Written by Henry Jacobs, class of 2023
Simply put, Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. He’s one of the most influential, beloved, and talked-about movie directors of the last 30 years. I recently decided to finish watching his primary filmography (the movies he directed by himself, plus a bonus film), and to rank the films in order from the one I enjoyed the least to the one I enjoyed the most. This is a fully subjective ranking, and I’m not claiming that this is definitive of anything other than my own taste. Here is my personal ranking of Quentin Tarantino’s films from worst to best. While writing this, I came to the full realization that it is much, much easier to write about movies you love than movies you think are just fine.
Bonus: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
This isn’t technically a Quentin Tarantino movie, so I’m not including it in the official ranking, although I did watch it along with his other movies, so I’m going to take this time to talk about it a little. Written by and co-starring Tarantino, and directed by his directorial partner-in-crime Robert Rodriguez (with whom he later teamed up to create Grindhouse, the double feature that includes Death Proof), From Dusk Till Dawn is an absolute mess of a film. If I were to include it in the ranking, it would easily come in last place. Almost nothing about this film works. Tarantino’s script is borderline terrible; the structure of the movie is set up in a weird way and obviously isn’t executed well. For the first 40 minutes of the film, the focus is on the murderous Gecko brothers (played by George Clooney, in his first major movie role, and Tarantino himself) and their escape from the United States into Mexico, which they pull off by hitching a ride in the RV of an innocent family. The Gecko brothers are extremely unlikable; they murder lots of people, act hostile toward anyone and everyone they come across, and commit lots of other crimes. Then the next hour of the movie is dedicated to the Gecko brothers and the family cross-fighting vampires in a Mexican bar. Essentially a glorified bar fight scene with a horror twist, From Dusk Till Dawn is absurdly campy but not really in a charming way. This isn’t a completely awful movie, but it’s Tarantino’s worst writing by far, and this isn’t essential viewing. If you’re into watching half an uncomfortable hostage crime movie, then watching half a movie where people are brutally killed by Mexican vampires and vice versa, then this should be right up your alley.
10) Death Proof (2007)
Speaking of Robert Rodriguez, Tarantino joined forces with him to make Grindhouse in 2007, a two-part tribute to exploitation films of the 1970s that each director made a movie for. Tarantino’s contribution is Death Proof, a film about an evil stuntman named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) who murders people for fun. Eventually, he picks on the wrong group of young women. This is widely regarded as Tarantino’s weakest directorial effort; the man himself regards it as his worst work, and it’s not hard to see why. The movie’s grimy, exploitation-style grindhouse film vibe contradicts Tarantino, asking viewers to care about characters. I admit I haven’t actually seen much grindhouse or exploitation cinema, but giving these characters personalities and actual depth seems to go against the idea. My main problem with this movie is that it’s just not that much fun. Some people criticize Tarantino’s debut Reservoir Dogs for being overly brutal and sadistic, but this is easily the filmmaker’s darkest and most bad-vibes movie. Seeing innocent people murdered by Stuntman Mike for the first half of the film doesn’t make for an enjoyable watch.
Luckily, Death Proof overall is decent enough, and is helped by its far-more-enjoyable second half, where Stuntman Mike goes from being the hunter to the hunted. Rosario Dawson, Zoë Bell, Tracie Thoms, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are all fantastic as the young women who flip the script for Mike. He’s truly an evil character that you’re actively rooting against, so I can’t say this movie has a likable antagonist, but Kurt Russell absolutely kills his performance here. This is also one of Tarantino’s most style-over-substance films; the plot is super basic and most of the emphasis is on the experience of watching the film rather than the quality of the film itself. Watching Death Proof, you’re not really supposed to be drawn in by the actual story, but more by the details QT adds in. He really self-indulges in this one, even purposely adding in stuff like tiny skips and scratch spots in the film. Overall, this isn’t a bad film, but it’s definitely not essential viewing and isn’t the sort of movie that everyone can have fun watching. Half of it is bloody action and violence, the other half is girls talking to each other about nothing important. If that’s what you’re into, chances are you’ll like this a fair bit.
