Quentin Tarantino and his Films

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06-10-13

For some reason I can't see DeeVeeDee's latest post, despite it appearing on 'Today's Posts' and when I go to his profile and view his posts, should be on page three, but right now I can only see two pages, with the last post being Sexy's - one which I pretty much agree with, although I disagree that Reservoir Dogs is not a QT film, I think you need to watch it again definitely

That, and I love Inglourious Basterds a lot more than you

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mark f

Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

06-10-13

The new page is there now. Your post pushed it over. That happens once in awhile.

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Masterman

"Hey Look it's Masterman"

06-10-13

Originally Posted by DeeVeeDee

Here's his post.

Daniel M

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06-10-13

Originally Posted by DeeVeeDee

I would say a lot more people on this forum like Death Proof than elsewhere, my friend who loves QT thinks it's **** and I've tried persuading him otherwise, with no luck. I can see why people might dislike it though, it's a lot different to anything else he's done and it's definitely more of a cheap throwaway film, although it's supposed to be, less memorable characters, less memorable dialogue etc.

Originally Posted by mark f

The new page is there now. Your post pushed it over. That happens once in awhile.

Yep, works for me now

Mingusings

Registered User

06-10-13

I think Death Proof is pretty boring with a few brilliant scenes here and there.

Cobpyth

As Time Goes By

06-10-13

Originally Posted by genesis_pig

You need to watch more movies then.. Cos it wasn't new & fresh in anyway.

I have to agree, I laughed a lot of times, Tarantino does have a sense of humor, even when he is doing interviews. The humor here is what strays it away from the usual spaghetti westerns but sadly not strong enough to make it a good film.

Call me a Western film that looks more fresh and cool than Django Unchained. Thing I found fresh about this film:

- I never saw a western film with this amount of dialogue and that used it so well to create the tension.
- I've never seen slavery in a movie from this angle.
- Some stylistic scenes felt very fresh to me (the blood splashing on the white cotton plants, for instance).
- Rap music in a western film? Pretty fresh.
- Django Unchained also had a lot of gore for a western film. I liked it.
- The subtle humor you like so much is also pretty refreshing for this genre.
- A LOT MORE

I stand by my opinion. Django Unchained has a lot of great stuff in it. It's not because some parts are very obvious references or because some songs have already been used in the past, that this film is objectively bad. Everything pretty much worked for me.

The film may not be a perfect 'whole' like Kill Bill or Inglourious Basterds, but that's because there are three very clear parts in this film. It's supposed to be that way. For me the second part (with Calvin Candie) was pure cinematic genius full of constructive tension. The other two parts are also very enjoyable, but it's the middle piece of the film that makes me love it so much.

Cobpyth

As Time Goes By

06-10-13

Originally Posted by nostromo87

while i'm certainly no musical expert, my gut instinct tells me movie music has sorta been watered down in the semi-recent past... and that most audiences don't really have much of an ear and an understanding for the craft of telling story through music

while django unchained had some "cool and hip" tracks, which is typical for a tarantino movie, i don't really think the musical story had much coherence if any. if Morricone says it, it's not something to be ignored.

what i'm getting at is, i think the best movies are scored, usually by a single masterful composer. that composer works closely with the director to deliver a musical story that, united with the visual story, creates a powerful force that is on full display to the audience when the movie is released

but where are the Bernard Herrmanns or Jerry Goldsmiths of our age? kinda seems like it's Hans Zimmer and a bunch of his imitators/pupils... now a lot of people love that style music, the loud persistent banging of "Inception" that has been imitated many times since... i guess a lot of people just don't care or pay it much mind.. i do think Moon (2009) was a well-scored movie, by Clint Mansell, however

to bring it back on topic to Tarantino, i don't think he's ever collaborated with a single composer to create a distinct moving force of music to lay over his film. it's an all-over-the-board mishmash of pop culture music. and many seem to love that, nothing technically wrong with that i suppose...

yet i think it is possible this could be a limitation in his skill as a filmmaker and storyteller. think about some of the most iconic scores... Psycho (1960) by Bernard Herrmann, Chinatown (1974) by Jerry Goldsmith, Taxi Driver (1976) by Bernard Herrmann (again), even Morricone's scores for Leone's (Tarantino's idol) movies... such as For a Few Dollars More (1965) and the Good the Bad & the Ugly (1966).. and so many more

even a guy like John Carpenter showed guts and talent, to score some of his own movies... like the score for Halloween (1978). it's become part of the culture of that holiday thanks to his movie. what if Carpenter had gone a different route and just recycled old themes he liked from movies he's watched instead of creating his own? we'd have been robbed of something that's become part of the musical culture of stories

how about the scores by Goblin for Dario Argento's Italian horror films? Those are great!

i crave more atmospheric scores like that. instead we often get the incessant banging of Zimmer and his imitators, or a lot of recycled pop culture related stuff.

i end by saying this was probly just all a bunch of useless rambling, but what if there's something to it dammit?!

