The Films of Quentin Tarantino – Ranked!

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com)

Tarantino as most know him best: behind the camera
(source: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

For all the faults of the modern Academy Awards and their apparent indifference to diversity, there will undeniably be some comfort to see Quentin Tarantino once again walk the red carpet at this year’s ceremony. A man often referred to by many superlatives – genius, maestro, visionary – has not been without his share of critics or controversy, and this year’s offering Once Upon a Time.. in Hollywood is proving no exception. But with the film up for ten nominations – a Tarantino record – and with apparently only one entry left to come in his film canon, is there any better time to see how his films measure up against each other?

A brief note before we continue: Tarantino has been a film-maker in the most literal sense throughout his entire career – from actor to executive producer, the list of films carrying his name in some form is long and numerous. For the purpose of this article, we’ll be focusing on the nine films that carry the distinction of being “Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino”.

9. DEATH PROOF (2009)

Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) on the lookout for his next prey
(source: Dimension Films)

It’s very easy to label Quentin Tarantino as a “champion of cinema” – and perhaps easier still for his critics, “a thief”; a film-maker who homages (or “steals”) from works of yesteryear in a glorious feast of filmic history. To his credit he has never denied any of it, and if any one of his films embodies all of that, it’s probably Death Proof.

Whilst an obvious lover of typical “classic” cinema, the former video store employee has always been outspoken of his love for the bloodthirsty exploitation cinema of the mid-to-late 20th century. With his close friend and fellow director Robert Rodriguez, he released Death Proof alongside Planet Terror in 2007 as a tribute to the ‘grindhouse’ double features of years past. The tale of Stuntman Mike (played by a resurgent Kurt Russell) stalking and killing beautiful young women is straight out of a seedy 70s drive-in theater, from a genre that was niche even in its heyday.  

Unfortunately, these ingredients were too much for many to stomach, and even the use of his famous name was unable to spark audience acclaim for a film admittedly best suited for others who might miss these gory, grainy pictures. Many will champion this film’s placement on this list as the director’s “worst”, although the more accurate adjective would perhaps be “weakest”. It sits at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, a score that many film-makers would proudly call their highest. A largely misunderstood work to be sure, this is still a fine film – it just lacks the cross-demographic appeal of his other works.

8. THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015)

“The Hangman” (Kurt Russell) and “The Major” (Samuel L. Jackson) stand off
(source: The Weinstein Company)

Coming immediately after previous Western Django Unchained (if a three year gap counts as “immediately”), The Hateful Eight represents Quentin Tarantino’s first real return to a previously-explored genre. Released in the holiday season of 2015, this three-hour musing on the nature of justice and vengeance stands up as more of a ‘classic’ Western than does its predecessor, despite the much heavier use of blood here.

The influence of Sergio Leone on Tarantino’s career has been clear from the start, not least in his liberal borrowings of music from the legendary Italians’ legendary films. The Hateful Eight takes this reverance to a whole new level, homaging the auteur’s penchant for ponderous takes with, amongst others, a four-minute opening shot. Leone’s go-to composer Ennio Morricone even provided an entire soundtrack for the film just as he did for The Dollars Trilogy, which produced the maestro’s first Oscar at the sixth attempt. The Hateful Eight also continues the Leone-esque “deconstruction” of the Old West, supplanting the Sun-baked desert settings for a claustrophobic and dirty snow cabin where the genre’s stereotypes all go to die – literally.

Making a Western in the modern age of cinema is a risky enough move; making such a self-indulgent and studious Western is borderline outrageous. With a marathon run-time and a stubborn stew of contemplative monologues, The Hateful Eight is an intravenous drip of  pure Tarantino. As much as one might enjoy the director and even this film itself, it’s not difficult to see why his 8th film struggled to replicate “The Tarantino Effect”.

7. JACKIE BROWN (1997)

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) considers her next move
(source: Miramax Films)

Due respect to Beatrix Kiddo, who literally took a sword to the soul of her male oppressors, but the title hero in Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s greatest female character. Over the film (adapted from legendary author Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch and anointed as the ornery writer’s favourite adaptation of any of his works), we see Jackie (Pam Grier) fighting against it all: a criminal record, suffocating law enforcement, stifling employment, relentless criminals and the slightest hint of ageism. What’s more, she does it all without ever herself shooting a bullet.

