Once Upon A Time In Hollywood heralded as Quentin Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction in rave first reviews... as epic gets SEVEN MINUTE standing ovation at Cannes

  • The film will be released in the US on July 26 2019 and the UK on August 15 2019 

It is the ninth film from legendary director Quentin Tarantino which chronicles a faded TV actor and his stunt double in the run-up to the Manson Family murders. 

And Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has been met with rave first reviews following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. 

Critics branded the epic, 'wildly enjoyable', 'astonishing' a 'moving love letter' and Tarantino's best film since 1994's Pulp Fiction (which won the Palme d'Or)- with the Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt led flick winning a seven minute standing ovation. 

Wow: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has been met with rave first reviews following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in the film)

Wow: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has been met with rave first reviews following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in the film)

Acclaimed: Critics branded the epic, 'wildly enjoyable', 'astonishing' a 'moving love letter' and Tarantino's best film since 1994's Pulp Fiction (Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate)

Acclaimed: Critics branded the epic, 'wildly enjoyable', 'astonishing' a 'moving love letter' and Tarantino's best film since 1994's Pulp Fiction (Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate)

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood sees DiCaprio and Pitt bring the golden age of Hollywood back to life. 

Playing Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth, the actors revisit a simpler time in tinsel town as they transport us back to Los Angeles in 1969, 

Margot Robbie takes on the role of Sharon Tate - the pregnant actress murdered by the Manson family in 1969.

Praising the 'wildly enjoyable black comedy' Daily Mail's Brian Viner heaped high praise on the 159 minute film.

Golden age: Playing Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth, the actors revisit a simpler time in tinsel town as they transport us back to Los Angeles in 1969

Golden age: Playing Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth, the actors revisit a simpler time in tinsel town as they transport us back to Los Angeles in 1969

He said: 'For me, his masterpiece will always be 1994's Pulp Fiction, but this isn't far behind, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt both on thumpingly fine form. 

'The film takes us on a journey towards that terrible night, but on the way Tarantino is in incorrigibly playful mood and has enormous fun depicting certain fixtures of 60s Hollywood.

'There is also, this being a Tarantino film, a full repertoire of tricks – voiceovers, split-screens, slow-mo, flashbacks. But they all add to the fun. 

'Tarantino recreates the era exquisitely and in a way has made the film a love-letter to his own square-eyed childhood. 

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw praised the Tarantino film for honouring the golden age of Hollywood and balancing the enjoyment of the story with the 'horror and cruelty' of the vile murders.

Praise: One critic said: 'For me, his masterpiece will always be 1994's Pulp Fiction, but this isn't far behind, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt both on thumpingly fine form' (with Al Pacino as Marvin Schwarzs)

Praise: One critic said: 'For me, his masterpiece will always be 1994's Pulp Fiction, but this isn't far behind, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt both on thumpingly fine form' (with Al Pacino as Marvin Schwarzs)

Labelling the film a 'pulp-fictionally redemptive take on the Manson nightmare in late-60s California' he said: 'I just defy anyone with red blood in their veins not to respond to the crazy bravura of Tarantino’s film-making, not to be bounced around the auditorium at the moment-by-moment enjoyment that this movie delivers – and conversely, of course, to shudder at the horror and cruelty and its hallucinatory aftermath.'

Other critics praised the 56-year-old for writing a 'love letter' towards a bygone era in Hollywood.

New York Times critic Manohla Dargis heaped praise on Tarantino for delivering the unexpected, saying: 'Tarantino’s love for over-the-top gore, for painting the screen red, seemed a bad fit with the ghastly 1969 murders of several people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then married to Roman Polanski. 

'What was entirely unexpected was that “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,”... would be such a moving film, at once a love letter — and a dream — of the Hollywood that was.'

