I tend to think of Kill Bill as the dividing line, but oddly enough, Part 1 fits in more with his over the top, pop culture driven later style. Part 2 slows down again and allows the characters to develop and naturally, my favorite scene is all the time Bea and Bill get to spend together processing the fact that they still love each other but they’re both black hearted bastards/bitches and they’re gonna try to kill one another.
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Tarantino Movies, Ranked!
- Thread starter Snarf Zagyg
- Start date
I tend to think of Kill Bill as the dividing line, but oddly enough, Part 1 fits in more with his over the top, pop culture driven later style. Part 2 slows down again and allows the characters to develop and naturally, my favorite scene is all the time Bea and Bill get to spend together processing the fact that they still love each other but they’re both black hearted bastards/bitches and they’re gonna try to kill one another.
ShinHakkaider
Adventurer
10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. - Saw this when I was in Amsterdam. Enjoyed it enough but didnt love it. I think that he was talking to a very specific audience with this one.
9. Reservoir Dogs. - I dont understand the love for this one. It's a solid crime thriller and that's it.
8. Jackie Brown. - This is probably his best straight up film in terms of craft and performances.
7. Kill Bill Vol. 2.
6. Kill Bill Vol. 1.
5. Death Proof - I love this movie and it was my intro to Zoe Bell. I met her at NYCC a few years later, she's awesome.
4. Pulp Fiction - Was my favorite Tarantino for a LOOOONG time.
3. Inglorious Basterds. - I love a good men on a mission movie.
2. The Hateful Eight. - I saw this movie in 70mm roadshow version and I think that of all of his movies I've watched this one THE MOST. Great Cast, great characters, great setup. And it's low key one of the greatest stealth remakes EVER.
1. Django Unchained. - I think scene for scene his best and most thrilling movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is a loathsome yet charming top tier villain in this as is Sam Jacksons Samuel. One of the most interesting things to me in this movie is Christoph Waltz's character seeing the brutality of the chattle slavery system up close for the first time and being outright traumatized by it. So much so that it effects his character for the rest of the movie.
9. Reservoir Dogs. - I dont understand the love for this one. It's a solid crime thriller and that's it.
8. Jackie Brown. - This is probably his best straight up film in terms of craft and performances.
7. Kill Bill Vol. 2.
6. Kill Bill Vol. 1.
5. Death Proof - I love this movie and it was my intro to Zoe Bell. I met her at NYCC a few years later, she's awesome.
4. Pulp Fiction - Was my favorite Tarantino for a LOOOONG time.
3. Inglorious Basterds. - I love a good men on a mission movie.
2. The Hateful Eight. - I saw this movie in 70mm roadshow version and I think that of all of his movies I've watched this one THE MOST. Great Cast, great characters, great setup. And it's low key one of the greatest stealth remakes EVER.
1. Django Unchained. - I think scene for scene his best and most thrilling movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is a loathsome yet charming top tier villain in this as is Sam Jacksons Samuel. One of the most interesting things to me in this movie is Christoph Waltz's character seeing the brutality of the chattle slavery system up close for the first time and being outright traumatized by it. So much so that it effects his character for the rest of the movie.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
12. Django Unchained - Tarantino's worst impulses are given free rein here
11. Four Rooms: The Man from Hollywood - This is almost a note for note rehash of the original, as I recall, but still fun and well done
10. True Romance - Not directed by Tarantino, but his voice basically overwrote Tony Scott's
9. From Dusk Till Dawn - A fun Psycho-style bait and switch horror movie, although Tarantino's character is again some of his worst impulses
8. Death Proof
7. The Hateful Eight
6. Inglorious Basterds
5. Jackie Brown
4. Reservoir Dogs
3. Kill Bill - 1 is definitely better than 2, but it's hard to consider the second film as a full movie on its own
2. Pulp Fiction
1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
11. Four Rooms: The Man from Hollywood - This is almost a note for note rehash of the original, as I recall, but still fun and well done
10. True Romance - Not directed by Tarantino, but his voice basically overwrote Tony Scott's
9. From Dusk Till Dawn - A fun Psycho-style bait and switch horror movie, although Tarantino's character is again some of his worst impulses
8. Death Proof
7. The Hateful Eight
6. Inglorious Basterds
5. Jackie Brown
4. Reservoir Dogs
3. Kill Bill - 1 is definitely better than 2, but it's hard to consider the second film as a full movie on its own
2. Pulp Fiction
1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Fair!
