Tarantino's Films
I rank films by Quentin Tarantino from best (1) to least best.
Any films where he's given director's credit OR any writing credit are on this list.
There are no "worst" or "bad" or anything like that. I hope to keep adding to this list, so I really hope Tarantino speeds up his process!
Any films where he's given director's credit OR any writing credit are on this list.
There are no "worst" or "bad" or anything like that. I hope to keep adding to this list, so I really hope Tarantino speeds up his process!
List activity
122 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
16 titles
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Beyond philosophical.
This film asks a lot of questions...
Why does Marsellus have a bandage on the back of his head?
That's for your interpretation.
What's in the briefcase?
That doesn't matter.
...therefore, the film raises even more than it answers.
This is life.
This is religion on film. What we've believed for centuries, our entire language, especially in America "don't mean *beep* All we even care about is, essentially, *beep*
Where did the gold watch come from?
The point is clear: in the absence of any lasting, transcendent objective framework of value and meaning, our language no longer points to anything beyond itself. To call something good or evil renders it so, given that there is no higher authority or criteria by which one might judge actions. Jules quotes the Bible before his executions, but he may as well be quoting the Fonz or Buddy Holly.
Yet, everything happens for a reason. Maybe there are no miracles or divine intervention, but what we choose to see and listen to are what make us who we are. Sure, Butch must be as ruthless as the gangster who wants him dead, but in the end it was his loyalty that saved his life. His legacy lives on, but Vince's ignorance met his demise.
Jules: What the *beep* did you just do to his towel?
Vincent: I was just dryin’ my hands.
Jules: You’re supposed to wash ’em first.
Vincent: You watched me wash ’em.
Jules: I watched you get ’em wet.
Vincent: I washed ’em. Blood’s real hard to get off. Maybe if he had some Lava, I coulda done a better job.
Jules: I used the same soap you did and when I dried my hands, the towel didn’t look like a *beep* maxipad.
In the end, Jules' were completely clean. Had Vince washed his hands, the toaster would have still gone off. The smoke alarm would have gone off.
...and Butch would have had opportunity to leave silently.
Wouldn't have saved him from what happens next, but Vince would still be alive. Jules is off to walk the earth like Cain in Kung Fu. What will Vince be remembered for?
At least he's alive at the end of the movie.
Everything happens for a reason. It's movie logic, but no film shows more love for the movies than this. This is all film is capable of. It's an experience, it's comic relief, it's something for everyone, it's something to talk about. The spirit of Quentin Tarantino is there in all of this films, but "Pulp Fiction" stands alone. They're all pulp fiction.
The stories could be biblical. Connections between nihilism and loyalty blend with faith and meaning to add up to your own interpretation of what you believe. In the end, loyalty in yourself is taking care. Not caring just might get your hands dirty. Thinking you know everything is ridiculous.
But there are certainties. We may not have seen it...but...
"Zed's dead, baby, Zed's dead." - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl HannahAfter awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineMichael MadsenThe Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsLeonardo DiCaprioBrad PittMargot RobbieA faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.Okay, ramblers. Let’s get ramblin’.
No spoilers, no worries. No ratings, just reviews.
Walking downtown Austin, I passed the neon glow of Hut’s Hamburger’s nearly-down-to-Earth sign around 2:30am. In the city, it’s rare for a person to walk in such silence, but it’s simple to discover the time of day (I mean the time of night) you’re allowed such peaceful moments seemingly designed for contemplation. I listened for the buzz of the electricity, which was barely audible. This particular atmospheric touch aided my own pondering of my latest experience as neon signs, and their own unique sound effects, make up a certain montage literally highlighting the climax of Quentin Tarantino’s 9th, and possibly last, film.
My middle-night stroll took an interesting turn when I remembered my own response to the popular “Which decade would you most like to live through?” question.
My response has always been the ‘60s (literally “always,” not just appropriately for this writing), for the changes the country went through during a transformative period in Hollywood.
It was as if Tarantino made the movie just for me. (Brad Pitt’s character, when complimented, even uses a line I thought I coined in response to compliments, “I try”)
Not to breach topic, but I once described Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” as a time capsule, taking you back in time and allowing your imagination to actually feel what it would be like to live during the ‘60s (Lincoln’s White House lit by candles at night is a viewing pleasure). Well, “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” does exactly that (of course, during the ‘60s as well, but a century after the events of Spielberg’s picture). However, Tarantino seeks the entertainment factor in a way Spielberg would never allow himself. For the record, I had never actually seen “Lincoln” when talking about how great it was for taking us back in time. (I may have meant to say it COULD be great in that regard) And when I finally saw it, I never really felt it was worth the whatever-the-duration it is...unlike this new Tarantino flick, which might one day be taught alongside Pulp Fiction in film schools. The lesson in entertainment factor as focus point, anyway.
For this trip (a literal trip of a finale, but nevermind), you get to go back in time almost like never before. No other movie has enmeshed a time like this picture. Plenty of movies seek to capture moments, but “Hollywood” is the star here. Hollywood is also the story, using Rick Fuckin’ Dalton as the main character. His character, a fictional person, is Hollywood itself. Now, with the promised violence of Charles Manson, and Hollywood as a fictional character, we are allowing Tarantino to rewrite history again.
