I apologize for the second lapse in updates. I moved back to America from England, and have not been moved to update since returning to my native country. I’ve still been watching new films on a daily basis, however, and have a whole list of new entries I want to put in eventually. As long as I am sure my opinions are better than yours, I will continue writing.
Anyway, now that I have put myself on a pedestal I suppose I must deliver, so here’s an entry I have been wanting to write ever since I began this blog, a best to worst list of the films of Quentin Tarantino. I, like every other college age male, am a huge Tarantino fan. He is at the same time subtle and extreme, and his overall style is so personal that within minutes you can tell you are watching a Tarantino film. So, from the bottom, here is a list of his films. Missing from the list will be True Romance, Four Rooms, Sin City, and the episode of CSI he directed, as I don’t classify them as Tarantino enough to make the cut.
7) Death Proof (2007)- Death Proof wasn’t meant to be seen on its own, but in companion with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. Together, they were released as Grindhouse, a tribute to old exploitation films. Death Proof tells the story of a group of girls who get killed by a misogynistic old stunt man (Kurt Russell), who crashes his “death proof” stunt car into them just for laughs. Then, it tells pretty much the same story again, except this time the girls win out and kill the stuntman. I consider it to be the worst Tarantino film, not because it’s a terrible movie but, well, it is just too damn ridiculous for its own good. Watching the scene with the girl on the hood of the car being hit by the stunt car really took me out of the movie. In fact it was so ridiculous on a whole that I was never in the movie. I know it’s sort of the point, and perhaps if I knew more about exploitation films I would like it more, but that’s not the case. Maybe if Tarantino had had more time and money he could’ve done something greater, but this is not his best work.
6) From Dusk til Dawn (1996) – This is not technically a Tarantino film, but close enough, considering he wrote and starred in it. Another homage film, I prefer this to Death Proof because I am a fan of the B Horror siege films this emulates. Its another film that’s so over the top ridiculous that I can barely call it a movie, but at least with George Clooney, Harvey Keitel and Salma Hayek it feels realer… sort of… okay not really but still. It’s okay. Might have been better if Robert Rodriguez hadn’t directed it but what can you do. Apparently, in true B Horror fashion, there have been a number of sequels that have no input from the team that made the original. I have no intention of watching them, but I liked this one enough to recommend it.
5) Reservoir Dogs (1993) – Now we’re onto the really good stuff. Many people will be upset that this film is so low on the list, but with so many good ones to choose from, I stand by placing it here. This is the first Tarantino film, and like I wrote in an older entry, a directorial debut really sets the tone for a director. With Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino establishes himself as a director outside the Hollywood mainstream that can work within it, a director unwilling to compromise his artistic merits. In it, he debuts his use of non linear story lines, a cold opening, and his love for old movies; by his own admission, Reservoir Dogs is a remake of Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing.
4) Kill Bill (2002,2003) – I’m not going to split these up by volumes for this list, and it annoys me when other people do. They are together essentially one four hour long film, and should be viewed as such. I have heard arguments that volume one is better than two, but to me they are both incomplete films that cannot be looked at separately. For the four people left who don’t know what Kill Bill is about, Uma Thurman wakes up from a coma in a hospital bed, having been shot in the face by a man named Bill, and immediately begins to plot her revenge. This is Tarantino at his most self indulgent – lots of shots of Uma Thurmans feet, lots of gratuitous violence, lots of throwbacks to old and foreign cinema, and a soundtrack by Wu Tang leader The RZA. A third volume of the Kill Bill series is expected to be released this decade, and Tarantino hasn’t given me a reason to doubt it will be as good as the first two films.
3) Inglourious Basterds (2009) – As a student of history, I find his manipulation brilliant – I really hope that someone out there now believes that Hitler was shot in the face in a movie theatre, or at least that the US set up a Jewish unit to brutally hunt Nazis. As a student of film, I loved the use of Til Schweiger and Daniel Bruhl, my two favorite German actors, that only a director as well researched as Tarantino would have thought to use. I also love the characters conversations of Lang and Riefenstahl, as I am thoroughly in love with old German cinema. I was probably the only person who didn’t like the Bear Jew scene, I found it extremely upsetting, but do appreciate his use of stylized violence and let it go because of how good the rest of the movie was.
2) Jackie Brown (1997) – This is probably the most overlooked Tarantino film, at least among white audiences because it was made for black ones. This fact pissed Spike Lee off, who, despite being a brilliant film director in his own right, came out looking like a racist asshole when he complained about Tarantino making an authentic film for black audiences. If Reservoir Dogs was sort of a remake of The Killing, the rest of that film is in this one. Just as Stanley Kubrick replayed the horse race heist three times over in his film, Tarantino replayed the mall money laundering from three perspectives in this film. The casting is perfect, with Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, and Pam Grier (Foxy Brown), but I can’t help but feel sorry for Harvey Keitel – just as Martin Scorsese stopped using him in favor of De Niro, Tarantino seems to have done the same thing with this film. Jackie Brown is one of my favorite films, but there never should have been a doubt as to which film would come in at number one.
1) Pulp Fiction (1994) – What can I say about this film that hasn’t been said to death? From the casual conversations about fast food and foot massages right before a mob style execution to Uma Thurmans imfamous overdose, this film changed the way audiences watch movies more so than any other film in the 1990’s. After Pulp Fiction every bad guy was as smooth talking as Jules, stories were more frequently told out of order (Christopher Nolan owes his livelihood to this movie) and all of a sudden people cared about John Travolta again. Pulp Fiction is another reason why the Oscars are irrelevant, because Forrest Gump didn’t change anything, except the size Robert Zumekis’ house.
