Quentin Tarentino Film example essay topic

Quentin Tarentino Throughout the many years the film industry has grown, a certain type of filmmaker immerged, known as an auteur. An auteur, usually a director, has a strong personal style and exercises creative control over his or her works. Quentin Tarentino, for example, has proven himself to be an auteur in various ways. Quentin Tarentino worked for four years as a clerk in a Los Angeles video store, where he made his feature directorial and screenwriting debut of Reservoir Dogs, and where he further expanded his great knowledge of film. Tarentino's personal style incorporates a lot of well thought out violence, swearing, repetitive casting, and many other filming techniques. In looking at Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarentino, we see the visual and stylistic similarities between the films that mark Quentin Tarentino as an auteur, and find that these similarities are shown through the intense violence, similar casting, and unique filming of each of these movies.

Reservoir Dogs, shot in 1992, relays a story about a mastermind mob-boss, Joe, who assembles a gang of high-end criminals to pull off a jewelry store heist. As the movie begins, it becomes completely clear that the plan went wrong which forces the survivors, who meet in a warehouse, to try and figure out which one of them is a police informant. The crew, which consists of Mr. White, a veteran, Mr. Orange, the wounded "informant", Mr. Pink, a squabbling criminal, Mr. Blonde, a crazy ex-con, and Nice Guy Eddie, Joe's son. Eventually, all the criminals meet in the warehouse, and it all ends in a bloody Mexican standoff. Quentin Tarentino set this film within the heist genre of other films perfectly, yet managed to completely change around the way a heist is normally shot.

This movie is completely exclusive to the other heist movies that have been filmed due to the way it is shot in reverse, with the story unfolding as the characters meet in the warehouse. Whereas other heist films are straightforward from the beginning. Throughout this film, the amount of violence runs rampant. For example, at the beginning of the movie Mr. Orange is being taken to the warehouse with a bullet in his stomach and stays with that bullet in his stomach throughout the whole movie, while he screams and passes out from all the pain.

Another example of the intense violence that occurs throughout the film is when Mr. Blonde tortures the captured police officer and cuts off his ear. The last very brutal scene of the movie is when the whole crew of gangsters hold guns that are pointed at each other for the sake of Mr. Orange's life. Eventually, the whole gang ends up dying, even Mr. Orange. When he confesses to being a cop Mr. White puts a bullet in his head and is instantly killed by the police officers that came in for the bust. All this violence portrays many things about the film and about what Tarentino is trying to suggest. He manifests these gangster characters with such disregard to living, going to jail, and swearing simply to show the audience how he believes criminals act.

Quentin therefore tries to present a criminal lifestyle as it most likely is, not worth it. He suggests that a life of crime and violence leads to dead ends such as jail, death, or predicaments such as having an informant on a well-planned out diamond heist. Quentin Tarentino uses tracking shots that also leave his mark on the movies he directs. For instance, when Mr. Blonde starts to lead his fellow criminals out to the car to look at the cop he has captured.

The camera begins to follow the group out to the car from their backsides, and then opens up to the outside of the warehouse, from dark to light. This shows the criminals containment in the warehouse; in a way trapped from leaving. When they arrive to the car, the camera shows the criminals from a low-angle. This represents their power over the cop, and the feelings they hold for their superiority over law, when in fact, the police are setting them up.

Another example of Quentin Tarentino's tracking shots is displayed when Mr. Pink is running away from the diamond depot and a few cops are chasing after him. The tracking occurs from the right side of Mr. Pink and from the back. The significance in this scene occurs when Mr. Pink drops the bag filled with diamonds and stops to pick it up, which is another one of Tarentino's marks. The criminals in his films are always distracted from what they are trying to accomplish. Mr. Pink in this case is trying to run away from the cops and save his life, but he still stops to pick up the diamonds, risking his life. Tarentino also casts the same actors and actresses in the movies he directs.

For instance, Harvey Keitel plays the part of Mr. White in this movie, and also has a part in Pulp Fiction as Mr. Wolfe. In addition, Tim Roth plays Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs, and plays a petty thief in Pulp Fiction. Not only does Tarentino use actors repetitively, but objects as well. He uses the same bloody Chevy Nova that Mr. Blonde drives in Reservoir Dogs, in Pulp Fiction with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Quentin Tarentino also manages to place himself in most of the movies he directs. He is shown at the breakfast scene in Reservoir Dogs and at the clean up of the Chevy Nova scene in Pulp Fiction.

