Quintin Tarantino is a personal favorite of mine, especially with films like ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Inglourious Basterds’ under his belt. His films have won him countless awards, an ever-growing fandom, and generate millions of dollars at release. Not only are the movies a pleasure to see, but relating with the director is a major reason. Quintin Tarantino made Reservoir Dogs with a very miniscule budget, yet it made him into one of Hollywoods most exclusive film directors. His films tend to be very gory, with violence being a key factor in the plot. The examples provided will describe each and every film in the mood board in great detail.
Films
Reservoir Dogs
Synopsis:
The film begins with a group of men seated around a diner table, discussing the meaning of the meaning of Madonna’s hit song “Like a Virgin” and the merits of tipping. These men are known to the audience only as Mr. Brown, Mr. Blue, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blond, Mr. Orange, and Mr. White, along with their boss and his son. After the conversation dies down, they depart for their planned heist.
After the opening credits, we open on the interior of a car being driven by a frantic Mr. White. Mr. Orange is in the back, gut shot, thrashing, screaming, and bleeding everywhere. He’s clearly in critical condition, and believe he will die without legitimate medical attention, but since they have just come from a bungled diamond heist, all Mr. White can do is try and convince Orange that he will be fine.
They soon make it to a safe house, and a frantic Mr. Pink arrives soon after, panicking about the heist and the possibility of a rat in their midst. Both are angry with Mr. Blond, who went crazy when the alarm at the diamond depository was pulled and began shooting up the place, attracting a large group of cops to the crime scene. Pink claims he has hidden the diamonds in a safe location, and White begs him to get a doctor for Orange before he bleeds out.
We then see a flashback to Mr. White, who is an old friend of the heist’s mastermind, Joe. Back at the safe house, Pink and White get into a furious argument about White telling Orange his real name, since they cannot be sure he isn’t the rat. They fight until the arrival of Mr. Blond, who seems unfazed by the chaos. Pink and White give him a chilly reception, but Blond tells them that he has a surprise for them in the trunk of his car. The surprise turns out to be a police officer who Blond has kidnapped, and then proceeds to tie up in the safe house.
Mr. Blond now gets his own flashback. We see him meet with Joe and Joe’s son Nice Guy Eddie, who have known him a long time and see him as a son and a brother respectively. He did years in prison and upon getting out, Joe and Eddie have a job for him. Back at the safe house, Mr. Blond begins torturing the police officer, cutting off his ear and pouring gasoline over him in order to set him on fire. But as he lights the match, Mr. Orange shoots him several times in the back, revealing that he is the rat.
Mr. Orange then gets his flashback. We see him meeting with a superior in a diner, who tells him that he must go undercover inside Joe’s next operation. He is given a story to memorize and we see him practice it over and over. The story must have worked, because he is hired on for the heist.
In the present, Eddie, Mr. White, and Mr. Pink return to the safe house to find Mr. Blond dead. Orange tells them that Blond was planning to torch the cop, shoot the others, and escape with the diamonds. But Eddie doesn’t believe for a second that Blond would betray him and his dad, and after Joe finally arrive on the scene, he claims that Orange is the rat. White refuses to believe it, they all pull guns and the standoff lasts until they all fire, leaving Eddie and Joe dead and White mortally wounded. Orange then reveals that he is a cop, and a devastated White shoots him before being himself killed by the Cops. The sole survivor, Mr. Pink, escapes with the loot.
Pulp Fiction
Synopsis:
A couple of robbers known as Pumpkin (man) and Honey Bunny (woman) start to rob a restaurant. Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield are a couple of hitmen who go to an apartment to recover a mysterious briefcase that belongs to their boss Marsellus Wallace, Jules and Vincent kill everybody in the room except Marvin. Butch Coolidge is a boxer about to retire, Marsellus has paid him to throw the fight. Vincent takes Marsellus’ wife out at Marsellus’ request, her name is Mia. Vincent and Mia have dinner and win a dance contest, then Mia overdoses on heroin and Vincent takes her to his drug dealer friend Lance to save her, she gets saved eventually and they both promise not to tell Marsellus what happened.
A flashback shows young Butch receiving a visit from his dad’s friend Captain Koons telling him how Butch’s dad died in the Vietnam POW camp and he tells Butch the story of the gold watch that belonged to his great grandfather, then his grandfather and then his dad and now to the next generation being Butch…Captain Koons even had to hide the watch in his ass so it couldn’t be detected. Back to the actual time, Butch doesn’t throw the fight but he kills the other boxer and escapes with the money, he meets his girlfriend Fabienne who forgot to bring Butch’s gold watch from the old apartment so now Butch has to go get it. He goes to his old apartment and finds the watch, but also finds Vincent Vega so he shoots Vincent with a weapon he found in his kitchen. Butch leaves and drives off and finds Marsellus Wallace, the man he stole all the money from, he rolls over Marsellus and hits the car and himself badly.
