The Best Quentin Tarantino Movie Scenes
By far the most favorite filmmaker in FilmMining101, Quentin Tarantino became the voice of a generation. A self-made director and a product of obsessive film love has led to some of the best writing well, since cinema was created. His trademarks include his eclectic taste for eccentric yet accentuated dialogue oozing with pop culture references; its brilliant use into increasingly tense sequences; making violent moments spiraling into funny outcomes; populating his films with old school and groovy music and an hesitation to obey movie rules, traditions and clichés.
Not withstanding that, his take on several genres has returned several historic movie moments; a thrilling car chase in his Grindhouse spoof “Death Proof” (2007) puts modern blockbusters to shame, the martial arts epic that “Kill Bill” (2003-2004) is remains an expensive and polished homage of Asian cinematic sensibilities while Candyland’s blood soaked shoot-out in “Django Unchained” (2012) remains engulfed in the viewer’s memory due to vivid detail that surrounds its OTT violence depiction. With such a plethora of squeamish, funny, exciting, tense and nostalgic moments to choose from, it is really hard to pin point a handful of them. Thus, we listed all of them. These are the best Quentin Tarantino movie moments of all time; from “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) to “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019) broken down into the following categories:
Hilarious moments
Tense moments
Gasp moments
Action moment
Music moment
Direction
Quotable dialogue
For those who have not seen Quentin’s works, beware, MASSIVE SPOILERS ahead.
50. Hilarious moment: Jody Domergue splat
An out of nowhere extended cameo as Daisy Domergue’s sister and the leader of a gang that involves the likes of Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Demian Bichir, Tatum’s Jody shoots Jackson’s Warren in his privates when it is revealed that he is hiding underneath the remote cabin. The surviving Warren though along with Chris Mannix blackmail Jody that they will kill his sister if he does not come out. Having no other choice, Tatum slowly reveals himself and surrenders. But in typical Tarantino fashion, a brief look between Jody and Daisy that might signify a potential dialogical segment is cut short when his heads explodes painting red Daisy in the process who proceeds to scream and yell hysterically. Warren got his revenge for losing his manhood after all. It is a surprisingly cartoony moment in a slow burn film but not before it revealed how horrible the gang was to the occupants of the cabin. Mind blowing end we say.
49. Hilarious moment: Tarantino explodes
When Django kills three racist Australians, one of them is played (badly on purpose) by Tarantino.
Sporting a terrible accent (“Shut up black”), Django eliminates the last of his captors by shooting his dynamite and thus, causing a massive explosion that would not be far from a Looney Tunes episode featuring Willie E. Coyote.
It is bonkers, hilarious and an effective break from the (more serious and dramatic) mayhem that had occurred previously.
48. Quotable dialogue: “Royale with cheese”
Vincent: “You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?”
Jules: ”They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?”
Vincent: ”No, man, they got the metric system there, they wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is.”
Jules: ”What'd they call it?”
Vincent: ”They call it Royale with Cheese.”
Never before have two hitmen sounded so casual about one’s trips to Europe dissecting their inability to understand fast food naming anywhere else but the US. It might be the most pointless dialogue ever but it is highly entertaining.
47. Hilarious moment: Bruce Lee vs Cliff Booth
While this small scene does not have any impact in the overall story, it is all the more funny because we do not know whether it is true or not.
While few people complained that it portrayed the great and late Bruce Lee in a negative light, it does not mean it was intended to do so as the whole segment is purely a flashback from Cliff’s perspective whom the film has established has a habit of being stoned.
46. Quotable dialogue/direction: Girl talk
Referencing his own work, Tarantino is known for including long (and stealthy) takes during table discussions, a trademark that started in “Reservoir Dogs”.
Our second girl quadrant is having a (pretty funny) conversation in a diner that includes topics such as Australian accents, party shenanigans and gun ownership.
It is an unbroken seven plus minute sequence, the camera infatuated with these characters and their facial reactions. The strong chemistry between the cast member is evident but do not forget to notice that Stuntman Mike is also lurking in the background.
45. Action moment: Candyland (blood soaked) shootout
A single shot towards the finale of “Django Unchained” is enough for all hell to break loose inside a warm colored Candyland. With Schultz and Calvin now dead, it is up for Django to get extra justice for both his friend and mentor and for his wife in a stylized gunfight.
