Quentin Tarantino has been making movies ever since he met Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party in the ‘80s. Tarantino, who is quoted for having “gone to films” instead of to film school, co-wrote and directed a film called My Best Friend’s Birthday. Unfortunately, the final reels were lost to a fire, but the screenplay formed the basis for True Romance, the first script Tarantino sold as a writer. After that, Tarantino left his job at a video rental store to direct his first film, Reservoir Dogs, which has been heralded the greatest independent film ever made. Since 1992 Tarantino has directed seven films, acted in at least fifteen small roles, written eleven films, and produced eleven. While each of those films carry their own traces of the Tarantino style, the films he both writes and directs are his most unique. They are the most successful of his films both critically and commercially, and each one feels different and special in a way that can hardly be explained.
A Tarantino film can be distinguished in many ways. Violence, wit, humor, incredible dialogue, non-linear plots, profanity, references to pop culture, and homage to genres are all parts of the pastiche that make up a Tarantino movie. Perhaps the factor that stands out the most is Tarantino’s writing which is smart, punning, original, and at times nothing short of genius. While Quentin Tarantino is a strong visual stylist, his directing still falls short of his writing in my opinion, and I would make the argument that he has easily earned himself a spot among the few greatest screenwriters of all time. Just look at his work on Pulp Fiction, dialogue-wise his finest film. QT’s dialogue seems to come from a reservoir within the writer, pouring onto the page and leaking over to the screen with ease.
A Tarantino film can be distinguished in many ways. Violence, wit, humor, incredible dialogue, non-linear plots, profanity, references to pop culture, and homage to genres are all parts of the pastiche that make up a Tarantino movie. Perhaps the factor that stands out the most is Tarantino’s writing which is smart, punning, original, and at times nothing short of genius. While Quentin Tarantino is a strong visual stylist, his directing still falls short of his writing in my opinion, and I would make the argument that he has easily earned himself a spot among the few greatest screenwriters of all time. Just look at his work on Pulp Fiction, dialogue-wise his finest film. QT’s dialogue seems to come from a reservoir within the writer, pouring onto the page and leaking over to the screen with ease.
In Pulp Fiction, almost every line is brilliant in a distinct way. From the poetic prose of some of the monologues, to the quick and profane exchanges between actors, this movie has it all, and it is all great. Tarantino writes with a knack for realistic dialogue. His characters talk about real things and often discuss day-to-day proceedings which seem irrelevant to the plot. This brings the characters to life, but what QT also often does is subtly slip that seemingly random dialogue back into the plot. For example, in Pulp Fiction Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) have the best written conversation about hamburgers in the history of cinema. They compare quarter pounders in America to those in France while on the way to kill some young men who ripped off their boss. The French name for the burger reappears in the dialogue later when they’re “in character” in the apartment of the guys they’ve been sent to whack. The use of such ordinary conversation is almost hilarious at times, as Tarantino’s characters may be discussing the simplest things while carrying out a contrasting action- like stashing a body or dealing drugs. Even the most subtle lines which could be overlooked in the blink of an eye carry weight when looked at under the microscope. When Butch (Bruce Willis) returns home to his girlfriend, she says how she wishes she had a pot belly and how “it’s unfortunate that what we find pleasing to the touch and pleasing to the eye are seldom the same”. This line isn’t one of the most talked about in the movie, but it was smartly conceived and makes you think.
Pulp Fiction was also categorized by monologues that people have wanted to recite ever since seeing the movie. Captain Koon’s (Christopher Walken) story about Butch’s father’s pocket watch and the incredible journey it went through is so well scripted we laugh and shudder at the same time. Even more famous is Jules’ recital of a fictitious bible passage, climaxing in the lines: “and I shall strike down upon thee with glorious vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!” This monologue, written by Tarantino with Samuel L. Jackson’s input, is so memorable, like many lines in the film, and is so powerful in its own right.
Pulp Fiction was also categorized by monologues that people have wanted to recite ever since seeing the movie. Captain Koon’s (Christopher Walken) story about Butch’s father’s pocket watch and the incredible journey it went through is so well scripted we laugh and shudder at the same time. Even more famous is Jules’ recital of a fictitious bible passage, climaxing in the lines: “and I shall strike down upon thee with glorious vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!” This monologue, written by Tarantino with Samuel L. Jackson’s input, is so memorable, like many lines in the film, and is so powerful in its own right.
