The 1970s exploitation film Quentin Tarantino called “one of my favourite movies”
Since the moment Quentin Tarantino stepped on the scene in the early 1990s, he’s become a prominent figure in Hollywood, known for his auteurist approach to movie-making. By blending a concoction of genres and influences, he’s refined a style that is instantly recognisable to dedicated cinephiles and casual movie fans alike.
Much of Tarantino’s cinematic aesthetic and approach to storytelling and theme come from his love of B-movies that were made in the 1960s and ‘70s, particularly low-budget exploitation flicks directed by filmmakers like Russ Meyer, Roger Corman, and Jack Hill. The exploitation genre was extremely popular during these decades, revelling in sensationalism, sexualisation, and extreme violence, often with a campy sensibility.
It’s not hard to see the genre’s influence over Tarantino, who made Death Proof as a tribute to exploitation cinema in 2007. The use of shocking violence, such as in Reservoir Dogs, also draws parallels to the genre. However, with 1997’s Jackie Brown, he paid homage to one of exploitation’s most popular sub-genres, Blaxploitation, which flourished in the ‘70s. The genre has drawn controversy, with some viewers believing that these movies gave African-American characters real autonomy for the first time, while others thought that Blaxploitation perpetuated negative stereotypes.
Jackie Brown starred one of Blaxploitation’s most prominent actors, Pam Grier, who appeared in many movies within the sub-genre that promoted a powerful kind of femininity. In the 1970s, she opened a gateway for African-American women to be presented on screen with a sense of freedom and independence that they’d never been awarded before. She also suggested that women are capable of fending for themselves no matter how stereotypically feminine they dress, unlike many other female action stars, who often take on an identity inspired by masculinity to represent strength.
Grier starred in films like Foxy Brown and Coffy, with Tarantino calling the latter “one of my favourite movies”. Talking to The Guardian, he declared his love for Grier, stating, “Pam is such an icon. To one degree or another, it is like casting John Wayne in a movie. You cast John Wayne in a western, you are not just dealing with this unknown figure walking in there that you have got to learn about. For some audiences, that will be the case, but that is not where I am coming from.” He loves Grier’s “womanness” and “power and strength,” which she displays in Coffy.
The film, released in 1973, stars Grier as the titular character, who pretends to be a prostitute in order to get into close proximity with a drug dealer who has been selling her sister heroin, leaving her severely addicted. The revenge tale clearly inspired Tarantino’s approach to Kill Bill, which follows Uma Thurman’s character as she seeks revenge on her ex-lover and her fellow assassins after they try to kill her.
Tarantino is a big fan of Coffy’s director, Jack Hill, once calling him “the greatest.”
He added, “His scripts are very funny, he is a really talented man and I am a big fan of his work. He was the Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking.” Hill also respects Tarantino, describing him as “an amazing talent” in an interview with Greasy Kid Stuff Magazine.
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