He cut his teeth with hard-boiled, crime-fiction caper films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and became a filmmaking force to be reckoned with. He followed up by dabbling in different genres and adapting a novel by Elmore Leonard that became Jackie Brown. A six-year hiatus allowed him to create a revenge epic that was split into two parts and proved he could direct an action film with Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2.
Then, in 2005, Quentin Tarantino helmed a special two episode stint on C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation that echoed events in Kill Bill Vol. 2, and reunited with filmmaking partner-in-crime Robert Rodriguez for two more ambitious collaborations - one that resulted in the Director's biggest failure comercially. From the ashes of that debacle came an outstanding effort that became his highest-grossing film at the box-office to date.
Sin City: A Favour For A Favour
During post-production on Kill Bill Vol. 2, Tarantino cut a deal with friend and collaborator Robert Rodriguez to provide the original score for the film. Rodriguez agreed to the task, asking only in return Tarantino's promise to involve himself with Rodriguez's 2005 film adaptation of the Sin City Frank Miller graphic novels in an effort to learn about filming with a digital system and green screen backgrounds.
The film's colour palette was primarily black-and-white with instances of colour thrown into specific shots to reflect the style of the books. Tarantino directed one dialogue-heavy scene a few minutes long in the middle segment of the film called 'The Big Fat Kill', between actors Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro.
Grindhouse - Death Proof: Admirable, But A Format Best Left Buried
The year 2007 brought about a unique project for both Directors to collaborate once again. With each filming an individual movie, Rodriguez and Tarantino wanted to deliver a double bill experience for audiences in the tradition of vintage 1970's cinema known as 'Grindhouse' pictures. These films typically indulged in twisted formulas of over-the-top horror, sex, and seediness while maintaining a B-movie type quality.
Tarantino would make an on camera appearance in Rodriguez's sci-fi/horror opener Planet Terror, and direct and co-star in the closing film Death Proof. Proof featured Kurt Russell (The Thing) as a stuntman serial killer who likes to crash his death-mobile into unsuspecting groups of women on the road. But when he attempts this on a particular trio who enjoy being risky daredevils themselves, the tables become hilariously turned.
No question Tarantino's film was the better of the two, but still nowhere near his best. It maintained a look similar to the artistic visuals of Jackie Brown, and used dialogue in the spirit of Pulp Fiction - even rotating a camera move around a long conversation at a diner table.
The ambitious theatrical endeavour that seemed to long ago outgrow its appeal proved costly for producer Harvey Weinstein and Miramax Films. As a result, the movies were initially split apart on DVD to salvage some cost before being offered together again.
"When I give props to these movies, you have to understand - it's not like they were all good. There's an expression: You have to drink a lot of milk before you can appreciate cream. Well, with exploitation movies, you have to drink a lot of milk-gone-bad before you can even appreciate milk! That's what part of the love of these movies is - going through the rummage bin and finding the jewels." - Quentin Tarantino, IMDb
Inglorious Basterds: Tarantino Takes On Nazi's
The filmmaker would 'gloriously' redeem himself in 2009 with his alternate version of World War II - Inglorious Basterds; about a team of radical Jewish-American soldiers who seek out Nazi targets in order to kill and scalp them for their atrocities. The film purposely reworked history into a fictional tale that suited Tarantino's storytelling needs, and he delivered a wickedly funny and violent film that made an impact not felt since Fiction's height of popularity.
"Some people will like Inglorious Basterds. Some people won't, but it was made with all the passion I've made everything with--except maybe my first film, which was probably made with more passion than I'll ever have again." - Quentin Tarantino, IMDb
His knack for incredible casting truly paid off here with Brad Pitt in the lead, and a brilliant Academy-Award winning performance from Christoph Waltz as German Jew-hunter, Hans Landa. Even in the era of World War II, Basterds still pays heavy homage to films and theater experiences of that time, but the film roars with visceral fierceness in several superb sequences that puts Tarantino at the top of his game, even introducing a character's bloody backstory in the middle of an engaging scene.
Django Unchained: Next On Deck
December 25th, 2012, will mark the day that Tarantino delivers his next film Django Unchained - a pure Western that again stars an impeccable cast of talented actors and Tarantino alumni with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and more. Foxx plays the titular character, a slave-turned-bounty hunter who sets out to rescue his wife from an evil plantation owner. Knowing Tarantino, it should be one heck of a ride with another killer cast.
There is also the possibility of a Kill Bill Vol. 3 in the works down the road, but time will tell . Regardless, the fact that he's a director who grew up loving movies and continues to reflect that ingenuitive passion within his own work makes Quentin Tarantino deserving of the recognition as a cinematic visionary.
Ryan Young - Ryan Young is a Film and Sports article/review writer, based in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.
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