Django Unchained

DJANGO UNCHAINED
2012 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 165 Minutes

"Do you know what they're going to call you? The 'Fastest Gun in the South.'"

In 1858, a slave named Django is liberated by Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter, in exchange for his cooperation in tracking down a trio of wanted plantation overseers. The implicit mythological nature of Django's story moves Schultz, and he decides to assist Django on his journey through the nightmarish heart of the American Slave Trade to free Django's wife Broomhilda.

Writer/director Quentin Tarantino's Deep South odyssey is an honest-to-goodness masterpiece. Repurposing Spaghetti Western tropes with just the right amount of anachronistic flair, Django Unchained is an expertly-paced, exhilarating ride that completely abandons the notion of moral grey areas in favor of heroes that are easy to root for and villains that deserve their violent ends without exception. After all, there is no moral grey area when it comes to the crimes of racist white supremacists, and those complicit in the atrocities committed are at least just as guilty.

The narrative is slightly more focused than a standard Tarantino film, unfolding in a strictly chronological manner save for a handful of brief flashbacks from Django's point of view providing immediate context, and meandering tangential side stories are at a bare minimum. The film is also aesthetically stunning, numerous exterior sequences set in the wilderness are simply beautiful, and action scenes make startlingly effective use of slow motion. One of the most striking shots of the film occurs when Shultz cuts down a fugitive with his rifle, the camera fixed on cotton plants as the outlaw's blood splatters onto white fluff.

Jamie Foxx convincingly portrays the titular dashing figure of bravery, conveying a broad range of emotion from fear to outright defiance. Delightfully eloquent as Schultz, Christoph Waltz shows off his versatility as well, his final moments contemplating the brutality he witnessed in Mississippi and confronting the deranged plantation owner Calvin Candie really stand out. Kerry Washington's presence as Broomhilda is felt throughout the first half of the film in the form of brief haunting visions, and when the character finally appears in the flesh, Washington exudes intelligence, vulnerability, and a real air of dignity.

As the sociopathic Candie, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers one of the best performances of his career, exhibiting an admirable measure of control playing a truly despicable antagonist. However, the most hateful villain of the film is Candyland house slave Stephen played by Samuel L. Jackson, a slave who is absolutely loyal to his master and complacent in his position of relative power and comfort. Jackson alternates between Uncle Tom caricature and menacing tyrant with a frightening level of dedication. The supporting cast of baddies notably features Walton Goggins as an irritating Candyland enforcer Billy Crash, James Remar playing both a slave driver in the opening scene and Candie's stoic bodyguard, and Don Johnson and Jonah Hill as dimwitted proto-Klansmen.

Epic in scope, visually splendid, and massively entertaining, Django Unchained distills Quentin Tarantino's talent for cinematic wish-fulfillment fantasy to its purest, most crowd-pleasing form. With engaging characters and bloody satisfying action, the picture is a worthy addition to the Spaghetti Western canon though with a distinct Antebellum Period twist.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
The trio of slaves who witnessed Django dispatch the LeQuint Dickey Mining Company slavers wonder aloud about the identity of the gunslinger.


THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE
Django Unchained follows a long line of unofficial spin-offs and sequels to Sergio Corbucci's original Django released in 1966. A multitude of Spaghetti Westerns with "Django" in their titles are completely unrelated to Corbucci's film, and some don't even feature a character named Django.


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- A Bag Head

- Exploding LeQuint Dickey Mining Company slaver with a terrible Australian accent


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- Django rolls cigarettes with Red Apple Tobacco


CASTRATION WITH A BANG
- In the finale, Django shoots Billy Crash in the groin for threatening to castrate him earlier


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROPS
- The theme song from the original Django composed by Luis Bacalov with vocals by Rocky Roberts is a one of the all-time great Spaghetti Western tunes and truthfully the only way to open this film

- The theme song from Lo Chiamavano King (His Name Was King) also composed by Luis Bacalov with vocals by Edda Dell'Orso serves as a cute refrain for Dr. King Schultz

- Jim Croce's "I Got A Name" is a natural montage song for the sequence breezing through Django and Schultz's travels

