TV • PAGE 27
THE BULLETIN • APRIL 22 - 28, 2021
BY JAY BOBBIN
Quentin Tarantino gives his take on
late-1960s ‘Hollywood’
As celebrated as he is for his movies, Quentin
Tarantino makes relatively few of them – so when
he does, you can expect that you’re in for something
unique.
“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” (which Starz
shows Sunday, April 25, and Thursday, April 29)
surely is that, a whirlwind of late-1960s pop culture as
seen largely through the eyes of a has-been television-
Western star and his former stunt double.
In those roles respectively, Leonardo DiCaprio and
(in an Oscar-winning performance) Brad Pitt bring
all of the watchable qualities they’re known for, and
that’s really helpful as they play a couple of guys who
remain pals while living on the fringe. That lifestyle
eventually puts them on a course to meet Charles
Manson (portrayed by Damon Herriman), and the
movie then takes an off-ramp into an exploration of
Brad Pitt stars in “Once Upon
a Time ... in Hollywood”
one of the 20th century’s most infamous cults and
heinous crimes.
What’s really intriguing about “Once Upon a
Time ... in Hollywood” is how vividly entertainment
connoisseur Tarantino satisfies his own passions as he
gets to revisit them in his own way. If you have a soft
spot for TV’s “The Green Hornet” or Dean Martin’s
Matt Helm movies, you’ll find nods to them here
– the latter because the last of those spy adventures
involved actress Sharon Tate, played by Margot
Robbie as her ultimately tragic story is considered
here.
Also getting a lot of attention (to the likely
appreciation of true TV fans) is “Lancer,” which
was an actual, short-lived Western series. Timothy
Olyphant (“Justified”) and, in one of his final roles,
Luke Perry play that show’s stars, James Stacy and
Wayne Maunder.
The parade of stars here also includes Al Pacino,
Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, Kurt Russell and
Bruce Dern ... and if you’re a devotee of the pop
music of the ‘60s, you’ll appreciate how Tarantino
chose his soundtrack. The featured artists range from
the Rolling Stones and Paul Revere & the Raiders
to Deep Purple and Vanilla Fudge. (Don’t recognize
some of those names? Ask your parents. Or your
grandparents.)
It’s hard to say whether you’re better off
approaching “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”
with a knowledge of the time period it recaptures. It’s
definitely that era as seen through the particular lens
of Quentin Tarantino, and even if it doesn’t always
fire on all burners during a running time that’s a
little short of three hours, it surely is one of the most
ambitious and admirable projects of the film season.
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