# Of Tarantino's 9 films which do you believe is the best? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 22, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496 "2023-03-22T15:16:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/21 "2023-03-22T16:32:40Z")
True Romance is the best one he wrote even if he didn’t direct it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/22 "2023-03-22T16:36:15Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Jay Sebring is recent enough to be remembered, and it seems gratuitous to use him and Tate as props in a movie that serves…what purpose exactly? This is a fair point, but I doubt that it’s something that most less sophisticated movie watchers would consider. I don’t think it explains why 30% of people didn’t like it, I’m mystified that it’s ranked below Death Proof. From this it seems that maybe people just found it too slow and meandering until the end, based on expectations from his prior movies. [Unconventional Tarantino but Still Satisfying: Rotten Tomatoes Users Weigh in on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/unconventional-tarantino-but-still-satisfying-rotten-tomatoes-users-weigh-in-on-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/23 "2023-03-22T16:41:34Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’m surprised that _Once Upon a Time_ only got 70% with viewers. Why didn’t people like it? I didn’t like it partly because it was creepy wish fulfillment. Yeah, I wish those people hadn’t been slaughtered either, but I was living in L.A. at the time of the murders. He really didn’t capture the _zeitgeist._ It was more of a cartoonish, hyper-violent pastiche. I admired the look of it it, but as a movie I thought it was rather dumb. Oh, and waaaay too long. I kept waiting for that damn Bruce Lee fight scene to be over – it was so boring. YMMV, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/24 "2023-03-22T16:52:19Z")
I’m not much of a fan - I’ve only seen 5 of the 9 listed - but I thought Reservoir Dogs was pretty good and picked that. > [@carrps](#): > > It was more of a cartoonish, hyper-violent pastiche. That captures my thoughts on most of what I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/25 "2023-03-22T16:56:25Z")
True. Even _Inglorious Basterds_ had a real coyote/roadrunner energy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/26 "2023-03-22T17:19:28Z")
I’d rank them 1. Pulp Fiction 2. Reservoir Dogs 3. Inglorious Basterds 4. Jackie Brown 5. Django Unchained 6. Kill Bill Vol 1 7. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 8. Kill Bill Vol 2 9. Hateful Eight 10. Death Proof Kill Bill is two movies. The first is better. The fact his first two movies are my top two may be, I think, because they are somewhat better edited, in part because he couldn’t get away with just doing anything he wanted. His later movies are slowed down too much by a lack of editing; “Hateful Eight” is just Godawful in this regard. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/27 "2023-03-22T17:38:52Z")
RD was okay. Never thought PF was great, though it’s certainly entertaining. JB had about 2.5 minutes of entertainment for me, most of it in the parking lot scene with Robert De Niro and Bridget Fonda. I thought KB II was less bad than KB I. DP was a waste of talent. Disliked IB (but then, I don’t care for war films in general). DU probably seemed better than it was because it was not as bad as the previous five films (also has, imo, QT’s best acting performance). Haven’t seen TH8. OUaTH had great production design, but seemed distasteful (and pointless) on top of the distasteful events it exploits. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/28 "2023-03-22T17:47:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If he were not, this thread wouldn’t exist. It’s true–but it’s also true that I’m not the least bit inclined to pay attention when he claims that two movies are actually one movie through special directorial quantum entanglement or something. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/29 "2023-03-22T17:54:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I rate **Jackie Brown** highly due to the existance of **Rum Punch** , Elmore Leonard’s novel on which Jackie is based. It is one of Leonard’s best (and that’s really saying something). If Rum Punch did not exist, I’d rate Jackie lower. Oh, I’d easily put **Jackie Brown** is his top 2 or 3 in its own right. It’s a great film, even if it isn’t as “typically Tarantino” as his other works. Unsurprisingly for a Tarantino film, the dialogue is top notch. Pam Grier and Robert Forrester give incredible performances, and it’s almost meditative at points on topics like aging and last chances. It’s a movie with a lot of soul, which isn’t something you always see in his work. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/30 "2023-03-22T18:48:49Z")
I’m a fan of Tarantino (second favorite director, after Kubrick). Hard for me to pick a favorite of his films, but I’ll give the edge to **The Hateful Eight** , for its breathtaking scenery and cinematography. I do have to give it one demerit for not having Christoph Waltz, however. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/31 "2023-03-22T19:27:07Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > It was more of a cartoonish, hyper-violent pastiche. > > That captures my thoughts on most of what I’ve seen. Came in to say this. I think it works in Kill Bill (hence my vote), but the others not so much. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/32 "2023-03-22T19:32:17Z")
_Basterds_ might be my favorite movie of all time, which makes this a pretty easy call for me; but _Pulp Fiction_ is a close second. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/33 "2023-03-22T19:38:08Z")
