Let’s get real: Quentin Tarantino is not only a director, he’s his own genre. Since Reservoir Dogs knocked people’s minds out in 1992, he’s been recombining pop culture, pulp, and outright audacity into movies that are both onetime and brand new. Now that he’s self-imposed his 10-film limit (and has just one left to shoot), now’s the time to look back at the nine films that made him a legend. From vengeance spectacles to dialogue-packed pressure cookers, here’s the list ranked.
9. Death Proof (2007)
Death Proof, the Tarantino tribute to grindhouse, is halfway to being a slasher and halfway to being a crazy car chase. Kurt Russell’s Stuntman Mike tempts unsuspecting women into his “death proof” car, only for the change of fate to be violent. The split narrative is clever: firstly, terror; then, vengeance. It is considered one of Tarantino’s most divisive films, but for those who like real stunts, loud cars, and the unraveling of film genres, it is a cult gem that deserves to be rewatched.
8. The Hateful Eight (2015)
Imagine Agatha Christie and Sergio Leone combined in a snowed-in cabin. This is a Western masquerading as a slow-burning mystery, in which each character has an ulterior motive and no one can be trusted. Tarantino ratchets up tension like a rubber band until it finally breaks in a blood-soaked climax. And with Ennio Morricone’s Oscar-winning score accompanying the paranoia, it’s evidence that dialogue and tension can be deadlier than any six-shooter.
7. Jackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown was cool and cocky with a Tarantino’s typical grit, though it seemed that in this film he dialed down his usual loud and extravagant style, but not to zero. Pam Grier was given a pretty good chance to shine with her powerhouse performance as a flight attendant caught up in the smuggling and deception world. Ordell by Samuel L. Jackson is unforgettable, the soundtrack is ’70s cool, and the movie proves that Tarantino is just as good at finesse as he is at grand spectacle.
6. Django Unchained (2012)
Django Unchained is Tarantino’s spaghetti western, only set in the antebellum South. Jamie Foxx plays Django, who transforms from a slave into a vengeful gunslinger, while Christoph Waltz’s charming bounty hunter becomes his surprisingly trusted partner-in-crime. Leonardo DiCaprio’s evil Calvin Candie almost steals the show, and the film’s violence is equally shocking and relieving. It’s chaotic, daring, and yet you just can’t look away.
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
It’s a non-linear love letter to 1960s Los Angeles, half-buddy comedy, and half-daydream. Leonardo DiCaprio is a washed-up TV star, Brad Pitt is his loyal stunt double, and Margot Robbie’s radiant Sharon Tate glides through the film like an icon of purity. It’s a film of hanging out punctuated with sorrow flashes until it detonates one of Tarantino’s most outrageous endings. Nostalgia has never been so stylish.
4. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 (2003–2004)
Vengeance films take their wildest forms here. The Bride, played by Uma Thurman, slaughters the assassins in Volume 1, a samurai showdown page-turner of anime flashback and gushing blood scenes. Volume 2 keeps a slower tempo, revealing the Bride’s background and her bittersweet romance with Bill. As a whole, they are an epic that pays homage to martial arts flicks, spaghetti westerns, and grindhouse movies, all stitched together with Tarantino’s unique flair.
3. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The debut party that shook the entire world. A botched diamond robbery, a warehouse full of suspects, and razor-sharp dialogue cuts that could slice through glass. The violence is horrifying, but it is the banter on Madonna lyrics, tipping habits, and paranoia, thanks to which the movie gains its cult following, that is more prominent. Mr. Blonde, by Michael Madsen, dancing to “Stuck in the Middle with You,” is a movie that will forever be referenced.
2. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Half war flick, half fairy tale, half revenge fantasy, this is Tarantino reshaping WWII to look like himself. Every scene in the movie, from the farmhouse interrogation full of suspense to the explosive theater finale, is energetic and tension-filled. Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa is one of the most dastardly villains in film history, and Mélanie Laurent’s Shosanna delivers fiery revenge. It’s awesome and bold, and it gets you laughing.
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
The most crowning of Tarantino’s achievements. Pulp Fiction was the first to put an end to the convention of storytelling by means of a non-linear plot, interwoven with the lives of gangsters, fighters, and petty thieves. No scene, whether it be the “Royale with Cheese” or adrenaline shot, is forgettable, and dialogue is always quotable. Fueled by a killer soundtrack and John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman career-building contributions, it is the movie that catapulted Tarantino into the world of the famous and pop culture icons.
So where do your favorites fall? Whether you are a Death Proof fan who thinks that this movie is underrated or you believe that Pulp Fiction deserves its throne, there is one certain thing: Tarantino doesn’t just make movies; he creates events. And with just one more movie still waiting on the horizon, the countdown to his farewell has already started.