“Oh, I’m sorry,
did I break your concentration?” This video is brought to you by Mubi. You know you’re watching
a Quentin Tarantino film if… It steals. In the director’s own words, “I steal from
every single movie ever made. Great artists steal;
they don’t do homages” “You want that gun, pick it up. I wish you would.” “You want that gun, don't ya, Zed? Go ahead and pick it up.” What sets Tarantino apart
is his eclectic taste – he draws on everything
from spaghetti westerns, to B-movies, to blaxploitation flicks, to samurai films,
to cinema classics. In a sense, he proves that
-as an artist- you are your taste. A director is defined by
what he’s a fan of. “Just a dirty son of a-” “You uppity son of a-” Even more than a cinephile, you might call this former Video Archives clerk
the ultimate fan-fiction director – his movie references spring
from a pure love of cinema. Often he’s not even
really making a deeper thematic point with all the referentiality beyond,
“Isn’t this great?” “It's just one of the best American movies
ever made!" It’s a bloodbath. “I’m a cheerleader
towards violence in cinema.” So what is the purpose of subjecting us to all this human suffering
of Biblical proportions? “And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled,
dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us” Well, on one level, there isn’t a “purpose.” The director rejects our impulse
to ascribe a sophisticated external meaning to the carnage. “There are bits in Inglorious Basterds-
really unsettling. Is that because you never want
people to forget the capacity for humans to harm one another?” “No, I think you are getting too heavy
with it as far as I'm concerned.” “I thought maybe I was.” “Yeah, no, I don't have concerns
or thoughts like that.” For him, it ultimately comes down to
entertainment value. “I always said that it’s almost as if
it’s one of the reasons that Thomas Edison invented the camera
was to film violence because it’s so good.” This is violence for violence’s sake,
unapologetically aestheticized. “I love that stuff, you know,
the killing.” “Lotta killing.” Tarantino’s violence is so memorable
because it’s creative- these scenes stick in our minds because of their
inventiveness and specificity. And Tarantino’s characters
evidently agree with him that all this brutality is highly entertaining. “Quite frankly, watching Donny beat Nazis to death is
the closest we ever get to going to the movies” “That sure was pretty.” The violence is also
unabashedly gruesome- “Aw man, I shot Marvin in the face.” “What?” Unlike so many action movies
that border on bloodless, Tarantino’s films revel in the gore which is the physical consequence
of fighting. “If a guy is shot in the stomach,
and he's bleeding like a stuck pig, I want to see him bleeding
like a stuck pig- that is now the situation
they're dealing with, alright? He’s not ‘ooh, ow’ he’s got
a stomach ache” Ultimately Tarantino uses violence
as a means of control- he describes himself as a conductor, with an orchestra
made up of the audience’s emotions. “So it’s like ‘laugh, laugh, laugh,
stop laughing. Stop laughing- okay, now be horrified.’” Tarantino has rejected criticism that
the violence in movies leads people to behave more aggressively
in the real world. He cites Japan as an example
of a peaceful society that produces extremely violent films- and he views cinema and real-life
as completely separate entities… which might be one reason he saw no problem
with encouraging kids to see Kill Bill. “I have absolutely no hypocrisy or contradiction whatsoever
to say that, you know, I abhor violence in real life,
and I can love it in genre.” The characters are professional criminals. …but Tarantino portrays
their unorthodox careers like any other line of work. “You're actin' like a first-year f-[BLEEP]
thief! I'm actin' like a professional!” Take the opening scene of Pulp Fiction: Ringo and Yolanda discuss how to
optimize their business. “I'm not saying I wanna rob banks. I'm just illustrating if we did,
it'd be easier than what we've been doing” And they eventually hit on an untapped market. “A lot of people come to restaurants.” “A lot of wallets.” “Pretty smart, huh?” Tarantino brings us into the business
with characters whose jobs aren’t so different from ours
(most of the time)- they share “water cooler” chat
with the coworkers. “Like a virgin's not about some sensitive girl
who meets a nice fella. That's what true blue's about-
No, granted, argument about that.” and try their best to keep the boss happy. “Marsellus Wallace don't like
to be fucked by anybody except Mrs. Wallace.” Tarantino’s movies
emphasize professionalism. “What, are we on a playground here, huh? Am I the only professional?” “But your status as a Nazi killer
is still amateur. We all come here to see
if you want to go pro.” The guys conducting the heist
in Reservoir Dogs and hitmen Jules and Vincent
in Pulp Fiction evidently believe in the adage,
“dress for the job you want.” In Inglourious Basterds, Aldo Raine prides himself
on being great at his job. “I think this just might
be my masterpiece.” We might read all this talk
about professionalism as reflecting Tarantino’s own perfectionist motivation
to be a master of his craft (in a field that, likewise,
can take him to some sick places.) “You know how you get to Carnegie Hall,
don't you? Practice.” The characters are acting. Tarantino has said, quote, “A theme all my characters share
