps his most fanciful tribute; the film was initially released as a theatrical roadshow that includes a live orchestra and intermission. However, Tarantino shot enough material to make an extended edition that included additional dialogue, character interactions, and entire scenes. Instead of packaging all the footage into a single cut, Tarantino decided to recut the film as a miniseries with four distinct chapters, which debuted on Netflix.
The extended edition of The Hateful Eight gives more time for the characters to develop, as most of the reinserted footage is dialogue-centric. Although the theatrical cut still functions as a straightforward story, Tarantino’s fans have always enjoyed his work because of the sharp, witty dialogue and banter. Many of the classic westerns that Tarantino is a fan of, such as Rio Bravo and El Dorado, are best described as “hangout movies” The extended version of The Hateful Eight feels quite similar, as it gives a moment for the viewers to breathe in between the exciting, violent shootouts. It may have been hard for viewers to digest a single, four-hour narrative block without any interruptions, but dividing it into four chapters makes sense, as it isolated individual character arcs. Tarantino has also indicated that he is a fan of classic western television, which is lionized in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. In many ways, The Hateful Eight feels like the sort of fun western series that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Rick Dalton, could have appeared in.

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‘The Hateful Eight’ Extended Cut Includes Important Moments​​​​​

Although Tarantino’s films are noted for their shocking use of violence, the extended version of The Hateful Eight gives the audience more time to grow invested in the characters before they are ruthlessly killed. It dedicates more time to showing why John Ruth is a far darker character than Kurt Russell generally plays and offers insights on why General Smithers (Bruce Dern) has grown so embittered with his old age. The twist that Sheriff Chriz Mannix (Walton Goggins) was actually quite intelligent may have been a shock in the theatrical cut, but the extended version hints that he is far smarter than any of the other characters realized.
The extended version of The Hateful Eight also fixes some of the issues in the theatrical cut. While the appearance of Jody Domergue (Channing Tatum) and his gang is little more than a cameo in the theatrical version, the extended cut shows more flashbacks about their activities before meeting up in the haberdashery. Some critics felt that Tarantino had not given enough agency to the character of Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Yet, the miniseries version shows that she has secretly been manipulating her captors all along. Regardless of the details, a longer version of The Hateful Eight means more of Tarantino’s great dialogue, which can never be a bad thing.

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The Hateful Eight

Release Date

December 25, 2015

Runtime

188 Minutes

Budget

$44-62 Million

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The Hateful Eight is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
Watch on Netflix