Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

[Hozz 1017]

I am not a Tarantino super fan.  I loved Pulp Fiction when it came out and I think it aged fine.  Not crazy about any of his other movies though, in fact I think almost all of them are overrated, until this one which I think is hands down his best work.  I love everything about it.  I have watched it like 6 times.  Definitely a top 5 of all time for me.  I got the book recently, have not read it.

[futureman 22444]

The Hateful Eight is head and shoulders above anything he’s ever been involved with, directly or indirectly, and it’s not even close. 

[mchookem 16322]

i've liked/loved pretty much all of his movies to varying degrees. Jackie Brown is indeed great, as is RD and Django. True Romance is also one of my favorite movies with spectacular Tarantino-esque dialogue. 

but Inglourious Basterds was the first one that i felt finally lived up to/surpassed the expectation level set by PF. Once Upon a Time surpasses both. 

also, IB and Django hold special places in my heart for the fabulousness that is Christoph Waltz. i'll always appreciate Tarantino for that fact alone.

Edited July 17, 2021 by mchookem

[Tom 2959]

I didn't see Pulp Fiction until 20+ years after its release.  I was probably a little young for it when it came out, and then I just never got around to seeing it for some reason until I was well into adulthood. I saw Inglourious Basterds, Kill BIll, and Django Unchained before I ever watched Pulp Fiction.  Maybe because of the order I saw them in and the fact that it wasn't new or groundbreaking by the time I saw it, but Pulp Fiction just never did much for me.  It feels like one of his weakest. If not for the non-linear storyline, the plot isn't exactly that interesting, IMO.  On the other hand, I saw Jackie Brown around the same time, also long after its release, and I loved it.  Absolutely one of my favorites of Tarantino's.  

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is probably my favorite Tarantino film at this point.

[RPM 26317]

18 hours ago, futureman said:

The Hateful Eight is head and shoulders above anything he’s ever been involved with, directly or indirectly, and it’s not even close. 

It's even not in my Top 5 QT films. For whatever reason, it just fell flat for me. Go figure.

[futureman 22444]

13 minutes ago, RPM said:

It's even not in my Top 5 QT films. For whatever reason, it just fell flat for me. Go figure.

I completely agree. 

[CooterBrown 18004]

I didn't see Pulp Fiction until 20+ years after its release.  I was probably a little young for it when it came out, and then I just never got around to seeing it for some reason until I was well into adulthood. I saw Inglourious Basterds, Kill BIll, and Django Unchained before I ever watched Pulp Fiction.  Maybe because of the order I saw them in and the fact that it wasn't new or groundbreaking by the time I saw it, but Pulp Fiction just never did much for me.  It feels like one of his weakest. If not for the non-linear storyline, the plot isn't exactly that interesting, IMO.  On the other hand, I saw Jackie Brown around the same time, also long after its release, and I loved it.  Absolutely one of my favorites of Tarantino's.  
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is probably my favorite Tarantino film at this point.

It may be hard in hindsight to view how groundbreaking PF was if you weren’t into film when it came out. It changed everything and ushered in what is arguably the best decade of indie cinema in history. It was imitated hundreds of times in the next few years.

It was such a cultural influence that somebody robbed a bank in San Marcos using Honey Bunny’s story exactly as he told it. It was believed that the robber walked out of a matinee screening of PF and went straight over to the bank. No idea if he was ever caught.

[Bozo_Casanova 26437]

Pulp Fiction created a genre and killed off the genre of inoffensive, safe action movies that we now associate with the 80’s. 
Personally I would argue that it’s QTs best movie, but it’s certainly one of the 5-10 most important movies ever made, on the level of Star Wars, the Wizard of Oz, Jaws, Gone with the Wind, the Battleship Potemkin, Frankenstein, etc.

[mchookem 16322]

yeah it was incredibly ground-breaking. i remember the first time, my jaw just hitting the floor scene after scene after scene. i saw it 3 times in the first week!

[futureman 22444]

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

It was such a cultural influence that somebody robbed a bank in San Marcos using Honey Bunny’s story exactly as he told it. It was believed that the robber walked out of a matinee screening of PF and went straight over to the bank. No idea if he was ever caught.

source?

[CooterBrown 18004]

source?

