Why Sharon Tate lives in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

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Reader Interactions

Discussion

  1. Wow, Travis…..your review is a tour de force. Bravo! I am struck with how gifted a writer you are. Thank you.

    • Thank you so much! Your kinds words me so much to me 🙂

  2. I watched Once Upon a Time in Hollywood yesterday and to me it was a strange movie, to be honest. However, I did not have the backgroud you provide here. I did not know about Sharon Tate. I had heard about Charles Manson but in any way I linked him with the movie I saw yesterday. And reading your piece made me understand and appreciate the movie in a different way. It makes me think on the thing you say about being disconnected. My generation doesn’t know about this time and the events that shaped the movies and people back then, but I think it is important to really appreciate the movie to know that Sharon Tate was a real person who did not get as lucky as Sharon in the movie. It is beautiful to think that almost 40 years later Tarantino gives Sharon Tate, a person who he never met, a second chance to impact more lives.

  3. Thank you so much for this.

  4. I was in high school when Sharon Tate was murdered; everyone was devastated by it. It’s always been in my generation’s collective psyche, and at first Tarantino’s ending seemed to re-open the wound. Yet your insightful article makes so much sense, and it gives all of us a sort of catharsis. Thank you for that.

  5. I consider myself well versed in everything Manson. I found Helier Skelter at sixteen and couldn’t believe someone like this existed. Tarantino demolishes 50 years of fear and notoriety in one fell swoop, exposing him and his followers as the sad losers they were. The ending is hilarious and achieves the justice that was never achieved. It’s sad Manson garnered so much attention in real life and I was so delighted that this movie makes him and his followers a punch line.

  6. I finally saw this film this week–I was struck by the enormity of “time-bending” and the absolutely riveting experience as the story line weaves together past and pretend lives. I loved the film and your review only added to its importance and depth. Thank you–you are an outstanding writer.

  7. Just found your critique, Travis. Thanks so much. I watched this movie with my brother in a cinema in Napa, and then again with my son in Melbourne, Australia. It’s now on high rotation on Blu Ray. I loved the movie from the first view, but your insight into this era have added another dimension.

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