Quentin Tarantino is one of the most prominent filmmakers working in Hollywood today. So far, he’s released 10 movies, earning him a total of eight Oscar nominations (winning twice) and nine Golden Globe nominations (winning three times). However, even with a cabinet of awards, his accolades are nothing compared to his status as a popular cult director with a worldwide following. He’s known for his trademark style of dialogue-heavy scenes and action-packed storytelling, but what are Quentin Tarantino’s best movies?
From his first movie, Reservoir Dogs, to his most recent, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, here are all 10 movies Quentin Tarantino has directed, ranked from best to worst. We’re judging each Tarantino movie based on their stories, the performances of the characters, and just how damn gripping and compelling they can be.
10. The Hateful Eight (2015)
What happens when a group of various criminals take refuge in a remote general store in 1877? You get The Hateful Eight. Murder, backstabbing, and secret revelations await the group, who slowly devolve into primal madness in Tarantino’s most polarizing movie. Running for almost three hours and taking place almost entirely in one location, The Hateful Eight is deep and gritty, but it can also feel tedious and grinding if you aren’t used to watching movies with a longer runtime and a gradual build-up of suspense.
Unlike some of Tarantino’s more action-packed movies, The Hateful Eight is the kind of movie audiences need to be in a certain type of mood to enjoy. It’s a slow burn that takes some major investment, but the payoff at the end is pretty good for anyone that can wait that long. It’s a perfect movie for fans of ensemble films like Bad Times at the El Royale or Identity where a group finds themselves converging in one spot. But unlike every other Tarantino movie, this movie requires some patience, which is why it’s landed in tenth place.
9. Django Unchained (2012)
Just like his WII drama Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino channeled his love of revisionism into his western epic, Django Unchained. It follows an escaped slave (Jamie Foxx) who joins forces with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to find a wanted criminal and save Django’s wife. The movie was inspired by the films Django (1966) and Mandingo (1975), so it’s perfect for anyone who wants to watch a modern interpretation of classic spaghetti westerns.
However, Django Unchained is one of the three Tarantino movies (along with Jackie Brown and The Hateful Eight) that have received the most criticism about race, which keeps it relatively low on the list. It’s also curious to note that, for a white man, Tarantino has a long history of wanting to tell Black stories and put the N-word in his scripts (The Dallas Observer counted that he’s so far used the N-word in his films 214 times), with Django Unchained being the biggest offender. So Django can really go two ways, depending on how it’s viewed. It shows the brutality that slaves faced, but it also follows the white savior trope with textbook accuracy, making it simultaneously powerful and cringeworthy.
8. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 is another controversial Tarantino movie. While some fans love it (especially in more recent years where it’s gained a strong cult following amongst Tarantino fans), the common consensus is that the movie just doesn’t have the fast-paced momentum that was so fun to watch in Vol. 1. By comparison, Vol. 2 is much, much slower. At the time of its release, the LA Times even said, “This film is a test of the viewer’s endurance to Tarantino’s pretentious dialogue, consisting primarily of drivel and pseudo-intellectual detritus.” However, Roger Ebert gave the movie 4 out of 4 stars and called it “One of the best films of the year.”
The reason Vol. 2 doesn’t rank higher on the list is because of these mixed reactions. It has a tonal shift from the first movie, but for some, that’s for the better. If you loved the first movie, it’s absolutely worth checking out Vol. 2.
7. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Tarantino exploded onto the indie film scene with his ‘92 hit Reservoir Dogs, which follows a group of criminals who find themselves being tracked by the law. Though it’s a crime film (with a pretty explosive ending), much of the movie is dialogue-focused, giving audiences a deep look into the characters… which becomes especially important since someone might secretly be a mole. The movie made waves at film festivals like Sundance, TIFF, and Cannes, turning Tarantino into one of the hottest names in indie filmmaking.
Reservoir Dogs is a character-first film with a stellar cast that fans of Pulp Fiction will love. Like The Hateful Eight, this is another movie that takes place almost entirely in one location, but Reservoir Dogs benefits from a shorter runtime. With a cast full of many notable actors, this is also a sure bet for anyone who loves other ensemble crime movies like The Usual Suspects and Natural Born Killers.
6. Jackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown was Tarantino’s nod to old-school Blaxploitation movies of the ‘70s, like Coffy and Foxy Brown—both of which star the legendary Pam Grier. But instead of just paying homage to Grier, Tarantino recruited her to star in the movie, where she plays a flight attendant who gets caught up in a smuggling operation.