Moreover, the entire movie is shot in cut scenes. As the movie progresses, each of the characters in the film are described by cuts to the way they were hired. This is done to force the audience to pay closer attention to the movie, and presents a more cerebral point of view for the audience to interpret. This is the first of many films that Quentin Tarentino directed, and now continues to paint his movies, as an auteur should. Jackie Brown, shot in 1997, conveys a story about a woman named Jackie Brown who supplements her small income as a stewardess by smuggling money into the United States for a gun-selling Ordell, her boss. After doing this many times, an ATF agent and an LA cop bust her at the airport parking lot, and pressure her into helping them bring down Ordell, threatening prison if she rejects.

Ordell hires a bail bondsman, Max Cherry, for Jackie, who eventually becomes a partner with her into stealing Ordell's money. With Max Cherry helping her, she attempts to trick both the ATF and Jackie, and walks away with the half million dollars to her and her partner. Quentin Tarentino once again masterfully sets this film into the heist genre, but on the other hand films it totally different than other heist films. Jackie Brown creates the same type of plot a heist film incorporates; gather partners, set up a plan, and execute the plan. Yet the plot to Jackie Brown is nothing like a normal heist. Jackie, the main protagonist, attempts to steal money from Ordell, while tricking him and the ATF; yet, she is forced into it.

If the ATF did not force her to try and convict Ordell, she would most likely not have stolen the money from him. Tarentino once again uses the violence in this movie as he did in Reservoir Dogs. In one scene, Ordell kills one of his gun dealers after locking him in the trunk with no remorse or hesitation, because he does not trust him to keep his mouth shut about Ordell's business. Another example is seen when one of Ordell's business partners or old friend, Robert Deniro or Louis, kills Melanie, Ordell's beach girl, in an open parking lot just because she is talking too much. A third example is manifested when Ordell kills Louis because he did not follow the plan of getting the cash from Jackie Brown.

Quentin Tarentino uses this violence again to depict the lifestyle of a criminal. He believes that criminals actually behave like this, without any remorse for their actions, and a very short thought process before a murder. Once again, Tarentino uses these violent shots to display why a criminal life is not worth it. Showing criminals in the movie dead from their previous criminal actions. Tarentino also uses tracking shots in his movies to further add to his title of auteur. For instance, in Jackie Brown, the main primary shot occurs when Jackie Brown is about to pull off the "heist", and the second one occurs right after she is done with the heist.

The camera first begins to track Jackie as she packs the bag with the cash and the towels and starts to walk into the mall. The camera tracks her from the side and then focuses on Jackie's face from the front, showing her paranoia and nervousness before completing her job. The camera stops tracking Jackie Brown when she enters the dressing room and begins to switch bags. Then Jackie leaves the room and gets distr acted by the suits surrounding her and ends up buying one.

This is another tactic Tarentino uses to mark his movies as his own. He creates a distraction in major scenes of the movie, just like he did in Reservoir Dogs with Mr. Pink. In this movie the distraction is the new suits, whereas in Reservoir Dogs the distraction is the bag of diamonds. Well, after Jackie is done with the bag switching and suit buying, she begins to act out the rest of her plan to fool the ATF. The camera begins to track Jackie again by the front, showing her faked paranoia, but real nervousness, and the music speeds up to build suspense for the moment. Eventually, Jackie stops walking in search for the ATF agents and the camera begins to spin around her, as she looks for the ATF agents, showing her lost, nervous appearance.

Then she calls for them and they come running in, completing the final stage of the heist, and ending the shot. Quentin Tarentino uses the repetitive actors and actresses in Jackie Brown as well to continuously illustrate to the audience the stamp he has on his movies. For Instance, Samuel L. Jackson has a big role in both Jackie Brown, as Ordell, and in Pulp Fiction, as Jules Winfield. Tarentino also uses actors and actresses in roles that are not common to them. For example, Robert Deniro plays an old bank-robber in Jackie Brown, but his role is usually really different in comparison to past movies he has starred in. Yet, Quentin Tarentino also uses actors and actresses in roles that are not uncommon to them.

In Jackie Brown, Quentin does this by using Pam Grier as the main protagonist, and the bad ass outlaw that she is normally used to. Finally, the main aspect of Tarentino films that really set them apart from other films, and fully show that Quentin Tarentino directed the film, are the way these films are shot. In Jackie Brown, the movie is filmed in sections, as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction is shot. This not only explains the film from a certain angle, but it also tends to make the audience want to see the movie again to pick up on all the subtle hints and tricks Tarentino uses between the shots; as well as paying closer attention to the scenes. This is Quentin Tarentino's second movie that he directed, and it clearly shows. Pulp Fiction, shot in 1994, initiates with the story of two petty thieves, Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, who spontaneously decide to hold up a coffee house.

The film then shifts to the story of Jules and Vincent, two loyal hit men of Marsellus Wallace that are going about his business. The final story is one of boxer Butch Coolidge who turned around his deal with Marsellus Wallace in a boxing match, and now is on the run. This film is a little different than the past Quentin Tarentino films only because it is set into a different genre. Tarentino's first films were placed into the heist genre, whereas Pulp Fiction is placed into the gangster genre.