Despite boasting regular favourite Samuel L. Jackson and, for the first and only time, the legendary Robert De Niro, the world has somehow forgotten (or never recognised) the strengthof Quentin Tarantino’s third film. Reminiscent of the pure story cinema of the time championed by the Coen Brothers (Fargo) and Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight), this is a slow burner even by Tarantino’s gratuitous standards. Yet, with its promise of a better life and an uncharacteristically sweet romance between Jackie and Max Cherry (an Oscar-nominated Robert Forster), it may be the most hopeful film the director has made.

Like Death Proof many years later, this film and its tribute to “blaxploitation” cinema represented a niche to which many of his fanbase had no connection. In the face of all its qualities it feels cruel to say, but Jackie Brown still stands as a somewhat lacking Tarantino feature.

6. RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)

The titular “Reservoir Dogs” (l-r: Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Chris Penn, Lawrence Tierney, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi) out in force
(source: Miramax Films)

Any good script agent or tutor will tell you, every story is only as good as its opening act. Certainly, the cinematic odyssey of Quentin Tarantino would not be what it is without Reservoir Dogs.

It is (and was) a sign of his undeniable and natural talent that Harvey Keitel, at the height of his powers, put belief and money into the then-unknown filmmaker’s script to get it made, going so far as to star in and produce the tense stand-off thriller. As for the rest of the cast, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi and Michael Madsen in particular might be good, strong Hollywood names now but back then, they were as unpredictable an entity as the film-maker with whom they co-starred. Their gratitude for such an opportunity is clear in their repeated star turns in his work, with Roth and Madsen even having small roles in his most recent film.

Reservoir Dogs is a masterclass in both low-budget and pure cinema, the quintessential “indy film” with a grand total of three locations and all major action sequences either inferred or taking place off-screen. The passion of a young director billows out of the film, as does the scrappy and rugged power of such a simple set up – if ever there was a film to show how far desire and ambition can go in the film industry, it’s this.

5. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009)

(l-r) SS Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) and a handful of the Basterds (Omar Ulmer, Eli Roth, Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger)
(source: Universal Pictures)

Success is perhaps best measured in the desire of your critics to fail. If that is the case, then Quentin Tarantino must have felt pretty triumphant after the disappointing returns on Death Proof. What better way to return to form, then, than to invent an entirely-new controversy around your work?

Whether you’ve seen Inglorious Basterds or not, there can be few film fans out there that don’t know about THAT ending. Of course, some of his more recent alternate histories are undoubtedly more controversial – after all, who really has a problem with history’s greatest dictator getting his just desserts? But the fact is, slaughtering Hitler undoubtedly overshadowed what may be Tarantino’s best classically-made film.

Say all you want about the ending, but what about the opening? It’s an exercise in tension, still studied in Film lecture halls the world over, and introduces the world not just to Colonel Hans Landa – the REAL Nazi villain of this story – but to Christoph Waltz, a previously-unknown German-Austrian actor who here gained the first of two Best Supporting Actor Oscars their partnership would bear. And what of his titular adversaries, a ruthless troop of revengers led by an insanely-charismatic Brad Pitt deep in the midst of a career renaissance?

After reaching something of a creative nadir, Tarantino hit a soft reboot here, with an (almost) all-new cast and his first exploration of a bygone era. Unfortunately, most recollections of this movie are reduced to a five-minute window at its climax; perhaps that turbulence is all that stops the Basterds from ranking higher.

4. ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)

Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) debate the future
(source: Sony Pictures)

One day, as all things inevitably must, the film-making career of Quentin Tarantino will come to an end. Whether, as long promised, it will be after his next and tenth film, or if he decides to move past that figure, the fact is this: it will be a mournful day across the world of cinema.

Never a man content to “take it easy” and with his place in cinematic lore already confirmed, the director may well have arrived at his opus a film early. That may seem like a strange thing to say for a film NOT listed as best on this list, and yet one only has to glance at this film to see that it marries all of the quintessential (or should that be Quent-essential) facets of his entire career. Wild violence? Check. A killer score? Check. A lifeblood of vengeance? In the obsessively counter-culture Mansons, check. Revisionist history? Once again at the Manson altar – check. Criticism of the wanton bloodshed, nostalgic screenwriting and “indulgent” runtime? Check, check and check again.

And yet, for all his championing of films from across the globe (taking on some sort of producing role in at least fifteen films outside of his own work), it is within his own work that Tarantino has most improved – or changed – the world of cinema. Is this the year that he finally takes home the golden statue for Best Director? Who can say. But some 27 years after Reservoir Dogs first announced the then-29 year-old onto the cultural landscape, Once Upon a Time.. in Hollywood not only offers his own definitive commentary on that very history, but proves without doubt that its creator still has (his own inimitable and wholly-realised version of) it.