- The theme song from Lo Chiamavano Trinità (They Call Me Trinity) composed by Franco Micalizzi with vocals by David King is the perfect laid back tension-dispersing tune to close out the film


FRAGMENTS
- Incidentally, Tarantino plays a brief but memorable character in Takashi Miike's 2008 film Sukiyaki Western Django, another acclaimed contemporary spin on the Django

- The Columbia Pictures studio logo that opens the film is a take on the design that was used from 1968 to 1976

- The film features original songs by Rick Ross, John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton, RZA, and legendary film composer Ennio Morricone whose tracks from various Spaghetti Western films are prominently featured in Kill Bill, Death Proof, and Inglourious Basterds; Morricone went on to compose the original score for The Hateful Eight

- Franco Nero, star of the original Django, makes a cameo appearance as Mandingo slave owner Amerigo Vessepi


007 CONNECTIONS
- Michael Madsen (Damian Falco in Die Another Day)

- Christoph Waltz (Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre and No Time to Die)


MCU CONNECTIONS

- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

- Christopher Berry (Randy Vale in Spider-Man: Homecoming)

- Walton Goggins (Sonny Burch in Ant-Man and the Wasp)

- Jamie Foxx (Max Dillon in Spider-Man: No Way Home)

Inglourious Basterds

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
2009 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 153 Minutes

"In the pages of history, every once in a while fate reaches out and extends its hand. What shall the history books read?"

Lieutenant Aldo Raine assembles a guerrilla squad of Jewish-American soldiers to conduct a campaign of terror and humiliation against Hitler's Nazis. Meanwhile, a celebrated German sniper is chosen by Goebbels to be the subject of a propaganda film set to premiere in occupied Paris with the Nazi High Command in attendance. Simultaneous plots targeting the premiere are hatched by a vengeful Jewish refugee, and a German defector collaborating with the British and Raine's men.

Inglourious Basterds is a war film unlike any other, utilizing all of writer/director Quentin Tarantino's creative tendencies and quirks in unexpected ways. Told in five distinct chapters that alternate between dark humor and engrossing drama, the vignettes featuring the Basterds let loose with the stylized violence and high-tension stand-offs one would expect from a Tarantino picture, while the ones that center on the heroine Shosanna Dreyfus fully utilize the less recognized aspects of the auteur's skill set as he masterfully and patiently builds dramatic suspense with substantial stakes. An air of grim levity permeates the sequence that introduces the Basterds, while the opening chapter that introduces primary antagonist Hans Landa and Shosanna is a suffocating edge-of-your-seat affair.

The central conceit of Inglourious Basterds is the notion that cinema carries the power to change the course of history. As the Nazis hope to rally their forces with a sensationalized cinematic account of their star soldier, Shosanna makes history with her own film. The picture brilliantly subverts exceptions, as Hitler attends the screening in Paris, and the plan to slaughter Nazi leadership along with the dictator actually succeeds spectacularly, literally changing history as we know it. The surprise alternate reality of the film presents a fantastic statement in that the event decisively ending the war occurs at the cinema, chiefly perpetrated by an artist, her face projected on a burning movie screen and subsequently on the smoke billowing from her weaponized highly flammable nitrate film collection. The brutal brand of justice doled out by the Basterds is just icing on the proverbial cake.

French actress Mélanie Laurent is magnetic as Shosanna, projecting both trepidation and wrath with palpable conviction. Equal parts charming and terrifying, Christoph Waltz's performance as Hans Landa indisputably places the villain alongside the most memorable antagonists ever committed to film. Similarly, Daniel Brühl's Fredrick Zoller is so deceptively pleasant that it can be easy to dismiss him until he until he proves to be a real threat during the closing act. As Lieutenant Raine, Brad Pitt is a real hoot, really chewing on that hillbilly accent. The cast also features Michael Fassbender doing some his best work as British Royal Marine Lieutenant Archie Hicox, Diane Kruger as German movie star prone to misfortune Bridget von Hammersmark, Til Schweiger as rage monster Hugo Stiglitz, horror director Eli Roth as rambunctious "Bear Jew" Donny Donowitz, and a barely-recognizable Mike Myers as Hicox's superior officer Ed Fenech.

