With the release of his latest film, "Inglorious Basterds", I have decided to take a look at director Quentin Tarantino's work to see just what made him so iconic and lovable as a filmmaker.Since his early days, he has always been the movie buff, once stating:
That simple statement is what separates the filmmakers form the fans. Having worked in a video store, Tarantino was buried in movies that would later be referenced or styled in his movies.
But what is most amazing is that instead of coming across as a poor parody, he managed to take the one element that mattered and structure it so perfectly: the character.
In his debut, "Reservoir Dogs", he already managed to have an impressive cast following him, including Harvey Kietel and Steve Buscemi. The story of a bank robbery gone wrong has been done so many times before and was doomed to follow many cliches.But what keeps the movie from faltering is the fact that Tarantino's characters are never seen at the actual bank. Instead, more time is dedicate to developing their personalities and eventually trying to figure out the subplot of who ratted them out to the police. With a mixture of 70's music, the feel was set for the 50's to almost perfection.It also introduced elements of what would become signature Tarantino. There was plenty of violence (including an infamous scene involving the song "Stuck in the Middle with You"), profanity, and other mobster elements. But what separated it more was the dialogue. From the opening scene, Tarantino had a Madonna rant and Steve Buscemi a waitress rant that go down as some of the most memorable dialogue in 90's cinema.While these characters in actuality are smut, their voices are unique and are given likable, dangerous personalities. While only one of them was actually working professionally, all of them were in it together and working as a team. The suspense is built around human emotion when it tears apart their confidence and their plan falls apart.
The following film, "Pulp Fiction", was more than just a film, proving to be critically acclaimed, earning Oscars and numerous movie buff's top tens of all time.The movie improved on aspects of "Reservoir Dogs" and in fact added new elements. There was more pop culture references (including a whole diner scene featuring Buddy Holly waiters and Marilyn Monroe waitresses) and more criminal input (adrenaline shot) as well as frequent Tarantino guest Samuel L. Jackson, who added more profanity to the film than anyone else.Probably the most impressive input, however, was the nonlinear story that followed two hitmen as well as a boxer. The ending is in the middle somewhere and you are not quite sure how everything overlaps until the very end. There are many icnonic moments and references (including a frequent religious reference that fuels the later half of the plot) and overall helped make Tarantino a filmmaker of quality and value.His characters were deep and his style was becoming more unique. With a mix of crime noir, pop culture, violence, genre bending, profane-laced epic films, Tarantino was definitely either a genius, or a very disturbed author.
His follow-up, "Jackie Brown", was different than his previous efforts. Sure, there was plenty of swearing and criminals, but it wasn't the bloodbath appeal of "Reservoir Dogs".
It instead focused more on the blaxploitation genre and focused on a scheme that proved to be ruthless and obscure as it went on, adding various characters, including loan officers, into the mix.This isn't his most well-received effort, but it does show Tarantino's ability to step outside of his comfort zone and make films that focus heavily on character and plot, rather than special gimmicks like non-linear storylines and violent imagery.
The following films, "Kill Bill: Vol. 1-2" proved to be his most ambitious, relying heavily on influences from almost every one of his previous movies. It called for the bloodbath of "Reservoir Dogs" (and multiplied by 100). It called for the non-linear style of "Pulp Fiction". It called for the story characters of "Jackie Brown". It called for obscure pop culture references, including references to old kung-fu movies, "The Green Hornet", and introducing the "Woo-Hoo" song that would rule Vonage commercials.If you had to figure out what Tarantino's interests were, you could probably pick it up here with kung fu, anime, sexploitation, spaghetti westerns, old school songs form movies, and various lighting and filming techniques.The movie featured his muse, Uma Thurman, and proved to be a gorey role that Tarantino himself would say was a movie about women being empowered. The plot was simple, a mother fighting her way through old foes to save her child from Bill ("Kung Fu" star David Carradine). The origin stories as well as references were directed beautifully and overall made for one of the most artistic movies of the decade.
His latest film before "Inglorious Basters" was "Death Proof", which was on a double bill with Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror", together called "Grindhouse". The films were supposed to represent the B-Movie film genre that both Rodriguez and Tarantino grew up on.
Down to the small scratches and tongue-in-cheek dialogue, they made a perfect immitation. While the effort was there, it wasn't as strong as his previous efforts, but still should be a stand out if just for the obscure choice of songs that have come to define Tarantino's movies.
Is there anything in particular that Tarantino's movies have done for us? They have taken the cliche out of movie experiences and while often graphic and adult, has made movie going fun again. Many admire him for his adventurous style, but few really are anymore (Steven Spielberg for one), settling on cheap effects and bad storylines. While there are plenty of directors creating unique efforts, Tarantino's incorporation of obscure styles and references makes him the most innovative, whom without we may never have heard of gag balls or five point palm exploding heart techniques. Because of his passion to make movies because he wants to as opposed to facing other's merits, he has made films so obscure, art students and movie goers alike enjoy them.
I for one am looking forward to "Inglorious Basterds" and want to see how well and what new elements Tarantino have brought to the table, especially to something old and played out like World War II.
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