Tarantino’s films don’t attempt to explain humanity like many other great films do. Movies like The Tree of Life or 2001: A Space Odyssey attempt to encompass the human existence and have bold ambitions to portray life in its entirety. When successful (like the Kubrik and Malick films mentioned above are), these kinds of films ascend to the short list of greatest movies ever made. Tarantino can be bold and ambitious in his films – not many directors would have the guts or even the imagination to make a movie like Inglourious Basterds – he just doesn’t search for the grander meaning of life or anything abstract like that in his films. Tarantino’s movies are some of the greatest ever made in terms of the physical reality of what they achieve, unyielding exercises in style. His movies ooze style in the form of impeccably well written dialogue and character, and excellently filmed sequences. Someone once told Tarantino that he couldn’t do tension because his dialogue and non-linear plots ruined the surprise. To them I say this: watch the opening 20 minutes of Inglourious Basterds and tell me it’s not tense. Tarantino flawlessly builds from a simple conversation of milk and farming to one of the most serious topics discussed in film, Nazis hunting the Jews. Using simplistic but effective camera techniques, Tarantino develops tension that is so strong it couldn’t be cut with a knife.
Another aspect that makes Tarantino’s films unique is their placement in an almost alternate reality. Tarantino’s movies all take place on Earth, but in a Tarantino vision of the world. His characters all speak in a crossbreed of magnificent prose and speedy vulgarity. He never uses product placement in his films, instead supplementing his own fictitious products such as Red Apple Cigarettes or Kaboom Cereal. This attention to minor detail helps explain why Tarantino is at the top of his career. This also furthers the concept that his films take place in a slightly-tweaked universe. This differentiates his films from the realism of other action and drama movies. For this reason we are more forgiving of the violence in his films, as it feels almost like comic violence and shouldn’t be taken literally, but instead as both a talented piece of filmmaking and as an allegorical take on the interaction of characters. The same rings true for his dialogue. In some ways he is the most honest writer of human dialogue, but there are many scenes Tarantino has written that seem to transcend simple human speech and become poetic in their own right. So many of his characters have a way with words that allow them to enunciate and accentuate their vocabularies to their own expressive advantage. These are qualities that make his films feel supernatural in a way, placing them just outside the range of realism and turning them into trademarked Tarantino films.
Another aspect that makes Tarantino’s films unique is their placement in an almost alternate reality. Tarantino’s movies all take place on Earth, but in a Tarantino vision of the world. His characters all speak in a crossbreed of magnificent prose and speedy vulgarity. He never uses product placement in his films, instead supplementing his own fictitious products such as Red Apple Cigarettes or Kaboom Cereal. This attention to minor detail helps explain why Tarantino is at the top of his career. This also furthers the concept that his films take place in a slightly-tweaked universe. This differentiates his films from the realism of other action and drama movies. For this reason we are more forgiving of the violence in his films, as it feels almost like comic violence and shouldn’t be taken literally, but instead as both a talented piece of filmmaking and as an allegorical take on the interaction of characters. The same rings true for his dialogue. In some ways he is the most honest writer of human dialogue, but there are many scenes Tarantino has written that seem to transcend simple human speech and become poetic in their own right. So many of his characters have a way with words that allow them to enunciate and accentuate their vocabularies to their own expressive advantage. These are qualities that make his films feel supernatural in a way, placing them just outside the range of realism and turning them into trademarked Tarantino films.
One more quality Quentin Tarantino possesses as a writer that is almost incomparable is his creation of character. Notable for his brilliant dialogue, Tarantino gives each character something special to say. He fits the dialogue or monologue to the character, and the actor portraying them, to bring out the best performance possible from the actors, and to create vivid characters in his films. There are so many incredible characters in the world of Quentin Tarantino I won’t even begin listing any, because the list would go on and on. If you’ve ever seen a Tarantino film, you will remember how many rich characters occupied the story. Almost all of Tarantino’s characters have their own sense of style. From Jules’ Jerry-curl in Pulp Fiction to Aldo Raine’s rope burns in Inglourious Basterds to the Bride’s yellow tracksuit in Kill Bill, Tarantino’s characters all have a signature look that makes them stand out among the thousands of characters introduced to audiences in theaters each year.
