Quentin Tarentino

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