Quentin Tarantino: His Movies, Ranked | YT Script

Quentin Tarantino: His Films, Ranked

Introduction

Hello everyone, this is Sean from sfvids and today I will be ranking all 8 movies both written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. A human encyclopedia of cinema itself, Tarantino is one of the most notable independent filmmakers alive today. Utilizing his own passion and knowledge for the industry, QT has crafted a number of fantastic movies, chronicling periods of history that many directors have not dared looked back on. In this video, you will come to learn the order in which I organize Tarantino's films, starting with the worst and ending with the best. Let it be known that spoilers may be ahead - parts of my analysis may contain plot-heavy information that could displease unknowing viewers. With that said, let's dive into the filmography of one of the most consistent directors of this era.

#8: Death Proof. While not downright horrible, as a number of critics have labelled it, Quentin's 2007 exploitation-esque film fails to be as provocative as his other films. The reason that I do not consider this movie 'awful' as I would with any modern project bearing semblance to it, is the fact that the majority of it is purposefully orchestrated to be akin to B-rate '60s and '70s cinema. This film is undeniably QT's homage to a forgotten era of movies, and his vision is paired with long-time friend Robert Rodriguez. In fact, Death Proof is the second half of Grindhouse, the collaborative effort of both directors that incorporates a number of genres and inspirations. Although it is possible that Death Proof is more significant when part of a larger whole, as a one-off it could not captivate me for more than a few minutes at a time. It is clear that the characters are meant to be hollow, inspired solely by their sex appeal and flashiness (perfectly exemplified by Zoe Bell's stuntwoman character). The utterly dry dialogue and story are Quentin's intended machination, whose sole mission was to achieve the exact feeling of these movies. Cited by Tarantino himself was the influence from notorious Russ Meyer film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! which is incredibly similar to the film, providing the basis for its cast. Another direct reference would be Richard Sarafian's 1971 picture Vanishing Point, which perhaps gave way to the birth of Stuntman Mike. And, while Death Proof may have accomplished the raw sensation of these movies, that point is likely irrelevant to most of the audience. The main problem for this film is that it fails to actually be as entertaining and profound as QT's other works. Of course half of the film is a joke and a reference combined, but that doesn't give it an excuse to not be pleasant for an audience who may not understand both the reference and the joke. Quentin is renowned for his dialogue, unconventional narrative, and stylistic decisions that make his work as rich as it is. With Death Proof, the former two go out the window just for the purpose of buffing the third aspect. I personally was not appreciative of this design. Death Proof certainly has its moments of intoxicating glee that always find their way into a Tarantino film; but the majority of this piece is restricted to imitating other art just for the sake of pleasing the film gods.

#7: Django Unchained. When it comes to Quentin Tarantino's filmography, there are two glaring misfires that I immediately think of. For me, Death Proof and Django Unchained are by far his worst films. What I've mainly just covered with Death Proof, a film too unaccessible to be good, is actually a polar opposite to Django. This picture is so easy to follow that one begins to question the basis of the narrative. Django, a former slave now freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, becomes a bounty hunter himself as he fights for his wife in a tale of liberation. I'd like to stray from calling Django Unchained 'tasteless' but I am just not a fan of the way the subject matter is pursued by Tarantino. There are a good deal of comedic implications in this movie that detract from what would have been a dark but sincere experience. Django is a hollow character, with little about his personality or origins fleshed out. We come to learn that his wife is stuck in Candieland, one of the largest plantations in the south. Having killed the Brittle Brothers, we come to understand that the rest of the movie will serve as our hero's additional retribution. Quentin appears to think that past oppression serves its purpose to make us automatically love the undefined character of Django. Really, anything could be farther from the truth. Viewers are truly drawn to Dr. Schultz, whose natural wit and affability towards slaves keeps him afloat as a bounty hunter. The real issue I had with this film though, is its flawed interpretation of the antebellum South. Quentin leaves certain elements out and keeps other things, for the purpose of keeping his narrative afloat rather than accurately displaying the 1850s. Of course, it is a near impossible task to accurately display a version of slavery that will garner everyone's praise. But Tarantinian violence does not fit the backdrop of American history when it comes to the oppressed and the oppressors. When Django executes his former master near the beginning of the film, it feels perfectly nuanced. But by the end he devolves to merely massacring anyone who stands in his way, creating a form of revenge porn that seems insincere from an American director of Quentin's caliber. This was a topic that QT tried to cover and just didn't get right- everything seemed a little bit off. In the the end, the whole movie felt like a bit of a joke rather than an interesting take on slavery. Even DiCaprio's role as the revolting Monsieur Candie did not feel like the right fit. It's essentially a directorial blip on the radar from an otherwise very solid array of films.