My uncle in San Marcos had saved the local paper for me so I could read about it. I don’t know if it made the austin news or not. We were both fans of PF and he was quite impressed that somebody pulled it off.

[futureman 22444]

Just now, CooterBrown said:

My uncle in San Marcos had saved the local paper for me so I could read about it. I don’t know if it made the austin news or not. We were both fans of PF and he was quite impressed that somebody pulled it off.

sounds legit 🤙

[billfromlaketravis 11448]

Jackie Brown aged well, Pulp Fiction did not. 

Only hardcore QT Heads liked Jackie Brown when it came out. Pulp Fiction was the biggest movie in the world and a cultural phenomenon when it premiered. 

To rank Jackie Brown as the better movie is revisionist history, which QT is a big fan of. 

Edited July 18, 2021 by billfromlaketravis

[tbone_ 14111]

Watched PF last night. The $5 milkshake line did not age well.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4739]

Since we’re skirting around the edges of doing this:

1. Inglorious Bastards

2. Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood

3. Pulp Fiction

4. Jackie Brown

5. Reservoir Dogs

6. Kill Bill 1

7. Hateful 8

8. Django Unchained (probably a better movie than several of the above, but I’ve never once had the inclination to revisit it, unlike every other QT movie) 

9. Kill Bill 2

10. Death Proof

[billfromlaketravis 11448]

5 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

Since we’re skirting around the edges of doing this:

1. Inglorious Bastards

2. Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood

3. Pulp Fiction

4. Jackie Brown

5. Reservoir Dogs

6. Kill Bill 1

7. Hateful 8

8. Django Unchained (probably a better movie than several of the above, but I’ve never once had the inclination to revisit it, unlike every other QT movie) 

9. Kill Bill 2

10. Death Proof

My problem with Reservoir Dogs is that it's an 8 minute movie. After the diner scene, and the opening credits it's a very slow movie. 

1) Pulp Fiction 

2) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 

3) Jackie Brown 

4) Hateful 8 

5) Django Unchained

6) Inglorious Basterds 

7) Reservoir Dogs 

8.) Kill Bill Volume 1 

9) Kill Bill Volume 2

10) Death Proof 

Jackie Brown and Once Upon a Time are the most rewatchable. I love westerns, but the Hateful 8 isn't a cheerful rewatch like Rio Bravo. 

I'd probably rank True Romance 8th if we're going to give QT full credit for that one. 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4739]

1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

My problem with Reservoir Dogs is that it's an 8 minute movie. After the diner scene, and the opening credits it's a very slow movie. 

1) Pulp Fiction 

2) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 

3) Jackie Brown 

4) Hateful 8 

5) Django Unchained

6) Inglorious Basterds 

7) Reservoir Dogs 

8.) Kill Bill Volume 1 

9) Kill Bill Volume 2

10) Death Proof 

Jackie Brown and Once Upon a Time are the most rewatchable. I love westerns, but the Hateful 8 isn't a cheerful rewatch like Rio Bravo. 

I'd probably rank True Romance 8th if we're going to give QT full credit for that one. 

True Romance would be 4 or 5 for me. Fucking love that movie.

[tbone_ 14111]

What did Tarantino have to do with True Romance?

[BigOrange1 6433]

he wrote it.

[Guest Lobo]

28 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

What did Tarantino have to do with True Romance?

 As BigOrange1 said, he not only wrote it but he created characters that would also eventually appear in the QT universe.  Both in the past, and still yet to come. 

There is a world where Alabama gets work before/after Mexico and Mr. Wolf also trades as Mr. White.  

Edited July 19, 2021 by Lobo

[GhostOfTomJoad 9323]

3 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

My problem with Reservoir Dogs is that it's an 8 minute movie. After the diner scene, and the opening credits it's a very slow movie. 

 

Give that man a cigar. That's QT in a nutshell. His hard on for his cinematic muses and social touchstones are obvious. Like a C+ Scorsese, he pays homage to them. With some quirky dialogue. Then more dialogue. And yet more dialogue where he tries to convince the audience that, hey...you're pretty fucking hip for paying attention to all this dialogue, honey bunny. You're ready to wander the earth like Kwai Chang Cain in Kung Fu! 

