I hear about movies made especially by film school students that ripped off Tarantino’s style after Pulp Fiction (and Reservoir Dogs) came out. Let’s name some- films w/ guys in suits going around shooting people while talking about pop culture and insignificant things and swearing a lot.
Presto chango instant Tarantino? :eek:
I think it’s a little more involved than that.
The biggest (and most irritating) is Boondock Saints, in which a Boston Fratboy Bartender saw “Pulp Fiction” and said to himself, “Shit, bro, I should do something like that.”
I’m just quoting all that I’ve read in various places- that after Pulp Fiction (and even Reservoir Dogs) came out, that a lot of imitators came along and made films w/ gangsters who chatted about pop culture, who went around shooting people while chatting about insignifica, but that these movies basically suck w/o Tarantino’s skill.
I was in elementary school when Pulp Fiction came out; I missed out on these films. What are they? Can anyone name some? I’ve heard them mentioned in many different places, so they must exist?
Of course, lets not discuss the other influences Pulp Fiction had on the medium- non linear storytelling, strange techniques, etc. PLEASE let’s just discuss the topic at hand.
Yeah, I saw that one, and I totally agree- it tries so hard to be Tarantino, yet it’s one of the top 3 worst movies I’ve ever seen.
Another one is Legion of the Dead, which throws together ideas stolen from Pulp Fiction and From Dusk till Dawn- you don’t wanna know!
I am thinking of Killing Zoe (by Tarantino’s co-writer Roger Avary) and Two Days In the Valley (violent; black humor; large ensemble cast). The Usual Suspects came out in 1995, a year after Pulp Fiction, and I remember some people dismissed it as a ripoff, but it was really unique and special in its own right.
The first time I specifically recall thinking, “Wow, what a lame Tarantino knockoff” was when I saw trailers for The Big Hit. But that came out in 1998, four years after Pulp Fiction, so I’m sure there were earlier ones.
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead from 1995 is what immediately comes to mind. Maybe not Pulp Fiction ( 1994 ), but certainly trading on the Tarantino oeuvre. Pretty lousy film by the way. IMHO.
- Tamerlane
Go is another “Tarantinoesque” movie that was made after Pulp Fiction.
Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which in turn inspired an onslaught of Brit knock-offs: Gangster No.1, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Layer Cake, Love Honour and Obey, Rancid Aluminium, etc.
I got a kick out of that one, and Snatch.
This one may be a collaboration, I’m not sure but I also liked “The Misbehavers” from Four Rooms.
Ah, Reservoir Frogs. Still, no movie which shows Julie Delpy’s tits is entirely a waste of time.
There’s also Reindeer Games. It wasn’t, to put it mildly, good. Hard to believe the same guy who made this made Ronin. Maybe he had the flu.
there was some flick with Harvey Kitel (spelling is dead) who was In Resevior Dogs where he was the Hero that was filmed in a very Pulp fictionish manner, and was lame as hell.
another vote here for “things to do in dever when your’re dead” sucking balls
Bad Lieutenant? Or City of Industry?
I actually like Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead, even if it is so derivative I completely forgot about it. It has a good cast, and I’m a sucker for Christopher Walken acting menacing and Steve Buscemi acting in anything. Plus it uses Tom Waits’ “Jockey Full of Bourbon” as the opening theme music, and you can’t go wrong with that!
One of the most obvious Tarantino knock offs that I saw was a thing called American Strays with Eric Roberts. It consisted of several unconnected characters driving around the desert in different storylines until they end up at the same diner for a violent showdown at the end. It basically uses the QT formula of gangsters making small talk and sudden punctuations of violence. Only the dialogue was just lame and unfunny and the violence was uninvolving and uninteresting. It was a perfect illustration of why QT’s style is much harder to pull off than it looks.
Snatch was the one that came to mind for me. It not only felt like a Tarantino ripoff, it apparently borrows (and winks) at Guy Ritchie’s other big movie a lot. Snatch was so hollow and devoid of substance that if you could hit it, it would make a pinging sound.
You saw the trailers, but did you see the movie? It was a comedy. One that beared virtually zero resemblance to Pulp Fiction except maybe the fact that it featured guys with guns.
Snatch, a Tarantino ripoff? For christ’s sake, the movie practically had “GUY RITCHIE!” super-imposed over the screen for its duration. I’ll agree with you that I hated it the first time I saw it. I think part of it might’ve been that I only understood about 1/10th of the dialogue that first time. I ended up seeing it again by accident and caught a lot more that time around. All told, it probably took me 10 viewings to really catch every subtlety and turn of phrase, but I really grew to appreciate it as a wonderful and nuanced film. I recommend anyone that didn’t care for it give it another chance.
I have no idea why, but this is also the movie that immediately came to my mind when trying to think of Pulp Fiction ripoffs.
What I’m bracing myself for now is the Kill Bill ripoffs. I just saw a trailer tonight that seemed to feature Lucy Liu in another tough-girl role, seemingly reminiscent of O’Ren-Ishii.
My first thought for this thread was Desperado, and now thinking about it, From Dusk Till Dawn comes to mind, both by Robert Rodriguez, who I believe also did the aforementioned segment from Four Rooms, “The Misbehavers”. Of course, QT played roles in these, and now checking imdb I see he also wrote the screenplay to FDTD, so that makes sense.
It never occured to me to think of Go as Quentin-esc but I understand the association. Both that and Pulp Fiction tell the same stories from various characters’ points of view, sometimes overlapping, so that occassionally you see the same scene twice from different POVs. (boy does that last sentence sound redundantly redundant. I soooo need sleep).
Yes, and the words “GUY RITCHIE!” were followed by “a man who would like to be Quentin Tarantino, as evidenced by the following collection of eccentric criminal characters in wacky, violent situations peppered with odd dialogue.” 