Final
Project - Quentin Tarantino
In
this research I am going to discuss my love for American film director Quentin
Tarantino. Tarantino is a favorite of mine and I always look for his film
releases. Tarantino and Guy Ritchie I think produce similar films with similar
styles. They both produce the gritty crime films that are laden with heavy
dialogue, extreme violence and the constant use of flashbacks and cut scenes. I
like these films because they are not the typical Hollywood blockbuster and they
bring something new to the table. Even though the films now are largely considered mainstream, as
a viewer you still get the sense of an indie culture driving them. This
research will follow five parts: Tarantino’s early life/attraction to film, a
discussion on the following films Reservoir
Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastards, a list of
actors who Tarantino has cast multiple times and a conclusion.
Quentin
Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer,
cinematographer and actor. He was born on March 27th 1963; Tarantino
has directed numerous famous films including Reservoir Dogs (1192), Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill (2003 & 2004)
and Inglorious Bastards (2009).
Tarantino
was born in Knoxville TN, his father was an actor and musician while his mother
was a nurse. Shortly after his birth
Tarantino moved to California where he was to spend the majority of his
childhood and teenage school years. During his teenage years at school he began
taking drama classes. He eventually dropped out of high school at the young age
of 15 to attend acting classes full time at James Best Theatre Company. After
only two years at James Best, Tarantino dropped out of there too and began to
work full time in a movie rental store in an article from the BBC in order “to
feed his (film) addiction” (BBC.co.uk). At the video rental store he and other
movie lovers spent time analyzing and discussing films at length. At the store
he spent time with future colleague Roger Avary (who worked on Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction). When asked in an article
for the BBC if and where he went to film school Tarantino replied "When
people ask me if I went to film school I tell them 'no, I went to films.”
(BBC.co.uk) this quote is in reference to his time spent working at the video
rental store.
Tarantino first
came to national prominence in the film industry in 1992 when his film
Reservoir Dogs screened at the Sundance Film Festival. According to Tarantino’s
biography on IMDb.com “the film garnered critical acclaim and the director
became a legend immediately” (Quentin Tarantino). Although the claim of
legendary status may not have been the case, Tarantino’s film following the
festival was highly lauded and critically acclaimed. Biography.com
writes that Reservoir Dogs “helped to make Tarantino one of the most
talked-about figures in Hollywood. While not a big hit in the United States, it
became a popular title on video and did well overseas” (“Tarantino Bio”).
Reservoir Dogs
was the first Tarantino film I saw and is really what drives my interest in his
movies. I believe his style is so completely different to many that we see in
the mainstream movie industry today. What I loved about Reservoir Dogs and what has become somewhat of a trademark for
Tarantino’s work is the dialogue. Reservoir
Dogs is a dialogue driven movie that utilizes the English word to full
affect. Anyone who has previously seen the movie is encapsulated by the movie
because of the dialogue. My initial reaction was always to think “wow what a
great heist movie” which technically is what the movie is about. However, when
you sit down and think about the film sometime after you first watch it you realize, you
never witness the heist, there is not much action at all, the film is filled
with time changing flashbacks and the majority of the film takes place in one
room. This is what I love about Tarantino films the dialogue is so prominent
and exceptional you focus on the plot, the story, and the character development
and forget about the need to see huge explosions and special effects.
Reservoir Dogs
is a fantastic movie and for a directorial debut is exceptional. The movie was
named "Greatest Independent Film of all Time" by Empire in addition Empire also ranks Reservoir
Dogs also ranks at #97 in the
list of the 500 Greatest Films of All Time. An interesting side note on Reservoir Dogs was that initially it was
not overly popular but became more popular following the success of Pulp Fiction. Because of this delay in
its popularity it is often considered a cult hit by many fans, on the prominent
film review website Rotten Tomatoes Reservoir
Dogs has a 97% approval rating. As Prof. Hammond has mentioned in class
multiple times any film or director that can cause such varying debate – either
love the film or hate the film is always worth watching and this is how I first
became interested in Tarantino – in my case I love him.
Reservoir
Dogs – Trailer Link Below:
Now
I have talked about the film that really got me interested in Quentin Tarantino
as a director and essentially the film that is the driving force behind this
research. I want to discuss one more of his prominent films that is in fact my
favorite film of Tarantino’s. Pulp
Fiction was released in 1994 and included an all-star cast of John
Travolta, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson. The movie
was another crime drama and the short version plot synopsis according to
IMDb.com is best put as “The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's
wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption”
(“IMbd.com”).
