A Quentin Tarantino movie, hailed as ‘incredible’ by fans, continues to divide cinephiles on whether it still serves as the ideal introduction to the American filmmaker’s work.
62-year-old Tarantino made his directorial debut 33 years ago with an iconic heist-gone-wrong thriller that’s chock-full of profanity, violent crime, and nonlinear storytelling.
Starring Chris Penn, Tim Roth, and Harvey Keitel, with support from Randy Brooks, Steven Wright, and Kirk Baltz, the cult classic was lauded as the ‘Greatest Independent Film of All Time’ by Empire Magazine in 2008, and has stood the test of time with favorable reviews still pouring in across the internet.
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“Incredible movie! It's impossible this was Tarantino's first movie!” said one recent viewer via Rotten Tomatoes.
A second typed: “What a great mystery and masterpiece from Tarantino. This was a great first film of his and very basic with its premise and plot, yet so awesome. The performances are stellar and so is the writing. This was merely the beginning too! What great casting choices!!”
The movie is, of course, Reservoir Dogs.
Someone else remarked that while Reservoir Dogs’ storytelling is not quite on par with Pulp Fiction, it still ‘speaks volumes’ with its ‘simplicity’ and its ‘non-traditional narrative’.
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“The greatest crime drama since The Godfather it was something Hollywood can’t do anymore write direct and act,” a fourth agreed. “It was Quentin's best movie and Michael Madsen stole the picture.
“RIP he was a fine addition to the cast and Harvey [Keitel] and Lawrence Tierney were great as well. This is how to write dialogue. What a movie. I miss old Hollywood, it is gone now.”
Beyond the rave reviews and impressive 94 percent Tomatometer score, Tarantino's 1992 flick has also earned a 4.1-star average rating on Letterboxd and is classed as one of actor Bruce Willis’s favorite projects.
According to a 2007 interview, he claimed he watched Reservoir Dogs ‘three to five times a year’ at one point, along with Dr. Strangelove, Raging Bull, and Spartacus, among others.
Reddit debates what order to watch Quentin Tarantino movies
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Since Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino has added a number of other movies to his arsenal, including 2007’s Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds from 2009, and 2015’s The Hateful Eight.
So, if you’re watching Tarantino’s filmography for the first time, where do you start?
As Reservoir Dogs serves as Tarantino’s directorial debut, many cinephiles believe it’s the best place to start.
However, not everyone agrees - with some Redditors arguing new fans of the Tennessee-native should skip a chronological watch and dive into Pulp Fiction or even Kill Bill first.
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“Pulp Fiction was his explosion into the mainstream, so i'd say that. It's most loved film he's made,” argued one social media user.
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A second remarked: “Django Unchained was my introduction, and that jump started my Tarantino adventure. Inglourious Basterds might also be a good jumping off point. His work naturally gets more refined as his career progresses, which I feel makes the rawness of his early work all the more interesting.”
Someone else claimed that while they didn’t ‘rate’ Tarantino as much as others, they would recommend watching Pulp Fiction first as it is the star’s ‘most appreciated and well known’.
Meanwhile, others have said you should step away from his work as a director and instead focus on films he wrote, like 1993’s True Romance, 1996’s From Dusk till Dawn, and the upcoming Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Quentin Tarantino’s ‘favorite’ movie of his
If you’re still confused, then maybe hearing from the filmmaker himself may help.
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Earlier this summer, the American weighed in on what film he truly believed only he ‘could’ve made’, as well as which project is his ‘favorite’
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Speaking on The Church of Tarantino podcast, the Jackie Brown creator said: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is my favorite, Inglourious Basterds is my best.”
Explaining why Kill Bill was the ‘ultimate Quentin movie’, the father-of-two said: “Like nobody else could’ve made it.
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“Every aspect about it is so particularly ripped, like with tentacles and bloody tissue, from my imagination and my id and my loves and my passion and my obsession.
“So I think Kill Bill is the movie I was born to make, I think Inglourious Basterds is my masterpiece, but Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is my favorite.”
So if you’re a first-time Tarantino watcher, the question is: where do you want to begin? Willis’ repeat watch Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino’s ‘favorite’, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, or Pulp Fiction? Answers on a postcard.
Topics: Quentin Tarantino, Film and TV, Entertainment, Celebrity, Rotten Tomatoes
Ella Scott