Playing against expectations in the very best way, Inglourious Basterds weaves several captivating narratives together to form a unique war film with an unbelievable finale that's both shocking and exhilarating. Beyond the outrageous exploits of the picture's titular heroes, the film is about weaponizing art to defeat fascism and perhaps change history. It is a powerful statement, if fanciful and somewhat on-the-nose, and it is undeniably thrilling.


THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE
The title was inspired by Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 World War II action film Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato (That Damned Armored Train), re-titled The Inglorious Bastards for US distribution which in turn is a direct translation of the original working title for the movie: Bastardi Senza Gloria. According to Tarantino, the odd spelling of this film's title is attributed to "Quentin Tarantino spelling."


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- A scalped Nazi

- An American soldier in Nation's Pride


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- Private First Class Hirschberg's brand of choice


FOOT STUFF
- Landa recovers von Hammersmark's designer shoe from the basement tavern and itimidates her into placing her foot on his lap, slowly slipping the shoe onto her foot to reveal his discovery of her defection


CASTRATION WITH A BANG
- During the Mexican standoff in the basement tavern, Gestapo Major Dieter Hellstrom aims his pistol at Hicox's crotch, Hicox and Sigletz aim their guns at Hellstrom's, and all three open fire and parish in the ensuing shootout


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROP
- David Bowie's theme song written by Giorgio Moroder from Paul Schrader's 1982 erotic thriller Cat People is a wonderfully anachronistic choice for the opening moments of the film's final chapter as Shosanna prepares for war, its refrain of "putting out the fire with gasoline" amusing blunt considering what she's about to do


FRAGMENTS
- Tarantino spent a decade writing the screenplay for the film

- The Universal Pictures studio logo that opens the film is a throwback to the design that was used from 1963 to 1990

- Frequent Tarantino collaborator Samuel L. Jackson narrates Hugo Stiglitz's character introduction and the expository montage about nitrate film

- Lieutenant Raine's phony alias Enzo Gorlomi is a mangled pronunciation of The Inglorious Bastards director Enzo G. Castellari's birth name, while Donowitz's alias is Antonio Margheriti after a prolific Italian exploitation film director

- Eli Roth directed the film within the film Nation's Pride

- Bo Svenson, the star of Castellari's The Inglorious Bastards, makes a cameo appearance in this film as an American Colonel in Nation's Pride, while Castellari himself cameos as a Nazi General in the burning theater


007 CONNECTIONS
- Christoph Waltz (Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre and No Time To Die)

- Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swan in Spectre and No Time To Die)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

- Daniel Brühl (Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War)

Death Proof

DEATH PROOF
2007 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 113 Minutes

"I'm afraid you're gonna have to start getting scared... immediately."

A homicidal stuntman driving a reinforced car targets young women. He soon finds that his latest targets are more than he bargained for as the pair stuntwomen and their friend chase him down in a specific white 1970 Dodge Challenger.

Death Proof is more of a genre mash-up experiment than a fully-realized feature. Its first half is an homage to grindhouse slasher flicks complete with sloppy editing and deliberate scratches on the picture. Naturally, the leads during the opening stretch are modeled after the disposable horror movie characters, sexually active drug-friendly young women unsuspecting of the stalker in their midst. Though they are perhaps afforded more internal lives than the average slasher victim archetype, their subplots revolving around radio DJ Jungle Julia's secret heartbreak and Arlene's lame relationship with whiny dud Nate only serve as elaborate window dressing as they are swiftly discarded, dashed away when the deranged Stuntman Mike comes out to play.

The aesthetic style of the movie completely changes when Death Proof enters its back half, and the intentional film damage completely disappears. The film quickly establishes a fun new set of heroines, savvy film industry workers with a strong appreciation for practical stunt work and a knack for humorous banter. The remainder of the feature ramps up to a technically impressive showdown on the road. While the rest of the movie is entertaining on visceral level, it becomes clear that Death Proof pulled an odd bait-and-switch, abandoning horror in favor of over-the-top action spectacle. The shift comes off as clumsy, and unfortunately does little to serve the horror or the muscle car genres.