Pulp Fiction was
Tarantino’s second major film and provided much of the popularity for Reservoir
Dogs (film lovers went back and looked at his earlier work). Pulp
Fiction, received much critical acclaim and is my personal favorite movie
of Tarantino’s. Richard Corliss of Time wrote, "It towers over the
year's other movies as majestically and menacingly as a gang lord at a
preschool. It dares Hollywood films to be this smart about going this far. If
good directors accept Tarantino's implicit challenge, the movie theater could
again be a great place to live in" (Corliss). This movie was another
example of a script that was highly driven by exceptional dialogue. The
film is always standout because of the concept of multiple story lines
unfolding and interchanging together as the film progresses. Of course as any
movie buff will tell you nonelinear storytelling is a trademark of
Tarantino's work. A unique fact about Pulp Fiction is that Rodger
Avary (who Tarantino worked with in the rental store) wrote
the initial part of the script for the movie. The two writers won the
Academy Award and BAFA award for Best Original Screenplay for the movie.
Inglorious Bastards is
one of Tarantino's more modern releases from 2009, although he wrote the script
in 1998. The film tells the story of two
fictional assassination attempts against the German
Nazi leadership during World War II in occupied France. The film
starred Brad Pitt, Christopher Waltz, Eli Roth and was narrated by
Samuel L Jackson. The film was another of Tarantino's successes landing 8
Academy Award Nominations and a Best Actor Award for Waltz from the Cannes Film
Festival, among others. As with Tarantino movies Inglorious Bastards followed
multiple plots and again was a nonlinear story. The story holds an
88% approval rating on popular critics website Rotten Tomatoes. The website
critically sums up the movie by stating the film is "a classic Tarantino
genre-blending thrill ride, Inglorious Bastards is violent, unrestrained
and thoroughly entertaining" (Rotten
Tomatoes) Tarantino himself in an interview at Cannes Film Festival
where the movie was shown claimed that the movie was "some of the best
writing he had ever done".
Inglorious Bastards Movie Link Below:
Many people following the release
of Pulp Fiction realized one of Tarantino’s particular traits; which was
to cast actors he had previously worked with and knew he could count of for
good work. it does not appear that obvious to the viewer but upon researching
Tarantino's filmography and the actors he casts many
are utilized multiple times. The actors in Tarantino’s work often
have appeared several times in movies with him before. On occasion it
may only be one or two appearances but often it is more. This
is unusual because filmmakers will often want to keep each
project they work on as unique as possible and not want that ruined by casting
an actor they have used before; no matter how great their performance
was. the only other director that casts the same actor often or has that unique
relationship with a particular actor i can think of is; Tim Burton and Johnny
Depp. Those two automatically are associated with each
other which at times can be a bad thing. In Tarantino's case Samuel L
Jackson has appeared in over 5 of his movies but they are not automatically
connected because of the uniqueness of Tarantino's character development.
Below is a list of highly famous actors who have appeared in Tarantino’s
films more than three times:
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Tim Roth
- Harvey Keitel
A few o the other very famous actors who have appeared in two of Tarantino's movies are:
- Bruce Willis
- Uma Thurman
- Steve Buscemi
- Eli Roth
In
conclusion, I chose to write about Quentin Tarantino because he is very unique.
His genre of films are different and I find them very compelling. His approach
to reusing actors in multiple roles in different films is also unique but it
works well because of the extensive character development; the viewer does not
feel like it is a repeated character. I think his quality as a director is
clear when you look at first his filmography and second his awards. His films
are well known but retain their indie style and status that so many people
love. His awards, some of which I listed earlier, are testament to his
capabilities, especially considering the type of films he produces. Finally the
last video link I have attached is Tarantino giving advice on how to be a
successful filmmaker. In this video he does come across somewhat arrogant but I
think his true love and genuine desire to improve in film is also clear.
Quentin Tarantino - Filmmaker Advice:
By, Alex Patterson
Works Cited
"Faces of the Week." BBC News. 14 May 2004. Web. 7 May 2012. <www.bbc.co.uk/search>.
"Quetin Tarantino Bio." IMDb.com. Web. 7 May 2012. <www.imdb.com/search>.
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