Without question, it’s _Pulp Fiction._ Huge cultural impact, endlessly quotable, rewatchable as hell. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/34 "2023-03-22T19:39:36Z")
My ranking, and why: 1. Kill Bill vol. 1 - The hyperobsessive attention to detail just astounds me. The ability to get a story about an 11yo girl who turned into a pre-teen prostitute so she could kill her parent’s murderer (while having sex with him) past American censors was astonishing. KB was a muscle flex like few films ever, and I was completely gobsmacked at the ending’s reveal. That, alone, made chopping this film in 2 perfectly fine with me. 2. Pulp Fiction. Of course. Had not KB vol 1 hit me in that special zone, this is the obvious #1. 3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I was barely married when PF came out. I [took my daughter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-spoiler-thread/837646/8) to this one. A special memory which enhances this film every time I see it. 4. Death Proof. By far, _by far_, the most enjoyable opening-night screening of any movie I have ever attended. The midnight crowd was drunk, in a great mood, and willing to go along for the ride. Yes, in many ways this can be seen as his worst movie, but fuck it - you had to be there. 5. Kill Bill vol. 2. Funny and poignant, just going to say that the final shot of BB and Beatrice… as the then-father of a girl a little younger than that… fucking _slayed me_. I get that the KB films are noted for their visual acumen, but he really pinpointed some emotional nuance in these films. 6. Jackie Brown. It’s a love letter to Pam Grier, done via an Elmore Leonard adaptation. Who has a problem with that? Also, Robert de Niro is actually funny in this movie, unlike 96% of his post-2000 ‘comedies’. 7. Inglorious Basterds. I kinda feel like the king in _Amadeus_ - too many notes (words). On the other hand, can rank fourth on days that I’m feeling it for this movie. 8. Django Unchained. Saw it twice, it’s a fine movie with some great performances, just kinda doesn’t do it for me. 9. Reservoir Dogs. Good film, just have seen it sooooooooooooo manyyyyy tiiiimes. 10. The Hateful Eight. His only failure. You people ranking it #1 because he put a SuperCinemaScope (or whatever) camera inside a soundstage are freakin’ crazy. Bonkers script, revealing an entire cast of characters to whom I didn’t care if they lived or died. And when they died, I didn’t cheer. Well, you can’t win them all, Quentin. (And I tried seeing the extended version of it, as well as the serialized version of H8, on Netflix. Nope, still a failure.) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/35 "2023-03-22T19:45:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Tarantino is a snooty auteur who thinks a single movie can be released in two parts. Was this his decision? I assume it was the studio’s choice. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/36 "2023-03-22T19:47:08Z")
It was a mutual decision between Weinstein and Tarantino according to this 2003 _Variety_ article: > **[Double ‘Kill’ bill](https://variety.com/2003/film/markets-festivals/double-kill-bill-1117889372/)** > > Quentin Tarantino will not have to prune “Kill Bill” quite so carefully. Miramax now plans to release the three-hour plus pic in two parts, with the first to unspool, as planned, on Oct… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/37 "2023-03-22T19:49:30Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Pam Grier and Robert Forrester give incredible performances, and it’s almost meditative at points on topics like aging and last chances. It’s a movie with a lot of soul, Agree. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert DeNiro, and Bridgett Fonda shine as well. I reread Rum Punch recently (I do that every year as a beach read) and now I’m longing for a rewatch. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/38 "2023-03-22T19:58:26Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Without question, it’s _Pulp Fiction._ > > Huge cultural impact, endlessly quotable, rewatchable as hell. Even if one doesn’t think it’s his BEST, it is absolutely one of the most IMPORTANT movies ever made. Pulp Fiction spawned a whole new 90s-2000s wave of independent auteur cinema. It practically invented a new kind of crime movie. Insanely influential; it ranks with movies like Snow White, Citizen Kane, Star Wars, Bonnie and Clyde, and Toy Story, movies that literally **altered the way movies were made.** ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/39 "2023-03-22T20:04:41Z")
While I ranked it very near the bottom, I do understand the _Hateful 8_ love somewhat, as it’s a spectacularly made film. I just didn’t care for the story at all. For both _Django_ and _H8_, his work reminds me of most everything Scorsese has done since 2000 or so, namely it’s exquisite craft (usually with Robert Richardson’s always exemplary cinematography) but hollow on the inside. The film wonk in me loved that he used the physical lenses that were on the cameras for Ben Hur and shot in a crazy wide scope for interior shots. That wasn’t enough to care enough about all the scenes that went on twice as long as they needed to and the plot twist that was more about his pleasure in pulling it off than the actual storytelling. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496/40 "2023-03-22T20:23:33Z")
I think Jackie Brown gets a boost from me because it doesn’t include the graphically excessive violence of his other movies. I haven’t seen Once or Django, but the others are just steeped in violence. The best part of so many of his movies are the parts where someone doesn’t have blood pouring out of his mouth, when there aren’t brains painted on the wall, it’s when people are interacting in meaningful ways. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-tarantinos-9-films-which-do-you-believe-is-the-best/981496.md?page=3)