Kurt Russell is the very best thing about the picture, clearly having the time of his life as the evil and perverted stuntman, really selling his smugness and the sniveling cowardice just under the surface. Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, and Rose McGowan are fine as Stuntman Mike's victims, though their performances are only as good as the incomplete arcs of their characters. Tarantino's favorite stuntwoman Zoë Bell plays a heightened version of herself, naturally hilarious and impressively performing the most dangerous acts of the movie with. Tracie Thoms stands out as opinionated stunt driver Kim, delivering a fun performance that really pops. Always a welcome sight, Rosario Dawson serves as the perfect audience surrogate playing make-up artist Abernathy. The cast also features Mary Elizabeth Winstead, horror director Eli Roth, Omar Doom, and Michael Bacall in bit parts.

Trashy entertainment devoid of narrative depth, Death Proof is an uneven roller coaster ride that switches from conceptually off-beat slasher film to extended muscle car stunt show. A good time is in store for those willing to appropriately temper their expectations and relish in the simple pleasure of watching a psychopath get his comeuppance.

ANOTHER VERSION

During its initial US theatrical run, a significantly pared down cut of Death Proof and a slightly shorter version Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror was released in theaters as a double feature entitled Grindhouse, complete with a set of parody movie trailers directed by Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, and Eli Roth running between the two films. The Grindhouse version of Death Proof is missing several minor character moments with the Stuntman Mike's victims, the lap dance scene is absent with a humorous "Reel Missing" notice in its place, the hospital scene cuts straight to Zoë's friends picking her up at the airport completely excising the convenience store sequence, and it features alternate takes throughout.

THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE

The title Quentin Tarantino's Thunder Bolt appears during the opening sequence before it is quickly replaced by a drab white text on black Death Proof title card. This is in reference to the common practice for exploitation movie distributors to re-title their films for any number of unscrupulous reasons.

QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...

- Warren the bartender

RED APPLE CIGARETTES

- Abernathy asked Kim to buy her a pack of Red Apple Tans

FOOT STUFF

- The first shots of the opening title sequence are of a woman's bare feet on the passenger side dashboard of a car

- The camera constantly lingers on Jungle Julia's bare legs and feet

- Stuntman Mike creepily touches Abernathy's feet while she is asleep in the backseat of a parked car

NOTABLE NEEDLE DROPS

- American rock band Smith's cover of "Baby It's You" is a damn good jukebox tune and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's acapella rendition in the parking lot isn't too shabby either

- The grimly ironic use of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich's "Hold Tight!" during Stuntman Mike's vehicular murder of Jungle Julia and her friends is masterful in how well it complements the tension in that sequence

- Playing over the end credits, April March's cover of "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" mixed with her English version of the song "Chick Habit", is both grating but so infectiously catchy

FRAGMENTS

- The film opens with a vintage movie theater feature presentation clip, an animated restricted rating notice from the 1970s, and the logo of long-defunct exploitation film studio Dimension Pictures 

- The poem to be recited to Arlene in exchange for a lap dance is an excerpt from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

- The Crazy Babysitter Twins played by Electra and Elise Avellan and Dakota Block played by Marley Shelton from Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror appear briefly

- Michael Parks' Earl McGraw first appeared in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn, and also appears in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror and in Kill Bill alongside James Parks' Edgar McGraw


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Kurt Russell (Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

Kill Bill

KILL BILL
2003-2004 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 247 Minutes

"That woman deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die."

Ambushed by her former comrades and left for dead, a deadly assassin is forced out of retirement to embark on an epic quest for vengeance.

 

Based on a quirky idea conceived by audacious auteur Quentin Tarantino and versatile leading lady Uma Thurman while filming Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill emulates, deconstructs, and reconstitutes the most sensational elements from a myriad of exploitation film genres to create a singular wildly entertaining cinematic experience. From chapter to chapter, the epic tale of one fierce woman hunting down the stone-cold killers who destroyed her life blends the best aspects of Giallo, Chambara, Spaghetti Western, and Kung Fu films to create a deliberately campy but entirely earnest mixture of varying styles and tones that works remarkably well.

