The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight
Eight various 19th century people, with the middle one openly holding twin pistols, walk to a cabin during a blizzard; portraits of the film's characters are visible at the bottom of the poster.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byQuentin Tarantino
Written byQuentin Tarantino
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert Richardson
Edited byFred Raskin
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies
Distributed byThe Weinstein Company[2]
Release dates
  • December 7, 2015 (2015-12-07) (Cinerama Dome)
  • December 25, 2015 (2015-12-25) (United States)
Running time
CountryUnited States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$44–62 million[5][6]
Box office$156.5 million[5]

The Hateful Eight is a 2015 American Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern as eight dubious strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover some time after the American Civil War.

Tarantino announced the film in November 2013. He conceived it as a novel and sequel to his 2012 film Django Unchained before deciding to make it a standalone film. After the script leaked in January 2014, he decided to abandon the production and publish it as a novel instead. In April 2014, Tarantino directed a live reading of the script at the United Artists Theater in Los Angeles, before reconsidering a new draft and resuming the project. Filming began in January 2015 near Telluride, Colorado. Italian composer Ennio Morricone composed the original score, his first complete Western score in 34 years (and the last before his death in 2020), his first for a high-profile Hollywood production since 2000, and the first and only original score for a Tarantino film.

Distributed by The Weinstein Company in the United States, The Hateful Eight was released on December 25, 2015, in a limited roadshow release on 70 mm film, before expanding wide theatrically five days later. The film was praised for its direction, screenplay, score, cinematography, and performances, though its editing, length, the depiction of race relations and the violent treatment of Leigh's character divided opinions. It has grossed over $156 million worldwide. For his work on the score, Morricone won his only Academy Award for Best Original Score after five previous nominations. The film also earned Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Leigh) and Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson).

In 2019, a re-edited version of the film was released as a four-episode miniseries on Netflix with the subtitle Extended Version. The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's final collaboration with The Weinstein Company following allegations of sexual abuse against Harvey Weinstein in 2017.

  1. ^ McCarthy, Todd (December 15, 2015). "'The Hateful Eight': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Hateful Eight (2015)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "The Hateful Eight". Pharos. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Hateful 8". The Hateful 8. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "The Hateful Eight". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "The Hateful Eight". The Numbers. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.