“Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino”. Those credits have bookended some of the best films of the last thirty years, and become so well associated with the eccentric filmmaker that they themselves have become almost a meme in their own right. Spearheading such classics asPulp Fiction,Django Unchained, andInglourious Basterds,Quentin Tarantinoand his instantly recognizable dialogue have become icons of modern-day filmmaking. The director also has never been one to shy away from the spotlight and, when coupled with the fact that the directorclaims he only wishes to make ten films, its perhaps surprising to learn that Quentin Tarantino has actually worked on several film' scripts' in lesser known or even uncredited ways.
Beginning his career in Hollywood as a struggling writer before getting his big break with his directorial debutReservoir Dogsin 1992, Quentin Tarantino, formed crucial connections with fellow rising auteurs such asRobert RodriguezandPaul Thomas Anderson. These and other connections led to Tarantino working on and helping out with a shocking number of projects other than the ones that he proudly proclaims as his films. Some of them are artifacts of the past that don’t quite hold up, others are classics in their own right,capable of standing up to some of Tarantino’s stellar filmography.
‘Four Rooms’ (1995)
Directed by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino
One of Tarantino’s most frequent collaborators and closest friends is famedMachete,andEl Mariachidirector Robert Rodriguez. The two famous collaborated on the b-movie throwback double featureGrindhouse, but years before that campy blast from the past, the pair teamed up with fellow arthouse darlingsAlexandre Rockwell, andAllison Andersfor the anthology featureFour Rooms. This black comedy showcase features fellow Tarantino friendTim Rothas a bellhop who becomes entangled in a quartet of equally stylish and equally eccentric situations during his first night on the job.
Tarantino wrote the film’s fourth and final chapter, ‘The Man From Hollywood’, in which he also stars as a zany and erratic director. Critics likeRoger Ebertnoted that Tarantino basically plays a satirized version of himself, which provides the segment with a humorous level of charm and novelty, even if it is typically agreed to be the weaker of the four segments.Featuring a shocking cast of cameosfrom the likes ofBruce Willis,Marisa Tomei,Kathy Griffin,Madonna(who won a Razzie for the film), and many more,Four Roomsis an intriguing time capsule of the 90s indie Hollywood scene and a glimpse into Tarantino’s world immediately postPulp Fiction.
Four Rooms
‘Past Midnight’ (1991)
Directed by Jan Elliasberg
Past Midnightis a by the numbers, straightforward, direct television crime thriller trying its best to feel likeCape Fear. And whileQuentin Tarantino’s real first film may have been lost in a fire, this forgotten 1991 thriller bears the distinction of being the director’s first on-screen credit, as he was given an associate producer credit after helping rewrite the screenplay. While not up to the snuff of Tarantino’s later works, owing to its smaller scale and cheaper budget,Past Midnightis stilla shockingly competent television film.
Originally released on the USA Network, the film stars Rutger Hauer as Ben Jordan, a recent parole who claims to have been falsely imprisoned for the murder of his wife. Its intriguing if not the most original setup for a crime flick, but unfortunately,in a decade filled with underrated thrillers,Past Midnightfails to do anything to stand out from the crowd. Even Tarantino’s lesser remembered crime thrillers, likeJackie Brown, are titans of the genre, so seeing his name on a project so forgettable is somewhat underwhelming.
‘It’s Pat’ (1994)
Directed by Adam Bernstein
After the runaway success ofWayne’s World, the 1990’s began pumping ourSaturday Night Livemovies at an alarming rate. Nearuniversally agreed to be the worst of these endeavorsis 1994’sJulia SweeneyvehicleIt’s Pat. Based around a single joke of being of ambiguous gender, Pat was always grating and annoying, even for the length of a five-minute sketch, but stretched out to a feature film whereone-joke becomes unbearable and painfully unfunny. A fact that becomes clearer with every passing year as the films' central source of humor becomes more and more outdated. And sadly, at least some of this comedic failure can be attributed to Quentin Tarantino himself. The same year that Sweeney would appear in Tarantino’s seminalPulp Fiction, the director would help her with rewrites onIt’s Pat,as has beenconfirmed by the director and Julia Sweeney herself.