Severely outnumbered but highly skilled, Django proceeds to whoop massive amounts of ass in one of the most violent scenes in Tarantino’s filmography. This segment offers spectacle, superb sound design and extravagant bloody effects that reach anime levels of cinematic gore. It is an altar of violence and excessive body count that displays just how deadly Django is and Jamie Foxx nails it.
44. Hilarious moment: Trailer meltdown
Scoring a Best Actor nomination, it is not difficult to see why Leonardo DiCaprio was critically acclaimed for his role as fading TV star Rick Dalton in his second Tarantino collaboration.
His acting meltdown inside his trailer is mesmerizing to watch making it even more worthwhile to experience once you know that it was (mostly) improvised by DiCaprio on the spot.
It is both hysterical and surprisingly heart warming as we like Dalton and want him to make it big again in the constantly ever changing city of angels.
43. Hilarious moment: “Say bye Ms Laura”
After enduring (and frankly surviving) quite the ordeal including the loss of his friend and mentor, Django returns to finish off the remaining villains of this story and save his wife. Calvin Candie’s sister, Laura who although might have not indulge herself to practice her brother’s acts of racist brutality, she is remains nonetheless equally detestable due to her oblivious apathy. Thus, it is only appropriate for Tarantino to organize a rendezvous with her maker through a surreal demise that has elicited infectious amounts of laughter. When a slave maid says “Bye Ms Laura”, he shoots her with no remorse or hesitation; the power of the bullet sends her flying in the back effectively ending the Candie dynasty and legacy. Instant classic.
42. Music moment: Dick Dale’s “Misirlou”
Tim Roth’s and Amanda Plummer’s dialogue in the pre-credits scene of “Pulp Fiction” is pure Tarantino. Paused by awkward comments such as “Garcon means boy”, it is amusing to watch these two amateur crooks (and lovers) discussing (random) topics such as the role of clerks/managers in a robbery and the potential that places like cafes have in case of a …robbery with some pretty valid arguments. Following the infamous line delivery by Plummer who goes from 0 to 100 (“Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of ya!”), Dick Dale’s dazzling “Misirlou” riff echoes through the speakers along with the title card. Perfect.
41. Quote: “I’mma going to get medieval on your ass!”
“Pulp Fiction” was the first American film to show the male rape of an alpha mobster boss in a very uncomfortable and unusual setting involving even a gimp.
When Bruce Willi’s Butch decides to help his former boss and third episode antagonist to escape from his humiliating ordeal, Marcellus utters a now immortal line to his still alive but injured rapist:
“I’mma going to get medieval on your ass!“
40. Quote: The cruel tutelage of Pai Mei
Pai Mei’s brutal training method would have shocked the Gen Z these days. Yet this ultimate kung fu master who agrees very reluctantly to train the Bride (“He hates Caucasians, despises Americans and has nothing but contempt for women. So in your case I think it might take a while”), under his cruel façade, does reward hard work, persistence and humility. He educates the Bride/Beatrix even on the manner front (“I did not ask you if you speak Japanese“, “If you want to eat like a dog, you can live and sleep outside like a dog. If you want to live and sleep like a human, pick up those sticks”) buried within his callous and derogatory teaching approach. As the montage progress, the Bride gets stronger and only at the end and after a very painful confrontation with Elle we learn that she is his fighting successor in a brilliant display of backend storytelling.
39. Quote: “Zed is dead baby, Zed is dead”
Butch: “Whose motorcycle is this”?
Fabienne: “It’s a chopper baby”.
Butch: “Whose chopper is this?”
Fabienne: “Zed’s”
Butch: “Whose Zed?”
Fabienne: “Zed is dead baby, Zed is dead.”
Truer words have never been spoken before. No further explanation is required.
38. Music moment: David Bowie’s “Cat People (Putting Out The Fire)”
A simpler scene among those terrific and terrifying moments that followed before in the larger than life “Inglourious Basterds”, Shosanna’s way of putting her make up on under David Bowie’s “Cat People” is freaking awesome and rightfully appropriate for the things to come (clue: Bowie screams “Gasolineeeeeeeeeee!!”).
The tracking ceiling shot from her room to the cinema’s main hall is just the icing on the cake adding extra levels of virtuoso cinema just before THAT ultra fiery, demented and cathartic finale.
37. Gasp moment: Hello Black Mamba
In a shocking twist, the Bride does not kill anyone in “Volume 2” except…Bill. Her showdown with Budd is cut short courtesy of Elle Driver. With child like innocence and greed inspired disbelief, he opens a bag full of money only to encounter a (hidden and) venomous Black Mamba that bites him several times much to the audience’s surprise.
