TARANTINO XX: RESERVOIR DOGS (1992), TRUE ROMANCE (93), PULP FICTION (94), JACKIE BROWN (97), KILL BILL VOLs. 1 & 2 (2003-04) DEATH PROOF (07), INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (09, all Alliance). D: Quentin Tarantino, Tony Scott, w/ John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson. Rating: NNNN DVD package: NNNNN Rating: NNNN
Just to be clear, Tony Scott, not Quentin Tarantino, directed True Romance. But Tarantino wrote it, and his signature is evident: tangential scenes and dialogue, long passages with big speeches, B movie inspiration and pop culture references, sudden eruptions of violence, and stories that take unexpected turns.
All eight movies in this set are crime pictures, loosely defined, with an emphasis on revenge, and all have enough terrific moments to make them highly re-watchable, from the thieves’ “Mr. Pink” argument in Reservoir Dogs to Nazi Colonel Landa’s conversation with the peasant while the Jewish family hides under the floorboards in Inglourious Basterds.
Occasionally, Tarantino gets in his own way. More than once I’ve been yanked right out of one of his movies by an in-your-face onscreen reference (homage, rip-off) to some other flick, so that I start contemplating that one instead of the one I’m watching.
Tarantino is all over the extensive extras, explaining his methods and philosophy. His actors and producers also make detailed observations, and there are occasional bonbons like the character bios on Reservoir Dogs or the performances by 5,6,7,8 on Kill Bill Vol. 1. In the first of the bonus discs, a quintet of film critics bat around the movies for over two hours (highly illuminating), and the second has a solid feature-length retrospective on the man and his career.
EXTRAS Commentaries, making-of interviews, on-set footage, trivia tracks, more. English, French audio. English, French, Spanish subtitles.
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