B movies and GRINDHOUSE double feature?

Question

What's a B movie? Were Tarantino's and Rodrigue's movies all about B movies? Does B movies still exist?

Answer 1

...ah, yes...the 'B' movie!!!

Basically, a 'B' movie is film produced on a low budget, which was originally made to accompany the main feature in a double billing; the 'b' in 'B-Movie' was derived from the term similary coined for the 45 RPM record, where the top 40 hit was on the 'A' side of the record, and one of the artists minor songs from an album, was on the 'B' side.

In the case of the 'B' movie, which again, followed the main feature film, it is usually made on a much, much more lower budget than the main feature film, and is most of the time, related to the main feature, in some way, shape or form, as far as subject matter (i.e., a major vomit-spewing, devil possession horror film, is usually paired with a lower-grade vomit spewing, devil possession horror film).

What is sometimes ironic, is the fact that sometimes, at least story-wise, and despite the meager budget, laughable acting and substandard special effects, the 'B' movie turns out to be better than the higher profile, main feature film.

The films of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez take their cinematic inspiration from the classic 'B' movie, but for the most part, have taken their respective 'B' movie genres, polished them up to an exploitive and nostalgic sheen, and in the end, take their respective genres, turned them on their ear, in order to make them more appealing to contemporary audiences.

Once again, irony take a hand, as far as Tarantino's and Rodriguez' latest project, "Grindhouse"; drawing it's inspirational roots from the raw and viceral grindhouse-type 'B' flicks from the '70's, these two maverick filmmakers have taken the atypical millions of invested dollars normally used on todays average big-budget blockbuster, and used these millions to make "Grindhouse" look like it is a ultra-low budget 'B' flick (i.e. the simulated film-strip-wear scratches, audio & visual jump cuts, amatueurish-looking special effects, and of course, the notorious missing reels).

Does the 'B' movie still exist?? With the advent of the major studios driving out the dozens and dozens of smaller, low-budget studios, which existed from the early seventies to the mid-to-late eighties (like American International, Sunn Classics, Compass International and Crown International), it DID seem like the 'B' flick had seen it's demise; however, with the development of the home video market, the 'B' flick saw new life, as meager-budgeted films could be made and distributed on the cheap, for the home video market.

However, at least for nostalgia sake, impacting genres have a way of coming back, and thanks to the efforts of filmmakers like Tarantino and Rodriguez, the 'B' movie is actually seeing a theatrically-inclined resurgence...

...I say, all power to it; these days, I'll take a well-written, economically produced, shoestring-budgeted, bad-acted, cheap special-effected 'B' flick, than the recycled dreck of high-polished and generic remakes and sequels and T.V.-show-to-movie productions, which the general audiences of today are being force-fed.

Once again, irony rears it's ugly head, in this respect; the term 'grindhouse' partially refers to the unpolished 'B' flick gems, which were continuously 'grinded' out; it was easy to do this, bearing in mind the meager amount of money needed to make them; however, with the big studios consistantly 'grinding out' these wretched, run-of-the-mill and unbelievably-budgeted sequels and remakes, in a way, the 'grindhouse' film itself, still exists, but for the absolutely wrong reasons.

...funny thing, irony....ain't it???

Answer 2

B movies suck. They're low budget, they have bad actors, crappy cameras, etc. Grindhouse was not a B movie, however, it still sucked. I do like Quentin and Robert's movies, though. That one was just sh!t on a screen.