9) The Hateful Eight (2015)
Out of all of Tarantino’s films, The Hateful Eight is his most character-driven. It’s a 3 hour 7 minute movie that takes place almost entirely in one room. It’s one of those classic snowed-in stories, where a bunch of characters are trapped together in one place because of the weather, secrets are revealed, and so on. The Hateful Eight has a smart setup and then follows this formula well. Similar to Reservoir Dogs, some characters are not who they say they are, making for a neat whodunit. The tension that runs throughout the movie makes the whole thing more interesting. That being said, the tension wears almost completely thin toward the end of the film. This is a movie that is way, way too long for its own good. By the third act, I wanted a conclusion to be drawn. But oh no, there was still another hour left to go. Like Death Proof, this movie could use more of Tarantino’s signature element of fun. This is a cold-blooded and merciless film that leaves little to the imagination when it comes to intense violence. Like the title suggests, this movie is not optimistic, not for the faint of heart. Infamously, Tarantino shot it in special 70mm film, which is pointless considering the only thing truly epic about it is its enormous runtime.
However, The Hateful Eight is generally a good movie. Its strongest element is its dialogue, which carries the film for at least a good two hours. Samuel L. Jackson gives a great performance as usual; his performance as a rough bounty hunter was the standout for me, even though most of the rest of the cast did great in their roles as well. The film is a tribute to old spaghetti western movies, and like another movie on this list, it flips typical western tropes to make its own unique style. Interestingly, out of all of Tarantino’s work, this is probably his most substance-over-style film. If you’re going to watch The Hateful Eight, make sure you’re settled in and prepared for its full extent.
8) Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
The first installment in the Kill Bill series is a blast to watch. It’s about two hours long but feels shorter. This movie is nonstop with basically no dull moments; the majority of it is action scenes. This is the closest we have to a Tarantino-helmed action film, and the action is terrific. Even more so than Death Proof, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is almost completely style over substance, something that changes in Vol. 2. A lot of this movie takes place in Japan, where The Bride (Uma Thurman) travels to find and kill O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) for revenge. Because the substance of this film takes place essentially in one location, it makes the whole movie seem simple overall. It’s basically just one big setup for Vol. 2, which is fine, but not that much happens in this movie even if it’s still very entertaining. Another criticism I have for this movie is that it doesn’t really explain itself. We learn what happens to The Bride to make her seek revenge, but we don’t know when or why it happens. This movie left me scratching my head in that sense and in others. For example, throughout this film, the main character’s name is never even revealed.
The truth is that Tarantino saved a lot of the best scenes for Kill Bill: Vol. 2. Even though Vol. 1 will grab your attention with its eye-popping action sequences and fast-paced storytelling, naturally you won’t be completely satisfied without seeing the sequel. There are a lot of great things about this movie, such as how interesting it is visually and the excellent cinematography and direction. This is also one of the director’s more risky films (which is definitely saying something); he even went out of his way and made an entire sequence in anime-style about the origin of O-Ren Ishii. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is a thrill-packed film that you can’t go wrong watching, but just know that you’ll need to see the second one in order to fully understand and appreciate the Kill Bill mythology.
7) Jackie Brown (1997)
This is Tarantino’s only adaptation, based off the 1992 novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard, and this fact becomes obvious while watching the film. While Jackie Brown is a great movie, it doesn’t feel like it’s done in true Tarantino style. There are unmistakable elements of his directorial and writing style to be found, but it doesn’t have that classic Tarantino vibe. If you were to choose a handful of films to best represent his filmography, picking Jackie Brown would be a mistake. Objectively though, this is a great movie, and I found it extremely fun to watch. Even though the distinct Tarantino footprint isn’t at its most noticeable here, you can still enjoy the story, writing, and dialogue. Most of the actors nail their performances. Pam Grier is basically perfectly cast as the titular character, a flight attendant who finds herself caught up in a web of people trying to get hold of a smuggled $550,000. Robert Forster, who plays a mild-mannered bail-bondsman, and Bridget Fonda, who plays a sarcastic surfer girl, are also amazing in their roles. I’ve sometimes heard Samuel L. Jackson catch flack for not being a convincing enough villain, but in my opinion he’s great in this as well. This movie could be considered notable for being Tarantino’s least violent film; out of all his movies, this is his most gentle and romantic. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a completely “chill” movie, and Ordell Robbie (Jackson) is probably up there with Stuntman Mike and Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) from Reservoir Dogs as the most terrifying characters in Tarantino’s filmography.
Jackie Brown is an excellent ensemble film (with a cast that also includes Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Chris Tucker, Michael Bowen, and Tom Lister, Jr.) that I do definitely recommend to people who like this sort of movie. I wouldn’t consider it essential Tarantino, but that’s not to say it’s bad, ’cause it’s not. It’s a strong movie and is generally entertaining, but it’s not one of Tarantino’s very best. Like his other films, Jackie Brown has a great deal of talking in it, and is both plot-driven and dialogue-heavy at the same time. It’s not a very special movie visually, but still this is a great film, and if you’re a serious movie fan, it is worth checking out.
6) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Inglourious Basterds probably has the most unorthodox placement on the list, in that it’s often listed among Tarantino’s best work, yet I didn’t even include it in the top five. I looked at a couple other Tarantino-filmography rankings before making this to see how my order compared, and I was surprised to see how highly this film ranks pretty much every time. Even Tarantino himself seems to think this is his greatest achievement: in the last few seconds of the movie, Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) looks down at the camera and says to Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth), “I think this might just be my masterpiece.” And, yes, this is a great film. It’s at times very funny and some of the performances are incredible, including Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa, the evil Nazi, for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This is probably Tarantino’s grandest and most epic film (Django Unchained would also be in the conversation); the set pieces and fight sequences all look fabulous. This is also the first time he alters history in a movie, which he continues with Django and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. To me, Inglourious Basterds feels like Tarantino turning over a new leaf, and to me there’s a distinct line between the two halves of his career: Reservoir Dogs through Death Proof being the first half, then Inglourious Basterds onward being the second half, style-wise at least. Ever since this one, he has been making larger-scale films with more emphasis on setting and set pieces – or at least that’s how I see it.
Yes, this is a great movie. It’s violent, as usual, yet delightful. Most filmmakers could only dream of making a movie like this, but in retrospect, it didn’t connect with me as much as some of the higher-ranking films on this list. I can’t take much away from this movie other than that it does feel long and a couple of scenes drag along (the scene in the bar especially I felt a little bored by eventually), but overall Inglourious Basterds just didn’t hit me as much as I would’ve liked. There’s satisfaction in seeing the protagonists triumph over the Nazis, and because one of the characters’ family has been killed by Hans Landa, seeing her take revenge on her enemies feels right, but to me this doesn’t have the same emotional impact that films like Kill Bill: Vol. 2 or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood do. Maybe going into a Tarantino movie expecting it to be moving isn’t the point, but why can’t it be?
5) Django Unchained (2012)
Perhaps the director’s most controversial work, with its bleak depiction of slavery, in-your-face bloody violence, and over-the-top profanity, Django Unchained is probably Tarantino’s most majestic film as well. It stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in hopes that he will help Schultz track down the slave owners that have prices on their heads. In return, Schultz takes Django to the plantation where his wife is enslaved so that they can rescue her as well. This really is an epic movie and because of the extremely long runtime, it sort of drags on as well. There are times when it feels like scenes are being added just for the sake of extending the film’s length. During the third act, you wish the climax would happen already. I can’t say this movie is entertaining 100% of the time, but when it does shine, it shines brightly. Even though Foxx does a good job as the titular character, not much of a strong performance is necessary for him, so most of the time, it is Waltz who steals the show as the cunning Schultz. Another actor who nails his performance is Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Calvin Candie, an evil slave owner. Surprisingly enough, Samuel L. Jackson also blows his performance as Stephen, Candie’s right-hand-man and house servant on the plantation, out of the water. He makes Stephen seem about as hateful as the slave masters themselves, and definitely more menacing. I don’t typically consider Jackson to be a methodic actor, but he seriously knows how to pull off a role and this is a great example of that.
Django Unchained is an enjoyable and entertaining movie for the most part, and if you like Tarantino’s other work, chances are you’ll like this one, too. This isn’t the smoothest or most perfect movie out there, but it does have a lot going for it. Django is filled with typical Tarantino-style coolness and cleverness; if you’re a fan of westerns you’ll find this to be great as well.
4) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Now we’ve gotten to the films I actually think are really amazing. Reservoir Dogs is Tarantino’s feature-length debut, and is the movie that put him on the map, setting him up well to truly blow up popularity-wise two years later with Pulp Fiction. Right out of the gate, this movie incorporates much of what would later become Tarantino’s trademark style: snappy dialogue, non-linear storytelling, characters who aren’t who they say they are, extreme violence, movie chapters, all-star casts, and more. I didn’t expect to like this movie as much as I did, and found myself pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it was. This is an excellent achievement in independent filmmaking and it’s admirable how Tarantino does so much with so little. For those who don’t know, Reservoir Dogs is about an assembled group of criminals, all given code names so they don’t know each other’s true identities, who rob a bank. The problem is, the cops show up immediately, everybody scrambles, it’s obvious that one of them ratted them out, and chaos ensues. The writing is razor-sharp and the dialogue is as memorable and interesting as it gets. In fact, the film relies so much on dialogue and so little on set pieces that this could easily be turned into a theater production. Pretty much all of the prominent cast members deliver noteworthy performances, specifically Harvey Keitel as Mr. White and Michael Madsen in a career-defining performance as Mr. Blonde, probably the most intimidating character in any movie Quentin Tarantino has ever directed.
Perhaps my favorite thing about this movie is that the robbery itself is never shown. You get to see how the robbery was planned, the guys joking around beforehand, the cops chasing the robbers immediately after the robbery takes place, and then the aftermath in all of its bloody glory. I feel like this was a genius move on Tarantino’s part and makes the whole movie a lot more gripping. Almost everything about this film is slick, well-done, and entertaining. I understand how the violence could be a turn-off for some people, but if that doesn’t bother you and you’re interested in seeing an extremely smart crime film, I strongly recommend Reservoir Dogs. You really can’t go wrong with this movie, honestly. From its ingenious use of the Stealers Wheel song “Stuck In the Middle With You” to the flashbacks and flashforwards, everything about Reservoir Dogs will be exciting to you if you’re a hardcore movie fan like I am.
3) Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
My favorite of the two Kill Bill movies, Vol. 2 has basically everything missing from Vol. 1 and more. This is the extremely satisfying payoff to the two-film series that answers all the questions you have from the first movie – and has the majority of the best scenes, too. Everything you wished was present in the first film is most likely prominent in the second. When you think about it, many of Tarantino’s films could be categorized as revenge movies (in Django Unchained, the slaves get revenge on the slave masters, in Inglourious Basterds, the Jewish girl gets revenge on the Nazis, in Death Proof, a group of women gets revenge on the lunatic who tried to kill them, etc.), but Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is the greatest of them all. Uma Thurman and David Carradine, as the titular Bill, both turn in amazing performances. This movie is just so, so fun to watch; I can barely think of a single scene that wasn’t necessary – or entertaining, at the very least. The huge twist at the end of Vol. 1 gets addressed in a really great way here. The only real criticism I have for this movie is that you do need to see the first movie to fully appreciate this one, although that’s to be expected for most sequels. If you’re a Tarantino fan, this is absolutely a must-see.
One of the most admirable qualities about Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is that it packs so many genres together into one big blend and still manages to work well. It’s a revenge movie (which is sort of its own genre), an action movie, a kung-fu movie, and even a drama as well. There are some genuinely touching dramatic moments in this movie that go beyond the typical too-cool-for-school style of Tarantino. Besides maybe Jackie Brown, this is Tarantino’s most heartfelt film and is overall just a really great movie experience.
2) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
I’ve already written a whole review about this movie, which you can also check out on my website, but I want to talk about this movie, because it’s just so good. This movie is an example of a master at work. Pretty much everything about this film is executed beautifully and it’s clear that Tarantino is fully in control of what he’s doing. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is a relatively easy-going film, and I think that had to have been influenced by how experienced Tarantino had become at making movies by that point. He’d already made a couple masterpieces, so while making this movie, it probably came a lot more naturally to him, and it’s evident when you watch. Everyone involved in this project does their thing and it’s great; Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing as Rick Dalton, a somewhat washed-up action star, and Brad Pitt nails his role as Cliff Booth, Rick’s stuntman. Everyone else in the cast, from Margot Robbie to Al Pacino to Kurt Russell, is also great. I don’t have many criticisms of this movie at all, in fact, the only small problem I have with it is that its relaxed attitude and feel, while fun, isn’t extremely invigorating, even if this is an entertaining movie through and through. Of the Tarantino movies with a runtime of 2 hours and 45 minutes or more, this is the most consistently entertaining, and definitely feels shorter than it is.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood proves that Tarantino hasn’t lost the spark and magic that made his films memorable in the first place. He’s said that he plans to retire from filmmaking after 10 films, so that leaves one movie left (he counts the Kill Bill movies as one big film). Who knows, maybe when his tenth film is released, I’ll come back and revise this list a little. But for now, Hollywood is an amazing reminder that Quentin Tarantino is as sharp and capable as ever. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, just like the film that comes in first place on this list, is equally about the experience of watching as it is about the film itself.
1) Pulp Fiction (1994)
What can I say about Pulp Fiction that hasn’t already been said? It’s considered one of the best movies ever made and has been consistently talked about since its release. This movie is not as acclaimed as it is for no reason. Literally everything about Pulp Fiction, in my eyes at least, is pretty much perfect. It’s probably one of my favorite films of all time, now that I think about it. If you haven’t seen it, trust me when I say you’ve never seen a movie quite like this one. Pulp Fiction has been analyzed and discussed almost to death, but I still want to go over what makes this such an effective and memorable movie. First of all, the writing is beyond phenomenal. The dialogue in this movie is ridiculously well-written, making for one of the most quotable movies ever made. Even if you are completely new to the film, chances are you’ve at least heard a couple of its lines. So much of this movie has become iconic over the years; for anyone who has seen it, pretty much every scene is instantly recognizable. There are also incredible performances by nearly every actor involved: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, and more are all just perfectly cast. The characters of Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield especially, played by Travolta and Jackson respectively, have become immortalized in pop culture. If you’ve never seen the movie poster, you’re living under a rock.
I could go on forever about how iconic and important this movie is to cinema; after all, it did pretty much change the game when it comes to screenwriting and has had a massive influence on many subsequent crime films in particular. But because of how celebrated this movie is, it’s become easy to forget how well-made the film itself actually is. It takes a true, special talent to make somewhat mundane conversations about fast food and TV shows seem incredibly interesting. This is one of the most entertaining movies I’ve ever seen in my life, and in all of its two-and-a-half hour runtime there isn’t a boring moment. Everything from the soundtrack to the cinematography itself is admirable. Objectively, this is a masterpiece. Subjectively, I believe this is a masterpiece as well. Pulp Fiction solidifies Quentin Tarantino as one of my favorite movie directors ever.