I like atmospheric music scores, but I'm also a HUGE fan of using existing songs in film. Some scenes really gave a song a whole new meaning for me.

The masters of using existing music in films are of course Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese (both in a very different style). I think they both had the best ears of all directors for that kind of stuff.
Tarantino also had some strokes of genius when choosing songs for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill films (his three best films music-wise, in my opinion).

I don't think one of the two ways of using music in film is objectively 'better'.

DeeVeeDee

Not Enough Time

06-10-13

Let me start by saying I respect your opinion, but I must beg to differ. I agree it is not like most QT films, that's a given. But I cannot see how one who likes Reservoir Dogs thinks DeathProof is boring. And no (or not enough) good dialogue? Are you kidding me? And don't tell me it doesn't have enough violence. While it may not be as bloody, it's more centralized around violence than some of his other movies. I will admit, it's drawn out in many ways, but aren't all QT films?

I guess I'm just confused because while it's content is unlike a lot of his other films, the directing really is similar. And thinking about it, yes, it is a bit boring, but I personally think that's because its main purpose was to be a car-chase movie. But maybe I just like it because I'm a "she", not a "he"

Brodinski

Msg

Registered User

06-10-13

I like Tarantino a lot, but to say he's one of my favourite directors is a stretch. I think that the films he churns out are completely his own vision, much like No�, Gondry, Jarmusch and Luhrmann. However, I've always been more a fan of guys who can be chameleons and adapt their style to the material they're handed. I'm speaking of Soderbergh, Fincher, Spielberg, and Boyle. There lies greatness in taking another guy's material and making it your own, shapeshifting your style over and over again.

Exceptions being Leone and Kubrick.

Nostromo87

BANNED

06-10-13

Originally Posted by Cobpyth

I don't think one of the two ways of using music in film is objectively 'better'.

objectively speaking that's a fair point.

for discussion's sake, why have no Tarantino movies had an original score like a Psycho '60, the Good the Bad & the Ugly '66, Chinatown '74, Taxi Driver '76, etc?

let's not write off and ignore what Morricone said. i'm willing to lend him some credence in this regard, for conversation's sake. Morricone is one of the greats, and scored Tarantino's favorite movie ever made

the easy answer is that it's a stylistic choice to recycle music. perhaps not too different than calling something "paying homage" as opposed to straight ripping off..

Cobpyth

As Time Goes By

06-10-13

Tarantino already answered this question in several interviews. He wants full control as a director and he doesn't want to be dependent on a music composer. Therefore he chooses existing material, so he can exactly set the atmosphere he desires for a certain scene.

Mingusings

Registered User

06-10-13

Originally Posted by nostromo87

while i'm certainly no musical expert, my gut instinct tells me movie music has sorta been watered down in the semi-recent past... and that most audiences don't really have much of an ear and an understanding for the craft of telling story through music

while django unchained had some "cool and hip" tracks, which is typical for a tarantino movie, i don't really think the musical story had much coherence if any. if Morricone says it, it's not something to be ignored.

what i'm getting at is, i think the best movies are scored, usually by a single masterful composer. that composer works closely with the director to deliver a musical story that, united with the visual story, creates a powerful force that is on full display to the audience when the movie is released

but where are the Bernard Herrmanns or Jerry Goldsmiths of our age? kinda seems like it's Hans Zimmer and a bunch of his imitators/pupils... now a lot of people love that style music, the loud persistent banging of "Inception" that has been imitated many times since... i guess a lot of people just don't care or pay it much mind.. i do think Moon (2009) was a well-scored movie, by Clint Mansell, however

to bring it back on topic to Tarantino, i don't think he's ever collaborated with a single composer to create a distinct moving force of music to lay over his film. it's an all-over-the-board mishmash of pop culture music. and many seem to love that, nothing technically wrong with that i suppose...