He had the courage, vision and a shit load of luck to drop PF during a time of complete corporate-owned cinematic bullshit. And he stirred things up for a bit. Now, twenty years later the studios are still only pumping money into comic book movies or Fast and Furious bullshit. And he knows he can drop a movie where he drops the N-bomb with just the right lighting and cast to make it cool. 

I applaud him for introducing people to overlooked B and C grade movies. 

[CooterBrown 18004]

he wrote it.

He also wrote the story for Natural Born Killers, the screenplay for From Dusk Til Dawn, and his segment of Four Rooms.

Also, technically his first film was My Best Friend’s Birthday. It was originally feature length but the last half of the film was lost in a fire during editing. The remaining footage was edited down to a 30 minute film.

[Eskimohorn 5630]

Watched PF last night. The $5 milkshake line did not age well.

Because of inflation? The movie takes place in the 90’s. We know things cost less back then. $5 milkshake would be a rip. Would it be better if he had said $12 milkshake?

Were there mid-90’s cars? Does that make it age poorly?

[mdleast 8289]

Because of inflation?

[billfromlaketravis 11448]

Pulp Fiction is a pretty dark movie. Needles, an overdose, rape, a gimp, and a lot of gore. There are some great scenes, but it’s not something you want to watch over and over again. 
 

Meanwhile over in Venice Beach, Samuel L. Jackson and De Niro are just hanging out with Bridget Fonda being cool as hell. What’s the most disturbing scene in Jackie Brown? De Niro’s justifiable homicide of Fonda? The Beaumont scene is absolutely  brilliant. Beautifully shot with the perfect song score. 

[mchookem 16322]

i think Jackie Brown is the only movie he's made from someone else's work...and the only reason i know that is bc Michael Keaton played the same character in Out of Sight, another Elmore Leonard novel. 

 

[henrygandorf 29189]

buncha pulp fiction haters in here. gtfo with that nonsense. i watch whenever it’s on. 

it completely redefined the way we observe and process “movie time”.  and it did it through characters and dialogue, not plot twists.

you could never do that today because audiences have become too sophisticated.

because of pulp fiction. 

[mr. sunshine 2824]

6 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

What’s the most disturbing scene in Jackie Brown? De Niro’s justifiable homicide of Fonda? 

Lewisssssss!

[Apep 645]

7 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Pulp Fiction is a pretty dark movie. Needles, an overdose, rape, a gimp, and a lot of gore. There are some great scenes, but it’s not something you want to watch over and over again. 
 

Meanwhile over in Venice Beach, Samuel L. Jackson and De Niro are just hanging out with Bridget Fonda being cool as hell. What’s the most disturbing scene in Jackie Brown? De Niro’s justifiable homicide of Fonda? The Beaumont scene is absolutely  brilliant. Beautifully shot with the perfect song score. 

Not too long ago I rewatched Pulp Fiction. It occurred to me, as I explained the ninja sword to my teenage son who wandered through the room, that the collection of characters and aesthetic is just one step above the urban legends that make up Less Than Zero (the novel). Doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great movie that changed the path of the industry, but parts of it are as cringe as the pussy eating scene in Chasing Amy.

 

[Underdog 28580]

25 minutes ago, Apep said:

Not too long ago I rewatched Pulp Fiction. It occurred to me, as I explained the ninja sword to my teenage son who wandered through the room, that the collection of characters and aesthetic is just one step above the urban legends that make up Less Than Zero (the novel). Doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great movie that changed the path of the industry, but parts of it are as cringe as the pussy eating scene in Chasing Amy.

 

Wut?

[tbone_ 14111]

Because of inflation? The movie takes place in the 90’s. We know things cost less back then. $5 milkshake would be a rip. Would it be better if he had said $12 milkshake?

Were there mid-90’s cars? Does that make it age poorly?

Yea. Milkshake at McDonald’s costs $5 these days.

[mdleast 8289]

Yea. Milkshake at McDonald’s costs $5 these days.

They don’t put bourbon in it or nothin’?

[Apep 645]

1 hour ago, Underdog said:

Wut?

LOL. The scene isn’t of pussy eating, it’s a now-cringe discussion at the beginning of the movie.

[MAUFRAIS 6619]

None of the rest of that other shit you said made sense either.