Inglourious Basterd’s “basterdizing” of history isn’t the only callback to Tarantino’s previous works. His love for Spaghetti Westerns, which has painted their way through all of his filmography, is heavily influencing much of the imagery of this film as well. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Dalton goes through a Clint Eastwoodian-esque period where he plays on tv shows before getting noticed by foreign directors (Eastwood starred in the Italian Sergio Leone’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” right after appearing on the Rawhide western tv-series, a film that Tarantino would consider a major part of his own film education).
“Hollywood” is also a hang-out movie, sure to encourage the weak to snore through the film (which did happen in my own theater, although it was a late showing for a long movie), but Tarantino is self-aware, bringing in Bruce Dern as a character who has a nap time specifically meant to diminish the chance of falling asleep during his tv shows later.
Nobody will be able to sleep through the ending, however, which I will refrain from talking about here (except: “Okay, Pig Killers, lets kill some pigs” haha, just to take credit for my opening line, a Tarantino turn of phrase here). This movie is about Hollywood in 1969, and you get to experience, like I said, exactly that. You will ride in cars listening to the radio (barefoot, since this is a Tarantino picture). You will go to the movies (also barefoot), but you’ll see drive-ins and watch the television (and for Alamo Drafthouse attendees, the preshow is the best I’ve ever seen this theater chain put on, giving you the feeling of channel surfing in the ‘60s). You’ll even fix an antenna just so you can watch tv. But you get to do so with shirtless Brad Pitt.
As for the structure of the film, since the narrative isn’t exactly about Leo’s character, even though Brad Pitt’s stuntman for Rick Dalton is always a welcome tough-guy and comedic relief, you HAVE to consider Hollywood not only a character, but the title character. The design goes from “a day in the life” to the effects of the days, requiring a narrated jump in time, to one final night that will surely end “Hollywood” as we know it. Hollywood is actually represented here through the lens of tv cameras, perhaps a reflection of Tarantino’s realization that watching new content at home, as opposed to a theatrical experience, is an everlasting trend of the future. The movie itself is also not about Sharon Tate, played by Margot Robbie who’s best scene is her watching herself (watching a real Sharon Tate film) with a smile of relishment on her face as she experiences her own performance through an audience around her. It’s essentially a silent role in a silent film (that is more hilarious the louder it gets), but her role is the villain (I’ll elaborate on this). Silent films are designed around visuals, and this film is...exactly that.
I wasn’t asking for much. I wanted Tarantino to be himself. To let us live in his world for a little bit. Let us hang out, like he did in Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown and Death Proof. And as much as I had high hopes, the movie tells you what you’re getting, and it obliterates expectations to exceed them. The tension that plays through the movie is the foreboding transformation that “Hollywood” will experience. This anxiety is a constant, and itself is the villain. This is the purpose and role of “Tate” in the narrative. “Hollywood,” our lead character, is about to undergo a historical change, and Tarantino is merely reminding the audience of what it should already know. However, as negative as his characters are (Dalton even hates Spaghetti Westerns), you have a glimmer of hope. An absolute optimism. For “Hollywood,” anyway, a version of Hollywood.
In the Los Angeles nights, we feel the midnight glow. The neon represents the end of the day and the beginning of life after a hard day’s work on the movie sets. Want to go to the Playboy mansion? We have a night there, too. But, at the end of the day, you’re just wanting entertainment. In Tarantino’s hands, “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood”...is exactly that. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.After seeing it played in three different theaters, I can safely say that I would probably not recommend anyone see "Django Unchained." As much as it is a lesson on how damned the English language has become, the film, for me, makes me think again and again about influences and motivations. It's only a fairy tale, per se, but my main motivation in seeing Quentin Tarantino movies is the lesson in influences they give me. They're a cinematic history lesson directed towards pure entertainment and leave out any potential for dull moments. It also challenges any idea of "fun" you may have. As strong as any of his other flicks (and, more importantly, cinema in general), it is a perfect blend of dialogue and scenes propelled by a sweet soundtrack.
There are some terrifying moments, one which should give Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar nomination at least, but they aren't meant to last long, and an intense grand bloody finale is cut short to lead into another finale, as if it's a re-do, for a more satisfying conclusion. As perfectly edited as each scene is, I wonder if the last 15 minutes would have benefited better from the late Sally Menke (Tarantino's editor for the past 20 years). Not to give any spoilers, the movie gives you what you want if not what you expect.
Tarantino is a master of escapist entertainment and if you're ready to take a ride away from the real world, his cinema is capable of making you feel like a kid again.
-December 30th 2012 - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsKurt RussellZoë BellRosario DawsonTwo separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsPam GrierSamuel L. JacksonRobert ForsterA flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsSamuel L. JacksonKurt RussellJennifer Jason LeighIn the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezEli RothQuentin TarantinoStarsKurt RussellRose McGowanDanny TrejoQuentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's homage to exploitation double features in the '60s and '70s with two back-to-back cult films that include previews of coming attractions between them.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsChristian SlaterPatricia ArquetteDennis HopperIn Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.
- DirectorFrank MillerQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezStarsMickey RourkeClive OwenBruce WillisAn exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsWoody HarrelsonJuliette LewisTom SizemoreTwo victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
- DirectorAllison AndersAlexandre RockwellRobert RodriguezStarsTim RothAntonio BanderasSammi DavisFour interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on New Year's Eve.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsCraig HamannQuentin TarantinoCrystal Shaw MartellIt's Mickey's Birthday and his girlfriend just left him, so that's when his friend Clarence shows him a birthday he'll never forget.