BULLET PROOF: TARANTINO’S CV
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Rarely has a first film been so lauded as Tarantino’s honouramong-thieves tale, which not only established his film-geek bona fides but solidified a cast of top-tier character actors who would go on to collaborate with Tarantino for the rest of his career.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
While Reservoir Dogs put Tarantino on cineastes’ radars, it was his Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece that launched a thousand imitators. What was in that glowing gold briefcase? Likely Tarantino’s perfect screenplay, the crackling energy of which he has yet to fully recreate.
Four Rooms (1995)
A failed experiment between the director and fellow early- ’90s hot shots Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell, Tarantino’s contribution consisted of the short film The Man From Hollywood, a darkly comic segment starring an uncredited Bruce Willis.
Jackie Brown (1997)
This Elmore Leonard adaptation has garnered a more glowing reassessment after an initially “meh” audience reception, with critics singling out its twisty narrative and stellar turns from grindhouse fixtures Pam Grier and Robert Forster.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Tarantino wisely cut this bloodsoaked epic in half, kicking off with a Shaw Bros.-inspired tale of chopsocky revenge. Although every one of his films is loaded with cinematic call-backs, this is likely the only one where nearly every frame can be traced to one influence or another.
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
The second half of Tarantino’s saga is more of a Spaghetti Western, with Uma Thurman’s assassin battling a washed-up cowboy and being buried alive before taking down the titular villain in his south-of-theborder lair.
Death Proof (2007)
Another failed experiment with Rodriguez, Tarantino made this pseudo-slasher as part of the pair’s Grindhouse double bill. The two films together may have been too much to ask of audiences, but when viewed separately, Death Proof holds up as a sly take on the genre.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Considered by many to be Tarantino’s most ambitious effort, this riff on the men-ona-mission war film is also his most blatant love letter to the medium of cinema itself. Consider Michael Fassbender’s film critic-turned-spy, or the fact that the climax takes place in a theatre set ablaze thanks to a stockpile of old film reels. Oh, and it also features Jewish gore master Eli Roth turning Hitler’s body into a pile of bloody flesh. Fun for everyone!