(You can read my full review of this film by clicking here). 

3. DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012)

Django (Jamie Foxx) and Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) iron out their “differences”
(source: Columbia Pictures)

What would you guess Quentin Tarantino’s highest-grossing film to be? With its immense popularity and years of re-screenings, perhaps Pulp Fiction? Or maybe, with modern cinema ticket prices and its walk-of-fame cast list, Once Upon a Time.. in Hollywood?

Admittedly, asking that question here gives away the answer – with a $425 million return on a $100 million budget, the answer to this particular piece of trivia is indeed Django Unchained. But hey, maybe dollar signs aren’t your idea of success? Well how about being his (so far) only film to bring home multiple Academy Awards, with two: the aforementioned Best Supporting Actor repeat for Christoph Waltz, and Tarantino’s second best Original Screenplay win?

This is a Spaghetti Western that unashamedly tackles the deep-set issues of racism and slavery in the contentious South region of America – or a “Southern”, as Tarantino himself called it. It’s a film that juxtaposes these deplorable topics with dream-like setpieces (like Big Daddy’s plantation), or unforgivable racism with inescapable quotability. It’s all led by the best Tarantino twosome since Jules and Vincent – Waltz’s Dr. Schultz and Jamie Foxx in the title role, as a righteous bounty hunter that does the original Django (Franco Nero) proud.

Django Unchained also gave the world what may be Tarantino’s greatest on- and off-screen appearances; an explosive turn as an Aussie coach gun in the film, and an infamous response to Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s questioning on the film’s bloodshed. Financial triumph, award success and viral media content? This may well be the most contemporary entry in his entire filmography.

2. KILL BILL (2003/04)

“The Bride” (Uma Thurman) and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) duel in the House of Blue Leaves
(source: Miramax)

So, first thing’s first – Kill Bill is one film, not two. For all the shortcuts that Tarantino has (or may) taken to stay within his self-imposed “10 film” limit, this is not one of them. And that’s a good thing: it’s difficult enough ranking the nine films he’s released as it is, let alone picking between two volumes of one “Whole Bloody Affair”. 

That said, there are two clear and separate tones, two distinct beating hearts in Volumes 1 and 2. From violent, bloody samurai tribute in the vein (or artery?) of Lady Snowblood, to dusty neo-Western that would inform the Coen Brothers and Taylor Sheridan, Uma Thurman as ‘The Bride’ Beatrix Kiddo takes viewers on a four-hour ride that will leave you either fist-pounding or tears-streaming, depending on how you connect with the heroine and her mysterious nemesis, the eponymous Bill (David Carradine).

It’s also the last film of Tarantino’s “first half”, the four films that would lay the groundwork for his later genre-specific stories. The violence, the era-bending soundtrack; the endlessly quotable conversations between impossibly cool characters on both sides – Kill Bill has all that the director had already showcased to that point. But as Beatrix and the film’s poster would tell you, this is “a roaring rampage of revenge”, and revenge would come to form a large part of the next decade of Tarantino storytelling. And what’s more, it may well be his coolest film. Except for, that is..

1. PULP FICTION (1994)

Mrs. Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) dance - and dance good
(source: Miramax Films)

You might argue that this may not be the best Quentin Tarantino film. After all, this list is still majorly opinion-based; however, if there is one thing that cannot be argued about Pulp Fiction, it is that this is the most Quentin Tarantino film. It’s the one that inspires the most rip-offs, homages and cosplaying – hell, its title card has even become a source of merchandise.

Pulp Fiction is the work that stands as the benchmark for both the director’s style and quality – a potential Star Trek film would be “Pulp Fiction in space” and his latest outing is, in his words, “the closest to Pulp Fiction that I’ve done“. Rare is it that one film-maker would be so inextricably linked to a single project; usually, it’s actors who struggle to overcome the shadow of their past projects and for those who do, the word used is “typecast”. No, this film has defined Quentin Tarantino since it first premiered at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and won him his first Academy Award (for Best Original Screenplay) the following year.

Bringing together both film junkies and Saturday night channel-hoppers, this interweaved and time-hopping saga of Los Angeles crime and dangerous passion serves as the perfect introduction to AND essay of one man’s skill as an auteur. It’s real-world cast is rivalled only by the characters that they portray, living on a quarter-century after the film’s release. There can be no doubt about it: Pulp Fiction is, quite literally, the best ‘Film by Quentin Tarantino’.