The Killing (1956)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 6: The Killing (1956)

The Killing is the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's first film Reservoir Dogs (1992). Like Reservoir Dogs, this film revolves around a heist carried out by complete strangers who are working together. This film is also told in a non-linear fashion not only like Reservoir Dogs but like a majority of the films in Quentin Tarantino's career. (SPOILERS:) This film also ends in a very similar fashion as Reservoir Dogs with a foul up in the plan, leading to everyone getting killed except for one man getting caught by the police.

“Five years have taught me one thing, if nothing else, anytime you take a chance you better be sure the rewards are worth the risk because they can put you away just as fast for a ten dollar heist as they can for a million dollar job.”

The Killing(1956) is a heist, film noir from early in director Stanley Kubrick's career. It revolves around a group of strangers who come together to pull off a robbery at a horse racing track.

The characters in this movie are really interesting. I like how they're all seemingly normal people who each have their own personal reasons for committing the crime. This adds a lot of drama to the heist because for some of these guys you're really rooting for them. Some of the characters are pretty simple but they're all distinct and very interesting.

Most of the actors are good in this film but the ones who's performances really stand out to me are Elisha Cook, Jr. who plays the nervous bet teller, and Marie Windsor the teller's wife who doesn't love him but attempts to get in on the money and also Sterling Hayden has a really solid performance as Johnny the recently released criminal who is the mastermind behind the whole heist. These three add a lot to the film to ground it emotionally and their performances are really caught my interest in the movie.

I liked the plan for the heist, it's a bit complicated and could have been simplified (as Reservoir Dogs (1992) would much later do), but it's very intricate and well thought out, which makes it very interesting to watch as it playing out.

Although the ending is satisfying I think there's one too many coincidences in the end for my taste. The one that really sticks out to me is the one involving the random dog at the airport.

The best thing about this film is how the non-linear storytelling enhances the heist. At the beginning of the film this is intentionally confusing, to bring your attention to it. But by the end it's used to show a wider picture of the whole crime. It's pretty genius actually. And this really helps to enhance the drama of the story as you watch each of the puzzle pieces fit into the larger crime.

And lastly I want to mention the direction of this film. It's no wonder to me that this film is what really put Stanley Kubrick on the map early in his career because this is a film that could have easily not worked half as well if it had a lesser director at the helm. A lot of the camera moves are simple but interesting and the film really does a whole lot with a very little budget.

The Killing (1956) is a great low budget heist movie that is an early example of Stanley Kubrick's genius direction. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Taxi Driver (1976)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 4: Taxi Driver (1976)

Taxi Driver might seem like an obvious choice but I felt like putting it on this list because Tarantino has been adding a lot of little homages to this film throughout his career. Tarantino considers this film a masterpiece and frequently lists it in his top three favorite films of all time (once again thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives for compiling these lists.) This film has frequent Tarantino-collaborator Harvey Keitel in it and years later Tarantino even gave this films lead, Robert De Niro another role of a very socially awkward guy in Jackie Brown (1997). Tarantino's first script True Romance (1993) features a somewhat large subplot of a guy killing a pimp to save a young girl from her life of prostitution (just like this film) and he's even wearing a green army jacket when he does it (though this choice might've been thanks to Tony Scott the director of that film). In Bruce Willis' segment of Pulp Fiction (1994), Bruce Willis's character runs into a taxi driver named Esmeralda Villalobos who drives a cab that's very similar to the one in this film (kinda strange for a film set in the 90's no?) And most recently in Django Unchained (2012), Christoph Waltz's character Dr. Schultz uses a hidden mechanized derringer pistol similar to the one Travis builds in this film.

"All the animals come out at night."

Taxi Driver (1976) is a dark and moody character study of a lonely, frustrated and bored man directed by Martin Scorsese. The film follows Travis Bickle a former Marine living in New York City who begins driving a Taxi because he can't sleep at night. As the film goes on we see how sick of the world Travis really is.

I love the world that is portrayed in this film. I love how real it all feels, I like how scary some of the random people they show seem and I really like how you can almost feel the mood of driving around the city at night. Things like the cab drivers meeting up at diners between shifts to just sit around and talk really seem to ground this odd movie for me.

