For any director hoping to succeed in Hollywood, it’s important to be unique. Interestingly,Quentin Tarantinofound massive success, despite borrowing heavily from classic movies. “I steal from every single movie ever made,” he once confessed toEmpire,and because he honors these particular works rather than directly plagiarizing them, Tarantino has come to be known as the King of pastiche and homage.
Though Tarantino claims to draw inspiration from every movie ever made, there are a few old projects that he mined from a bit more, and as a consequence, audiences and critics were quick to note the similarities. Today, most of these pastiche and homage scenes are thought of as the high points in the movies, and it’s all thanks to the director’s ability to put a little bit of his own personal touch on them.
Jackie Brown’s Opening Title
The underratedJackie Brownis one ofQuentin Tarantino’s lowest-grossing movies, but it’s arguably the director’s most flawless work. It’s adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novelRum Punch, but Tarantino exercises creative liberties to great effect. For example, for the opening titles, the filmmaker uses Mike Nichols’The Graduateas his inspiration. The 1967 film begins with the new graduate, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), gliding through a moving airport walkway after returning to his home city of Pasadena, California. The Tarantino flick also begins with a similar scene where the camera follows the flight attendant, Jackie (Pam Grier), as she glides through a walkway at the Los Angeles Airport.
Apart from the visuals, the two scenes are similar when it comes to the emotions and perspectives of the characters. Both of them are uncertain, but optimistic about the future. Benjamin has just graduated, so he hopes to get a decent job, while Jackie hopes that her new side gig that involves smuggling illegal money for the arms trafficker, Ordell Robbie, will enable her to earn a better living.
The Jack Rabbit Slim Twist Contest in Pulp Fiction
Halfway throughPulp Fiction, the hitman, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) takes his boss’ wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), to a 1950s-themed restaurant named Jack Rabbit Slim. There, they order a meal before participating in a twist contest. The scene is near-identical to the one in Jean-Luc Godard’s French New Wave film,Band of Outsiders. The only significant difference is that in the latter, the main character Odile, dances with two men.
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Still, it’s clear that Tarantino’s version of the dance is way superior. Vincent and Mia’s moves are so good that everyone at the restaurant cannot help but stare. On the other hand, Odile and her two suitors engage in their own private dance that no one else appears interested in. Even so, the dynamics remain identical. The two men that Odile dances with are both vying for her attention, the same way Vincent desperately wants to be with his boss’ wife.
Reservoir Dogs’ Color-Coded Names
The main characters in Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature are introduced using color-coded names, Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, and Mr. Pink. This is a deliberate move to hide their identities, but it isn’t an original idea. Such criminal names can also be found in one ofthe most influential action movies of the ‘60s and ‘70s,The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.In it, the subway train hijackers are introduced as Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown.
The use of color-coded names achieves the intended effect of making the criminals look a lot cooler and more sophisticated. And by taking a closer look, it can be noted that Tarantino gives his set of characters the same fate as that of the criminals in the 1974 crime drama. Despite pulling off what seems like a perfect crime, most of them end up dead by the time the credits start to roll.
The Inglourious Basterds Doorway Shot
As the infamous Jew hunter, SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) is terrorizing Shoshana’s family in the opening sequence ofInglourious Basterds, she decides to make a run for it. The camera captures her escape from inside the house but through the door. The doorway shot qualifies as pastiche as it resembles one where Ethan Edwards leaves his home and wanders into the desert in one ofJohn Wayne and John Ford’s numerous collaborations,The Searchers.
Once again, Tarantino makes an effort to make his version unique. While the shot in the classic Western appears at the end of the movie, the one in the war movie is inserted into the beginning, helping set up the rest of the movie’s events. After Shoshana’s escape, she goes on to play an important role in the fall of the Third Reich whereas no one really knows what happens to Ethan after he leaves. In addition to that, the settings are different. The lush French countryside in Inglorious Basterds is much more visually pleasing than the American frontier that Ethan wanders into.
