Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age.
Quentin Tarantino based the Dalton / Booth relationship on that of a real life duo. During one interview, while not revealing who it was, Tarantino said that he got the idea when watching the interaction of an actor with his stuntman. While Kurt Russell's name as been put forward as the inspiration for Dalton, the strongest argument is for Burt Reynolds and his long-time stuntman, Hal Needham.
Before making a huge impact in Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Reynolds had spent many years kicking around in TV shows, mostly playing villains and his career was going nowhere. Tarantino based his film on his experience growing up in Los Angeles in the sixties and seventies. Reynolds did not leap from obscurity until Tarantino was 14 years old. It is interesting that Dalton supposedly played the bad guy role in the featured episode of The F.B.I. (1965) - a role that was played in real life by Burt Reynolds. See more »
Goofs
Cliff is seen driving past Pandora's Box immediately in the vicinity of the Capitol Records Tower in central Hollywood, but the nightclub was located miles away at the eastern border of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Bounty Law Promo Announcer:
This man is worth 500 dollars. And this man's going to collect. He's Jake Cahill, and he lives by... "Bounty Law".
See more »
Crazy Credits
Midway through the end credits is a commercial for Red Apple Cigarettes (a recurring fictional brand in Quentin Tarantino's films) starring Rick Dalton. See more »
Alternate Versions
In January 2020, Collider indicated with Quinten Tarantino that an extended version does exist and may be released "within a year". See more »
The first 2 hours is only for lovers of everything late 60s retro,great cinematography and outstanding acting.The last 45 minutes fasten your seatbelts because classic Tarantino kicks in.
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The first 2 hours is only for lovers of everything late 60s retro,great cinematography and outstanding acting.The last 45 minutes fasten your seatbelts because classic Tarantino kicks in.