All the acting is good in this film but I was especially blown away by the young Jodie Foster as the young prostitute Iris. This was her first major film role, and at 13 it's no surprise that she got an Academy Award nomination for this part because she seems wise beyond her years in this film.

This is admittedly nitpicky but there seems to be a little bit of a missed opportunity to show how Travis feels after killing the man in the convenience store. He seems scared in the moment, but this is his first time killing a person (as far as we know) and the first time he actually does something about the "filth" and crime of the city. I would have liked more of a scene showing if he enjoyed it or if it scared him or if he felt bad about it or whatever, the film just kind of moves on after this.

One of the best things about this film is how interesting it is. I really think this is one of the best character driven stories on film and something about combination of the unique setting, strange characters and moody atmosphere really drags you into the film and keeps your attention.

I love how the film treats the lead character Travis Bickle. It's not too obvious about the oddness of Travis Bickle in the very beginning but as the film goes on you slowly start to realize that there might not be something right about this guy. You eventually seem him get strange obsessions in his head and even jump to weird conclusions. But I really like the very little things, like Travis will say something slightly odd and then you see the person talking to him kind of get uncomfortable or give a slight roll of their eyes, this something I'm sure most people can relate to. Robert De Niro's performance is really great in all of it's subtleties and how earnest he seems int this role. It's really hard not to feel for and like the guy.

The music of this film really adds a lot to the mood of it. The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann who is probably most well known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), etc.) but also for the score to Citizen Kane (1941) & the opening to The Twilight Zone television show. Unlike most of his previous work however, the score to this film is predominately built around a jazzy saxophone line that seems to meander through the darkness of the city, really cool.

I also think it's really magnificent how the pace of this film seems to change with the mood of the main character we're following. At the beginning of the film Travis lacks direction, he can't sleep and the sequences seem really drawn out and dream like but later on as Travis' gets more fed up with the world around him scenes go by a lot faster and tension really seems to build effortlessly. The mood of this film is pure art, absolutely beautiful.

Taxi Driver (1976) is an very artistic film and probably the best character-driven story ever told on film. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Jackie Brown (1997)

"Half a million dollars will always be missed."

Jackie Brown (1997) is a crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino and based on the book Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard. The film is Tarantino's tribute to blaxploitation films of the 70s. It follows a 47-year old flight attendant named Jackie Brown who is caught bringing cash into the country for a gun dealer named Ordell Robbie and the many different parties that would like to run off with Ordell's half a million dollars.

This film has an absolutely amazing cast. There's nothing better than a film with a character-driven story where every character has a great actor behind it. It's no surprise that this film revitalized Pam Grier's career because she is really great in this film. The only character I didn't really care for is Robert De Niro as Louis Gara, a bankrobber recently released from prison. He's not bad in it, but this is a pretty minor role and I kind of feel like its kind of a waste for Robert De Niro's talent.

A majority of this film uses actual lighting, in a world where every movie has fake "Hollywood lighting" this really stands out to me. Not just in mall scenes where it would have been hard to affect the lighting, but I love how Tarantino uses the very dark lighting inside apartments to it's full effect. This is such a simple way to increase the suspense and intensity in a film, but I'm completely blown away by its use in this film.

The plot in this film is too convoluted and complicated for my taste. It took me a couple viewings before I really appreciated how much is actually going on. But with so many characters and so many different plans and plots I just feel it could have been a lot simpler.

The film also seems incredibly long winded. I'm not sure if this is just because we effectively watch a money heist/exchange four different times or what. Also the structure is unusual to this film in that it takes almost an entire hour to set up all the different characters and their separate plans.

Also the cinematography seems a lot less meaningful and more random in this film than most other Tarantino films. For example this film has a lot of random close ups for seemingly no reason.

This film does a thing where it shows a money exchange three different times. Each takes place at the same time, nothing actually changes in the exchange, but each is shown with a different perspective and each gives the viewer more insight into what actually happened. It's kind of like Rashomon (1950) except the events don't actually change from each character perspective, it just takes advantage of the fact that not every character is going to see the same thing because they all enter and leave at different times. This is something that must have taken a long time to plan, but its masterfully executed really seamless and surprisingly easy to follow and figure out while you're watching.

