It’s odd
– over the last few months, I watched all 13 of these movies – and other than
Four Rooms, I enjoyed each and every one of them. I am more convinced than ever
that Tarantino has never made a bad film as a director. On any scale, this
would be considered a success. And yet, I am a touch disappointed – not in the
films themselves, which were all great, but because I’m not quite sure I
discovered anything new in the films. When I compare my re-ranking of Coen or
Kubrick films from before a re-watch and after, I had wild swings in my
thoughts on some films. Here, the movies were – well, pretty much exactly like
I thought they were. There were no real discoveries here. But what was there? A
hell of a lot of fun, a lot of style, a lot of great dialogue – and movies that
have grown in substance over time – culminating with his latest, which of
course, was the one surprise here. I still think Tarantino is a great director
and writer. His style has imprinted itself on my movie DNA – because of when I
came to him. And it’s a relief that I can revisit any of these films, and still
have a great time. It is a great filmography – and perhaps my knowing it so
well meant I couldn’t be surprised by it anymore. Perhaps my only real hot take
is this – Tarantino is a better director than he is a writer.
Anyway,
here is the re-ranking.
13. Four Room (1995) – No one
except Robert Rodriguez seemed to completely understand the right way to
approach this film – Tarantino’s segment feels like something tossed off on the
fly, kind of fun, but not quite – like someone aping Tarantino the man himself.
There is a reason the film is mostly forgotten these days.
12. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) – A fun
B-movie with a fun screenplay by Tarantino, and some great moments of writing
in the first half, before director Robert Rodriguez takes over and a makes a
fun B-movie in the second half. It’s not great art – but it is great trash.
11. True Romance (1993) – The one
film with a Tarantino screenplay (so that doesn’t include Natural Born Killers,
so re-written it’s not really his film at all anymore) – where the direction
and screenplay seem to be working against each other. Still, there are some
great moments and scenes throughout, and great performances. But director Tony
Scott doesn’t seem to really get why what Tarantino does is so brilliant. A
film that I can keep re-watching, and always enjoy, while never quite
reconciling the differences.
10. The Hateful Eight (2015) – This is
the most problematic and weakest film of Tarantino’s career as a director – and
yet, I have to say I still love it. It’s Tarantino lashing out at everyone who
has attacked his previous films for a variety of reasons – and still wraps it
all up in a fascinating, entertaining, brazen, violent package. Yes, it’s
problematic – but that’s kind of the point.
9. Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) – This is
Tarantino at his most self-indulgent, even more so than Volume I, as the film
is almost all diversions and side trips – bookended by the Bride/Bill scenes
(with one in the middle too just so you remember what the movie is about here).
Still, Tarantino indulges himself better than just about anyone, so while it
doesn’t have the eye-popping brilliance of the action sequences of Volume I –
it replaces it with big dialogue set pieces, that as satisfying in a very
different way.
8. Death Proof (2007) – This is
the shortest movie that Tarantino has directed since Reservoir Dogs – and it is
a pretty pure distillation of Tarantino’s influences, into one violent package.
You still get all the dialogue you would ever want in a Tarantino film – two
pretty long hangout scenes, and a breather in between the two groups of girls –
and ending with one hell of a car chase. This is clearly the most underrated
film Tarantino has ever directed – pure cinematic joy.
7. Reservoir Dogs (1992) - In many
ways the simplest and most straight-forward film that Tarantino has ever
directed – a brilliant strategy for a first time director working without a lot
of money. Still, it is such a perfectly written and directed movie – which each
of the major roles is perfectly cast. It is also endlessly re-watchable – and
brilliant. Love it each and every time I watch it.
6. Django Unchained (2012) – Probably
the film that improved the most for me on this re-watch – which is odd, because
on this rewatch I also more clearly saw the flaws than the times I had
previously watched it. But here, the messiness of the movie works in its favor,
and the history it is addressing is messy. And Tarantino really does have a
masterful touch on the tone of the movie’s violence, which is wildly all over
the place, but with specific intent every time. A great truly great film – that
I think is even better than before.
5. Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) – Here,
Tarantino is stretching himself as a filmmaker more than any time before (and
arguably since). In the last 45-minute action set pieces – really the only
sequence of its kind in Tarantino’s entire filmography – he has made one of the
best action sequences in film history. And yet, for all the excess, he grounds
it with Uma Thurman’s great performance – and a wonderful side trip to make O-Ren
into more than just the big bad guy. A brilliant genre exercise.
4. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood (2019)
This is a
first blush opinion here – so it may move up or down a little (up is more
likely, as really, the more I think about it, these top four films could come
in pretty much any order) – but I’m erring on the side of caution here putting
it here. It is a big, bold film in every way – and I cannot wait to see it
again (and again and again).
3. Jackie Brown (1997) – A perfect
mixture of the styles of Tarantino and Elmore Leonard – a twisty, turn crime
thriller, heavier on narrative than anything else Tarantino has ever done, but
also he never lets that narrative get in the way of the characters. Also,
perhaps, the most realistic emotional film Tarantino has ever made. Deserves to
rank very high on any list of great Tarantino.
2. Pulp Fiction (1994) - Watching
it again, I was struck by the mastery of tone in the film, how Tarantino is
able to get different tones in each of the segments, and oftentimes within the
same segment, or scene. It is an ambitious film with its mixed up timelines,
brilliantly directed (I’ve come around to the side that Tarantino is a better
director than writer in this rewatch) – and every roles is well cast. It is a
masterpiece and one of the most influential films ever made – and deservedly
so.
1.Inglorious Basterds (2009) – Since
2009, I have been one of the few who seem to think that Inglorious Basterds is
the best film Tarantino has ever made – and re-watching all of these films only
convinces me I have been right this past decade. It has some of the best set
pieces of Tarantino’s career – including one of the best opening scenes in
movie history – and it’s the film that fully brings Tarantino’s love of
dialogue and cinema into thematic line with the rest of the film. It is a
masterpiece – and it is the best film he has ever made.
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