This gives Tarantino the opportunity to not only indulge himself with quotable dialogue during the “last agonising minutes of Budd’s life” but he extracts simultaneously a truly mean spirited performance by Daryl Hannah. California mountain snake indeed gentlemen.
36. Hilarious moment: Going into the wrong house
Playing with conventions in a similar way that he did with “Inglourious Basterds”, the unfortunate Tate murders do not occur but instead the cult members break into the wrong house, Rick Dalton’s house.
Opening the scene with typical mocking delivery around an incoming sinister situation (“I forgot my knife in the car. Can I got and get it?“, “Yeah sure“ *takes the car keys and leaves), one of the few moments in the film with genuine Tarantino dialogue, laughs are escalated when the cultists encounter a stoned Cliff (and his dog).
Yet, his laid back and stoic personality is a mask for violence capability when the occasion calls for it and at this stage things will only get worse for them. They just do not know it yet.
35. Hilarious moment: Butch meets Marcelus by accident
Having successfully avoided Marcelus and his goons and retrieved his much beloved watch, Butch stops at an intersection monologuing “That’s how you are going to beat’em Butch. They keep underestimating you”.
And then for the first time in the film, Ving Rhames’ feared LA mobster is revealed when he is passing in front of his car (along with milkshakes/soft drinks because why not!). A brief, awkward and comically cringe silence ensues between these two who look initially confused at this rarity of circumstances.
34. Hilarious moment: The stupidest excuse ever
When Landa’s eye catches Bridget von Hammersmark (her leg cast to be exact) and her dubious dates in the Parisian premiere of Paul Joseph Goebbels’s latest propagandistic flick “Nation’s Pride”, the audience expects cinematic fireworks. And it is precisely the stupidity of our heroes that betrays their goal.
Using terrible Italian accents, mannerisms and perhaps the ridiculous excuse for injuring her leg, Landa (including the audience) laughs so hard and so loud with the sheer stupidity of the “Allies” that we can only sympathize (for a moment) with the brilliant villain when he has to deal with people below his IQ.
33. Tense moment: “Attendez la creme!”
When Shosanna comes faces to face (by accident) with the man who killed her family, Tarantino plays wonderfully again with circumstance ambiguity; we do not know whether Landa is aware of Shosanna’s real identity, or he is simply trying to sass her out or he is exercising his social skills.
And it is for these reasons precisely why this scene works. Suppressing her surprise, trauma and anger, Shosanna interacts (or more accurately, reacts) calmly to his line of inquiry over the course of a … strudel. Tarantino’s ability to insert food/drink (e.g., milkshakes, burgers, sandwiches and now strudels) over dialogue exchanges manages to make them all the more memorable and delicious. Bearing a double meaning since an individual of Jewish heritage might not be able to eat the cream (unless it is Kosher), Landa’s insistence for dairy products (i.e., a glass of milk) adds another layer to the proceedings. Is he a lover of dairy products or a bastard? Maybe both but that is genius writing.
32. Hilarious/gasp moment: Shut up already!
When you push the buttons of a way laid back criminal for a long time during a heist, it is unavoidable that something might occur.
This is what Bridget Fonda’s Melanie discovers when she takes things too far in a parking lot. It is unexpected and like most of Tarantino moments, funny because what we (want to) see happens off screen and out of sudden; the day light and the public place giving a false sense of security for murder.
31. Quotable dialogue: “I don’t tip”
This opening sequence of one of the most memorable directional debuts of all time features seven criminals conversing about several things including the art of tipping after Mr. Pink refuses to put any $$ on the table.
Rebuffing persistent remarks through fabulous lines (e.g., “Do you know what this is? It’s the world's smallest violin playing just for the waitresses“) and using pretty convincing arguments (e.g., “So is working at McDonald’s but you don’t feel the need to tip them do you? Well why not? They’re serving you food. But no, society says don’t tip these guys over here, but tip these guys over here“), he finally gets put into his place by Lawrence Tierney’s crude mastermind (“Couch up a bug you cheap bastard, I pay for your breakfast“).