Marsellus starts to chase him and they get into a fight in a pawn shop where they get knocked unconscious by the owner Maynard. They appear then in the basement tied to chairs. Maynard calls his buddy Zed and they bring out The Gimp, a man all dressed in leather, they take Marsellus to the backroom and leave The Gimp with Butch…Butch manages to set free and knocks out The Gimp, he feels sorry for Marsellus so he grabs a samurai sword from the pawn shop and goes to the back room to find Marsellus being anally raped by Zed. Butch slices Maynard and Zed gets surprised, then Marsellus shoots Zed right in the crotch…Marsellus forgives Butch so Butch goes back to his girlfriend and drive away on Zed’s motorcycle.
We now go back in time to see Jules and Vincent in the apartment they first went, after they shot all the guys except Marvin, another guy comes from the bathroom and unloads his gun on Jules and Vincent but he hits nothing, Vincent and Jules shoot him to death and Jules believes they just witnessed a miracle, Vincent doesn’t. They take Marvin and drive to Marsellus but they start discussing about the so-called miracle in the car and Vincent accidentally blows Marvin’s brains out in the backseat. They storage the car in Jimmie’s garage and call The Wolf, an old professional to help them.
The car gets cleaned so Vincent and Jules go to a coffee shop for some breakfast which happens to be the same coffee shop where Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are. Jules tells Vincent he quits the crime so Vincent gets upset and goes to the bathroom, right there Pumpkin and Honey Bunny start to rob the restaurant causing panic among the customers, Pumpkin points the gun at Jules and tells him to open the briefcase he has, he opens it and a mysterious glow amazes Pumpkin, in his distraction Jules pulls his gun against Pumpkin’s neck and makes him sit and relax, Honey Bunny points the gun at Jules and then Vincent, who just came out of the bathroom, points the gun at Honey Bunny. Jules gives a biblical speech and lets Pumpkin and Honey Bunny go. Vincent and Jules pack their guns and leave the coffee shop.
Jackie Brown
Synopsis:
When flight attendant Jackie Brown is busted smuggling money for her arms dealer boss, Ordell Robbie, agent Ray Nicolette and detective Mark Dargus want her help to bring down Robbie. Facing jail time for her silence or death for her cooperation, Brown decides instead to double-cross both parties and make off with the smuggled money. Meanwhile, she enlists the help of bondsman Max Cherry, a man who loves her.
Kill Bill
Synopsis:
Beatrix Kiddo arrives at the location of the second member of her Death List Five, Vernita Green. The two engage in a hand-to-hand fight, destroying Vernita’s living room. The fight is stopped due to the arrival of Vernita’s daughter, Nikkia Bell, who is introduced to Beatrix and is told to go to her room. The two former assassins take a coffee break, during which Vernita apologizes for her doings in the past, and asks for mercy. When Beatrix refuses to forgive, Vernita attempts to shoot her with a hidden gun in a Kaboom cereal box, only for Beatrix to dodge the bullet and throw a knife which kills Vernita. Nikkia witnesses her mother’s death, and is told by Beatrix that if one day Nikkia will want to avenge her mother’s death, she will be waiting. Beatrix then leaves in a yellow pick-up truck.
Death Proof:
Synopsis:
Stuntman Mike is a professional body double who likes to take unsuspecting women for deadly drives in his free time. He has doctored his car for maximum impact; when Mike purposely causes wrecks, the bodies pile up while he walks away with barely a scratch. The insane Mike may be in over his head, though, when he targets a tough group of female friends, including real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell, who plays herself.
Inglourious Bastards
Synopsis:
begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich.
Django
Synopsis
In 1858, two white slavers named Ace and Dicky Speck march a group of African American slaves through the Texas heat. At night, they are approached by a stranger on a horse and carriage, a German dentist named Dr. King Schultz. After asking a slave named Django whether he can identify “the Brittle brothers” from the Carrucan plantation, which angers the Speck brothers, Schultz kills Dicky and wounds Ace. He buys Django for $125, and tells the other slaves they can do what they want with Ace.
The next day, Schultz and Django ride into Daughtrey, Texas, where Django’s status as a freeman raises suspicion. Talking over beers in the saloon, Schultz reveals to Django that he is a bounty hunter and needs Django’s help in identifying the Brittle brothers, in exchange for which Django can have a share of the bounty and his freedom. When the town sheriff calls them outside to face arrest, Schultz kills the sheriff with a quick-draw. When the marshal arrives, Schultz explains that the sheriff, named Bill Sharp, was actually a wanted criminal, and that the town owes him $200.