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: What the critics said 

'For me, his masterpiece will always be 1994's Pulp Fiction, but this isn't far behind, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt both on thumpingly fine form' - Daily Mail critic Brian Viner

'I just defy anyone with red blood in their veins not to respond to the crazy bravura of Tarantino’s film-making, not to be bounced around the auditorium at the moment-by-moment enjoyment that this movie delivers' - The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw

'What was entirely unexpected was that “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,”... would be such a moving film, at once a love letter — and a dream — of the Hollywood that was.' - New York Times critic Manohla Dargis

'Tarantino loves Hollywood which is why this film is the ultimate love letter from him' - Collider critic Gregory Ellwood  

'By the end, Tarantino has done something that’s quintessentially Tarantino, but that no longer feels even vaguely revolutionary. He has reduced the story he’s telling to pulp' - Variety critic Owen Gleiberman

'The shoot scenes drag on for far too long, and even his usually popping dialogue falls oddly flat this time around' - Bloomberg critic Giovanni Marchini Camia    

DiCaprio and Pitt's performances as buddies Rick and Cliff were also praised for bringing the movie a lot of 'its light, infectiously pop pleasure.' 

Collider critic Gregory Ellwood also branded the film the 'ultimate love letter' from Tarantino. 

Honouring the film for injecting Tarantino's trademark humour and bringing the 'right blend of mockery and pathos' to the main characters, Vulture critic Bilge Ebiri said: 'He and his actors lend the two characters’ respective moments — one rising, the other falling — just the right blend of mockery and pathos. These people are ridiculous, and we love them.    

'It’s the most fun the director seems to have had in years, but it’s also, oddly, his most compassionate picture in more than a decade.

The film did hit some roadblocks with certain critics with Variety's Owen Gleiberman criticising the director for reducing the story 'to pulp' and moving away from his signature 'show don't tell' style.

Bygone era: Other critics praised the 56-year-old for writing a 'love letter' towards a bygone era in Hollywood

Bygone era: Other critics praised the 56-year-old for writing a 'love letter' towards a bygone era in Hollywood

Different vibe: Another critic said: 'It’s the most fun the director seems to have had in years, but it’s also, oddly, his most compassionate picture in more than a decade'

Different vibe: Another critic said: 'It’s the most fun the director seems to have had in years, but it’s also, oddly, his most compassionate picture in more than a decade'

He said: 'And the way the movie resolves all this feels, frankly, too easy. By the end, Tarantino has done something that’s quintessentially Tarantino, but that no longer feels even vaguely revolutionary. He has reduced the story he’s telling to pulp. '

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was also branded 'strikingly bland' by Bloomberg critic Giovanni Marchini Camia, who added the humour and dialogue left a lot to be desired.           

He said: 'Although there’s some enjoyment to be had in watching DiCaprio dress up in silly costumes and pretend he’s a second-rate actor, the meta-humor is nowhere near as funny as Tarantino thinks it is. 

'The shoot scenes drag on for far too long, and even his usually popping dialogue falls oddly flat this time around.'     

Other stars in the film include Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Damian Lewis, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, Austin Butler, Lena Dunham and Margaret Qualley. In the film, the actors seem to be linked to each other in one way or another. 

Mixed: The film did hit some roadblocks with certain critics with Variety's Owen Gleiberman criticising the director for reducing the story 'to pulp' and moving away from his signature 'show don't tell' style

Mixed: The film did hit some roadblocks with certain critics with Variety's Owen Gleiberman criticising the director for reducing the story 'to pulp' and moving away from his signature 'show don't tell' style

Washed up Western star Dalton lives next door to Sharon Tate, one of Hollywood's greatest stars at the time. Martin Schwarz, played by Al Pacino, who is also Dalton’s agent, while Joanna Pettet, played by Rumer Willis, stars as a friend of Sharon Tate.   

Mike Moh plays Bruce Lee in a fight scene with Rick Dalton. Brad and Leonardo play a double act, and they joked about 'carrying the load' for each other in an interview that opens the first trailer. 

The movie is a character comedy/drama set in 1969 in Los Angeles, with multiple story lines paying tribute to what is widely known as Hollywood's 'golden age.'

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival is taking place at the iconic Palais des Festivals until May 25. Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, are among jury members during the annual event. 

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu currently presides over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The film will be released in the US on July 26 2019 and the UK on August 15 2019 

Stars: The film will be released in the US on July 26 2019 and the UK on August 15 2019

Stars: The film will be released in the US on July 26 2019 and the UK on August 15 2019

 

 

 

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Once Upon A Time In Hollywood met with rave first reviews 

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