Jules’ Bible-Inspired Monologue in Pulp Fiction
Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) utters plenty of unforgettable remarks inPulp Fiction,but one major dialogue scene sticks out the most. When he and his colleague, Vincent, head to Brett’s apartment to retrieve a briefcase for their boss, Marsellus. There, he begins reciting Ezekiel 25:17 (which talks about wrath and vengeance), except, he doesn’t use the same words that are in the bible. His words are a deliberate misquote, like those of the martial arts enthusiast, Sonny Chiba, fromKarate Kiba.
They might say the same words but Jules and Chiba have very different motivations. Jules intends to punish Brett and his friends for offending his boss whereas Chiba is planning on making his country free from drug lords. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that Sonny’s words aren’t directly spoken by the character in a scene. They roll up the screen before the events begin. Because Jules makes the remark while smiling and intimidating Brett, his take on the bible verse ends up being more fascinating.
Snow Fight in Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Kill Bill: Vol. 1is one of Tarantino’s most revered works, yet it’s one of his most unoriginal. The film borrows many plot elements from Toshiyo Fujita’s 1974 masterpieceLady Snowblood, which revolves around a woman hunting down those that brutalized her family. Among the memorable scenes in the American filmmaker’s version is a snow duel between O-Ren Ishii and The Bride. This fight is almost a shot-for-shot recreation of the one in Fujita’s movie.
Given the resemblance,Kill Bill: Vol.1could even be considered an unofficial remake, exceptLadySnowbloodisn’t the only film it borrows from. Tarantino extracts elements from several samurai, blaxploitation, and Samurai works to make this his own unique cocktail. On top of that, the main character’s name (The Bride) is a reference to François Truffaut’s 1968 revenge flick,The Bride Wore Black.
The Ear-Slice In Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino loves Sergio Corbucci’s Spaghetti Western,Django. Not only did he do a soft remake of the movie, but he also plucked one of its scenes and used it inReservoir Dogs.In one of the crime drama’s bloodies scenes, Mr. Blonde cuts off a law enforcement officer’s ear as he is torturing him. General Hugo Rodríguez does the same in the ‘60s movie, albeit in a more vicious fashion (he cuts off a man’s ear and then forces him to eat it).
SinceReservoir Dogsis a generally bloody movie, this particular moment (which could have been disturbing under any other circumstances), arrives when viewers have become numb. For a director that enjoys violence, it’s a bit surprising that Tarantino doesn’t take his own version of the ear-slicing to the extreme lengths that the original does. The police officer is never forced to eat his ear, though he is eventually killed.
Django Unchained’s Slave Fight
As one ofthe most honest movies about the horrors of slavery.Django Unchainedholds nothing back in its depiction of barbarity. One of its most disturbing scenes involves Black slaves being forced to participate in gladiatorial fights for the amusement of their master, Calvin J. Candie at the Candyland plantation. The events that play out here are a nod to those in Richard Fleischer’sMandingo.
The duels inDjango Unchainedare directly referred to as “Mandingo fights.” Such a term hadn’t been used in cinema before Richard Fleischer made the highly controversial film. Through the fights, both movies get to educate audiences about the flawed perspectives of plantation owners of the era. Though they viewed the bloody battles as normal occurrences, they were inhumane and unnecessary.
The Mexican Standoff In Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogshas several plot and scene similarities with Ringo Lam’s Hong Kong action masterpiece,City on Fire.The most notable one is the Mexican standoff near the very end. In addition to that, there are shots of characters stylishly walking together in a group in both movies and a story involving an undercover police officer.
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Basically, Tarantino tookCity on Fire’s third act and expanded it into a complete story. His version distinguishes itself from the original by only covering the aftermath and not the heist itself. Years later,Reservoir Dogswould go on to inspire the Bollywood movie,Kaanteand according toThe Time of India, Tarantino loved it so much that he screened it in his own theater.
The Bride’s Training Sequence
Kill Bill: Vol. 2features a lengthy training sequence that is very similar to the one inThe 36th Chamber of Shaolin.The movements and the fighting skills that get taught during the whole process are all the same. Interestingly, The Bride’s trainer is played by Gordon Liu, who happens to be the lead actor in the martial arts film.
Apart from helping to solidify the connections between the two films, Liu was the perfect person to be cast as the trainer because he had appeared in over 20 other martial arts movies before he appeared inKill Bill. And even though he had a vast body of work, he would only become a household name after starring in the Tarantino flick.