While each of Tarantino’s screenplays has limited and controlled bursts of comedy with it,the writer-director has never made a dedicated comedy, let alone one meant to have the tone ofNight at The RoxburyorSuperstar. If the director ever were to lean headfirst into the humor genre, it would likely be a black comedy, as opposed toIt’s Pat’s coy cringefest (whether intentional or not). Audiences would hope that the whole-hearted Tarantino comedy screenplay would also age better. Nearly every Tarantino film, even ones that tackle harsh or taboo subjects, have stood the test of time. Meanwhile, it’s Pat’s singular joke around gender ambiguity that makes itone of the most poorly aged films of the decade. Which parts of the film heavily bare Tarantino’s fingerprints are still unclear to this day. However, in a very weird sense, this SNL relic is the modern indie darling’s only foray into the comedy world.
‘True Romance’ (1993)
Directed by Tony Scott
Crime genre stalwartTony Scottwas given the choice between two scripts in the early 90s. The first,Reservoir Dogs, he left for Tarantino himself to direct, the second he took for himself in what became the celebrated genre bendingTrue Romance.Simultaneously a compelling thriller andone of the most romantic films of the entire 1990s,True Romancetells the story ofChristian SlaterandPatricia Arquetteas two young lovers who stumble upon a bag of contraband and are forced to go on the run. It’s a violent, fast-paced, and hard-hitting film, creating the perfect juxtaposition between passion and collateral damage to both crime and love.
Slater and Arquette are joined in the film’s absolutely stacked cast by the likes ofDennis Hopper,Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken,James Gandolfini, andSamuel L. Jackson. The first of two Tarantino collaborations by Tony Scott, True Romance, more than nearly any other film, fits seamlessly alongside Tarantino’s own films. The film works as an action drama and romance and showcases the ability to not only slip between these modes, but to blend them into new and unique feelings.True Romanceiswidely considered Tony Scott’s best work, and, in no small part, thanks to his collaboration with Tarantino, easily lives up to that moniker.
True Romance
‘Crimson Tide’ (1995)
Crimson Tideis the second of Quentin Tarantino’s collaborations with Tony Scott, and once again the duo of writer and director strike gold. While at first glance this 1995 wartime submarine thriller seems unlikely to involve the bombastic and eccentric Tarantino, the firmly established writer and directorprovided additional dialogue and rewritesto help spruce up the final product. Despite that help, however,Crimson Tideis decidedly a different tone from most of Tarantino’s other works, less over the top, less unconventional, but no less exciting. The film isone of the greatest submarine thrillers of all time, and shines as a serious drama which makes full use of it’s nuclear stakes.
StarringGene HackmanandDenzel Washingtoninthe role that made him a bona fide action star,Crimson Tidefeatures the two superb actors as nuclear submarine officers in conflict over whether to launch their nukes. These immense takes, setting aside the backdrop of the political uncertainty which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, provide ample material for the two Academy Award winners to work with, and seeing them go toe to toe is a delight for any audience. Washington in particular gaveone of the best performances of his entire career, and while viewers may never know how much of his dialogue was written by Quentin Tarantino, the actor makes sure that every one of his lines is expertly delivered.