30. Music/gasp moment: Killer opening with Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang”
“Bang Bang, he shot me down, bang bang”. Never before a title track has fit so perfectly with the on-screen material. Opening with a brutally beaten and blood drenched Uma Thurman in gorgeous black and white cinematography, we listen an off screen David Carradine’s monologuing about fried eggs and sadism. But just before she could finish the one sentence that she could mutter, a loud shot is heard, blood splatters and audiences around the world freaked out. Nancy Sinantra’s “Bang Bang” echoes through the speakers, a melancholic reminder of the unexpected shock that just happened. A novel way to capture your audience’s attention in a terrific two-minute single shot and set this martial arts epic set into motion.
29. Hilarious moment: Miracles do happen!
After Jules finished quoting his famous “Ezekiel” Bible passage and cleaned the flat with Vincent in true Tarantino fashion, a third person emerges behind a door shooting all over the place. Unfortunately for him, either a miracle occurred that protected these two goons or he completely missed his targets. The exchanged look between Jules and Vincent is cinematic gold; their confusion of what just happened is evident but casually portrayed by these two actors who make the comedic tone of this moment work. Guns raised, looks become more tense and serious and the guy is converted into a human swiss cheese made in LA.
28. Music moment: The Coaster’s “Down in Mexico”
Bearing absolutely no significance in the overall plot, the much discussed between our first girl quadrant lap dance arrives when Kurt Russell’s Stuntman Mike makes his move on Vanessa Ferlito’s “Butterfly” (and calling her chicken shit).
While it is nothing more than an excuse to showcase Vanessa Ferlito’s curvy moves, the use of the Coasters’ “Down in Mexico” gives this scene a rhythm and feel good vibes before the s**t his the fan (also pay attention in the background, you might find some familiar faces there).
27. Direction: Tracking shot inside The House of Blue Leaves
Employing a fantastic and complex steadycam shot, Tarantino is a master director who clearly loves the interior decor of his House of Blue Leaves restaurant set. He follows the Bride from the bar all the way to the bathroom on the other side through narrow corridors and ceiling perspectives before exiting again, crossing the dance floor, his camera seeking Sophie Fatale’s descend to the ground floor and her need to the bathroom. And all of this amidst quite a few extras (including Tarantino himself) and the 5.6.7.8’s ultra groovy “Woo Hoo” track.
26. Gasp moment: Buried alive
In a surprising turn of events, Beatrix underestimates the now-washed up Budd and gets a double case of rock salt in her chest. Incapacitated, this mistake costs her dearly as she gets buried alive in a sequence where Thurman’s outstanding acting is delivered by an overwhelming amount of stares that range from despair, disgust and sheer determination. Not for those with claustrophobia, the exquisite sound design and tight cinematography makes this moment an emotional stand out in the not so action heavy second half of the “Kill Bill” saga that showcases that even the toughest martial art badass does not stand a chance against a gun.
25. Hilarious moment: “Has anyone brought an extra bag?”
Tarantino, a master of turning horrific events funny takes on an early version of KKK. Before attacking Doc Schultz and Django, a group of horse riders with white masks argue about the quality of their head coverings.
Tarantino pokes fun at this individuals who enquire whether “anyone brought an extra bag?” and about the quality of vision( “Damn! I can't see fuckin' shit outta this thing.“). At the end Willard, whose wife made the masks says “Well fuck all y'all! I'm going home! You know, I watched my wife work all day gettin' thirty bags together for you ungrateful sons of bitches! And all I can hear is criticize, criticize, criticize! From now on, don't ask me or mine for nothin'!“. Gold.
24. Emotional moment: The grand reveal
Despite being teased at the end of “Volume 1”, the audience can only assume that Beatrix will eventually meet her daughter one way or another. By the time she is ready to kick her ex-lover’s ass, Bill has one last ace to play. All her fury, anger and determination to finish off her list are stripped away in mere seconds when this deadly assassin sees her spawn playing with her father. It is one of the most powerful moments in film where the driving spirit of murderous (and now you could argue, pointless) revenge are overcome by the euphoric feeling of motherhood. Uma Thurman nails the scene that sees a certified badass becoming the most tender and warm hearted person on the planet.
23. Gasp moment: Slave fight
In one of the two most difficult to watch (or listen for that matter) scenes in Tarantino’s western epic, we are introduced to Leonardo di Caprio’s despicable and Francophile(!) antagonist, Calvin Candie. Yet it is not what he says or does that makes him the villain.
