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Quentin Tarantino's directorial progression, from Reservoir Dogs to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, shows how he has grown as a filmmaker and storyteller.
In his initial works, Tarantino developed his signature style of violent dialogue and shocking images. In later films such as Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained, he stepped away from standard storyline efficiency. It is no longer characterized by traditions of violence and cruelty, instead of this fans find tenderness and romance, which are essential elements of his style.
However, his early works laid the foundation for his distinctive style and narrative approach, characterized by raw dialogue, complex characters, and carefully crafted violence. As Tarantino’s career bloomed with movies such as Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, and Death Proof, he constantly kept challenging himself and reinventing himself.
Change in the premise of movies over the years
While Quentin Tarantino is widely recognized for his unique style, his film themes have undergone a major shift over time. At first, when Tarantino debuted, he became well-known for controversial themes and was famous for his brutal storytelling and unusual narrative structures.
Reservoir Dogs' limited setting and dialogue-heavy script pave the way for Tarantino's early movies. When Tarantino moved to the studio system and made movies like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his concept matured including size and grandeur which mirrored his new position.
A very different atmosphere was established in Reservoir Dogs from what could be seen in his later works, which were based on historical fiction, reliving the glamorous age of Hollywood. Tarantino's films, which focus on revenge plots allow for a study of delicate human emotions and ethical issues. This continued focus on this topic shows his growth as a director, from blunt violence to a subtle narrative with a historical frame.
Direction style changes from slasher films to mild violence
The evolution of Quentin Tarantino's directing violence and tone can be defined as the transition from the graphic violence commonly used in slasher films to the ironic and humorous approach to it. The first two films by Quentin Tarantino featured explicit and graphic violence that became a signature element of his early work.
It challenged traditional Hollywood norms by depicting brutality in a way that was raw and visceral. Nevertheless, Quentin Tarantino's filmmaking style and way gradually evolved with each film he directed. The latter is mostly expressed through a bold mixture of unconventional humor, unusual colors, and other odd elements.
Films such as Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds exemplify a tendency towards a more satirical rendition of action which is presented in an almost finely tuned and choreographed manner, having full control over it, thereby getting away from the brutality of "slasher" movies.
Just violence in Pulp Fiction to a good storyline in Inglorious Basterds
The move from pure violence in Pulp Fiction to the powerful story in Inglourious Basterds serves Quentin Tarantino as evidence of how he mastered the art of working the most extreme action with an intricate storyline. Pulp Fiction again takes cinematic violence to an extreme level where there is no purpose of violence left.
The film, thanks to its disjunctive narration and character interrelations, has been turned into a cult movie. However, the main motif throughout the whole story is the violence. Far different, Quentin Tarantino moved to more complicated, memorable, and captivating stories such as Inglourious Basterds making a subtle shift from portraying violence.
The film perfectly merges the complicated storyline, real historical facts, and subtle details which are too difficult to be just interpreted as a confrontation. The film even uses the same intense and very stylistic type of violence, but it is included in an outline of the narrative that speaks about revenge, heroism, and the type of cinematic approach during this time in particular.
The other interesting thing about Tarantino's stories is that Oliver Stone, a famous American director, has made great inputs in Quentin Tarantino's early films. Stone who is a three-time Academy Award winner, made major alterations to Quentin Tarantino's original screenplay for Natural Born Killers.
Stone worked together with the screenwriter David Veloz and associate producer Richard Rutowski to achieve this.
Better character development
Character development in the early and later films may be observed at several phases, from the distinct traits and behaviors of the characters in Reservoir Dogs to the deeper examination of the motives and origins in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.
In Reservoir Dogs, every character's identity is eventually revealed through their roles in the heist so as well as the subsequent unraveling of events. This will give every character's persona a mysterious and tense sense.
In place of that, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained show better character building, Waltz's character in particular being a good example in IB and DiCaprio's in Django. The characters are not just the mere product of their acts but have a personality, history, and an aspect of doubtfulness.
Waltz's role as Hans Landa and DiCaprio's role as Calvin Candie are examples of how Quentin Tarantino produces such comprehensive characters that are real, complex, conflicted, and motivated - forcing the audience to empathize with them.
Invested in cinematography which clearly shows in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Robert Richardson's cinematographic work on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is nothing else but Quentin Tarantino's preoccupation with visual effects to get the viewers into the film. Along with Richardson, his frequent cinematographer, Quentin Tarantino’s partnership highlights their mutual effort in creating films that go beyond the regular gym of the story.
By combining the visual aesthetics and technical aspects of filmmaking, Quentin Tarantino makes his movies, as was in the case of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, much more than narration.
He creates such visually outstanding scenes that viewers have an illusion that they are a part of the movie world.
Emotions like kindness and romance have been introduced in recent Quentin Tarantino movies
Furthermore, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, fans can also observe a different direction that this filmmaker has taken compared to his earlier works which usually are about violence and dark humor. This time around Once Upon a Time in Hollywood centers more on character-driven narratives where the kind and romantic feelings are present.
The personalities in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had the advantage of two dimensions in addition to friendship and likability. And this was like turning the emotions of the audience from ordinary to having 'complicated feelings'.
This change in direction towards the portrayal of gentler feelings and personal interactions in his last movies shows that Quentin Tarantino has matured as a filmmaker, which gives his new films the possibility to bring out a variety of emotions and methods while keeping his recognizable cinematic style.
Dialogues have always been raw, vulnerable, and very real
Quentin Tarantino is renowned for dialogues that are unflinchingly vulnerable and real, almost as one would expect them to be in normal conversations, which makes them endearing and easy to follow. The whole range of Quentin Tarantino's skills is shown in the way he fills the characters with details, emotions, and realism, creating dialogues that the audiences remember for a long time after having watched the movie.
Writing famous one-liners and carrying conversations to the highest intensity, Quentin Tarantino digs into the human mind, soul, heart, and reasons for conflicts, perfectly understanding language and storytelling. Not only that, the dialogues usually bring out the emotional nakedness of his characters which allows them to bear their inner strengths, aspirations, and fears with zero disguise.
Vincent (John Travolta) told Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction,
"You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Paris?"
Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight said,
"When you get to hell, John, tell them Daisy sent you."
Quentin Tarantino's dialogues can be as dangerous as the one between hitmen in Pulp Fiction or as tense as the interchanges presented in The Hateful Eight. However, no matter what the style is, these dialogues make Quentin Tarantino's characters come alive with their humanity, which in turn makes them relatable and carries a feeling of multi-dimensional nature.
Quentin Tarantino is well-admired by his fans for his unique way of storytelling, where he usually prefers non-linear stories that disrupt classical norms His upcoming film, which will be his last, is called The Movie Critic.