Aside from the way they look and talk, his characters are also written with such description that their actions, their movement sets them apart. Some of his characters are twists on stereotypical genre types, while others are brand new creations. Tarantino is a brilliant writer who can create distinct characters with seeming ease, although I’m sure it takes hours and hours of dedication and work to formulate a proper script (Inglourious Basterds is said to have taken 10 years to write). Tarantino also inspires exceptional performances from his actors and actresses, bringing his characters that much further to life. Take Christoph Waltz, who plays Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. His Oscar-winning performance contains so many small components and facets that he and Tarantino worked on together. The way he carries himself, Landa’s laugh, his charm, it all works effectively into creating the monster that he is.
Aside from the way they look and talk, his characters are also written with such description that their actions, their movement sets them apart. Some of his characters are twists on stereotypical genre types, while others are brand new creations. Tarantino is a brilliant writer who can create distinct characters with seeming ease, although I’m sure it takes hours and hours of dedication and work to formulate a proper script (Inglourious Basterds is said to have taken 10 years to write). Tarantino also inspires exceptional performances from his actors and actresses, bringing his characters that much further to life. Take Christoph Waltz, who plays Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. His Oscar-winning performance contains so many small components and facets that he and Tarantino worked on together. The way he carries himself, Landa’s laugh, his charm, it all works effectively into creating the monster that he is.
Pop culture is something that Quentin Tarantino loves to include in his films. Pop culture is of course a large theme in Pulp Fiction, a blend of crime, noir and of course, pulp literature from the mid twentieth century. Even in his other films, take Death Proof, Tarantino utilizes music from popular culture, and by that I do not mean pop music. The character of Jungle Julia is a DJ, and she brings up the music of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mich & Tich. Later on in the film, Arlene gives Stuntman Mike a lap-dance to the song “Down in Mexico” by The Coasters, a record Tarantino suppossedly owns a rare copy of.
Tarantino also references and pays tribute to the history of cinema in his movies. He himself is a huge movie buff, so he likes to both show his knowledge and honor those who came before him in his writing. QT includes
the character of a film critic in Inglourious Basterds, and a cinema-owner, in order to catalyze conversations about the history of German and French cinema. He also pays homage to genres, such as spaghetti-westerns (in his upcoming film Django Unchained) or Asian martial arts (Kill Bill). For example, the scenes with Pai-Mei in Kill Bill: Vol. II are reminiscent of Chinese cinema, only with more satire and violence.
In conclusion, many acknowledge that Quentin Tarantino is one of the finest filmmakers operating right now, he may even fall into the Top 10 list of greatest directors ever- although that’s a near-impossible list to make. He directs with passion for his art, and he stylizes his films almost to no end. Yet his true genius lies in his writing capabilities. His characters, plots, dialogue, and monologues are all so memorable because of their ingenuity and individuality. No one makes films quite like Tarantino does. What makes his movies so special are all of the facets I discussed above, the violence, the dialogue, the pop culture references, the profanity, and of course the wit and humor to them. Quentin Tarantino devotes himself to his films, and through his unique personal touch, he makes movies that will forever be remembered.
Tarantino also references and pays tribute to the history of cinema in his movies. He himself is a huge movie buff, so he likes to both show his knowledge and honor those who came before him in his writing. QT includes
the character of a film critic in Inglourious Basterds, and a cinema-owner, in order to catalyze conversations about the history of German and French cinema. He also pays homage to genres, such as spaghetti-westerns (in his upcoming film Django Unchained) or Asian martial arts (Kill Bill). For example, the scenes with Pai-Mei in Kill Bill: Vol. II are reminiscent of Chinese cinema, only with more satire and violence.
In conclusion, many acknowledge that Quentin Tarantino is one of the finest filmmakers operating right now, he may even fall into the Top 10 list of greatest directors ever- although that’s a near-impossible list to make. He directs with passion for his art, and he stylizes his films almost to no end. Yet his true genius lies in his writing capabilities. His characters, plots, dialogue, and monologues are all so memorable because of their ingenuity and individuality. No one makes films quite like Tarantino does. What makes his movies so special are all of the facets I discussed above, the violence, the dialogue, the pop culture references, the profanity, and of course the wit and humor to them. Quentin Tarantino devotes himself to his films, and through his unique personal touch, he makes movies that will forever be remembered.