Ranking Tarantino: Quentin Tarantino's Movies Ranked

QUENTIN TARANTINO MOVIES RANKED

Quentin Tarantino has been writing and directing movies for over thirty years, and if you’re a cinephile to any degree, chances are you’ve seen one, or a few, or all of his movies. He’s one of the few popular mainstream directors working today who hasn’t taken on big Hollywood blockbuster franchise films (yet), instead paying tribute to movies he loves by making all-original stories and characters. He’s made such a name for himself that his own films have become events. It also helps that he’s only made eight. Technically, that’s not true, but I’m talking full-length features he’s written and directed. With Once Upon a Time in Hollywood coming out this summer, that’s one more gem added to his filmography. 

Look, I’m not saying everything he’s made is flawless, but as far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t really ever made a truly bad film. It’s almost a guarantee Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will be at least decent, if not fantastic. I’ve loved his last three movies, and because he takes his time working on them instead of cranking them out the way the Hollywood Machine likes to, I think it’s a valid prediction. 

Of course, my prediction is really only as valid as the following list, which is entirely my own opinion. If you’re a big Tarantino fan and have seen all eight of these movies, your own ordering of them is probably wildly different. I’ve looked at several lists ranking his movies, and they all vary considerably. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at Quentin Tarantino’s movies, ranked worst to best, with my own thoughts on each.

8. Death Proof (2007)

Half of the collaboration Grindhouse—the other half being Planet Terror, directed by Robert Rodriguez, which often overshadows it. Planet Terror and Death Proof, despite being initially released as a double feature, are very different from one another, but even on its own, I don’t think Death Proof is that great. It plays like two halves of different movies instead of one cohesive feature, and whether you like the first half or second half more or enjoy the whole thing will strongly influence where you would rank it against his other films. I like the first half better, even though the car chase in the second half is the overall highlight of the entire film. 

Signature Tarantino dialogue aplenty, great cinematography and direction, and solid acting don’t make up for the fact that there is a decided lack of narrative thrust and the movie just meanders in many scenes that are way too long and/or unnecessary. I get that he was paying tribute to low-budget grindhouse films of old by making it this way, but it just wasn’t as compelling as a result. Ultimately, I think it fails on the grounds of being a horror movie, which it intends to be, because it just isn’t scary. Even though I don’t think it’s great, whether a) comparing it to his other movies, b) comparing it to Planet Terror, or c) just viewing it as its own movie without taking a) or b) into consideration, I still found it worth watching and even re-watching, but regardless, it just doesn’t come close to surpassing the other seven films. 

7. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Reservoir Dogs is, for many, still the best Tarantino film. It was his first big project which he wrote, directed, and co-starred in, and introduced what would become many of his signature filmmaking characteristics, such as nonlinear storytelling, scenes in which characters have extensive dialogue about topics unrelated to the main plot, and extreme acts of violence. I’ve come around somewhat on Reservoir Dogs, but I still find it’s a pretty overrated film. It just feels in many ways like a first iteration of Pulp Fiction, and as far as I’m concerned, I’d rather watch Pulp Fiction because it’s, well, better in every way. Reservoir Dogs is less-refined than his other films, a little grittier, and maybe even a little meaner, but I just don’t find it as captivating. Having said that, it’s still more interesting than it would have been, given the subject matter, in the hands of a less capable writer/director. The thing that sticks with me the most about it is the gang of characters. Naming them all after colours was a simple but effective trick, the performances are all great, and they bring a unique energy to the action. 

6. Jackie Brown (1997)

The first time I saw Jackie Brown, I didn’t like it. I was expecting Pulp Fiction Part II, which it certainly is not, but now I appreciate it for what it is: an effective character-driven crime drama with great performances and significant intrigue. Samuel L. Jackson gets a meatier role than in Pulp Fiction, even if it’s not quite as memorable, and Pam Grier plays it cool and charming in the title role. The fewer main characters means they get more development, and the pace is quite leisurely, giving them lots of time to develop. 

It’s based on the novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard, making it the only Tarantino film to be an adaptation, and it’s also notable for its decided lack of Tarantino-isms. There’s hardly any onscreen violence or blood, and it’s played very serious, without anything that’s particularly over-the-top or exaggerated. Personally, I like it when he goes more extreme, so your feelings about his excessive use of violence may correlate with how high or low you would rank this one. The dialogue is still excellent, the cinematography is good (though not particularly noteworthy), and the tension ratchets up well, but overall, it’s just too slow-paced and overly long to make it one I like to watch over and over. Still, it’s one of Tarantino’s more mature efforts, and one of his most underrated.

5. Django Unchained (2012)

Tarantino has always had a western vibe going in his films, some more than others, but finally with Django Unchained, he made an actual western. The lead character of Django is easily one of the best lead characters he’s ever created (not to discredit Jamie Fox, who is great), and Christoph Waltz returns from having worked with Tarantino on Inglourious Basterds in a good guy role, and he’s excellent once again. Throw in Leonardo DiCaprio about halfway through as an unhinged plantation owner, plus some beautiful cinematography and extended scenes of tension, and it’s no surprise this movie was such a hit. 

As much as I like it, though, there’s some stuff that bugs me. Tarantino gives himself a little too much screen time in a very cringe-worthy role as an Australian character. The third act gets pretty slow, and though it gets tense at many points and the finale is thrilling, it just feels too drawn out, which isn’t as easy to excuse as it is with other films of his using the nonlinear storytelling technique. This one does not use that, and feels like perhaps his most conventional film in many ways. I used to have Django as one of my top three favourites of his, but haven’t found it as great upon re-watch as others, because it basically boils down to just another revenge story, which he told much better in another earlier film (more on that later), but it’s still easily one of the best westerns of the 21^st century.