[MAUFRAIS 6619]

And quit saying cringe.

[NWBuck 8552]

1 hour ago, MAUFRAIS said:

And quit saying cringe.

Seriously. Everytime I hear that or even read it, it makes me... well... uh.... flinch.

[futureman 22444]

11 minutes ago, NWBuck said:

Seriously. Everytime I hear that or even read it, it makes me... well... uh.... flinch.

stop trying to make flinch happen. 

[RiverwalkMiner 247]

22 hours ago, mchookem said:

yeah it was incredibly ground-breaking. i remember the first time, my jaw just hitting the floor scene after scene after scene. i saw it 3 times in the first week!

 Almost 30 years later and I still remember everyone walking out just stunned by what we just witnessed. Being 52 now, 90's indie cinema is my happy place. 

[Eskimohorn 5630]

Yea. Milkshake at McDonald’s costs $5 these days.

And the movie takes place in the 90’s. So it’s pretty obvious that $5 was a lot back then. It doesn’t poorly age the movie.

Its also of note that PF probably influenced the proliferation of themed-diners and adult burger places. Thus, leading to more premium milk shakes.

[mdleast 8289]

Its also of note that PF probably influenced the proliferation of themed-diners and adult burger places. Thus, leading to more premium milk shakes.

And yet I’m still waiting for

[Eskimohorn 5630]

Jackie Brown is not in the same ballpark as PF and should only in the discussion of Bottom 3 QT movies.

The casting of Jackie Brown includes b-team actors in prominent roles. While it was refreshing to see Robert Forester comeback, Pam Grier was out of her element, since she could barely act. She was mostly eye candy back in her prime and QT dusted her off out of nostalgia. It worked but not to the extent of casting Uma Thurman in PF or Christopher Waltz, both exceptional actors. And Chris Tucker was in the movie.

I’d say Hollywood could’ve been trimmed down. I’d put it below PF and IB for that reason - contrast to Hollywood, both of these movies moved along rapidly and just about every scene was amazing.

This auteur-style, releasing a 3-hour movie suits QT well, since his stuff is always pretty good. Nevertheless, tight scripts and economy are usually necessary aspects of great films.

[tbone_ 14111]

And the movie takes place in the 90’s. So it’s pretty obvious that $5 was a lot back then. It doesn’t poorly age the movie.

Its also of note that PF probably influenced the proliferation of themed-diners and adult burger places. Thus, leading to more premium milk shakes.

Rocko, is that you?

[MAUFRAIS 6619]

And yet I’m still waiting for

I went to a jack rabbit slims in Prague, but it wasn’t like in the movie. They didn’t have two Monroes.

[Guest Lobo]

I've never eaten at a Big Kahuna Burger, but I like that you can get a cheeseburger there at 7am if the mood strikes you.  

[Ignatius 4017]

On 7/18/2021 at 5:14 PM, tbone_ said:

Watched PF last night. The $5 milkshake line did not age well.

Lol especially in LA…

[Ignatius 4017]

22 hours ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

True Romance would be 4 or 5 for me. Fucking love that movie.

More than Coming Home In A Bodybag?

[Guest Lobo]

10 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

More than Coming Home In A Bodybag?

I think "Bodybags II" would have been even better than the original, but they had to re-edit it when something supposedly happened to one of the producers towards the end of principal photography.  

[henrygandorf 29189]

50 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

More than Coming Home In A Bodybag?

we park our cars in the same garage my friend.

[tantric superman 4667]

Reservoir Dogs - this guy's good

True Romance - this guy's good

Pulp Fiction - fucking genius

Didn't really get the Kill Bill's or the Roadhouses but geniuses get to fuck around. 

All of his other stuff solidifies the greatness.

[mchookem 16322]

25 minutes ago, tantric superman said:

 

Didn't really get the Kill Bill's or the Roadhouses but geniuses get to fuck around. 

this. KB(s) weren't bad, and i've def watched them more than a few times...but those all kinda felt cartoonish. maybe like comic books. just too over the top.

and i assume he was responsible for the first half of Dusk Til Dawn... which is the half i prefer. the first half of that movie is some seriously dark shit 😳

i have no problem putting him in the company of Scorcese, the Coens, Eastwood, etc.