Every Tarantino Movie Ranked (From Worst To Best)
A long time ago, in a galaxy filled with ultra-violence and exaggerated bloodshed... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down Quentin Tarantino’s filmography, from his least awesome to his most awesome film.
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00:00 Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be counting down Quentin Tarantino's filmography,
00:10 from his least awesome to his most awesome film.
00:12 What do they look like, Jimmy?
00:15 Dorks.
00:16 They look like a couple of dorks.
00:18 To be clear, we'll only be including movies that are directed by him.
00:21 As much as we love true romance, and From Dusk Till Dawn, those were only written by
00:25 Tarantino.
00:28 Number 10.
00:32 Death Proof
00:40 Quentin Tarantino's contribution to the Grindhouse double-featured Death Proof is a tribute to
00:44 exploitation movies.
00:45 Kurt Russell stars as a murderous stuntman who kills women with his death-proof car.
00:49 However, he meets his match when a group of ladies decide to fight back.
00:52 You're not going to want to do what we're doing.
00:54 What, to drive a car?
00:55 No, we're doing more than that.
00:58 What?
00:59 Drive it fast?
01:00 We're doing more than that.
01:03 Death Proof has plenty of Tarantino's usual entertaining dialogue, including one scene
01:07 that's one long, impressive take.
01:08 But it can meander a bit compared to most of the director's other works.
01:12 So I step back a little further.
01:13 But a little more.
01:16 So I do.
01:17 Then I realize I'm right at the edge of a seven-foot concrete ditch.
01:23 And so the climactic car chase and battle is a spectacular set piece with some phenomenal
01:27 practical stunts that has Death Proof finishing on a high note.
01:30 Number 9.
01:31 The Hateful Eight
01:32 This Western mystery movie sees a group of strangers who are caught in a blizzard shortly
01:36 after the Civil War.
01:37 Okay, fella.
01:39 You keep holding that lantern in that one hand.
01:41 You keep that other hand where I can see it.
01:45 Walk over there where I can get a good look at you.
01:47 Mistrust and suspicions abound, and things eventually turn predictably bloody.
01:51 Tarantino's take on a whodunit unravels at a methodical pace that can turn some viewers
01:55 off.
01:56 It was originally intended to be a novel, after all.
01:58 And while some members of the ensemble shine, others can sadly blend into the background.
02:03 Or we go by my theory, which is the ugliest guy did it.
02:09 Which makes it you, Joe Gage.
02:11 Don't get us wrong, it's an amazing movie with excellent tension throughout, plenty
02:14 of humor, some great performances, and an epic score by Ennio Morricone.
02:19 The Hateful Eight is simply less approachable than other films by Tarantino.
02:33 Number 8.
02:34 Jackie Brown
02:35 Now sooner or later they're gonna get around to offering me a plea deal, and you know that.
02:40 That's why you came here to kill me.
02:41 You came over here to kill you?
02:42 Oh, no, no, no.
02:43 It's okay.
02:44 Now, I forgive you.
02:46 A pseudo-adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel Rum Punch, Jackie Brown follows the
02:50 titular stewardess who is involved in smuggling money across the border.
02:53 Her attempts to navigate her associates and avoid the FBI are complicated by her burgeoning
02:58 romance with bail bondsman Max Cherry.
03:00 If you had the chance, unemployed now, to walk away with a half million dollars, would
03:07 you take it?
03:09 Jackie Brown is one of Tarantino's most tightly plotted films, partly thanks to the source
03:13 material.
03:14 She also retains a signature flair and pays tribute to black-sploitation movies.
03:18 The romance between Jackie and Max Cherry is among the sweetest and most endearing in
03:21 Tarantino's roster.
03:22 All that being said, Jackie Brown lacks some of the bombast of most Tarantino movies, and
03:26 is far more subtle.
03:27 But maybe that's your bag.
03:41 Number 7.
03:42 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
03:43 Tarantino's love letter to 1960s Tinseltown, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood depicts the
03:59 intertwining stories of the events leading up to the Manson murders.
04:03 Caught up in the middle of everything are once-successful fictional actor Rick Dalton
04:06 and his stunt double Cliff Booth.
04:15 While Once Upon a Time is a slow burn, its finale is positively explosive, and is one
04:19 of the funniest and most violent climaxes in any Tarantino film.
04:22 The road there isn't without its highlights, either, with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio
04:26 delivering pitch-perfect performances.
04:28 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood mixes truth with fairy tale to create a fantastic movie.
04:37 Number 6.
04:38 Kill Bill Vol. 2
04:39 The second half of Tarantino's two-part revenge epic Kill Bill Vol. 2 sees Beatrix Kiddo,
04:44 aka The Bride, finally get her vengeance on the titular Bill and everyone else who betrayed
04:49 her.
04:50 "There's only one left, and when I arrive at my destination, I am gonna kill Bill."
05:00 Volume 2 is a bit more restrained than its predecessor, although some may find its slower
05:03 pace less satisfying.
05:04 We think it's actually a strength, since it focuses more on the characters' motivations
05:08 and well-acted conversations.
05:10 "Freeze, Mommy!"
05:11 "Bang, bang!
05:12 Oh!
05:13 She got us, baby!
05:14 Mommy got us!
05:15 I'm dying!"
05:16 "I'm dying!"
05:17 "I'm dying!"
05:18 "I'm dying!"
05:19 "I'm dying!"
05:20 "I'm dying!"
05:21 "I'm dying!"
05:22 "I'm dying!"
05:23 Volume 2 also has a Western bent to it, which becomes a theme in the latter half of Tarantino's
05:27 career.
05:28 Kill Bill Vol. 2 may not cut as deeply for us, but if it does for you, we can see why.
