Rubber [Blu-ray]

Director: Quentin Dupieux Quentin Dupieux

Overview

The old saying about "this is where the rubber meets the road" takes on a new and sinister meaning in this black comedy from filmmaker Quentin Dupieux. An old tire appears in a California desert, and under its own power it begins rolling down the road, stopping and starting as it pleases. The notion that the tire can operate under its own power isn't half as remarkable as its other talent -- the tire has telekinetic abilities and can make things explode at will, including human heads. The evil tire goes on a killing spree after its affections for a beautiful woman (Roxane Mesquida) are thwarted, and local lawman Lt. Chad (Stephen Spinella) steps forward to investigate. Meanwhile, a handful of people aware of the tire and its actions are watching it from a safe distance until they're poisoned by a mysterious villain; one of them (Wings Hauser) manages to survive, and is looking for some revenge of his own. Rubber was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/07/2011
UPC:	0876964003698
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	R
Source:	Magnolia Home Ent
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:23:00

Special Features

Interview with Quentin Dupieux; Interview with Stephen Spinella; Interview with Jack Plotnick; ; Interview with Roxane Mesquida; Rubber Teaser Camera Tests; HDNet: A Look at Rubber; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Stephen Spinella	Lt. Chad
Roxane Mesquida	Sheila
Jack Plotnick	Accountant
Wings Hauser	Man in Wheelchair
Pedro Winter	Tires Burner
Ethan Cohn	Film Buff Ethan
Charley Koontz	Film Buff Charley
Daniel Quinn	Dad
Devin Brochu	Son
Hayley Holmes	Teenager Cindy
Haley Ramm	Teenager Fiona
Cecilia Antoinette	Woman
David Bowe	Mr. Hughes
Remi Thorne	Zach,Zach
Tara O'Brien	Cleaning Lady
Pete Di Cecco	Cop Luke
James Parks	Cop Doug
Courtenay Kellen Taylor	Cop Denise
Blake Robbins	Cop Eric
Michael Ross	Truck Driver
Gaspard Augé	Hitchhiker,Composer
Thomas Duffy	Cop Xavier
Mr. Oizo	Composer

Technical Credits

Quentin Dupieux

Quentin Dupieux	Director,Screenwriter
Gregory Bernard	Producer
Julien Berlan	Producer
Tom Talmon	Special Effects
Valek Sykes	Special Effects
Barzolff814	Special Effects
Milan Jancic	Special Effects
Marco Castilla	Special Effects
Zsolt Magyar	Sound/Sound Designer
Gadou Naudin	Sound/Sound Designer
Valerie Deloof	Sound/Sound Designer
Stephane de Rocquigny	Sound/Sound Designer
Nathan Amondson	Consultant/advisor
Donna Morong	Casting
Andy Henry	Casting

Editorial Reviews

For a film about a telekinetic killer tire, Rubber has a lot more going for it than just a ridiculous concept. Wunderkind filmmaker and house DJ Quentin Dupieux (aka Mr. Oizo) takes a rather thin setup and injects it with an ingenuity that, for the most part, is unexpected, hilarious, and refreshing. The best parts feature just the tire, starting with it wriggling out of a junkyard and feeling out the world around it (think of the inspired Sandman introduction in Spider-Man 3). As soon as it begins to roll, the tire is empowered by the small objects it treads over -- and when bigger things are encountered (alive or otherwise), it develops a killer mind power that makes its targets explode. Then it moves on. At one point you could say that the tire falls in love. Yes, Rubber goes there. Unfortunately, the movie also goes to a few other unnecessary places -- beginning with the postmodern monologue that opens the film. You see, Rubber goes really out of its way to explain itself. Adapting the "no reason" moniker, it makes jokes about things like E.T.'s skin color just to point out that sometimes things happen in movies for no reason at all. That's well enough, even though the monologue might be a bit long (especially considering it gets replayed in the end credits), but that speech epitomizes what doesn't really work in the film -- the human scenes. Hell, B-movie great Wings Hauser is in the movie, and his big moment requires him to object to, of all things, the narrative of the movie. So basically the film is broken up into segments where the director successfully toys with conceptualizing the absurdity of a killer tire in a rather novel and stylized way, yet he then piles on scenes of people postulating about the deconstruction of the said film. To put it bluntly, it's a bit too much. And, frankly, the human scenes just aren't that funny. That said, the tire sequences are incredible. In fact, a few moments are near transcendent. When Rubber is cookin', it's making quite a meal for itself. Even if it's just a shot of the tire cruisin' down the freeway, the subtle effects are dazzling -- and the score (provided by Oizo and Justice's Gaspar Agué) throbs with cool beats that bring to mind quirky high-minded music videos. As a filmmaker, Dupieux busts conventions and actually makes the audience feel for the tire, as outrageous as that may sound. Inherently experimental, yet thoroughly watchable, Rubber will connect with cult audiences, who will no doubt be surprised at how hilarious a one-note movie idea can really be when put in the right artist's hands.