It is what he enjoys much to the hidden shock of our protagonist duo: slave fighting to the death for his own amusement which Tarantino wisely removes the excessive OTT bloodshed for an unflinching depiction of brutality. It is such a powerful scene for three reasons. Firstly it highlights without blinking property attributes that were affiliated with an entire race; these are not individuals but investments for entertainment and thus his lack of empathy is striking. Secondly, Candie is so confident and secure that he can watch the entire unfortunate thing from the distance of his couch, indicating that even though these two large slaves could have easily reached and killed him (and his bodyguard), their subjugation is complete. Lastly, he actively enjoys one slave having his eyeballs gauged out and actively throws a hammer to the victor so he can finish the job. While tough to watch, it is mesmerising to see one of the most beloved actors on the planet playing with such “panache” and “charisma” a horrible character.
22. Gasp moment: Vincent goes to heaven
When Butch sets off to retrieve his father’s watch, Tarantino creates a sense of tension by using a lengthy shot which follows him through yards, fences, stairs and finally into his former apartment complex. For some unknown Tarantinian reason, after he recovers the much desired watch, he decides to put some pop tarts in the toaster only (for him first and then for the audience) to notice a gun laying around in the kitchen bench. A toilet flash is heard, a door opens, Vega looks confused, the tarts pop and one of the most subverted moments in cinema occurs sending to worldwide audiences waves of the same confusion and shock that our beloved hitman had in his final moments.
21. Gasp moment: Needle in the heart
In another moment that rocked the relatively tame 90s, Vincent stabs Mia’s chest with an adrenaline shot after she had a heroine overdose that she mistook for cocaine. Not for the faint hearted, this scene is both funny and squirm inducing; that needle close up is not for those with a particular phobia for long metallic objects. Yet, we can only laugh at the absurdity of the situation as anyone involved here are way out of their league and act in theory rather from experience. THAT stabbing sound resulted in one individual passing out in a screening which Tarantino described as “Well my movie worked!”. Well played sir.
20. Tense moment: Phrenology lesson
After learning the truth from his house slave Stephen, Calvin Candie proceeds to explain to his now intimated guests phrenology, a pseudo scientific area that correlates the bumps in the back of the skull with mental traits. Using the skull of former slave Ben as a demonstration object, he berates an entire race and showcases that beneath his wannabe charm and Frankophile-my-ass attitude, he is just really a small and ugly man in a tiny kingdom, the context of his estate the opposite of its name (i.e., Candyland), his guests now captives of a depraved prince who is as unhinged as unpredictable. It is a moment that makes it even better when DiCaprio’s hideous villain slams his hand on a real glass on the table and cutting his hand in the process but ultimately decided to stay in character in one lengthy and chatty take. Now this is acting.
19. Gasp moment: “If you insist”
After “purchasing” Broomhilda from Candie, a shaken to his core Schultz cannot escape the images of D’Artagnan’s death, particularly when “Fur Elise” is playing in the background, a stark contrast of all the horrors we have seen in the southern US landscape so far. For an insisting Frankophile, Candie who claims to admire Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers”, has not a clue that Doumas was a mixed raced person and legally freed.
This small but crucial interplay between these two wholly different men showcases that Candie is superficiality personified, loving things that … black people have created without knowing it yet hating anything related to those of different skin color. It is a fascinating insight in the villain’s mind who holds his ground and “insists” that Schultz needs to shake his hand to finish the deal. A baffling Schultz ignores the plea only for Candie to persist intently. In a moment of temporary weakness (“If you insist!“), Schultz pulls out a mini pistol and shoots Candie in a totally unexpected moment. The flowing red through the white flower bears several layers of significance once you start thinking about it and this antagonist got a far painless end that he actually deserved.
18. Tense moment: Jules goes nuclear
The “Ezekiel 25:17” segment is enough to remind the extraordinary acting abilities of Samuel L. Jackson. Switching from a chill vibe to an ultra raging lunatic over the course of five tense minutes, the audience tries to put together of what is happening and who is who. Tarantino cleverly escalates the tension through seemingly unimportant mannerisms and food talk that reveal slowly why Jules and Vega are making this visit along with their role in it. This out of nowhere bible quote (and Vega getting ready behind the main culprit is genius visually storytelling) provides a glimpse of what Tarantino had in store for us in the first15 minutes, its purpose revealed in the last “episode”. Jackson has never been better and why he never won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar is beyond human comprehension.
17. Gasp moment: The Bride awakes
While we start with an awesome fight, QT takes us back the moment Uma Thurman’s Bride wakes up after four years being in a coma.