05:32 "You and I have unfinished business."
05:35 "Baby, you ain't kidding."
05:40 Number 5.
05:41 Django Unchained
05:42 After a German bounty hunter frees his slave, the duo works together to kill criminals and
05:46 rescue Django's still-enslaved wife from the villainous Calvin Candie.
05:50 "Now, more soup, Candie, whenever you're ready.
05:55 We roll five hours so you can show off your style.
05:58 Let's get to it."
05:59 It may be Tarantino's highest-grossing movie so far, but Django Unchained can be hard to
06:03 watch sometimes, given the horrific violence perpetrated by the slavers.
06:07 Even so, Django is among Tarantino's most compelling protagonists, with King Schultz
06:11 forming the other half of a great partnership.
06:13 Likewise, Calvin Candie is one of his best villains.
06:15 "There have been a lot of lies set around this dinner table here tonight, but that you
06:20 can't believe!"
06:21 "Mr. Moogey, would you be so kind as to collect the pistol hanging off these boy's hips here?"
06:26 The action scenes are bloody, yes, but thrilling and well-executed.
06:30 Plus the humor in this movie crops up in some unexpected places.
06:33 "Y'all gonna be together with Calvin in the by-and-bye.
06:43 Just a bit sooner than y'all was expecting."
06:45 Django Unchained is a riveting story from start to finish.
06:48 4.
06:49 Reservoir Dogs
06:50 Tarantino's first outing as a director follows a gang of color-coded thieves who reconvene
06:54 at a hideout to try to figure out what went wrong at a botched heist.
06:57 "They get him, they can get you.
06:59 They get you, they get closer to me, and that can't happen.
07:02 And you're looking at me like it's my fault?"
07:04 While it contains homages to everything from Stanley Kubrick to Hong Kong crime thrillers,
07:09 Reservoir Dogs remains an excellent early example of Tarantino's oeuvre.
07:12 "Maybe a boy in blue here can answer some of these questions about this rat business
07:17 you've been talking about."
07:18 "You're a piece of work, my friend."
07:20 Quotable dialogue, an eclectic soundtrack, a non-linear narrative, and shocking violence
07:24 pervade this fantastic crime film.
07:26 We can't rate it any higher because Tarantino has obviously improved as a director since
07:30 his inaugural effort, but his big-screen debut still holds up.
07:33 "Joe, you're making a terrible mistake I'm not gonna let you make."
07:37 "Come on, guys.
07:38 Nobody wants this."
07:39 3.
07:40 Kill Bill Vol. 1
07:41 The first half of this two-part epic is Tarantino firing on all cylinders.
07:44 "So when do we do this?"
07:46 "It all depends.
07:50 When do you want to die?"
07:52 After awakening from her coma, the Bride goes on a roaring rampage of revenge against her
07:56 former assassin cohorts, with Bill being her ultimate goal.
07:59 Filled with tributes to everything from kung fu movies to anime, Kill Bill Vol. 1 is an
08:03 entertaining cocktail of styles that comes together into something new and distinctly
08:07 Tarantino.
08:08 "You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?
08:09 You're not going to be able to do it."
08:10 "I thought I'd be able to, you know, for a second there.
08:15 Yeah, I kind of did."
08:17 The fight scenes are stylish, thrilling, and fast-paced.
08:20 The Bride is also arguably Tarantino's most iconic lead protagonist.
08:23 Still, for as much as we love Kill Bill to death, Tarantino has perhaps made a few better
08:27 films both before and after it.
08:29 "I want you to know, and I want them all to know, they'll all soon be as dead as a rat."
08:38 2.
08:39 In Glorious Bastards
08:40 "When they're tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with
08:46 the hearts of us that they are tortured with.
08:49 Sound good?"
08:51 "Yes, sir!"
08:53 Tarantino's take on a war movie is set in Nazi-occupied France.
08:56 The film follows two separate plots against the Third Reich, one by a group of American
09:00 commandos and another by a Jewish theater owner in hiding.
09:03 Both groups run afoul of the brilliantly devious SS officer Hans Landa, who might be one of
09:08 the best villains not just in any Tarantino movie but in any movie, period.
09:11 "You've had a nice long run, Aldo.
09:14 Alas, you're now in the hands of the SS.
09:18 My hands, to be exact.
09:19 And they've been waiting a long time to touch you."
09:23 Nearly every scene is a masterclass in great dialogue and mounting tension that usually
09:27 culminates in extreme violence.
09:29 In Glorious Bastards, maybe Tarantino at the height of his craft.
09:32 The acting, direction, and history-defying script are all practically flawless.
09:35 "You know something, you rich?
09:38 I think this just might be my masterpiece."
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09:57 1.
09:59 Pulp Fiction
10:00 You could argue that any of the movies on this list deserves the number one spot, but
10:03 we contend that Pulp Fiction is the best Quentin Tarantino film because it goes full Tarantino.
10:18 It has an all-star ensemble cast playing various criminals and ne'er-do-wells in a non-linear
10:23 narrative.
10:24 It has some of the most quotable dialogue out there.
10:26 Even the side characters, who only appear in a scene or two, are memorable.
10:39 Pulp Fiction is everything Tarantino does best crammed into one movie.
10:42 There's a reason that when you ask someone to name a Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction is
10:46 usually the first that comes to mind.
10:47 "You're the evil man, and I'm the righteous man.
10:52 And Mr. Nine-millimeter here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley
10:56 of darkness."
10:58 Which Tarantino movie do you feel got the short end of the Red Apple?
11:01 Let us know in the comments.
11:02 "Take a bite of a red apple.
11:06 Tell him Jake sent you."
11:08 Did you enjoy this video?
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11:15 [music]
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