Around a campfire that night, Django tells Schultz he and his wife Broomhilda, who speaks German, were branded and separated after trying to escape together from the Carrucan plantation. At Schultz’s office in Chattanooga, Schultz tells Django he is to pose as Schultz’s valet. They find the Brittle brothers at a plantation in Gatlinburg belonging to John “Big Daddy” Bennett. A female slave points out the Brittle brothers, and Django kills two of them on sight. Schultz rides up and kills the third, and explains to Bennett his line of work as a bounty hunter. Later that night, Schultz and Django lure Bennett and his racist mob to his empty carriage, booby-trapped with an explosive, and Django executes Bennett.
Schultz tells Django the German legend of Siegfried and Broomhilda, and vows to help him find his wife. They continue bounty hunting together, with Schultz giving Django his first handbill for killing a man named Smitty Bacall, through the winter months. In the Spring, they head to Mississippi, where Schultz learns that Broomhilda was sold to Calvin Candie, the owner of a plantation nicknamed “Candyland.” Knowing Calvin to be a fan of “Mandingo fighting”—a bloodsport where slaves fight to the death—Schultz and Django plan to pose as Mandingo fighting purveyors in order to gain entry.
At Candyland, they are greeted by Candie’s lawyer, Leonide Moguy. Upstairs, two slaves fight to the death as Candie and others look on. Candie interrogates the men about their interest in Mandingo fighting, and is won over by Schultz’s offer of $12,000 to purchase a fighter. The next day, Candie and his associates (who remain skeptical of Django) tour Django and Schultz around the plantation grounds. Candie orders a runaway slave named D’Artagnan to be mauled to death by dogs. Back at the house, a house servant named Stephen reveals Broomhilda is being kept in a hot cellar as a punishment for running away. Candie orders her release when Schultz asks to see and speak German with her.
Candie’s sister, Lara Lee, presents Broomhilda to Schultz upstairs. Speaking in German, Schultz tells Broomhilda about their “mutual friend,” and she faints when she sees Django emerge. At dinner, Stephen intuits that Django and Broomhilda know each other, and tells Candie that the two of them are scheming behind his back, along with Schultz. After attempting to intimidate them with the skull of a deceased slave, Candie threatens to kill Broomhilda with a hammer unless they pay $12,000. Schultz agrees, and Candie releases her.
After dinner, Moguy draws up the bill of sale, and Schultz, Django, and Broomhilda are about to leave when Candie demands to shake hands with Schultz. After Schultz refuses and Candie insists, Schultz kills him with the same quick-draw he used to kill Bill Sharp. Moguy kills Schultz, Django kills Moguy, and a chaotic shootout ensues. Stephen coaxes Django out by holding Broomhilda at gunpoint, and Django finally gives up. The next morning, Django wakes up in a shed, having been tied and hung upside down, and is about to be castrated when Stephen intervenes, preferring to sell Django to the Lequint Dickey Mining Company.
On his way to the mining camp, Django convinces his Australian transporters that a large bounty for Smitty Bacall awaits back at Candyland. When they release Django, he quickly executes them, steals their dynamite, and heads back to Candyland, where he retrieves Broomhilda’s bill of sale from Schultz’s corpse, and finally frees her. That night, Django waits in hiding upstairs for Stephen, Lara Lee, and the rest of the party to return from Candie’s funeral, and kills them all, freeing the other house servants. On his way out, Django lights a fuse that detonates the dynamite, destroying Candyland. He and Broomhilda ride off together into the night.
The Hateful 8
Synopsis:
Years after the American Civil War, bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren is transporting three dead bounties to the town of Red Rock, Wyoming. He hitches a ride on a stagecoach driven by O.B. Jackson. Aboard is bounty hunter John Ruth, and handcuffed to him is fugitive Daisy Domergue, whom Ruth is escorting to Red Rock to collect her bounty and watch her hang. Ruth and Warren are previous acquaintances who bonded over Warren’s personal letter from Abraham Lincoln. Former Lost-Causer militiaman Chris Mannix, who is traveling to Red Rock as the town’s new sheriff, persuades Ruth and Warren to let him on the stagecoach. Warren and Ruth form an alliance to protect each other’s bounties. In snow-capped post-Civil War Wyoming, the rugged bounty hunter, John “The Hangman” Ruth, defies an imminent blizzard, bent on delivering his shackled prisoner, Daisy Domergue, to Red Rock to stand trial for murder. With the snowstorm rapidly approaching, John and his new undesirable travel companions–the fellow bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren, and Red Rock’s soon-to-be-appointed sheriff, Chris Mannix–will have no other choice but to seek shelter in Minnie’s Haberdashery. But, there, another unwelcome encounter awaits, as four more suspicious strangers are added to this already volatile motley crew. Engulfed in this unforgiving white hell, the hateful eight must endure each other until the storm weakens; however, who is friend, and who is foe?
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