Crimson Tide
‘Natural Born Killers’ (1994)
Directed by Oliver Stone
When Tony Scott first took onTrue Romance,Quentin Tarantino was hesitant. The reason for this doubt is that Tarantino had also sold a screenplay forNatural Born KillerstoOliver Stone, and was watching the direction change rapidly before his eyes. By the time the film was released in 1994, it still featured the skeleton of what had originally been written, but had changed so much in tone and direction around that skeleton thatTarantino disowned the film and Stone. The film, which starsWoody HarrelsonandJuliette Lewisas a married couple who goes on a crime spree, was divisive at the time, and has only grown more so as the years have progressed.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Tarantino’s original vision and the version ofNatural Born Killersthat audiences got was just howstylized and controversial the final product turned out to be. Tarantino is known for over-the-top action, dialogue and sort of exaggerated reality, but Stone’s final film goes a step further, switching between black and white, psychedelic editing sequences, and even animated segments at a whim.Natural Born Killersis also overtly political and up front with itscritique of media violence and the news coverage of crime in America. Tarantino films are far from non-political, but for all their over-the-top violence and blunt dialogue, their themes are never as explicitly stated as those ofNatural Born Killers. Stone’s film is an intriguing piece of media, but in an attempt to critique how the news makes killing look cool, it itself made killing look cool andallegedly inspired real life crimes. Even prior to this controversy however, Tarantino felt betrayed by the film and distanced himself from the project to this day.
Natural Born Killers
‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ (1996)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Another collaboration between Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez,From Dusk Till Dawnis not only consideredone of the best Robert Rodriguez filmsout there, but also as a fantastic blend of his and Tarantino’s styles. Beginning as a crime thriller and devolving into a monster-filled, campy horror, b-movie extravaganza,From Dusk Till Dawnisendlessly original and entertaining in its inventiveness and style. StarringGeorge ClooneyandQuentin Tarantinohimself as a pair of criminal brothers who kidnap a family and hold up in a vampire-infested nightclub. What follows is a slew of over-the-top action, excellent monster design and snappy dialogue as the unlikely group must fight their way through the night.
From Dusk Till Dawnis one of Robert Rodriguez’s first properly large-budgeted films, and he does not let that opportunity go to waste, bringing his unique voice and vision to the screen ona larger and more impressive scale than ever before. Not just an underrated crime thriller of the 90s but alsoone of the most thrilling vampire movies of all time. Rodriguez has one of the most eclectic filmographies of any director ever, spanning the likes ofSpy Kids, toSin City, toAlita: Battle Angel, but all share the same sense of boundless creativity that is on full display in this vampire crime thriller. When combined with Tarantino’s crime touches and his signature snappy dialogue and black comedy,From Dusk Till Dawnbecomes a truly special cult film, and one that deserves even wider recognition.
From Dusk Till Dawn
‘The Rock’ (1996)
Directed by Michael Bay
If Quentin Tarantino is one of the most celebrated directors of the last 30 years, thenMichael Bayis one of the most criticized and maligned. The auteur who brought viewers such works asArmageddon,Transformers, andAmbulance, is often critiqued for his films' frenetic energy, hyper-violence and overly stylized visuals. Ironically, however, many of these descriptors have been used to positively describe Tarantino’s films, the distinction being that a film likeOnce Upon a Time In Hollywoodblends substance with its style, something likeTransformers: The Last Knight, trades it in for even more style. Maybe it isn’t too shocking then that Tarantino worked onMichael Bay’s best film, the 1990 action thrillerThe Rock.
StarringNicolas Cageas a chemist andSean Conneryas an ex-British intelligence agent (not that one),The Rocktells the story of this unlikely pair infiltrating Alcatraz Island to stop an ex-military officer from launching chemical weapons at San Francisco. It’s an outrageously exciting and thrilling movie thatshowcases the absolute best of Bay’s hyper-stylized directing style. No doubt aiding the film, however, is its script doctor Quentin Tarantino. Though uncredited in the final release, Tarantino and other sources have confirmed that he helped develop the script forThe Rock, a fact viewers may never guess given the distinction in tone between this action thriller and the writer/director’s usual work. Where films likeKill Billprove that Tarantino is obviously no stranger to action, the type offine-tuned, perfectly executed popcorn blockbuster actioncontained withinThe Rockis very different from his bloody and hard-hitting set-pieces. For nearly 30 years, The Rock has been recognized as holdingsome of Bay’s best scenes and best work, but perhaps it has secretly held some of Tarantino’s as well this whole time.
