He's scary, and brilliant. And dangerous -- he does whatever he feels like doing, following his instinct, bypassing logical thought.He has a powerful sense of who we are and what will shock us.
He likes, loves, trusts, admires, and is amused by himself. All those things that make a man successful are in his pocket, and he takes them out and uses them.
At the moment, he doeS NOT have a new, block bustering hit on his hands, though he expected his latest film, "Django Unchained," would knock people out and they'd flock to the theater.
How does he handle this?
He steam-rollers over the thought. Money, ground into the mud, doesn't seem to affect him. He told an interviewer confidently, (with his moving-making partner present). "I gave them a scene they will never forget." Tarantino was talking about the horrifying, upsetting, disturbing, footage of a man, a slave, being beaten. He has pooh-poohed "Roots," the Alex Haley television show about blacks in America, a series that's been praised throughout the world. Tarantino's I don't care attitude conveys his delight in giving us, the audience, a vision that will shock us, maybe forever.
Okay, Tarantino -- you certainly gave us visions, great entertainment -- shocks, spice, and laughter -- in "Pulp Fiction." (Bits of my favorite scenes are in this video.)
The fact is, I'm inspired and exhilarated when I perceive that a creative person is hell bent committed to doing what he sees, feels, wants to say, show, reveal. Yes, I really do think he's dangerous -- though I perceive something in him that enjoys, delights in life -- a seed in him reaching up to the sun. Even so, he seems to be a destroyer.
Also, I think Tarantino's strangely fragile. (His girlfriends apparently include -- Mira Sorvino, Sofia Coppola, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho -- maybe Uma Thurman -- strong, famous women who are known for trusting themselves. Birds of a feather?) His love-life makes me like him. I get a sense that his iron "love myself" ego has tender spots.
Nevertheless, I sense that he could go off in a deadly wrong, self-destructive direction -- that his lust for shock could overpower his personal need to survive. Anyhow, Tarantino's films are part of a deck of cards I deal out and play, and replay for stimulating diversion, (like those sex scenes in "Monster's Ball" -- Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry). I've seen "Pulp Fiction," and "Reservoir Dogs." more than a few times and each time I see them, it involves me
I actually think Quentin Tarantino's a genius.
GENIUS? Yep. He's in tune with his inner voice, and knows things I don't know about the world today, his generation, not mine -- he understands, and shows me, explains to me -- the violence of now.
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6 comments:
Great tribute blog to Quentin Tarantino and his movies. I do want to see his latest western moive and have watched the previews with anticipation and edge of my seat feelings. He seems to have everything under control and at his beck and call. He is a very talented and gifted man and yes I agree probably a genius. kam
Hi Em,
I'm not a fan of his genre so I don't follow is work. This is a wonderful article about him though! :D
JD
I think you're right, Em. I think Quentin Tarantino IS a genius. I'm not a big movie watcher, and I see a lot of death living out in the country, so I haven't seen all his movies. I watch few movies.
But I admire his work, because I believe he tells about life the way it really is.
If you've ever known any geniuses, you'll know that they are very unusual. They live outside the norm.
Most people live in a comfortable little bubble of belief that insulates us from the sordid realities of war, history and the happenings of the present
I know that terrible acts of brutality, pain and suffering happen every moment on our planet, but I cannot function if I dwell on these things too much.
Some people by nature are not bothered by these things. Some, like me, are.
I think Tarantino wants to shake people up, to show them the real, raw side of war, crime, human relations.
Because we are a violent species. Like tigers, we eat our young. And he is a genius. When the two factors come together, there's blinding revelation.
This is his genius.
Louise Sorensen
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My wife and I saw Django:Unchained last night. An epic movie over 2 and a half hours long. Love, loss, romance, betrayal and, or course, lots of juicy battle scenes to get the heart racing. A truly great movie, and no doubt an instant hit.
I hear a lot that Quentin 'tries too hard' and 'wants to emulate Hitchcock by appearing in his own movies'. I think most people just don't understand him. I honestly believe he's in it for the passion, for the sheer unbridled love of making really good movies. Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Deathproof and now Django. All incredible cinematic feats of the highest order.
He gets nothing but praise from us. Unlike a lot of cynical pseudo-fans, we are not waiting for his first really bad movie. We enjoy celebrating his successes. He seems quite a delicate character hidden behind a raw, often sarcastic, sometimes bordering on arrogant mask. I think he's simply a nice guy, with a few troubles, just like the rest of us.
Of course this isn't good enough for the Hollywood hacks. He has to be 'love torn', 'deliberately shocking' or 'deep and brooding' to fill their columns.
I think he's a genuinely nice fellow with an amazing talent for movie making, a born director (and not a bad actor to boot!).
Thanks Em, another great article!
Yes I agree is very smart/wise. He is no doubt awesome. I don't follow him nor did I know what he has produced. To be honest your blog about him has brought him more to my attention. He seems very different. Thanks for sharing.
Not really a fan but I have enjoyed some of his movies .i.e Kill Bill.
He's probably one of the few people I know that can almost get away with showing anything on the big screen-almost.
Django for example was over the top in your face insenstive cinema crying for justice. I almost thought he was shooting for a hardcore version of Blazzing Saddles in a manner of speaking.
I asked for no apologies with this film. That was the reality of the world at that time. With that being said-both me and my wife enjoyed the movie-we laughed, cheered and were shocked all throughout the movie.
I didn't recognize Quentin when he made an appearance near the end of the movie. My wife made that observation.
The film without a doubt will not suit the palette of many individuals.
We were shocked to see that some viewers brought their children to see this movie-shame on them.
Julian Speed
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