Some say that Quentin Tarantino is among the most influential filmmakers of our time, and it would be hard to disagree. With films including Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction under his belt, Tarantino has proven himself worthy of the metaphorical and literal "Film History Books". So why is this guy so popular, some may ask. After all, he's only directed a small handfull of movies. People with that sort of mentality ought to be kicked in the face.
Sure, Tarantino's only written and DIRECTED a small handful of films, but his contribution to the industry has been enormous. But let's look specifically at the films he both wrote AND directed.
1) RESERVOIR DOGS (1992):
The first film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino is a heist film with a twist -- you never see the heist. It's also referred to as a "talking heads" movie -- what you DO see is the result of the botched heist through the eyes of various characters who arrive in the warehouse where they were to all meet. The various participants in the heist were given code names so that they would not be able to identify each other if captured. The breakdown goes like this:
Mr. White (Harvey Keitel)
Mr. Blond (Michael Madsen)
Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi)
Mr. Orange (Tim Roth)
Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker)
There's also Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn) and his father Joe (Lawrence Tierney), who is the "mastermind" of the whole affair.
After the heist goes wrong, the survivors are left to realize that one of them is a police informant and they were set up. Now they need to figure out who the rat is without blowing each other to hell.
Despite being a first film, this is considered by many to be a masterpeice. Reservoir Dogs is one of the great American gangster classics of all time, and the movie has it's fair share of great moments.
2) PULP FICTION (1994):
Quentin Tarantino's second film was, some say, his best. It's essentially three stories that make up one story, and all the stories intertwine (not a word, but you get the idea). A duo of hitmen named Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield (played to perfection by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), a crime boss named Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), the boss's wife, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), and a washed-up prize fighter named Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) all meet their respective fates within a timeframe of two days. The chronology might be a little mixed up (as it is in most Tarantino films), but I honestly think this is one of the greatest films of all time.
Amongst the other players are Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf (Marsellus Wallace's problem solver), Maria de Medeiros as Fabienne (Butch's girlfriend), Christopher Walken as Captain Koons (Butch's father's war buddy) and Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer as a couple who commit robberies (referred to for most of the film only as Pumpkin and Honey Bunny).
This is the film that "made" Quentin Tarantino, and it also won him the 1994 Palme d'Or -- The Best Picture of the Cannes Film Festival.
3) JACKIE BROWN (1997):
Tarantino's third film departs from the Tarantino-verse and takes a dip into another creative mind's work. Jackie Brown is based on the book "Rum Punch" by author Elmore Leonard. Despite the novel featuring a caucasian lead, Quentin put his own spin on things by casting blacksploitation queen Pam Grier in the title role, and by changing the title in the first place. He also added his unique style of dialogue to the film. Many, however, claim this to be the worst of his films, merely because it is the most mature. I, however, disagree. It's Quentin Tarantino. There is no "worst" film.
Amongst the other cast members are the following standout characters:
Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie (the gun runner for whom Jackie Brown transports money in and out of Mexico).
Robert Forster as Max Cherry (the bail bondsman who finds himself deeply involved in the plot when he falls for Jackie).
Michael Keaton as Ray Nicolette (the ATF agent who wants to catch Ordell with illegal money).
Bridget Fonda as Melanie Ralston (Ordell's beach bunny, hooker-esque roommate).
And Robert de Niro as Louis Gara (Ordell's recently parolled friend).
So what do all these players have in common? They're all on the trail of a half million dollars in cash? But who's playing who?
4) KILL BILL (2003)/(2004):
The fourth film by Quentin Tarantino, and to date his most violent. We're talking balls-to-the-wall, limb-chopping, blood-spurting violent. However, it is not without it's share of story. Uma Thurman plays a character known as The Bride (or Black Mamba if you prefer), who was once part of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. But when she wanted to go straight and marry a civilian, her former partners showed up at her wedding and kill everyone. Her former employer, Bill (David Carradine) shoots her in the head even though she is with child, and she is left for dead. However, she survives in a coma for four years and awakens to seek revenge against her former compatriots.
Kill Bill was divided into two seperate films (Volumes One and Two), but the first volume alone is one of the bloodiest mainstream movies to hit the screen in years. Watch in awe as The Bride takes on Vernita Green AKA Copperhead (Vivaca A. Fox) and O-Ren Ishi AKA Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu). In addition, she battles O-Ren's personal army the Crazy 88, and her bodyguard, schoolgirl-looking GoGo Yubari.
We also see a bit of Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), but Tarantino is saving Budd (Michael Madsen) for Volume Two. All in all, a great (if violent) fourth film, which ends with a cliffhanger and leaves the audience starving for Volume Two (if all the stylized violece hasn't caused them to lose their appitite).
In addition to the films discussed above, Quentin has also written screenplays for films such as Natural Born Killers (for which he received story credit only), True Romance (the selling of which paid for Reservoir Dogs), and From Dusk Till Dawn (in which he appeared alongside George Clooney). He also directed one of four segments in the anthology film, Four Rooms. He's reportedly working on his next film (In)Glorious Bastards, a WWII epic which supposedly stars Michael Madsen, and he's been in talks with Madsen and John Travolta to do a prequel film, tentatively titled The Vega Brothers.
--LightspeedTaco
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