And if for no other reason you see this film, I recommend you see it just for Samuel L. Jackson's character Ordell Robbie. Samuel L. Jackson hit's all the major ranges of emotion with this one character. I love how funny and humorous (and even dumb) he can be in one scene and yet completely menacing and sinister in another. He's really a treat to watch and makes a really convincing antagonist for the story.

Jackie Brown (1997) is probably Quentin Tarantino's least "flashy" film, but its a very solid film and has a great cast and amazing characters. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!

Check out this original minimalist poster design I did for this film, click through to buy prints/posters etc. OR check out other movie posters I designed here. :)

Want more Tarantino goodness? Check back all month for my Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained.

Go back to Tarantino's first film with Reservoir Dogs (1992), check out the first script he wrote (but didn't direct) True Romance (1993), The smash hit that really put him on the map Pulp Fiction (1994), or another film written by him but in the hands of another director From Dusk till Dawn (1996).



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film (and 8 other Tarantino hits from his 20 year career) in this new set (now on Blu-ray) through these links:

From Dusk till Dawn (1996)

"Fight now, cry later."

From Dusk till Dawn (1996) is a violent crime/horror exploitation film directed by Robert Rodriguez. Much like True Romance (1993) this is one of only a couple of films written by Quentin Tarantino, that he didn't actually direct. He wrote the screenplay very early on and in a very short time span (in two weeks!) with the intent to sell. People would call him up and tell him they loved it, but no one actually wanted to make it. When everyone passed on it Quentin's good friend Robert Rodriguez expressed interest and they decided to go forward with it.

The story follows the bank-robbing Gecko brothers on a killing spree as they try to escape the police and cross the border to Mexico, they hijack a family's RV and everything is going well but things take a drastic turn for the worse once they get into Mexico.

(Special spoiler warning for this one: If you want the full experience of this film don't read on any further. This film has a drastic twist halfway through and I'm going to talk about it bellow.)

The script for From Dusk till Dawn is really clever. The film starts out as a pretty typical 'bank-robbers-on-the-run' heist-type film that halfway through completely shifts tone and becomes a very gruesome horror film much like the exploitation horror films of the later 70s through the 80s. The shift is very weird but also clever and unique. What I like about it is how completely the script shifts and almost before the viewer knows it, they're in a completely different movie.

I like how well thought-out the characters are: a preacher whose recently lost his faith, a professional bankrobber who's stuck with his sex-offender brother. This is less so for the characters introduced in the second half (the Vietnam vet and Sex Machine the very typical biker bar patron), but with the genre shift it almost actually fits. The characters introduced later almost follow different rules because of the change of tone in the film.

And the film is packed with (now-classic) Tarantino dialogue. I really like the way the characters talk in this film and it's filled with lots of really memorable lines: "I said 'plant yourself.' Plants don't talk." and "What's in Mexico?" with the very memorable answer "Mexicans."

The genre shift in the film really leaves some awkward pacing, this is especially noticeable in the second half of the film though where all the action kind of happens in waves giving the characters these long breaks to talk about things between monster attacks.

Luckily his part is pretty minor, but the Asian adopted son of Harvey Keitel, Ernest Liu really just a nothing-special child actor and kind of sticks out like a sore thumb surrounded by all these other really great actors in this film.

And lastly I really don't care for the ending of this film. Its not fulfilling or satisfying at all and seems pretty meaningless. Tarantino has done meaningless endings before, but this one seems un-stylish and like they had nothing else they could think of to end on. What does the end establish? George Clooney's character isn't that bad of a guy? Yeah, the whole movie established that.

This film has one of the greatest opening sequences I've ever seen. The film starts so nonchalantly, then out of nowhere turns into a cut-throat hostage situation that's stylish funny and very interesting. It's 11 minutes long too! That's pretty intense for an opening to a film.

I love the camerawork in this film. Robert Rodriguez really knows how to direct a camera, he said that he actually emulated the way Quentin would frame a shot during specific scenes in this movie. But I gotta say, I think I like the cinematography in this film a lot more than I do in most Tarantino films!