I still find Kill Bill to be of a piece with Pulp Fiction, and the movies post-DP to be different. But your opinion is valid as well.
Making the list was difficult because all ten movies have something amazing about them. I am sure that there are people who could credibly say that Reservoir Dogs is the best movie!
That said, while I enjoy Death Proof, I would always rank it last simply because it wasn't trying to do anything other than be a taut grindhouse movie. Which it accomplishes, but for me, that means that it doesn't have that extra oomph of meaning the other films do.
Other than that, I can see a case made for almost any order. Although I think that it is harder to make a case for The Hateful Eight, not because it isn't a very good movie, but just because it (in my opinion) is not quite at the level of his other post-DP movies. But again, that's just like, my opinion, man.
Yeah, Death Proof seemed like QT just goofing around and doing a fun side project with Rodríguez. I didn’t really give it too much thought.
So, The Hateful Eight…I have to rewatch this but I also don’t want to. I just really bounced off of it the one time I watched it. Too derivative of his own work, kind of like he was starting to mimic himself. Maybe that’s uncharitable but it just struck me as wrong.
Mos def. Well, that ... and this-
Some Hateful Eight love.
A good Western is hard to make, and at least since Unforgiven (arguably since High Plains Drifter), the writer and director need to understand both what makes a good western and what new thing they can bring to it. H8 gets both parts right.
Since the 50s, a Western needs to love the landscape, and the landscape has to become a character in the story. Not as a cliche, not just with gorgeous wide shots, but as something that has a personality, is unique, and has an impact on every character that encounters it.
H8 (predictably) plays with this -- the snowstorm, the environmental threat, the door of the cabin needing to be nailed shut, all mean the environment is oppressive and individual. (Canadians can refer to Margaret Atwood's 1970s lit crit Survival, and see echoes of her observations on Canadian literature). The horsecart in the barn, the narrow mountain pass, the need for travel time and mutual protection, the wilderness as a place of refuge and escape... all of this are dead-on perfect for a great Western. (Compare the hideout in Reservoir Dogs -- great location, visually interesting, but not a character.)
There have been winter Westerns before, but he gets it. And with that landscape (not just a setting) everything else follows. Including why all the strangers are holed up in a cabin, which lets QT add the Agatha Christie mystery frame to the Western -- one of the things that the film adds. That's the second part, but it's also why H8 is less rewatchable, I'd suggest -- the narrative core is a mystery, and we know the ending.
I'm not disagreeing with anyone who would put H8 near the bottom of the list -- its certainly in my back half -- but I think it does some wonderful things -- just not cinema-shifting ones, like Pulp Fiction, Basterds, Django, and (possibly) OUATIH.
A good Western is hard to make, and at least since Unforgiven (arguably since High Plains Drifter), the writer and director need to understand both what makes a good western and what new thing they can bring to it. H8 gets both parts right.
Since the 50s, a Western needs to love the landscape, and the landscape has to become a character in the story. Not as a cliche, not just with gorgeous wide shots, but as something that has a personality, is unique, and has an impact on every character that encounters it.
H8 (predictably) plays with this -- the snowstorm, the environmental threat, the door of the cabin needing to be nailed shut, all mean the environment is oppressive and individual. (Canadians can refer to Margaret Atwood's 1970s lit crit Survival, and see echoes of her observations on Canadian literature). The horsecart in the barn, the narrow mountain pass, the need for travel time and mutual protection, the wilderness as a place of refuge and escape... all of this are dead-on perfect for a great Western. (Compare the hideout in Reservoir Dogs -- great location, visually interesting, but not a character.)
There have been winter Westerns before, but he gets it. And with that landscape (not just a setting) everything else follows. Including why all the strangers are holed up in a cabin, which lets QT add the Agatha Christie mystery frame to the Western -- one of the things that the film adds. That's the second part, but it's also why H8 is less rewatchable, I'd suggest -- the narrative core is a mystery, and we know the ending.
I'm not disagreeing with anyone who would put H8 near the bottom of the list -- its certainly in my back half -- but I think it does some wonderful things -- just not cinema-shifting ones, like Pulp Fiction, Basterds, Django, and (possibly) OUATIH.
Mannahnin
Scion of Murgen (He/Him)
10. Death Proof. Great chase scene, but yeah, this isn't really a full movie. It's a reasonably fun indulgent ride with QT, but it's (edit: less than) half of Grindhouse. I was happy to watch the pair in the theater with all the fake trailers in the middle, and that was the designed cinematic experience. For me, DP on its own is too thin.
