Illustration: Jacey
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[email protected] / @EMPIREAUSTNick:Maybe my favourite
Tarantino musical moment is
the last shot ofDeath Proof.
Chick Habitby April March
— that’s the one bit ofDeath
ProofI love.
Terri:The one bit?
Chris:I thinkDeath Proofis
minor Tarantino.
Terri:It’s trashy, nasty, pulpy,
sleazy. He claims that this is
his worst film, but I love it. It’s
a complete subversion of the
genre. Stuntman Mike is a
brilliant bad guy, and what
a role for Kurt Russell.
Ben:It might be his footiest
film untilOnce Upon A Time
In Hollywood. There are feet
on dashboards, feet on bars...
There are legs being ripped off,
but we’re focusing on the foot.
Nick:Kill Billis quite footy.
Terri:The second half [ofDeath
Proof] flips the narrative. It’s the
rise of theseamazing women.
The stuntwork inthe second
half is extraordinary. Zoë Bell
is the greatest stuntwoman
working in the world.
Chris:This is true. She does
need an acting double, though.
Terri:That may be correct.
Nick:I love the action, but do
we think that, the Bride and
Jackie Brown aside, Tarantino
is as good at writing female
characters as male characters?
Chris:I couldn’t quote a single
line fromDeath Proof.
Nick:Compare that to the
opening ofReservoir Dogs
where they’re sitting around
a table and it just pops.
Terri:Broadly speaking he is
better at writing men, for sure.
He understands the dynamics
between men and the way men
speak to each other. He’s not so
good at the way women speak
to each other.
Chris:I think it’s very difficult
to talk about Quentin Tarantino
without talking about violence
and screen violence.
John:I was reading some
original reviews ofReservoir
Dogsand it’s amazing how
puritanical critics were. It was
seen as incrediblycontroversial.
If you view it in his whole
filmography, it’s one of the
tamer ones. The famous scene
where Mr Blonde chops the cop’s
ear off, the camera pansaway.
Nick:It’s funny comparing the
wholeReservoir DogsbrouhahaChris:Whereas we loved
it. We were like, “More
violence, please.”
John:I thought, “Okay, I need
to figure out what’s going on
here.” I borrowed a copy ofPulp
Fictionand instantly it made
sense. I had the soundtrack
on repeat. Among his many
achievements, he’s amazing at
picking songs. He has almost as
encyclopaedic a knowledge of
music as he does films.
Ben:It’s not my favourite of
his films, but theJackie Brown
‘Across 110th Street’ moment
is an incredible opening
sequence.
Terri:What he does that
Scorsese did as well is take
music that tonally should
not work — the most obvious
example isReservoir Dogs
— and it’s the juxtaposition of
this horrific thing you’re seeing
and the music he’s pairing with
it that makes it so powerful.in the early ’90s to the end
ofOnce Upon A Time In
Hollywood. There was no
controversy around it at all,
but it’s five times worse.
I think for good or bad, he’s
responsible in large part in
making it mainstream to have
ultra-violence in films.
Terri:I don’t think the
statement that Tarantino has
a massive problem with women
and always enacts horrible
violence against them is an
argument that really holds up.
They are often women who
take their revenge, who enact
brutality on other people.
Everyone gets brutalised
in a way.
Chris:He’s an equal-
opportunities brutalist.
Terri:Everybody gets fucked
up. But there is a specific use
of his violence around women
that I still find quite knotty.
Chris:There’s such a punch
to the violence. The violence
in a Tarantino film feels more
real than it does in many
other films.
Nick:He’s managed to keep his
films feeling dangerous. I think
they’ve got less nihilistic, but
even inOnce Upon A Time In
Hollywoodyou didn’t know if
DiCaprio or Brad Pitt were
going to die. And they’re
big stars.
Chris:I was on tenterhooks
the last half-hour. He sees many
characters as expendable.
Nick:You go into his films
knowing he can do anything
to any character.
Chris:At any time.
Terri:That’s really interesting.
Vincent Vega is coming out
from having a shit.
Nick:You’re killing the star of
your film on the toilet.
John:He’s always been very
good at that tension and
suspense. The opening scene
ofInglourious Basterdsis one
of the most tense scenes I’ve
ever seen.
Chris:Right from the off, there
are unbearably suspenseful
scenes inReservoir Dogsand
Pulp Fiction. He tightens the
screws so well at times. He’s
brilliant at that.
Nick:I got to interview The
Gimp once. He was lovely.
Chris:Right, enough
squabbling. Let’s vote!THE TOP TEN
DJANGO UNCHAINED(2012)
Chris:“Won two Oscars, but perhaps
his least fondly remembered film.
Placing afterDeath Proof? Yikes!”DEATH PROOF(2007)
Ben:“QT’s slightest movie, but still
a blast — with talking, gore and feet
galore. Plus its final car chase rocks.”KILL BILL: VOLUME 2(2004)
Terri:“More reflective thanVolume
1. I understand this is quite extreme,
but I find it utterly romantic.”JACKIE BROWN(1997)
Chris:“It’s perhaps the least
Tarantino of Tarantino movies.
Tarantino on a leash.”THE HATEFUL EIGHT(2015)
Terri:“Unfairly much-maligned.
A small, stagy story in 70mm, and that
tension makes the film so interesting.”ONCE UPON A TIME IN
HOLLYWOOD(2019)
Nick:“Horror, comedy and flame-
throwers: Tarantino’s latest has itall.”INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS(2009)
John:“Tarantino took a baseball bat
to the war film rulebook, and has
insane fun doing so. That’s a bingo!”KILL BILL: VOLUME 1(2003)
Ben:“QT at his most colourful, with
fountains of blood, anime bitsand a
samurai showdown dialled up to 88.”PULP FICTION(1994)
Nick:“A film of burger-loving hitmen
and mesmerising molls, if it were
a milkshake it would be worth $5.”RESERVOIR DOGS(1992)
John:“The original,
and still the best. Taut,
surprising, savagely
violent and darkly funny,
Tarantino’s debut remains
iconic to its core, and is
quite simply as close to
perfect as it’s possible
for a film to get.”10
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