Having a few doses of humor (e.g., the mosquito sucking her blood with ridiculous sound effects), it is a heart breaking scene when she realizes that she is not pregnant anymore assuming that her baby is gone.
Brilliantly acted, the underrated Thurman sells every emotion: surprise, anger, guilt and desperation. A vastly overlooked performance and an all time great.
16. Hilarious dialogue: Let’s talk about a foot massage
While in “Reservoir Dogs”, Tarantino showed snippets of casual and occasionally, pointless dialogue about every day things than can offend or upset someone, in “Pulp Fiction” he elevates this attribute to astronomical levels of quotability. What started from “Royale with cheese” descends into an argument between two hitmen about the benefits and dangers of giving a foot massage. It is a “noble” moment that paints people with rather grim jobs as you and me individuals; while killing might be easy as eating a burger, giving a foot massage is strictly offensive or not depending on your point of view. Brilliant, iconic and funny, this particular dialogical segment is elevated by the once in a lifetime chemistry between Travolta and Jackson and is populated with fantastic one liners (e.g., “Take care of her?”, “I am the foot fucking master“).
15. Tense moment: George Spahn ranch visit
While “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” can be easily regarded as Tarantino’s most accessible film to date, towards its end there is an extended and quite suspenseful sequence that takes places in the George Spahn Ranch. Bearing Hitchkok’s philosophy of having the audience being aware about something that our character is not, Cliff decides to check out his pal George and his whereabouts around this hippy entourage that has been staying there. Tarantino makes it clear that something is off by implying a sinister element in every frame. Yet Cliff is determined to find out what happened to his friend. The lack of songs only contributes to the uneasy tension simply because we do not know how the script will treat Cliff and his well meaning intentions. Typically, Tarantino subverts all these expectations with flair and Pitt sells every moment he is in.
14. Gasp moment: Down with the Nazis
In what could have been an interesting alternative to the horrors of World War II that were inflicted by the Nazi regime, Tarantino rewrites (boldly) history as all the Nazis go bye bye after our secondary heroine Shosanna burns her cinema and its patrons to the ground. Unknown to her though, the Basterds have their own mission and in their bloodlust to eradicate the Third Reich, they forget the strapped in their legs dynamites. They ended up going down with the rest of Nazi scum as well in a blaze of glory that in the film’s universe ends the war with a massive bang by eradicating Hitler and his top officials in the process. Shame for the poor fellow riding his bike outside the cinema. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time!
13. Gasp/music moment: Can you lend me an ear?
“Reservoir Dogs” launched once of the most successful directional careers of all time for two reasons: the upbeat pop culture infused dialogue and the ear cutting scene which alone broke several 90s standards. Most people fail to remember that Tarantino is not keen on displaying front and center violence as much as indicating its brutality when it is serious and not pop culture inspired like the OTT one in “Kill Bill”. Mr Blonde, a much described psychopath by his co-robbers and the film’s closest thing to an antagonistic, finds pleasure into torturing a tied police officer. What follows is an out-of-frame sadistic act where he proceeds to cut the poor man’s ear with a razor under Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” that plays on a radio near by. It is a horrifying moment that ends if you belong to a moral audience, with a justified bang.
12. Action moment: Beatrix Kiddo vs Vernita Green
The first face off in “Kill Bill Volume 1” that puts the Uma Thurman’s Bride against Vivica A. Fox’s Vernita Green inside a nice Pasadena home showed that Tarantino is not messing around when it comes to action. It is unlike anything that came before in the Hollywood martial art/action landscape where these two badass women are fearless and brutal, their instincts of survival kicking in immediately after Vernita opens the door. One is fighting to protect her family (the irony here) and other to avenge it. Proceeding to destroy Vernita’s living room in two minutes, there is hardcore stuntwork, pitch perfect editing (by Tarantino regular Sally Menke) and visceral fight combos. Until Vernita’s daughter comes home from school in the background between a knife stand off that is. Only Tarantino can pull this off.
11. Tense moment: Unleash the dogs
The second most difficult scene to watch in “Django Unchained” involves our “charming” but utterly hateful villain unleashing a pack of dogs to devour a slave named … D’Artagnan whom he deems unnecessary. Tarantino wisely avoids the shocking images and leaves the sound to do the dirty work.