And almost all the acting in this film is really sound, but the two actors that stand out are the two opposite leads George Clooney and Harvey Keitel. It's hard to even conceive this today but back in 1996 George Clooney was a huge actor on the small screen on E.R. but had never been in a movie before. Rodriguez and Tarantino saw the potential and cast him in a completely different role than he usually had and as a result of this film, he was amazing and his career just took off afterwards. Harvey Keitel is just a great actor he just knows how to command the camera's presence in the film, but his role in this film is pretty different than anything I've ever seen him in, and he really nails it. It just shows how great of a range he has as an actor.

From Dusk till Dawn (1996) is a very fun and stylish film that is super clever and a great blend of multiple genres. 4/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Want more Tarantino goodness? Check back all month for my Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained.

Go back to Tarantino's first film with Reservoir Dogs (1992), check out the first script he wrote (but didn't direct) True Romance (1993) or The smash hit that really put him on the map Pulp Fiction (1994.



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Pulp Fiction (1994)

"Say 'what' again."

Pulp Fiction (1994) is Quentin Tarantino's crime anthology film. Pulp Ficiton is actually 3 different stories (about 40 minutes each) with a fourth story (the diner scene) that is split into a prologue and epilogue for the film. Each story crosses over at some point and characters from other stories walk in to other stories (primarily Vincent Vega). The stories are about a couple that decides to rob a coffee shop (prologue/epilogue), two hitmen that have a the strangest day of their lives (The Bonnie Situation), a hitman who has to take his boss' wife for a night out on the town (Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife), and a prizefighter that's trying to outsmart and escape gangsters (The Gold Watch). Each story seems to revolve around the craziest things that could happen on a otherwise seemingly normal day.

This film makes for a really great follow up to Reservoir Dogs (1992), it has the same bold style that I really liked about that film, but it all feels a little bit bigger and more comfortable. This is the first film of Quentin Tarantino's films that I think he really hits his full stride on his style. His quirky writing, great music choices, unique storytelling, and stylish scenes really all come to full bloom in this film. And much like Reservoir Dogs, some of my favorite things about this film are the simple but stylish little quirks he puts in that show he's really thinking about interesting ways to make a film, for example: Mia Wallace's "don't be a square" gesture complete with on screen diagram, I like how the camera moves over at the end of Zed's "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" to further show who his first victim will be, and who could forget the creativity of Jack Rabbit Slim's? ..."a wax museum with a pulse."

I also just really like the humor in this film, and not just the humorous dialogue there's lots of awesome viusal gags (like hitmen dressed in beach volleyball clothes!)

It's not bad so much, but I don't find Bruce Willis' story about a boxer named Butch trying to outsmart the mob really as strong as the others. It's still a strange tale, with a really weird couple of occurrences but it's just not as interesting as the other two (or even the diner scene) to me. The core story about a boxer trying to outsmart a promoter is also completely ripped off of one of the greatest boxing films of all time, Body and Soul (1947). That being said, it's no surprise then that this is the one segment of the film that Quentin Tarantino didn't write, I feel it shows.

I gotta mention how much I love the structure of this film. I feel like this is one of those films, that shouldn't have worked as well as it really does. Aside from being multiple stories (as I've already mentioned) the film also tells the stories out of order, characters die in one story and then their alive in the next! Although these are separate stories I love that they are somewhat circular and the things that are set up in the very beginning come full circle by the end. In fact, like how you wouldn't notice this on the first viewing, but the film sets up every single story and at least mentions each character in the first twenty minutes, some of them more obviously than others. Each story really works on it's own as a great short film, each with an amazing climax. But the way the film works together as a whole is a lot better than Tarantino's next anthology project Four Rooms (1995).

I love that the film has a great all-star cast but this doesn't get in the way of each of the characters really seeming like real people. Much like Reservoir Dogs (1992) I love how this film even makes dreaded hitmen argue and converse like your best friends do.

The film's writing is absolutely amazing to me. Tarantino's style is fully exemplified here and I love how he drowns exposition in so much minute and obscure detail that you have no idea what you are hearing is actually going to be very important later on.