9. The Hateful Eight. This may be unfair, since I've still only watched it the once (in the theater, and yes in 70mm), but I was underimpressed by this one. Some great performances and dialogue, but I felt like the 70mm was wasted after the opening. And I should really be primed to love this, as I really dig Westerns. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly might be my favorite movie of all time, and Pulp Fiction spent years in my top 5 or 10. I really need to go back and watch it again.
8. Jackie Brown. A great Elmore Leonard adaptation (and I agree with a previous poster that Out of Sight is the other really good one), but it just didn't quite sing for me. It's been years, though, so I should probably revisit it sometime soon and see if I can get more into the characters.
7. Kill Bill Vol. 2. Not quite as great as part 1, but still great. Excellent balance of character and sensation.
6. Kill Bill Vol. 1. Just frickin' amazing.
5. Reservoir Dogs. So tight, taut, tense, and lean. Dialogue, music, and suspense. And yes, incredibly influential.
4. Django Unchained. Outrageous circling around to responsible social commentary is right. It's an amazingly fun and brutal movie.
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Very self-referential, but everything is so well done. It's a love letter, composed like a poem. DiCaprio and Pitt have seldom been better used. Definitely toward the pinnacle Leo's work, IMO. It's one which improved for me on repeat viewings, too.
2. Inglorious Basterds. I do like me a good war movie, but yeah, it's also about movies, vengeance, propaganda, the self-righteous enjoyment of violence (Edit: look at the transition of scene framing and shots in the Bear Jew introduction scene)... Great performances, great cinematography, and multiple incredibly suspenseful scenes. Not merely the first one.
1. Pulp Fiction. It's kind of hard to appreciate how great this was now, in retrospect. We've seen dozens of movies rip it off, whether it's the shuffled chronology, the wise-talking or philosophical thugs, the approach to violence, the irony. I'm more likely to put on Django, Once Upon a Time, IB, or Kill Bill for yet another re-watch, but that's just because I've cracked the bone and sucked the marrow from this one from so many watches back in the day. But yeah, it's an amazing piece of moviemaking, and I have to give it its laurels, even if it's not my go-to anymore.
9. The Hateful Eight. This may be unfair, since I've still only watched it the once (in the theater, and yes in 70mm), but I was underimpressed by this one. Some great performances and dialogue, but I felt like the 70mm was wasted after the opening. And I should really be primed to love this, as I really dig Westerns. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly might be my favorite movie of all time, and Pulp Fiction spent years in my top 5 or 10. I really need to go back and watch it again.
8. Jackie Brown. A great Elmore Leonard adaptation (and I agree with a previous poster that Out of Sight is the other really good one), but it just didn't quite sing for me. It's been years, though, so I should probably revisit it sometime soon and see if I can get more into the characters.
7. Kill Bill Vol. 2. Not quite as great as part 1, but still great. Excellent balance of character and sensation.
6. Kill Bill Vol. 1. Just frickin' amazing.
5. Reservoir Dogs. So tight, taut, tense, and lean. Dialogue, music, and suspense. And yes, incredibly influential.
4. Django Unchained. Outrageous circling around to responsible social commentary is right. It's an amazingly fun and brutal movie.
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Very self-referential, but everything is so well done. It's a love letter, composed like a poem. DiCaprio and Pitt have seldom been better used. Definitely toward the pinnacle Leo's work, IMO. It's one which improved for me on repeat viewings, too.
2. Inglorious Basterds. I do like me a good war movie, but yeah, it's also about movies, vengeance, propaganda, the self-righteous enjoyment of violence (Edit: look at the transition of scene framing and shots in the Bear Jew introduction scene)... Great performances, great cinematography, and multiple incredibly suspenseful scenes. Not merely the first one.
1. Pulp Fiction. It's kind of hard to appreciate how great this was now, in retrospect. We've seen dozens of movies rip it off, whether it's the shuffled chronology, the wise-talking or philosophical thugs, the approach to violence, the irony. I'm more likely to put on Django, Once Upon a Time, IB, or Kill Bill for yet another re-watch, but that's just because I've cracked the bone and sucked the marrow from this one from so many watches back in the day. But yeah, it's an amazing piece of moviemaking, and I have to give it its laurels, even if it's not my go-to anymore.
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