The one thing Quentin Tarantino resents about his career: “I always bristle, and I’m vaguely offended”
His style has become so ingrained in the fabric of American cinema that people can even spot a movie that’s trying to imitate and emulate Quentin Tarantino from a mile away, not that the filmmaker is entirely thrilled with his recurring signatures becoming so well-known among the moviegoing public.
Obviously, Tarantino didn’t pioneer these techniques, but he did make them his own. His vast knowledge of cinema, which extends from the greatest movies ever made to the ones that barely anybody has even heard of, never mind seen, has given him the ability to pick and choose his preferred elements from his favourite things and make them his own.
Whether it’s fractured and nonlinear narratives, characters spouting countless pop culture references, eloquent monologues that become widely quoted soundbites known the world over, toying with the conventions of history, stylishly-orchestrated violence, trunk shots, and gratuitous foot stuff, these are all things he loves on a personal level that have been folded into his work so often that they feel like they belong to him.
One of the most notable downsides is that the post-Pulp Fiction boom swamped independent cinema with a constant stream of blatant and inferior knockoffs, not that there was anything he could do about it. Another Tarantino trademark that has existed since the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs and was pilfered by plenty of aspiring auteurs is using musical cues to enhance the action.
It could be a song he’s adored since his earliest days, a deep cut that perfectly suits the mood of the scene or orchestral accompaniments from other films that synchronise with Tarantino’s artistic vision better than any original piece could hope to achieve. However, just don’t call them needle drops if he’s within earshot.
“I resent when people call my scores needle drops,” he lamented to Film Ink. “If they get called second-hand scores, I always bristle, and I’m vaguely offended.” The two-time Academy Award winner might get pissed off when his soundtracks are accused of lacking in originality, but it’s not as if he’s got anybody to blame but himself.
Technically, calling them needle drops and second-hand scores is entirely accurate. For the most part, Tarantino has avoided enlisting a composer to craft a bespoke comprised of entirely original pieces for his entire career, with the legendary Ennio Morricone’s work on The Hateful Eight being the exception that proves the rule.
Several of his other flicks have boasted their own unique interludes, but the filmmaker evidently prefers combing through artists’ back catalogues for inspiration. He didn’t draft in a musician to create the songs from scratch to enhance his visuals, and plenty of them have been used in at least one other picture beforehand, so Tarantino getting offended when it’s pointed out that he uses pre-existing music on a regular basis feels like a very strange bugbear to have, because it’s true.
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