Tarantino imitates the grindhouse movies that inspired Kill Bill with an unmistakable air of reverence, never devolving into hollow parody. The graphic violence is humorously exaggerated but aesthetically exquisite, the dialogue is undeniably corny but spoken with real conviction. Italian horror was a clear inspiration for the hospital sequence lit in sickly hues early in the narrative, and for the claustrophobic terror of the live burial scene. The anime chapter depicting O-Ren Ishii's origin story is a gorgeous and engrossing vignette thanks in no small part to animation studio Production IG's consistently excellent artistry. The snowy sword duel between The Bride and O-Ren perfectly falls in line with those featured in 1970s samurai films, juxtaposing sharply against the gritty knock-down drag-out brawl between The Bride and Elle Driver in Budd's trailer. The fight choreography from industry legend Yuen Wo Ping and his stunt team is uniformly spectacular, particularly impressive during The Bride's battle against the Crazy 88, and their expertise brings invaluable authenticity to Pai Mei's old school kung fu scenes. The soundtrack prominently features curated selections from Spaghetti Western film scores, perfectly complementing the fantastical cinematic world of The Bride's story.

At its core, the saga of The Blood-Spattered Bride is about broken hearts. The Bride's unyielding rampage is motivated by the devastating loss of her new friends, her fiance, and most of all her chance to leave behind a life of violence to start over with her baby, all at the hands of a man she once loved. Similarly, the massacre that sets the story in motion is driven by Bill's grief and jealously over The Bride's decision to leave him. It becomes clear throughout The Bride's journey that sheathing the sword is difficult for killers but revenge does not mend heartbreak. It's telling that veteran figures like legendary sword maker Hattori Hanzo, foul-tempered Taoist Priest Pai Mei, and ruthless geriatric pimp Esteban Vihaio never really retire despite sworn oaths and self-imposed seclusion, and men like Budd become regretful and lethargic. O-Ren's personal quest for vengeance only intensified her bloodlust, a concerning notion if O-Ren were viewed as a foil to The Bride if it were not for the unexpected opportunity to start over that is presented to The Bride at the end of her journey.

Uma Thurman completely commits to the role of The Bride, delivering a physical and deeply emotional tour de force, easily placing the character among the pantheon of all-time greatest action movie heroes. Considerably charming yet appropriately intimidating, Kung Fu television star David Carradine gives a fun and memorable performance as Bill. Lucy Liu is most impressive as supreme crime lord O-Ren Ishii, switching between unbridled fury and poised elegance with frightening ease. In one of her best roles, Daryl Hannah proves to be a delightfully amusing adversary playing with panache the wickedly cruel one-eyed assassin Elle Driver. As the dispirited loser Budd, Michael Madsen brings nuance to the character, even eliciting a certain level of sympathy. Though she only appears briefly, Vivica A. Fox effectively demonstrates a mixture of toughness and vulnerability as killer-turned-suburban-housewife Vernita Green.

The supporting cast features Michael Parks as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw and Mexican pimp Esteban Vihaio, his son James Parks as Texas Ranger Edgar McGraw, Michael Bowen as despicable rapist Buck, erstwhile Japanese action star Sonny Chiba as swordsmith-turned-sushi-chef Hattori Hanzo, Julie Dreyfus as smug interpreter Sofie Fatale, Battle Royale star Chiaki Kuriyama as psychotic school girl Gogo Yubari, veteran Hong Kong kung fu star Gordon Liu as Crazy 88 Head General Johnny Mo and as Pai Mei, and Helen Kim as "surgeon with a shotgun" Karen. Samuel L. Jackson makes a cameo appearance as organ player Rufus, and Sid Haig cameos as strip club bartender Jay.

Kill Bill is an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink action extravaganza that proudly flaunts its diverse exploitation cinema roots. Exceptionally ambitious in both length and scope, Quentin Tarantino's smorgasbord of genre chills and thrills is ultimately much more than the sum of its disparate parts, it exemplifies the filmmaker at his most stylistically uninhibited. It is an exhilarating revenge masterpiece and a visceral artistic expression conveying the devastation of the broken-hearted.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
An outtake of The Bride ripping out a Crazy 88's eye.


