Quentin Tarantino is to cinema what Miles Davis is to jazz – the “King of Cool.” With his movies “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction,” Tarantino effectively reinvented cinema in the mid-1990s, setting unprecedented stylistic standards. His movies burst with cool dialogue and exaggerated violence and turned the former video store clerk into one of the most important living Hollywood directors ever.
In addition, as a screenwriter, he was responsible for the script of “True Romance” and wrote the plot for Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers” – both films are also true milestones of 90s cinema. However, Tarantino’s work as a whole is still viewed critically. The accusation that the director has not yet made a film of his own, but has always chosen only the best from all his favorite films, is still around today. In this article, we want to take a look at the best Quentin Tarantino that you should watch before you die!
In seventh place, that sounds like mediocrity. But actually, one Tarantino hit follows the next in this list, starting with “Reservoir Dogs.” For probably one of the best debuts of all time, this diamond-robbery-goes-wrong drama, the one-time video store clerk Tarantino immediately succeeded in getting some of the best actors of the nineties in front of the camera. Only those who see the noir film again today realize how long 1992 was: Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel (one of Tarantino’s biggest supporters), Michael Madsen, and above all, the young Steve Buscemi, all still fully in the juice.
These days, it is mainly the smart alecks among the (amateur) critics who call “Reservoir Dogs” the then 29-year-old’s greatest feat to date because here, he quotes relatively little from film history. As if tributes otherwise only arise out of laziness!
In a more recent interview, the director Kevin Smith noted that “Reservoir Dogs” allowed him and other young filmmakers freedom. If killers in suits philosophize about Madonna’s “Material Girl,” and Tarantino gets away with it – so much the better. The director’s trademark non-linear narrative style and endless discussions about seemingly trivial things are not only applied here but perfected right away.
Then there are the sudden outbursts of violence – nobody stains car backseats more beautifully with bodily fluids than Tarantino, and nobody shows the wretchedness of tuxedo wearers bleeding from every orifice as drastically as he does.
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Tarantino also made a kick out of the risky pairing of beautiful songs with unbearable images in his debut. As Mr Blonde (Michael Madsen) cuts off poor Nash’s ear during a torture scene, “Stuck in the Middle with You” plays from Stealers Wheel. An alienation of purpose formula that leads to traumatic viewing experiences, it is impossible to imagine today’s cinema without it.
