By Leonardo Salazar
Tejano Tribune Film Critic
One of the greatest filmmakers of all time turns 62 on Thursday, March 27: Quentin Tarantino. We decided to celebrate it by talking a little bit about him and whether we could determine his best film.
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1963, Tarantino maintains he has always loved films as his mother used to take him all the time to the cinema. When he was 22, he started working at the “Video Archives” video store in Los Angeles. Originally, Tarantino wanted to be an actor -actually, he was studying Theatre- but then changed his mind because he wanted movies to be HIS movies. So, in his mid-20s, he decided to make his first feature film going to be called “My Best Friend’s Birthday.”
Things didn’t work out and the film got burned in the lab. Tarantino ended up depressed and kind of broke, but then met the producer Lawrence Bender at a party, and things changed dramatically from this moment because Bender was going to produce Tarantino’s first films.
In 1992, Tarantino made his official first film “Reservoir Dogs,” about a group of gangsters who planned to rob a jewelry store, but things got screwed up as they believe there’s a rat among them. Now considered one of the greatest gangster movies of all time, “Reservoir Dogs” took top honors at the Sundance Film Festival. Although Tarantino became known among Hollywood producers, he still was not known among audiences and people… until his next film.
After “Reservoir Dogs,” Tarantino went on vacation to Amsterdam to get inspiration for his next film. He closed himself in his hotel room for days until finishing the script of his next film, “Pulp Fiction.” A tour de force that changed cinema forever. The non-chronological way the plot develops (a la “Citizen Kane), the natural, authentic dialogue, and the amazing stories made “Pulp Fiction” immediately one of the best films ever made.
After that, he did “Jackie Brown” (his Blaxploitation movie) and “Death Proof” (his B-film for the Grindhouse project he did with Robert Rodriguez) which are definitely his two most underrated films because people almost don’t talk about these (maybe because they don’t have the Tarantino style THAT much like his other films), but they are extremely good.
Before “Death Proof,” he made “Kill Bill,” his martial arts film which is definitely one of the favorites among people because the non-linear story about the killer seeking revenge of her old partners is so addictive. In 2009, he made “Inglourious Basterds,” his World War II film, one of the best war films ever made and with one of the greatest openings in the history of cinema. One characteristic in Tarantino’s films is the great acting they have, and in my opinion, this has the best acting of all, making a special mention to Christoph Waltz, who plays the SS Colonel Hans Landa.
After that, he made two westerns “Django Unchained,” and “The Hateful Eight.” These were the first two movies I watched of his and I remember I was just so addicted to the dialogue because it is really, really good. Western is my favorite genre and there are people who consider it boring, and for all those people I advise them to watch these two films because they are fantastic westerns with unique characters.
His most recent film, and possibly his last so far, was “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” about an actor named Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth (one of the best characters ever created by Tarantino) in the Hollywood of 1969.
Now that I’ve mentioned all Tarantino’s films, it is time to decide which one is his best film. I don’t think “Death Proof” and “The Hateful Eight” can qualify for his best film because, despite they are extremely good, they have the lowest rating in his filmography. I can say almost the same about “Jackie Brown” because, this one has a higher rating but is definitely not among the most popular ones of his.
“Django Unchained” is one of my favorites but is not considered (neither by the audience nor the critics) to be his best. “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” I don’t think can be his best one, but it is interesting to note that Tarantino considers it his best film ever. “Reservoir Dogs” is a big candidate, but I don’t think it wins. Then we go to “Kill Bill,” presented in two parts, and which is considered one of his most popular ones.
There are a lot of people who consider it their favorite, and it’s understandable. Volume 1 and Volume 2 are extremely good and entertaining but may not be his best movie. Here we go on a final battle between “Inglourious Basterds” and “Pulp Fiction.” “Inglourious Basterds” is considered by a lot of people the best film of Tarantino, because the story is really, really good, and the characters are so well developed. Also, just the premise of a film about Jewish soldiers killing Nazis directed by Quentin Tarantino already sells. But in my opinion, and the opinion of other millions, is that “Pulp Fiction” is Tarantino’s best film. Not everyone will agree, but I think “Pulp Fiction” has the greatest script of all his filmography The plot and dialogue are so, so good, and the way everything is structured is so perfect. I mean, we are talking about the film that won the Cannes Film Festival of 1994, won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and it is ranked number 8 in the best films of all time in the IMDb list. I have seen this film more times than I remember, and it always feels like I’m watching it for the first time. But still, all the films of Quentin Tarantino are masterpieces and there’s no doubt he is one of the best filmmakers of all time.
So, Happy Birthday, Quentin Tarantino! Here’s hoping we will get to see at least one more movie from this amazing screenwriter/director.
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