Not only this scene serves as a catalyst later on for Schultz to send Candy to go out speaking the King’s but it significantly highlights the slavery horrors of the US in a brave and widespread manner that had not been done before. And we the audience helplessly watch along with a shocked Dr Schultz and Django as a man is torn to pieces like a ragdoll. Yet, it is not the brutality that haunts you afterwards but D’Artagnan’s facial expression: an ultimately defeated both physically and mentally human being. If one picture could worth a thousand words, it is this one.
10. Hilarious/gasp moment: Mind exploding fun
While discussing the “miracle” in the car, Vega turns around (with his gun resting) to ask Marvin:
Vincent: “Marvin what do you make out of this?“
Marvin: “Hey man, I do not event have an opinion”.
Vincent: “You gotta have an opinion. Do you think that God came down from Heaven and stop the bul..”
BAM! The entire car is filled with blood and brain matter. This is perhaps the funniest case of Tarantino mocking serious and squeamish circumstances. These hitmen are more worried of having a dead body in broad daylight in LA inside their car rather than an actual person has died in mysterious ways. What makes the scene even funnier is how banal they treat this “occasion”. “What the fuck’s happening???“ shouts Jules (and the audience) after he is covered in red … paste. Vega casually replies: “Oh man, I shot Marvin in the face.”. Best response ever. You’d think?
9. Quote/action moment: “Kill Bill” finally kills Bill
After three and a half hours of flashbacks, meaningful and meaningless deaths, fights, battles, betrayals, training montages, globe trotting and a now sleeping daughter, Tarantino settles the score between these two ex-lovers not in an extended fight sequence but in the embrace of an honest conversation. A slow pace allows the audience to appreciate genuine acting from both sides along with some of Tarantino’s best dialogue (e.g., the Superman/Clark Kent analogy being a particular highlight).
Featuring some of his best dialogue, David Carradine is incredible and frankly mesmerizing oozing excessive panache and gravitas that ranges from playfulness to deadly seriousness. When Beatrix runs out of patience, he does not hesitate for a second to kill her in a brief but pivotal moment over a novel table fight by disarming her with the minimum of effort. Yet, it is Beatrix who delivers the final blow, Pai Mei’s Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.
The man who set this whole bloody story into motion accepts his fate under Ennio Morricone’s poignant “The Demise of Barbara and the Return of Joe”. And yes you might have a tear for this human who might have been a bastard but he was a human nonetheless. Perfect.
8. Action moment: Car chase
More of a duel between two muscle cars than a straightforward chase, the climatic automobile showdown between Stuntman Mike and the Abernathy, Zoe and Kim trio is sixteen minutes of pure four wheeled adrenaline that “Fast and the Furious” (2001-2023) would love to have.
Without an ounce of experience in staging complex action sequences, let alone a practical car chase, Tarantino is a natural having studied the 60s and 70s Hollywood classics. Featuring one of the most incredible stunts of all time by Zoe - Uma Thurman’s stunt double in “Kill Bill” - Bell on top of a car hood at 120 km speed, you will gasp, sweat and feel awe. The minimal soundtrack, superb editing and roaring sound design along with a well earned pay off make this scene one of the best in Tarantino’s entire career.
7. Tense moment: Bill is finally revealed
The titular character, a merciless and sadistic assassin, the man responsible for killing random civilians and for putting a bullet in the head of his former (and pregnant) lover gets a meaningful introduction under the wonderful score of Ennio Morricone’s “Il Tramonto”. Robert Richardson’s hypnotic black and white cinematography adds extra layers to this soon to be deadly reunion. Played with a riveting charisma by the late David Carradine, there are several psychological shades in his line of delivery with palpable tension and oozing esoteric rage indicating the way this wedding rehearsal will end.
6. Gasp moment: Car crash
It might be one of Tarantino’s chattiest movies but halfway through “Death Proof” features an incredible car crash. Taking the slasher genre and put his own spin, Tarantino uses instead of typical weapons that kill teens (e.g., machetes, knives), an actual stunt car, driven by Kurt Russell’s maniac. Unaware of the upcoming danger, drunk and ecstatic by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich’s “Hold Tight”, the four gals pay the ultimate price when Mike’s car obliviates their own. It is such a spectacular catastrophe that QT utilizes expert editing to play it four times; each one revealing the fates of the unfortunate passengers. It is so beautifully shot that these lasting 30 seconds hit the right amount of shock, awe, and for those who are afraid of cars precisely because of a potential crash, fear. And all this without an ounce of CGI crap. You hear that Marvel?