Stay tuned for Christmas 2012, when Tarantino’s next film, Django Unchained, is set for release. It’s a Spaghetti Western view on slavery starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Samuel L. Jackson, what’s not to look forward to?
7) Death Proof (2007)- Death Proof wasn’t meant to be seen on its own, but in companion with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. Together, they were released as Grindhouse, a tribute to old exploitation films. Death Proof tells the story of a group of girls who get killed by a misogynistic old stunt man (Kurt Russell), who crashes his “death proof” stunt car into them just for laughs. Then, it tells pretty much the same story again, except this time the girls win out and kill the stuntman. I consider it to be the worst Tarantino film, not because it’s a terrible movie but, well, it is just too damn ridiculous for its own good. Watching the scene with the girl on the hood of the car being hit by the stunt car really took me out of the movie. In fact it was so ridiculous on a whole that I was never in the movie. I know it’s sort of the point, and perhaps if I knew more about exploitation films I would like it more, but that’s not the case. Maybe if Tarantino had had more time and money he could’ve done something greater, but this is not his best work.
6) From Dusk til Dawn (1996) – This is not technically a Tarantino film, but close enough, considering he wrote and starred in it. Another homage film, I prefer this to Death Proof because I am a fan of the B Horror siege films this emulates. Its another film that’s so over the top ridiculous that I can barely call it a movie, but at least with George Clooney, Harvey Keitel and Salma Hayek it feels realer… sort of… okay not really but still. It’s okay. Might have been better if Robert Rodriguez hadn’t directed it but what can you do. Apparently, in true B Horror fashion, there have been a number of sequels that have no input from the team that made the original. I have no intention of watching them, but I liked this one enough to recommend it.
5) Reservoir Dogs (1993) – Now we’re onto the really good stuff. Many people will be upset that this film is so low on the list, but with so many good ones to choose from, I stand by placing it here. This is the first Tarantino film, and like I wrote in an older entry, a directorial debut really sets the tone for a director. With Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino establishes himself as a director outside the Hollywood mainstream that can work within it, a director unwilling to compromise his artistic merits. In it, he debuts his use of non linear story lines, a cold opening, and his love for old movies; by his own admission, Reservoir Dogs is a remake of Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing.
4) Kill Bill (2002,2003) – I’m not going to split these up by volumes for this list, and it annoys me when other people do. They are together essentially one four hour long film, and should be viewed as such. I have heard arguments that volume one is better than two, but to me they are both incomplete films that cannot be looked at separately. For the four people left who don’t know what Kill Bill is about, Uma Thurman wakes up from a coma in a hospital bed, having been shot in the face by a man named Bill, and immediately begins to plot her revenge. This is Tarantino at his most self indulgent – lots of shots of Uma Thurmans feet, lots of gratuitous violence, lots of throwbacks to old and foreign cinema, and a soundtrack by Wu Tang leader The RZA. A third volume of the Kill Bill series is expected to be released this decade, and Tarantino hasn’t given me a reason to doubt it will be as good as the first two films.
3) Inglourious Basterds (2009) – As a student of history, I find his manipulation brilliant – I really hope that someone out there now believes that Hitler was shot in the face in a movie theatre, or at least that the US set up a Jewish unit to brutally hunt Nazis. As a student of film, I loved the use of Til Schweiger and Daniel Bruhl, my two favorite German actors, that only a director as well researched as Tarantino would have thought to use. I also love the characters conversations of Lang and Riefenstahl, as I am thoroughly in love with old German cinema. I was probably the only person who didn’t like the Bear Jew scene, I found it extremely upsetting, but do appreciate his use of stylized violence and let it go because of how good the rest of the movie was.
2) Jackie Brown (1997) – This is probably the most overlooked Tarantino film, at least among white audiences because it was made for black ones. This fact pissed Spike Lee off, who, despite being a brilliant film director in his own right, came out looking like a racist asshole when he complained about Tarantino making an authentic film for black audiences. If Reservoir Dogs was sort of a remake of The Killing, the rest of that film is in this one. Just as Stanley Kubrick replayed the horse race heist three times over in his film, Tarantino replayed the mall money laundering from three perspectives in this film. The casting is perfect, with Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, and Pam Grier (Foxy Brown), but I can’t help but feel sorry for Harvey Keitel – just as Martin Scorsese stopped using him in favor of De Niro, Tarantino seems to have done the same thing with this film. Jackie Brown is one of my favorite films, but there never should have been a doubt as to which film would come in at number one.
1) Pulp Fiction (1994) – What can I say about this film that hasn’t been said to death? From the casual conversations about fast food and foot massages right before a mob style execution to Uma Thurmans imfamous overdose, this film changed the way audiences watch movies more so than any other film in the 1990’s. After Pulp Fiction every bad guy was as smooth talking as Jules, stories were more frequently told out of order (Christopher Nolan owes his livelihood to this movie) and all of a sudden people cared about John Travolta again. Pulp Fiction is another reason why the Oscars are irrelevant, because Forrest Gump didn’t change anything, except the size Robert Zumekis’ house.
Stay tuned for Christmas 2012, when Tarantino’s next film, Django Unchained, is set for release. It’s a Spaghetti Western view on slavery starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Samuel L. Jackson, what’s not to look forward to?
Never watched a Q.T. film; never will. Sorry, Malcolm. I'm a peasant, what can I say. Don't appreciate the higher forms of violence.
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