is that they’re all good actors and use acting techniques. They’re always playing a character
to some degree or another.” “Let's get into character.” The characters often have to cover up
their true identities with a false persona-
and this adds layers to the story. “Mr. Brown, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde,
Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange and Mr. Pink.” “Look man,
undercover cops gotta be Marlon Brando. To do this job you gotta be a great actor,
you gotta be naturalistic. You gotta be naturalistic as hell.” The tension and thrill
comes from knowing that someone is pretending
and could be discovered. “When we gain access to these plantations,
we'll be putting on an act. You'll be playing a character” Because in these worlds there are dire consequences
for not performing your role perfectly. “He ordered three glasses. We order three glasses. That's the German three.” It’s wordy. “Why do we feel it’s necessary
to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?” Tarantino willfully ignores
the screenwriting convention to include dialogue only if it succinctly
advances plot or illuminates character. His movies feature long conversations
with no apparent relation to anything. “You don't care
they're countin' on your tips to live?” “You know what this is? It’s the world's smallest violin,
playin' just for the waitresses.” All of this talk gives Tarantino’s films
their specific texture that fans love. "Clark Kent is Superman's critique
on the whole human race.” -and explains why most of them
approach the 3-hour mark. “They call it a royale with cheese.” “Royale with cheese.” The contrast between the unhurried, idiosyncratic dialogue
and the high-stakes scenarios yields the irreverent tone
that defines this director’s work. “Silly rabbit.” “Trix are for-”
“Kids.” “Who cares what your name is?” “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say. You’re Mr. White-
you have a cool sounding name.” Even though the characters
tend to be in mortal danger or engaged in the act of killing, they’re never too busy
for a lengthy conversation dissecting the most trivial subject. “You sure that's him?” “Yeah.” “Positive?” “I dunno.” “You don't know if you're positive?” “I don't know what ‘positive’ means.” “It means you're sure.” “Yes.” “Yes, what?” “Yes, I'm sure that’s Ellis Brittle.” It’s part of
the Tarantino Cinematic Universe. Tarantino’s movies are interconnected. They feature the same fictional brands. “Big Kahuna Burger! That's that Hawaiian burger joint.” “You've got a billboard
by Big Kahuna Burger, don't you?” And characters from different movies
are related to each other- Mr. Blonde is Vincent Vega’s brother. The Hateful Eight’s Pete Hicox
is an ancestor of Archie Hicox from Inglorious Basterds. And when the Bride is buried alive
in Kill Bill Vol. 2, the grave belongs to Paula Schultz, who may be related to Dr. King Schultz
from Django Unchained. This isn’t all playing out
in one universe, though- according to Tarantino,
there are two. One is the “realer than real universe”
that his characters live in, and the other is the “movie universe”
where stories like Kill Bill are set. As he explains it, quote, “when all the characters
of Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction, when they go to the movies,
Kill Bill is what they go to see.” In Pulp Fiction, Mia tells Vincent
about a pilot she was in- the premise sounds a lot like Kill Bill. “There was a blond one, Sommerset O'Neal. She was the leader. The Japanese fox was a kung fu master. The black girl was a demolition expert. French fox's specialty was sex.” “What was your specialty?” “Knives.” So it sounds like this failed pilot
went on to become a movie with Mia Wallace playing the Bride. On a less literal level, Tarantino’s movies also feel they’re set
in a connected story world because of specific recurring artistic features- from the familiar faces
of actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Uma Thurman,
Harvey Keitel, and Tim Roth… to the use of
playful code names or nicknames “Her code name was Copperhead. Mine, Black Mamba.” to the trunk shots “Man, you must be out
of your f-[BLEEP] mind if you think I'm gonna get in this dirty-ass trunk.” to all the images of bare feet that suggest Tarantino
may have some sort of foot fetish. “Now, look, I've given a million ladies
a million foot massages, and they all meant somethin’.” It’s a secret Western. “Line.” His love of the Western genre comes through in his fondness
for outlaws, gunfights, Mexican standoffs, Western-style music,
and a general sense of lawlessness. “How do you like
the bounty hunting business?” “Kill white folks,
and they pay you for it? What's not to like?” Tarantino said Pulp Fiction is
“a modern-day spaghetti western.” He named Sergio Leone as the filmmaker who’s had
the greatest influence on his career, and Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
as his all-time favorite movie. “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,
that’s a movie.” The title of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood pays tribute to Leone’s
Once Upon a Time in the West, which Tarantino called “The movie that made me
consider filmmaking.” “I hired you to be an actor, Rick. Not a TV cowboy. You're better than that.” It’s also a kind of musical. When Tarantino is thinking about
what story to tell next, he turns to his vinyl collection
for inspiration “Either I’m looking for some pop songs