Pulp Fiction (1994) is one of Quentin Tarantino's best films, it's very stylish, "cool" and probably one of his most creative storytelling-wise. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!

Check out this original minimalist poster design I did for this film, click through to buy prints/posters etc. OR check out other movie posters I designed here. :)

Want more Tarantino goodness? Check back all month for my Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained.

Go back to Tarantino's first film with Reservoir Dogs (1992) or check out the first script he wrote (but didn't direct).



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film (and 8 other Tarantino hits from his 20 year career) in this new set (now on Blu-ray) through these links:

True Romance (1993) [The Quentin Tarantino Cut]

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Reservoir Dogs (1992)

"Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"

Reservoir Dogs (1992) is Quentin Tarantino's breakout hit, a stylish heist movie. The story revolves around a diamond robbery with an undercover cop and the madness that follows.

I love the camerawork in Reservoir Dogs it's very simple and effective and one of the things that really sets this film apart from other indie or low budget films.

I also like how simple and stylish the film is. The 70s music is a very nice and memorable touch. Costumes are again simple and stylish and yet it's something probably all the actors just had. And the color names are a great idea (a la The Taking of Pelham One Two Three [1974]) that also just adds an extra level of cool to the film. Indie filmmakers could (and do) learn a lot from this film.

I've seen this film many times, one of the things I often find myself asking at the end is "what the hell was the point of Mr. Blue?!" And to this day I think the film could be just as good without him, he doesn't do anything at all. It's possible he's there just to add to the death count or to show that how dangerous theft and robbery is or that it isn't always profitable (though you'd think the end would show that?) But really he's just kind of there. In a film like this with many characters, why add one more who doesn't do anything?

One of my favorite things about this movie is how simple the idea for the story is. It's a heist film (like you've seen a million times before) except with two main differences, it's told out of order (non-chronological) and with out ever showing the actual heist.

The non-linear storytelling (a precedent for most Tarantino films that follow) is really ingeniously done. I've heard many people use this film as an example of a non 3-act film but that's completely wrong. This film actually still follows the 3-act storytelling structure, it just does it without going in order. The scenes are revealed in a chapter by chapter method basing each chapter around a different main character's story specifically, and then the layout of these chapters (which comes first) is setup in the order so that for the first half of the film the viewer is trying to figure out who the undercover mole is, and the second half of the film explains how that came to be and then the conclusion. This is a really well thought out way to tell a story and I think it just works perfectly.

The film has a really great ensemble cast. Tarantino chose a selection of great actors who were almost unknowns at the time each of them (except Harvey Keitel of course) had a couple hits each but were on the cusp of really blowing up. I particularly really enjoy the performances of Michael Madsen as the cool but hard to nail down Mr. Blonde, Harvey Keitel as the robber with a heart Mr. White, Steve Buscemi as the comically freaked out Mr. Pink and Tim Roth who has the very difficult but convincing role of Mr. Orange. There's some really great performances in this movie. And I like how each of the character's is written so that they really seem like real people. They have strong enough personalities (and actors) that you really don't have any problem telling them apart, even though they're dressed the same and don't have real names.

And lastly I want to mention that this movie just has a lot of really interesting and simple little things it does. For example, I like how the music that's playing dies down when Mr. Blonde goes outside the warehouse to get a can of gasoline from his car and then climbs up again as he returns. And I love how during the "commode story" seamlessly cuts between 3 (or so) times this story is being told and then ends in a literal showing of the events in the story that really makes you feel the suspense of the scene.

Reservoir Dogs (1992) is a stylish well thought-out film that borrows from a lot of movies you've seen before, but puts them together in a way so genius you're going to wish you thought of it. And it's an amazing example of how you can make a great film and tell a simple story on a small independent budget. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!

Check out this original minimalist poster design I did for this film, click through to buy prints/posters etc. OR check out other movie posters I designed here. :)

Want more Tarantino goodness? Check back all month for my Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained.



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film (and 8 other Tarantino hits from his 20 year career) in this new set (now on Blu-ray) through these links: