Well this is where it all started for me, this is the film that got me into films. Proper films, y'know? Everything about it is just so damn cool; the cast, the characters, the soundtrack and the non-linear narrative. Postmodern, neo-noir, pop culture references in a mash up of what can now only be called Tarantino-esque filmmaking. My favourite scene, although difficult to call, has to be the Jack Rabbit Slim's tracking shot followed by the iconic dance scene. Love the adrenaline shot sequence too, cracks me up every time. Royal wit' cheese, anyone?
2.) Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003)
This is QT's highly stylised homage to the kung-fu movies he grew up watching mixed in with some very obvious western genre conventions such as the protagonist with no name and that epic Ennio Morricone score. A daring experiment with its ultra violoence, knowingly fake dubbing and an anime section thrown in for good measure, this is hypnotically entertaining.
3.) Inglourious Basterds (2009)
It might throw the history book out of the window (a David Bowie song used in WW2?! Awesome) but this is guilty pleasure fun at its best. And when it offers the premise of cinema saving the world and killing off Hitler, what more could you want? Typically Tarantino in its talky script and b-movie-style direction, it's packed with cinephile jokes and violence. And Christoph Waltz is just so charmingly evil it bagged him a well-earned Academy Award.
4.) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
"Robbery, blood, violence, torture all in the comfort of your own home". Arguably the most influential of the 90s released films, this low-budget film was such a runaway success that even QT who was hoping for a cult hit at best, was shocked. This was the film that would go on to inspire a legion of wannabes.
5.) Jackie Brown (1997)
I still maintain this is one of the most underrated films out there. I love Pam Grier, blaxploitation queen from such 70s hits as Foxy Brown and Coffy and making a comeback in Tarantino's third feature film. This is QT's knowing homage to those pulp blaxplotation films with a postmodern twist, based on Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch". Brilliantly inventive visual techniques including staging a key scene from three different points of view. Favourite scene? Has to be the Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Tucker long take in which Tucker ends up in the boot of Jackson's car only to be driven round the block to be shot. Amazing motown/soul-tinged soundtrack.
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