4. The Hateful Eight (2015)

I often find many of Tarantino’s films get better upon re-watching, but I haven’t found this to be truer than with Hateful Eight. By the time his eighth film rolled along, I had preconceived expectations, especially with it being another western following Django, but it’s less about western conventions and more focused on being a whodunit. Though I did enjoy it the first time, it didn’t leave as big of an impact as I had anticipated. When I watched it again, it did. What’s so great about Hateful Eight is the confinement, with an unbelievable amount of excellent action and dialogue taking place in one location that isn’t particularly interesting, visually, and yet he makes it look interesting. In fact, it’s one of the best-looking movies he’s made, probably thanks in no small part to having been shot on 65 mm film. Even though it’s a three-hour character-driven story with long stretches of nothing but idle chitchat, it’s anything but boring, thanks to his reliably excellent dialogue and ability to get great performances out of all his actors. This is one of the most-solid casts of any of his films, with no one actor close to being a weak link. I guess the reason it doesn’t rank higher for me is because the reveal of what’s really going on later in the film pales in comparison somewhat to the first half, which is practically flawless.      

3. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

“I think this might just be my masterpiece.” Tarantino wrote the meta-line himself, which is one of the best final lines in any film. The concept is brilliantly simple: what if Hitler had been killed this way? It’s a bloody, tense alternate history that retains all of the Tarantino trademarks while constructing a compelling narrative in a setting quite different from any of his other films. The first time I saw this movie, I wasn’t all that impressed. It is way too long, there are many trivial dialogue scenes, and it’s largely about revenge once again. I thought that then, and I still think it, but everything else overshadows all that. The opening scene alone with Christoph Waltz’ character Hans Landa having a glass of milk with a farmer hiding a Jewish family under his floorboards is as suspenseful as anything Tarantino has ever written. The build-up to the big finale is all great, but the actual finale pays off in spades, which is why it ranks higher for me than many of his other films.     

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

I thought it was number one. I really did. Even if you don’t know who Quentin Tarantino is, you probably at least know this movie. It’s become an icon not only of nineties cinema but cinema as a whole, and for good reason. Who could forget all the incredible characters—from Samuel L. Jackson’s bible-quoting hitman, Jules Winnfield, to Uma Thurman’s drug-loving wife of Marcellus Wallace, Mia Wallace—the dialogue—“That is a tasty burger!”—and the combination of humour and violence. As much praise as this movie gets heaped on it, and rightly so, I can’t honestly say it’s my favourite Tarantino movie because while I do love it, I don’t love everything about it. The nonlinear storytelling is delightful and somehow still gels the whole thing together, but not every piece of the story is consistently compelling. Anything with Bruce Willis’ character Butch when he isn’t directly involved with Ving Rhames’ Marcellus Wallace is kind of dull. Plus, the actual conclusion of the film is rather underwhelming, considering what has come to pass over the two-and-a-half hour runtime. Yes, Pulp Fiction is great, I get why it’s most people’s favourite Tarantino film, but upon review, it’s edged out by one other, or technically two others…

1. Kill Bill (2003/2004)

Someone’s favourite Tarantino film is likely influenced by whatever genres they like the most. Western fans love Django Unchained and Hateful Eight, crime fans love Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction, and for action/martial arts fans, Kill Bill reigns supreme. To me, it’s the best movie he has ever made. Another influence in my decision is Kill Bill was one of the first Tarantino films I saw, if not the first, and it made a huge impact on me. Though technically two films (Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2), it was conceived as a single story, and only after the start of production was it split into two films. Everything there is to love about Tarantino’s filmmaking can be found here: nonlinear storytelling, the chapter structure, gloriously extreme violence, incredible dialogue, and powerhouse performances. Uma Thurman was great in Pulp Fiction. This time, we get to see her carry an entire movie, and she kicks some serious ass. The Bride has to be one of the greatest female action heroines of all-time, up there with Ellen Ripley in Alien and Sarah Connor in Terminator. Everyone else, too, is excellent and memorable; the film accumulates more memorable characters, for me, over any other Tarantino film, even over Pulp Fiction. 

So much in this movie is iconic I couldn’t possibly list every example (a brief sampling: the crazy 88, the yellow jump suit, the Hattori Hanzo swords, Daryl Hannah whistling, the siren sound, “Wiggle your big toe”, the animated back story for O-Ren Ishii), but what really puts it at number one for me is how it just draws me completely in. If someone twisted my arm and made me pick only one half as being the better half, I’d say it’s Vol. 1, and not just because of the epic action scene at the end, which is undoubtedly one of the best parts of the whole bloody affair. To watch both back-to-back is to have the real Kill Bill experience. The conclusion at Bill’s home slows the ending right down, but by that point I’m locked in, so Tarantino can get away with having Bill wax philosophic about Superman and the meaning of death before subverting expectations and skipping the final battle between him and The Bride to deliver one last surprise, which still makes for a satisfactory ending. Instead of just paying individual tribute to westerns or grindhouse cinema or samurai films, Tarantino pays tribute to all of them and more all at once. It has the best story, best characters, best music, and best action scenes of all eight films he’s made, and I wonder if he’ll be able to top it before he hangs up his director’s hat some day in the not-so-distant future.