Jackie Brown is loaded with great, old-school, pulpy faction vibes, and Tarantino even has a secret cameo in the movie. (See if you can spot it!) It’s a great movie to watch if you love police procedurals and smuggling-focused action movies like Blow and Traffic. I’ve also ranked this as the sixth best Tarantino movie because Grier and her co-star, Samuel L. Jackson, both received Golden Globe nominations for their roles, marking the first time Grier received a major nomination in her lengthy career.
5. Death Proof (2007)
In 2007, Tarantino and his good friend Robert Rodriguez released the three-hour-and-eleven-minute double-feature Grindhouse, complete with two films and even fake trailers to go between them. First up was Rodriguez’s zombie film, Planet Terror, followed by Tarantino’s Death Proof.
In the movie, a deranged stuntman (Kurt Russell) kills people in his “death proof” stunt car, which is designed to withstand impacts that normal cars can’t. If you enjoy Tarantino’s homages to B-movies in his other films, you’ll definitely enjoy Death Proof, which is designed to look like a vintage, low-budget horror movie. The movie is a wild cat-and-mouse chase that’s also unique because it takes place in sports cars. While being a horror-thriller, it still has plenty of high-adrenaline car scenes that will remind you of Joy Ride or Drive.
4. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Just like Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time (which appears next in this ranking), Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Inglourious Basterds is a revisionist film. This time around, Tarantino centers the action around World War II and features a mismatched group of characters who fight back against the Nazis… all culminating in one epic finale that takes place in a movie theater.
Inglourious Basterds scored eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Christoph Waltz won the award for Best Supporting Actor. While turning Waltz into a household name, the movie has an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Diane Kruger. Like many Tarantino movies, Basterds is so brilliant because it was able to combine blood, guts, and lots of action, all while creating a seriously compelling story. If you loved Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, or other meta, witty WWII movies like Jojo Rabbit, you’ll want to see Inglourious Basterds.
3. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
In Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Tarantino re-envisions the tragic Manson Family murder of Sharon Tate, this time creating an alternate history where (spoilers!) Tate survives and the Manson cult is brutally murdered thanks to an aging actor, a washed-up stuntman, and a pitbull named Brandy.
The real power of Once Upon a Time is that it doesn’t just give the Mansons the butt-kicking they so rightfully deserve, it also depicts how Hollywood was rapidly changing and modernizing in the late ‘60s, adapting to a new, more nuanced audience. That added layer of story creates a much deeper film that feels well-rounded and complete—making it one of Tarantino’s best ever movies. For anyone out there who is a fan of true crime, and especially interested in Hollywood history or the twisted legacy of Charles Manson, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is a must-watch since it offers the ending most of us wished would have happened.
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Inspired by Tarantino’s love of martial arts movies, Kill Bill follows an assassin (Uma Thurman) who seeks revenge on her former squad after they attempt to kill her. Like so many Tarantino movies, Kill Bill is stacked with a phenomenal ensemble cast. It features brilliant and memorable performances from Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu, and Daryl Hannah, among others. One of my favorite parts of the film, though, is its inclusion of Japanese surf-rock band, The 5, 6, 7, 8’s—and clearly I’m not the only one, because the band’s cover of “Woo-Hoo” became a hit after the film’s release, even charting in some countries.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 shows the start of the two-part revenge journey and is considered by most to be the superior of the two films. If you’re the kind of person who loves old-school kung fu movies like Five Deadly Venoms, more modern martial arts or samurai movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or hard-hitting revenge films like John Wick, this is the movie for you.
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino’s second film, Pulp Fiction, still belongs at the very top of the list of Tarantino’s best movies. Pulp Fiction is told out of chronological order, in chapters, focusing on different characters whose stories intertwine and converge. The movie has a stellar A-List cast, including Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Travolta, among many, many others. Pulp Fiction really dives into its characters with its memorable dialogue and heavy use of monologues, both of which earned Tarantino a Best Screenplay Oscar. But on top of its quirky, intriguing characters, the movie is also loaded with action and fight scenes.
Not even the genius soundtrack of Kill Bill Vol. 1 can compete with the use of music in Pulp Fiction, which has arguably the most iconic jukebox soundtrack of all time. The movie also earns its place as the best Tarantino movie because of its extremely memorable (and quotable) screenplay, which is still part of popular culture 30 years later. And if you’re a fan of character-focused action dramas like Goodfellas or Casino, or love films that delve into the grittier side of society, like Go and Trainspotting, you’ll love Pulp Fiction.