or I’m looking for some soundtracks and that’s going to give me
the beat of the movie, the rhythm of the movie.” So it makes sense that his movies
feature what he calls, “the equivalent of what in a musical
would be a big dance number or a big musical sequence” Tarantino understands music’s power
to maximize the impact of a scene. The song may perfectly echo the story. Or it may be perfectly opposed
to the action at hand. Tarantino also likes to use
anachronistic music. In his view,
historical accuracy is less important than capturing the feeling
of what’s happening. There’s a sense of infinite possibility
in Tarantino’s movies. “The fact that anything can happen
to my characters or in the scenario of the story-
that is the relish that I have.” They’re full of random coincidences and, at times,
the sense of a higher power, too. “God came down from Heaven
and stopped these motherf-[BLEEP] bullets.” It feels as if the hand of fate
intervenes in the character’s lives- not in a straightforward
or moralistic way, though… In a truly mysterious one. It might even seem that Tarantino-
as the God-slash-author of the film- delights in being that unpredictable,
unknowable force intervening in his characters’ lives. The sense that anything can happen
also extends to Tarantino’s approach to filmmaking. He prides himself
on breaking established rules. “And there are no moral boundaries, and there are no
‘oh, well, you can’t do that’ kind of boundaries. That is exactly how cinema was
when I came into it, and I think I went a long way
to knocking some of those walls down.” You know you’re watching a movie. “Action!” Tarantino doesn’t concern himself
with verisimilitude- he’s perfectly happy for the audience to know they’re in a story world
of his creation. “About fifteen minutes has passed
since we last left our characters.” He expresses this through
visual flourishes and the use of text onscreen as well as by giving himself cameos
in small yet memorable roles And he’s not averse to
playing pretty nasty personalities. “Did you notice a sign
on the front of my house that said 'dead n-[BLEEP] storage'?!” Tarantino also plays on
viewers’ pop culture knowledge. “What’s the name of the chick
who played Christie Love? “Pam Grier.” “No, it wasn’t Pam Grier. Pam Grier was the other one. Pam Grier did the film.” It has a non-linear structure. In Pulp Fiction, all the vignettes
are out of chronological order, but the movie feels cohesive because each part contains references
to the other story threads. “Why you so interested in big man's wife?” “Well, He's goin' out of town, Florida. And he asked me
if I'd take care of her while he's gone.” Also, because of the way it’s structured,
the main characters are alive at the end, even though Vincent dies earlier on,
adding to the comic, upbeat feel. One reason for Tarantino’s love
of non-linear structure may be that he thinks of his scripts
as literature. “If I had written Pulp Fiction as a novel
and I was on your show, you would never even remotely
bring up the structure.” He often divides his films into chapters. This chapter’s called… Domergue's Got a Secret.” Revenge is a dish best served cold. This saying is the epigraph
of Kill Bill, but it could easily apply to
Tarantino’s other works, too So what exactly is
Tarantino's take on “revenge?” “And you will know my name is the Lord
when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” The Bride makes it explicitly clear
that the vengeance she seeks isn’t an attempt to “get even,”
as we might tend to think of it. “Get even, even Stephen,
I would have to kill you, go up to Nikki's room, kill her,
then wait for your husband, the good Dr. Bell, to come home,
and kill him.” The idea of “getting even”
falsely implies it’s possible to make up for what she’s lost. So instead, for her,
revenge is a means of taking power back. “When fortune smiles on something
as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other that
not only does God exist, you're doing his will.” Tarantino often focuses on
disempowered characters who use violent revenge
to regain control over their lives. In Kill Bill,
O-Ren Ishii loses everything when her family is slaughtered
by the Yakuza, but violence is also how
she avenges her loved ones… and becomes the new Yakuza leader “It was O-Ren Ishii
and her powerful posse, the Crazy 88, that proved the victor.” As part of playing our emotions
like an orchestra, Tarantino shows innocent people
being hurt to make us crave revenge
on behalf of his characters. “I like the way you beg, boy.” and then partake
in their sense of empowerment when they get it. “I like the way you die, boy.” Yet as good as it feels,
once characters choose retribution, they may be committing
the rest of their lives to it. In Inglourious Basterds, Shosanna gets her vengeance
on the Nazis that destroyed her family but she has to die too, and her body will burn in the flames
of the fire she created. After the Bride kills Vernita Green, she accepts that Vernita’s young daughter
may one day come after her… so the cycle of vengeance is never-ending. “I’ll be waiting.” Tarantino has maintained
that he will retire from filmmaking after 10 movies, and since he counts
Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 as one movie, that makes Once Upon a Time
his 9th work. So, as he nears the end of his career
and we look back at his filmography, we can see that Tarantino has created
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