The Cinema of Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is one of the most influential filmmakers to emerge in the last half-century. His films have been both critically acclaimed and embraced by audiences. With an oeuvre that includes such iconic films as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, among others, Tarantino’s work has had a significant impact on popular culture with his work frequently being quoted, imitated, and cited in films, on television, and in literature.
Over the span of Tarantino’s career, critics and scholars have studied and debated the methods, artistry, and legitimacy of his work. This book of original essays assembles a range of critical thought, observation, and debate about the importance of these films, the underlying themes found within them, their historical significance, and Tarantino’s artistic methods. These essays employ new perspectives while building on the insights of previous studies. Topics include Tarantino’s approach to subject matter involving race, Tarantino’s use of pastiche as a form of adaptation, the significance of the appearance of feet in the films, and an examination of Tarantino’s reworking of Elmore Leonard’s novel Rum Punch in his film Jackie Brown.

Andrew J. Rausch is the author of more than 40 books, a contributor to numerous film publications, and an editor at Diabolique magazine. He lives in Independence, Kansas. Kieran Fisher is a film journalist whose work can be found in several print and online outlets. He is the former managing editor of Diabolique magazine and lives in Glasgow, Scotland.

Edited by Kieran Fisher and Andrew J. Rausch
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 178
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8380-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5601-4
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction: Master Filmmaker or Emperor with No Clothes?—Andrew J. Rausch and Kieran Fisher       1
Vitae Necisque Potestas: Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) and the Sacred Machinations of Exception—Dara Waldron       7
Putting the Punch in Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch: Jackie Brown as Homage—Charles J. Rzepka       21
Quentin Tarantino’s Sole Aspect: Foot Fetishism in His Films—Kevin Quigley       49
Not a Straight Line: Kill Bill, Three Ways—Katharine Coldiron       60
Whose Truth? Race and Quentin Tarantino—Troy D. Smith       77
Form Over Content in The Hateful Eight: Tarantino’s Acousmektos—Vlad Dima       104
Tarantino as Adapter: Hateful Eight (2015) as a Remake of John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)—Andrew J. Rausch and Kieran Fisher       117
Mashups and Melodrama: More on Men’s Emotions, Male Display and Ultra-Violence in Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight—Sue Matheson       128
The D Is Not Silent: Dangerfield, Django, and Resistance to Slavery—Bryan M. Jack       140
Fables and History: Tarantino Rewrites Both in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood—Scott F. Stoddart       150
About the Contributors       165
Index       167