5. Tense moment: The bar rendezvous
While our Basterd subgroup seeks to obtain crucial information from a famous German actress (who acts as a spy for the Allies) in an underground tavern, their attempts are constantly disrupted by several peculiar circumstances.
Our heroes maximize their wits to avoid detection but the s**t really hits the fan when a high ranking Nazi officer determines to find out their whereabouts. Tarantino threads together real life attributes into his script (e.g., Fassbender’s German accent which makes you wonder why this man has not been cast again in a Tarantino flick) and even a rather deadly game of “guess who” under incredible amounts of tension where the slightest miscalculation could prove fatal. It is a stunning scene that ends with one of Tarantino’s best lines: “Say “auf Wiedersehen” to your Nazi balls!”
4. Action moment: Beatrix Kiddo vs Elle Driver
Perhaps the greatest (or nastiest depending your perspective) brawl between two women on the big screen sees Beatrix Kiddo facing off Elle Driver inside a trailer. The tight space makes it for an interesting dynamic as neither of these blondes can fully flex their martial art prowess and resulting in a variety of dirty tricks.
After lots of smashing and trashing around, Tarantino makes the outcome of the scene all the more satisfying as Beatrix is not only taking revenge for herself but also for her betrayed (and dead) master. This visual and rather emotional detail showcases brilliantly the antithesis of these appearance wise similar looking assassins but entirely differently context wise; one was humiliated by Pai Mei and rose above the occasion to become his favorite student while the other simply scolded him and lost her eye in the process. By performing the same move on Elle that Pai Mei did, Beatrix brings her masters teachings into full circle and shows that compared to her, Elle is “as helpless as a worm fighting an eagle” despite her tricks. Indeed she is.
3. Tense moment: Landa interrogating Monsieur LaPadite
Perhaps one of the best opening sequences ever, Tarantino includes here all the elements that he is well known for: tension, humor, eccentric antics and violence.
We begin with the interrogation of a French farmer suspected by Christoph Waltz’s Nazi Hans Landa of sheltering Jews. What starts though as a typical and banal interrogation under Landa’s charming and seemingly harmless tactics, degrades into a psychological game of wits where only one can come triumphant. Landa employs his fantastic multi-lingual skills to great effect deciphering the current situation and then proceeds to tear apart the farmer’s stone cold façade piece by piece equipped with charm, persistence and finally, murderous intent. This subverted Nazi portrayal won rightfully Waltz the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award and established Landa as a delightful icon of cinematic villainy for years to come and possibly the best character Tarantino has written.
2. Action moment: Showdown in the House of the Blue Leaves
FilmMining 101 has not been shy to praise the the “Kill Bill” saga as the best action film of all time, mostly because of the climatic showdown between Thurman’s Beatrix and O-Ren Ishii’s army of bodyguards; a remarkable action feat that remains unsurpassed to this day. With anime like violence and gallons of fake blood, Tarantino gets progressively loose, each fight raising the dramatic stakes until we reach the Crazy 88 level.
Putting into shame the behemothic cost and effect wise of the “Burly Brawl” in “The Matrix Reloaded” that came out earlier in the same year, this larger than life extended fight boasts superb style, mesmerizing choreography, stunning cinematography and a brilliant soundtrack. When we reach O-Ren, a surprisingly stoic showdown occurs complemented with a Samurai code of honor and Santa Esmeralda’s rendition of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” in the appropriate setting of a beautiful outdoor snowy Japanese garden; Thurman’s yellow figure a stark contrast to a white and blue palette that emphasizes emotions over thrills.
1. Music moment: Chuck Berry’s “You Can Never Tell”
The most iconic Tarantino scene of all time remains still Mia Wallace’s and Vincent Vega’s dance under Chuck Berry’s “You Can Never Tell”. In one of the most famous sets of all time - Jack Rabbit Slim’s, a “wax museum with a pulse”, Mia asks, scratch that, demands that Vincent, the man who was told by her husband to take her out and let her do whatever she wants, to dance and to dance well in order to get that trophy.
This scene signifies how much Tarantino loves cinema and the previous cinematic and musical decades. The center framed introduction of our dance duo along with Tarantino’s infatuated camera that revolves around his stars and their slick moves is cinema at its finest. Bearing a double meaning outside the context of the film, it signified the return of a beloved Hollywood icon: John Travolta who gives perhaps his finest performance. His chemistry with Thurman is great too, a mutual platonic attraction, his easy going-ness against her natural curiosity. Who thought that hitmen can dance? Well Tarantino did.