yet i think it is possible this could be a limitation in his skill as a filmmaker and storyteller. think about some of the most iconic scores... Psycho (1960) by Bernard Herrmann, Chinatown (1974) by Jerry Goldsmith, Taxi Driver (1976) by Bernard Herrmann (again), even Morricone's scores for Leone's (Tarantino's idol) movies... such as For a Few Dollars More (1965) and the Good the Bad & the Ugly (1966).. and so many more

even a guy like John Carpenter showed guts and talent, to score some of his own movies... like the score for Halloween (1978). it's become part of the culture of that holiday thanks to his movie. what if Carpenter had gone a different route and just recycled old themes he liked from movies he's watched instead of creating his own? music that's become part of the musical culture of stories would never have come about

how about the scores by Goblin for Dario Argento's Italian horror films? Those are great!

i'd love to hear more atmospheric scores like that. instead we often get the incessant banging of Zimmer and his imitators, or a lot of recycled pop culture related stuff.

i end by saying this was probly just all a bunch of useless rambling, but what if there's something to it dammit?!

Don't get me wrong, I love the scores you have mentioned. I guess I just don't understand why a song can only be good in a movie if it was specifically written for the movie. Look at the songs to the opening credits of a few Tarantino films such as Little Green Bag in Reservoir Dogs, Miserlou in Pulp Fiction, or Bang Bang in Kill Bill. I'd put those musical moments in the same league as any musical moment from any movie you have mentioned.

I think a great example of a recent non-Tarantino movie that has brilliantly chosen music is Kick-Ass. There were 4 different composers that wrote original music for the film. Matthew Vaughn took bits and pieces from each composer, threw in some modern hip-hop music and even used a Morricone song and I think that the musical story in that film is, again, just as strong as any of the films you listed.

Mingusings

Registered User

06-10-13

Originally Posted by DeeVeeDee

For me, the majority of Death Proof is just a bunch of women having annoying conversations. I was actually annoyed while listening to them talk. I think the "grindhouse moments" work very well (although the car chase is a bit long) and Stuntman Mike is hysterical.

Nostromo87

BANNED

06-10-13

Originally Posted by Cobpyth

well it's certainly easier to use existing music, than to have a hand in creating something new. that's kind of what i'm getting at

genesis_pig

Registered Oozer

06-11-13

There's one thing I learned on MoFo is that fans, no matter, what will never agree to criticisms about their favorite filmmakers. Even if the criticisms are not just miniscule pointers but actually strong observations based on movies that Tarantino references or pays tribute to.

But like Brodinski said, Tarantino does write stuff based on his own vision, but in Django Unchained that vision has failed to be delivered by his skills as a director. He probably paid so many tributes to Spaghetti westerns in his previous films that he ran out of them.

How many Corbucci fans here by the way?

genesis_pig

Registered Oozer

06-11-13

Originally Posted by Daniel M

I'm not sure exactly, but I think Morricone was more concerned with the fact that his music was used alongside more modern, and a lot different music such as '100 Black Coffins', which is totally different from Morricone's soft, elegant music, normally Morricone's scores are the only music in Westerns, and aren't real songs so they feel fitting to what your watching, where as Tarantino is using music that wouldn't of been possible back then, and from a different era. Whilst I thought it was fine, and enjoyed it in the film, I can understand why Morricone didn't like the use of his music mixed with all sorts of others.

I dont think Morricone has a problem with his music being used along with other modern music. Morricone has left a mark as being an innovative artist. He has established himself a legend. I don't think he'd be hurt by someone who has made his career out of movies that Morricone helped shape.

Morricone is as much a master of Spaghetti Westerns as Leone or Corbucci.

BlueLion

I'm deranged

06-11-13

Did I just see somebody use Quentin Tarantino and film composer in the same sentence? Oh wait, I just did too.

Well, other than the legend that is Ennio Morricone, I truly hope QT never uses a composer to make the music for his films (I am pretty sure he'll never do that, anyway). I thought people already knew that he listens to music in his bedroom while creating scenes that correlate to the music playing. It's part of his genius.

genesis_pig

Registered Oozer

06-11-13

Originally Posted by BlueLion

I thought people already knew that he listens to music in his bedroom while creating scenes that correlate to the music playing. It's part of his genius.

Yes, using the theme from a tv show about a wheel chaired detective for a fight scene was pure work of genious & fresh.

Cobpyth