VERSIONS
- Though intended to be presented as one film, Kill Bill was initially released theatrically as two separate films, Kill Bill: Volume 1 in 2023 consisting of the first half of the story with an epilogue that teases the second half, and Kill Bill: Volume 2 in 2024 opening with The Bride on the road recapping the story so far as a brief campy prologue

- The Japanese cut of Kill Bill: Volume 1 opens with a dedication to filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku instead of the "Old Klingon Proverb," features more gore in the anime sequence, the Crazy 88 battle remains in full color throughout with additional shots of violence, and the scene depicting The Bride's interrogation of Sofie Fatale does not cut away when she cuts off the interpreter's other arm

- The one-film version entitled Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, with the opening Kinji Fukasaku dedication and all of the violence present in the Japanese cut of Volume 1, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, and periodically at Tarantino's New Beverly and Vista movie theaters featuring a newly-animated extension to O-Ren Ishii's origin chapter before receiving a limited theatrical release in 2025


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- A wounded Crazy 88


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- The Bride walks past an advertisement for the brand in the Tokyo airport


FOOT STUFF
- Multiple close-ups of The Bride's toes as she wills her feet out of entropy


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROPS
- Nancy Sinatra's cover of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" makes for a chilling if ridiculously on-the-nose tune to start things off

- The Gheorghe Zamfir pan flute instrumental "The Lonely Shepherd" is both cheesy and perfect as a samurai theme

- Pairing the instrumental section of Santa Esmerelda's disco version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" with The Bride and O-Ren's sword fight in the snow is simply sublime

- Johnny Cash's "Satisfied Mind" sure is depressing listening for the regretful and impoverished Budd as The Bride attempts to ambush him in his trailer

- The two Meiko Kaji theme songs featured are natural fits for the narrative: playing at the end of the fifth chapter "修羅の花 (Shura no Hana; The Flower of Carnage)" from the 1973 samurai film Lady Snowblood, and playing over the end credits "怨み節 (Urami Bushi; Grudge Song)" from the Female Convict Scorpion film series


FRAGMENTS
- The Shaw Brothers studio logo and a vintage movie theater feature presentation clip play after the standard Miramax studio logo

- Kill Bill features original music by The RZA, the first musician to produce original music for a Tarantino film

- Vernita hiding a gun in a box of Kaboom cereal is one of my favorite sight gags ever

- The Bride killing Vernita just moments after making plans to meet her later for a dramatic showdown foreshadows her sudden final battle with Bill

- Michael Parks' Earl McGraw first appeared in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn, and also appears in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror and in Death Proof alongside James Parks' Edgar McGraw

- The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad bears a striking resemblance to the team in failed television pilot Fox Force Five as described by Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction

- There were four real life historical figures named Hattori Hanzo, the most famous was a ninja who was a loyal subordinate to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu

- The Bride's yellow track suit with black stripes on the sides worn in the fifth chapter is a homage to Bruce Lee's attire from Game of Death

- While scouting shooting locations in Japan, Tarantino heard The 5.6.7.8.'s playing over the speakers at a Tokyo urban clothing store, bought the CD from the store, and decided to cast the rock trio as the house band for the House of Blue Leaves

- The switch to black and white during the Bride's battle against the Crazy 88 was primarily to appease the MPAA's demands to tone down the violence, but it is also an homage to how violent scenes were handled in U.S. televised versions of kung fu movies in the 1970s and 1980s

- In a bit of ironic casting, Gordon Liu was famous for playing Shaolin Monks, Pai Mei's sworn enemies, in Shaw Brothers kung fu films

- A few of the Cantonese lines spoken by Pai Mei differ from what the English subtitles display

- The movie that Bride and B.B. watch is Shogun Assassin, the 1980 English-dubbed grindhouse circuit recut of the samurai revenge film Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx with footage from Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance, both originally released in 1972, the first two films of a five-picture series adapted from Kazuo Koike's renowned manga epic centered on a stoic ronin's quest for revenge with his toddler in tow -- hardly an appropriate bedtime movie for a four-year-old007 


CONNECTIONS
- Michael Madsen (Damian Falco in Die Another Day)

MCU CONNECTIONS
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

Jackie Brown

JACKIE BROWN
1997 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 154 Minutes

"Well, that's what you do to go through with the shit you start, you rationalize."

