John Travolta is a strange dude. In all the on-camera interviews I’ve seen, Travolta has a weird vibrating kind of energy, a spaced-out thing where he seems to be channeling a more remote version of himself from somewhere very far away. This is the traditional time for a Scientology joke, but we’re trying to run a classy operation here.
Travolta is just one of the many collaborators and admirers who contribute to Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection, the new Blu-ray box set released — not coincidentally — just in time for holiday shopping. November always brings a flotilla of dubious DVD and Blu-ray collections, but this one is the real deal.
The collection gathers the seven feature-length films Tarantino has directed — Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds — plus True Romance, the 1993 Tony Scott picture based on Tarantino’s screenplay. Tarantino wanted to direct that one, too, but was outflanked by Hollywood dealmakers — just one of the many, many intriguing behind-the-scenes stories you’ll find here.