This film is different than other gangster films due to the way it is filmed. The movie is portrayed with different scenes that are all related in some way, and these scenes are shown in a reverse order. Quentin Tarentino mastered this technique and put it to great use in Pulp Fiction. The usual gangster films are not shot in this manner. Throughout Pulp Fiction the violence holds a strong role in the way the movie is filmed. For example, Jules and Vincent storm into an apartment because of Marsellus Wallace's orders, and kill all the residents only because they did not pay Marsellus Wallace the money they owe him.

After this, they take one of the residents of that apartment into their "Chevy Nova" and Vincent's gun goes off accidentally and splatters the resident's brain all over the car. Another example of the violence in this film occurs when Marsellus Wallace's girlfriend overdoses on Coke and Vincent is forced to take care of her. What he learns that he must do is jam a needle filled with adrenaline into her heart to make sure she stays alive. This whole time, the suspense is completely built up and the music and pace of the movie is quickened, which is another Tarentino trick. In addition to these examples, another portrayal of intense violence in this movie takes place when Butch and Marsellus begin to fistfight with each other into a pawn shop, and just before Butch blows Marsellus Wallace's head open with a gun, a shotgun is pointed at him and he is forced to stop.

Then, they are both tied up, the workers and a fake cop rape Marsellus Wallace, and then Butch eventually frees Marsellus after getting himself loose. Marsellus then proceeds to take the shotgun that was once pointed at him and shoots the genitals off of the fake cop that was raping him. This violence once again acts as a manifestation of a criminal lifestyle, and the path that one follows when entering this type of lifestyle; which is one made up of money, sex, drugs, and heaps of violence. Tarentino makes the audience have sympathy for the characters and respect the way they run things, yet he betrays the audience when Butch kills Vincent after a very suspenseful Tarentino tracking shot. This shot begins with Butch dismounting his chopper. The camera starts to follow him from the back through a field filled with weeds and dead grass until he reaches his apartment.

This whole time it is completely silent, which tends to create a large amount of suspense for the audience. Butch walks very slowly up to his apartment, the whole while looking around and being very silent, with extreme paranoia. The camera focuses on Butch from a low-angle shot on the first floor while he is on the second, tip-toeing to his apartment. The camera still follows him until he is about to open the door, and then cuts to his shaky hand about to turn the key. He opens the door quickly, and proceeds to put toaster pastries in the toaster, which serves as a distraction during a very suspenseful moment; also seen in Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown. After placing the toaster pastries in the toaster, Butch finds an Uzi in his apartment, and picks it up with curiosity.

Just at that moment the bathroom door opens and Vincent comes out of the bathroom. Butch points the Uzi at Vincent and begins to unload onto him right when the pastries pop-up out of the toaster, serving as another violent shot. Quentin Tarentino also casts similar actors and actresses in this film as well. Yet, the main factor of this gangster film that sets it apart from many gangster films, and which marks it as a Quentin Tarentino film, is the way the movie is shot. The plot unfolds as each new scene comes into play.

Some describing previous scenes, others having nothing to do with the previous scenes at all. This type of directing was only special to Quentin Tarentino films, until many other directors began to mimic Pulp Fiction after its enormous profit. Tarentino shoots his movies like this for many reasons. To force the audience to play closer attention to the movie, to cause people to see it multiple times, to view the movie from a different angle, and to further mark his films with his unique sharpie TM. Pulp Fiction is thus blessed with the markings of Quentin Tarentino. After watching Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Pulp Fiction the audience gains a greater understanding of Quentin Tarentino and what he tries to represent in his movies.

Quentin Tarentino uses violence as his main motif to suggest what he believes the criminal lifestyle incorporates, and the road it leads one to. Tarentino uses the tracking shots in his movies as a stylistic element to build up the suspense of a scene and to show the paranoia of the actors fulfilling the role. Although not explored, Tarentino uses the swearing of the gangsters / criminals to further display their roles in each movie. Yet, the actors and actresses that did not act as a criminal tended not to curse at all, which can be found interesting. To further extend Quentin Tarentino's role as an auteur, he repeatedly uses the same actors, actresses, and objects in each movie. The characters in each movie learn that a life of crime leads to death and / or other bad situations.

The audience learns that swearing is good, drugs are good, and movie cuts are cool. Just kidding. The audience learns that thinking before one's actions and leading a clean lifestyle, will lengthen one's life. In looking at Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarentino, we see the visual and stylistic comparisons between the films that portray Quentin Tarentino as an auteur, and find that these comparisons are advocated through the severe violence, similar casting, and unique filming of each of these movies.