Quentin Tarantino was born March 27, 1963 in Knoxville, Texas
to his single mother, Connie Tarantino. Even as a young boy, Tarantino seemed
to have a love and passion for movies. He spent all his time watching movies
and reading comics. He hated school and would often watch movies instead of
doing his homework. (Wild) Unsurprisingly, he dropped out of ninth grade and
took on a series of odd jobs to fill his time. His passions for film drove him
to work film-related jobs. One in particular was an usher at an adult film
theatre. He also took acting lessons. (Quentin Tarantino Bio) Eventually he
ended up at Video Archives, a video store in Manhattan Beach. He worked there for
five years, feeding his love for watching and talking about movies. Tarantino
paid attention to films people liked to watch and what they thought of them. He
soaked himself in pop culture, and his extensive pop culture knowledge would
later be used to make obscure references of other films, people, and events in
his own movies. Tarantino once said “’People ask me if I went to film school,
and I tell them, 'No, I went to films.'" He also met Roger Avary at Video
Archives and they bonded over their mutual love for film. (Wild) They partnered
together to produce several films including My
Best Friend’s Birthday, Pulp Fiction
and Reservoir Dogs.
After his days at Video Archives, Tarantino set out to turn
his love for watching and talking about films into actually making them. In
1984 he co-directed My Best Friend's
Birthday. (Wild) It was ignored until years later after Tarantino had
become a successful director, where the surviving 36 out of 70 minutes were
shown at film festivals. Although the film was his first, it demonstrated both his
signature style and passion for acting (as he played the leading role).
(Quentin Tarantino Bio)
His first official
film was Reservoir Dogs in 1992. It
incorporated Tarantino’s flair for violence, gore, harsh language, and cultural
references into a suspenseful heist movie. It set the tone for his later films
as well. He used many themes in several of his movies, of which begin in Reservoir Dogs, such as briefcases and
suitcases, trunk shots, long unbroken takes, a restaurant scene, dark humor,
nonlinear storylines, and actors to be featured in multiple films such as Tim
Roth, and Harvey Keitel. It grossed only $2.8 million at the box office in 61
theatres. (Reservoir Dogs)
His next major film, Pulp
Fiction, in 1994 premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and was an
immediate hit. It played in small film festivals until October when it went
into general release. With a budget of $18.5 million, it grossed $107 million
in the U.S. making it the first independent film to do so. (Pulp Fiction,
Erlewine) It was similar to Reservoir
Dogs in that it was just as shocking, gory, and well received by the
general public. In addition, both of these movies spawned a conversation about
violence in movies, particularly in Tarantino’s where it seems to run as a
general theme. Many critics claimed Tarantino’s violence and racism could not
be taken seriously as the entire movie takes on a mocking tone. It is not meant
to be offensive by means of absurdity and humor. While others believed that
strong movie violence is linked to violence in real life. Tarantino’s later
films, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill (Vols.
1 & 2), Grindhouse, Inglourious
Basterds, and Django Unchained each
follow the in the same path that is Tarantino’s style. They are all iconic,
violent, vulgar, and gory. Between all eight of his films, an estimated 560
people have died on screen. (Erlewine)
Tarantino is often asked what influenced him when he writes
and directs films. In December of 2012, Tarantino claimed that his writing has
been most influenced by "a combination of Elmore Leonard, David Mamet, and
Richard Pryor". He went on to say that these men all helped him "find
his voice, dialogue, and character voices". (Tarantino) In 1997, Tarantino
adapted Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch into his film Jackie Brown, which
was strongly influenced by blaxploitation. (Steritt) Apart from writing,
Tarantino also derives inspiration from films. In 2012, Tarantino revealed his
top 12 films to be Apocalypse Now, The Bad News Bears, Carrie, Dazed and
Confused, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Great Escape, His Girl Friday,
Jaws, Pretty Maids All in a Row, Rolling Thunder, Sorcerer, and Taxi Driver. (Greatest
Films Poll)
Tarantino is famous for both his passion and ability to make
movies. From the year 1994 to 2013, he has been nominated for thirty-four awards
and won eleven of them including the Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival and
Best Screenplay from the Golden Globes, Broadcast Film Critics Association
Awards, BAFTA, and the Academy Awards. He has made many great movies in his
twenty-year career, most of them showcasing Tarantino's expression of violence
through some medium. In 2013 in an interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy,
Tarantino explains why he puts violence in his films saying its “just good
cinema” and many of his fans and critics agree with him.
Works Cited
Beggs, Alexandra.
“Down for the Count.” Vanity Fair. 13
Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Jun. 2013. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/02/quentin-tarantino-deaths-movies
Erlewine, Stephen
Thomas. “Quentin Tarontino.” The New York
Times. All Media Guide n.d. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. <http://movies.nytimes.com/person/113658/Quentin-Tarantino/biography>
“The Greatest
Films Poll: Quentin Tarantino.” British
Film Institute. n.d. Web. 12 Jun. 2013. <http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/voter/1134>
“Pulp Fiction.” Box Office Mojo. n.p. n.d. Web 12 Jun
2013. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=pulpfiction.htm>
“Reservoir Dogs.”
Box Office Mojo. n.p. n.d. Web 12 Jun
2013. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=reservoirdogs.htm>
Tarantino,
Quentin. “Quentin Tarantino's 3 Writers That Influenced His Personal
"Voice." SiriusXM Radio
SiriusXM, 10 Dec, 2013. Web. 12 Jun. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFlX-fsPWwQ>
Tarantino,
Quentin. “Quentin Tarantino: 'I'm shutting your butt down!'” Channel 4 News. Channel 4. 10 Jan. 2013.
Web. 13 Jun. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrsJDy8VjZk>
Thompson, Anne,
and Kate Meyers. "`I'm As Serious As A Heart Attack'." Entertainment
Weekly 247 (1994): 36. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 June 2013.
"Quentin
Tarantino." 2013. The Biography
Channel website. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. <http://www.biography.com/people/quentin-tarantino-9502086>
“Quenton Tarantino Biography”. StarPulse n.d. Web. 11 Jun. 2013. <http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Tarantino,_Quentin/Biography/>
"QUENTIN
TARANTINO: The Man, The Myths And His Movies." Kirkus Reviews 75.22
(2007): 1186-1187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 June 2013.
Sterritt, David.
"`Jackie Brown' Reveals A Different Quentin Tarantino." Christian
Science Monitor 90.27 (1998): 10. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18
June 2013.
Wild, David.
"Quentin Tarantino." Rolling Stone 694 (1994): 76. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 14 June 2013.
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