A middle-aged flight attendant who smuggles money for a gun runner on the side is caught between the homicidal crook and a pair of persistent lawmen. More wary of having to start over than fearing for her life, she teams up with a smitten bail bondsman in a dangerous gambit to play both sides of the law and make it out on top.

Based on Elmore Leonard novel Rum Punch, writer/director Quentin Tarantino's follow-up to Pulp Fiction is a less fantastical crime drama that's just as thematically rich and aesthetically pleasing. Unlike most Tarantino films, Jackie Brown is made up of more meditative character moments than shocking acts violence, and the bloodshed portrayed in the picture is far less gratuitous than in the filmmaker's other works. While the heist at the heart of the story is suspenseful and brilliantly realized, presented from three different points of view in Tarantino's distinct style, the narrative as a whole rolls along at a decidedly relaxed pace. Between the elaborate setup of Jackie's plot to make off with Ordell's retirement fund, the film contemplates what it means to age and the inherent difficulty of moving on.

Jackie Brown is populated with characters who refuse or fail to restart their lives for one reason or another. The titular heroine rejects the lawful path as it would set her back too far in her lifelong struggle against poverty, opting to control her own destiny by treading down a more perilous road. As bondsman Max Cherry falls for Jackie, he begins to question his career but is ultimately a slave to his stalwart sense of duty. Leading to their collective downfall, Ordell and the fresh-out-of-prison Louis fail to accept that they've both seen better days and are laid low by their wounded egos.

It's easy to fall in love with Pam Grier's Jackie, as the legendary blaxploitation star is a natural fit for the beautiful, strong, and resourceful heroine. Robert Forster is also perfectly cast as the mild mannered duty-bound everyman Max. Delivering a performance that swings between whimsical and menacing, Samuel L. Jackson truly shows off his range as Ordell. Bridget Fonda is convincing as the aggravatingly brash and insolent Melanie. Unfortunately, Robert De Niro fails to leave much of an impression as Louis in one of his least memorable performances playing the addled criminal. Michael Keaton and Michael Bowen are an entertaining duo respectively portraying a straight-shooting ATF agent and an overbearing LAPD detective putting on the old good cop/bad cop routine. Chris Tucker also appears in a bit role as Ordell's associate who runs afoul of the law, effectively setting the story in motion.

His most grounded and stylistically subdued feature, Jackie Brown is an often-overlooked entry in Quentin Tarantino's filmography, but an excellent picture in its own right. The film is a showcase of auteur's strengths in storytelling and character work without the over-the-top carnage so prevalent in his repertoire.


THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE
In Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch the main character is named Jackie Burke, but Tarantino changed her name to Jackie Brown in honor of his leading lady, referencing the 1974 blaxploitation hit Foxy Brown also starring Pam Grier in the title role.


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- The unconvincingly robotic voice of Jackie's answering machine


FOOT STUFF
- The camera overtly lingers on surfer girl Melanie's bare legs and feet


CASTRATION WITH A BANG
- Though she doesn't pull the trigger, Jackie presses a gun she lifted off Max against Ordell's privates when he confronts her at home


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROPS
- Bobby Womack's excellent theme song for Across 110th Street is intrinsically tied to this film, playing over the opening sequence and closing out the film

- "Strawberry Letter 23" by the Brothers Johnson makes for an unexpectedly chilling theme tune for Ordell

- The Delfonics' classic love ballad "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" serves as a cute theme for Max's crush on Jackie


FRAGMENTS
- Steven Soderbergh's 1998 adaptation of Elmore Leonard novel Out of Sight features Michael Keaton reprising the role of ATF Agent Ray Nicolette

- Ordell, Louis, and Melanie are also featured in Daniel Schechter's 2013 film Life of Crime, an adaptation of Elmore Leonard novel The Switch, in which they are played by Yasiin Bey, John Hawkes, and Isla Fisher


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

- Michael Keaton (Adrian Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming)