The portrayal of violence in the films of Quentin Tarantino can be viewed as comically excessive. To what extent can this qualify the director as an auteur?
Projector: Clip from Inglorious Basterds [3] - Hugh Stiglitz (1min 55secs)
Speaker: This scene is clearly the product of Quentin Tarantino. It could its theme of revenge. It could be its use of Samuel L Jackson. Or it could be its inappropriately comedic style. But it is defintely safe to say that this is clearly of a product of Tarantino's style because of it's excessive violence to the point of comedy. Auteurs leave "distinctive style that their fingerprints end up on the film" [15] and Tarantino's violence is one of the fingerprints of his work; he has even said in an interview: "My work is unmistakably me" [7]. I believe his comically excessive violence makes him an auteur.
Projector: Clip from Kill Bill Vol.1 [1] - Battle against the Crazy 88 (1:18:18 - 1:22:55)
Speaker: "The infamous House of Blue Leaves sequence" [8] is one of Tarantino's most famous scenes. This can be seen as one of his most graphic scenes but it has been described as "a numbing pornography of relentless violence that suggests a gang bang in reverse" [8]; Violence for violence sake and to the extent where the deaths don't mean anything to the audience anymore. When asked about why he uses such gruesome, graphic violence in Kill Bill, Tarantino claimed "Because it's so much fun". [11] He discusses how he takes great enjoyment out of puppeteering the audiences emotions and finds it fun to play the audience like "[his] instruments" [9]. During this scene, we see The Bride battle her way through a sea of O-ren's co-hoards; from the extent of the fighting, Uma Thurman has been quoted saying "It was called 'Kill Uma' unofficially by me." [13] Warrior after warrior is killed off and with no regard for the person who's died. They disappear after their death and are killed off as quickly as they take to the screen. So many co-hoards are killed that it's nearly impossible to make an exact death count from this scene. "Violent death has figured prominently throughout Tarantino's filmography" [8] especially in Kill Bill Vol.1. The style of violence is used by Tarantino as he told Johnathon he has always had a fascination in Japanese cinema and this has inspired a lot of his work and the violence behind it. This persistent use of inspired violence could classify him as an auteur. However, violence is portrayed so excessively in these films that most of the deaths cease to matter, like the deaths of the Crazy 88. The comicality of this excessive violence can also be found in the diegetic and non-diegetic sound of the clip. Before The Bride starts her battle with The Crazy 88, there is non-diegetic music which sounds almost like a laid back club track. This could have been used to give the impression that the battle is serious and almost like a dance between his characters. However, as soon as the battle commences against Oren's co-hoards, this laid back music stops and we are left with the diegetic sounds of the Crazy 88 being slaughtered. The comedy to this scene comes in the idea of how over the top and melodramatic the diegetic sound is and how cartoon-like sound effects are added over the scene to almost highlight that really life violence is completely different to movie violence. So by adding in sound effects, such as: an exaggerated pop when Tarantino used a close-up shot of the Bride rips out a man's eye ball or a swooshing noise to go with her flipping herself and two men; it makes the piece almost like a satire in appearance and the violence suddenly becomes comical with its excessiveness and its accompanying music. Which, again, make the deaths seem more comical than actual deaths; displaying the idea that he could be seen as an auteur.
Projector: Death Count Picture [7]
Speaker: By looking at this pictogram of the deaths in Tarantino's movies, you see that approximately 56 people were killed by samurai swords. These deaths happen simply in the House of Blue Leaves scene. The rest of the movie contains 8 deaths. So simply by looking at the battle against the Crazy 88, you can see the extent of his excessive violence; killing off approximately 56 people in just over 4 minutes. Tarantino has said that "violence is good because it is the most enjoyable form of entertainment" [9]. His passion behind seeing movie violence as he's grown up shows some justification for why it often appears in his films, which could classify him as an auteur. However, this violence doesn't feel like entertainment. It feels like he is "indulg[ing] our repressed bloodlust to the point that it purposefully skewers the boundaries between spectatorial pleasure and punishment" [8]. This "bloodlust" is shown again in Inglorious Basterds.
Projector: Inglorious Basterds [3] (02:17:19-02:19:46)
Speaker: During this scene of Inglorious Basterds, you see three Jews finally get their revenge on the Nazi regime of Germany. However, in pure Tarantino style, trapping them in a cinema and burning them down isn't enough for our protagonists. We watch as Donny and Omar stand on a balcony and shoot at the unarmed Germans below. Although from a historical view, they have every right to do this out of anger; this violence can be seen as excessive as they've killed Hitler yet they still proceeded to shoot his corpse to the point where he is unrecognisable. Yet this scene does link to the scene I showed earlier from Kill Bill Vol.1 [1] as they only German faces you see are the ones that have previously been given an identity (Hitler and the Director). All of the other Germans are shot from behind, showing the anonymity of these people and how they are seen as a collective. The individual doesn't matter in the case of "murderous retribution" [8] Unlike Kill Bill Vol.1, this scene of Inglorious Basterds doesn't use any non-diegetic music. The comedy of this violence comes purely from it's excessiveness. All the sound in the sequence is diegetic sound of the fire, the film, the guns and the Nazis screaming. Although it should make you feel bad for the people who are being forced to die, you are more compelled to feel they deserve it and almost involuntarily laugh at the sight of Hitler being shot beyond recognition as it's so excessive and fake that he looks as if he is made of rubber. The look on Donny's face as well is so difficult to take seriously because of how serious he's shown in a close up shot, that the comedy is practically unintentional. You could say that Tarantino's excessive violence encourages revenge in such a graphic way. However, Tarantino, himself, says "[his] message is: bad people should be tortured to death on screen for all to watch and enjoy" [6], which is portrayed in many of his movies; such as: Django Unchained. The repetition of his desire to get across this message through comically excessive violence could classify him as an auteur.
Projector: Django Unchained [2] (2:06:04-2:08:43)
Speaker: This scene of Django Unchained shows Django's fight to get his wife to freedom after Dr. King Schultz kills Mr. Candy. This is probably one of Tarantino's most inappropriately comical scenes of violence. Especially when you could liken the shooting of everybody but Django to that of the Stormtroopers from Star Wars and the inappropriateness of the non-diegetic music that they use over the main shoot out. Tarantino said he wanted to see people that get shot "bleeding like a pig" [5] and that's exactly what we get in this scene but so excessively to the point where peoples' blood is actually exploding in front of the camera. Although Tarantino says his one job is 'to make a character and be as true to them as possible' [4] he hasn't been very true to the background characters of this scene. Much like Kill Bill Vol. 1 [1], the men from Candy's property enter the scene and leave as quickly as they appeared. They get killed off so suddenly that their death means practically nothing to us, they are simply another dead body for Django to hide behind during his mission to save his wife. The repetition of the insignificance of the individual in this excessive violence could classify him as an auteur. However, you don't really see 'bad people......tortured to death on screen' [6] during this scene, you see bad people appear and then get their heads blown off. The music in this scene includes the most comedy to the violence shown. The fact that Tarantino chose to play hip-hop music with the quote "I like the way you die, boy" [2] just adds comedy to the 'stylised violence' [10] of the shoot out. Instead of being shocked at the deaths of at least 15 people, you're laughing at Django swaggering through the entry hall in slow motion to non-diegetic hip-hop music before he blows the heads off of another 5 men. The audience is laughing even before the music begins at the start of the violence, Django shoots two men and then launches himself backwards through a door in such a casual way that it is involuntarily comical to its audience. Although, like Inglorious Basterds [3], you could say the violence is justified after the horrors Django has been made to suffer during the slave trade; the character shows as much disregard for the deaths as the director does by even using recently deceased bodies as shields; which could again be seen as comically excessive to the violence, an aspect that I feel makes Tarantino an auteur.
Projector: Picture of Quentin Tarantino [9]
Speaker: Overall, I feel Tarantino classifies as an auteur as he uses comically excessive violence to get across his message: "bad people should be tortured to death on screen for all to watch and enjoy." [6]. In Kill Bill Vol.1, you see this violence shown through Japanese Samurai sword fighting, that Tarantino has grown up watching. In Inglorious Basterds, you see this violence through excessive overkills in a mission for revenge. In Django Unchained, you see this violence through excessive violence to inappropriate music. All of this excessive violence is comical in its own way and I feel that these "fingerprints" [15] in Tarantino's work classify him as an auteur.
Speaker: This scene is clearly the product of Quentin Tarantino. It could its theme of revenge. It could be its use of Samuel L Jackson. Or it could be its inappropriately comedic style. But it is defintely safe to say that this is clearly of a product of Tarantino's style because of it's excessive violence to the point of comedy. Auteurs leave "distinctive style that their fingerprints end up on the film" [15] and Tarantino's violence is one of the fingerprints of his work; he has even said in an interview: "My work is unmistakably me" [7]. I believe his comically excessive violence makes him an auteur.
Projector: Clip from Kill Bill Vol.1 [1] - Battle against the Crazy 88 (1:18:18 - 1:22:55)
Speaker: "The infamous House of Blue Leaves sequence" [8] is one of Tarantino's most famous scenes. This can be seen as one of his most graphic scenes but it has been described as "a numbing pornography of relentless violence that suggests a gang bang in reverse" [8]; Violence for violence sake and to the extent where the deaths don't mean anything to the audience anymore. When asked about why he uses such gruesome, graphic violence in Kill Bill, Tarantino claimed "Because it's so much fun". [11] He discusses how he takes great enjoyment out of puppeteering the audiences emotions and finds it fun to play the audience like "[his] instruments" [9]. During this scene, we see The Bride battle her way through a sea of O-ren's co-hoards; from the extent of the fighting, Uma Thurman has been quoted saying "It was called 'Kill Uma' unofficially by me." [13] Warrior after warrior is killed off and with no regard for the person who's died. They disappear after their death and are killed off as quickly as they take to the screen. So many co-hoards are killed that it's nearly impossible to make an exact death count from this scene. "Violent death has figured prominently throughout Tarantino's filmography" [8] especially in Kill Bill Vol.1. The style of violence is used by Tarantino as he told Johnathon he has always had a fascination in Japanese cinema and this has inspired a lot of his work and the violence behind it. This persistent use of inspired violence could classify him as an auteur. However, violence is portrayed so excessively in these films that most of the deaths cease to matter, like the deaths of the Crazy 88. The comicality of this excessive violence can also be found in the diegetic and non-diegetic sound of the clip. Before The Bride starts her battle with The Crazy 88, there is non-diegetic music which sounds almost like a laid back club track. This could have been used to give the impression that the battle is serious and almost like a dance between his characters. However, as soon as the battle commences against Oren's co-hoards, this laid back music stops and we are left with the diegetic sounds of the Crazy 88 being slaughtered. The comedy to this scene comes in the idea of how over the top and melodramatic the diegetic sound is and how cartoon-like sound effects are added over the scene to almost highlight that really life violence is completely different to movie violence. So by adding in sound effects, such as: an exaggerated pop when Tarantino used a close-up shot of the Bride rips out a man's eye ball or a swooshing noise to go with her flipping herself and two men; it makes the piece almost like a satire in appearance and the violence suddenly becomes comical with its excessiveness and its accompanying music. Which, again, make the deaths seem more comical than actual deaths; displaying the idea that he could be seen as an auteur.
Projector: Death Count Picture [7]
Speaker: By looking at this pictogram of the deaths in Tarantino's movies, you see that approximately 56 people were killed by samurai swords. These deaths happen simply in the House of Blue Leaves scene. The rest of the movie contains 8 deaths. So simply by looking at the battle against the Crazy 88, you can see the extent of his excessive violence; killing off approximately 56 people in just over 4 minutes. Tarantino has said that "violence is good because it is the most enjoyable form of entertainment" [9]. His passion behind seeing movie violence as he's grown up shows some justification for why it often appears in his films, which could classify him as an auteur. However, this violence doesn't feel like entertainment. It feels like he is "indulg[ing] our repressed bloodlust to the point that it purposefully skewers the boundaries between spectatorial pleasure and punishment" [8]. This "bloodlust" is shown again in Inglorious Basterds.
Projector: Inglorious Basterds [3] (02:17:19-02:19:46)
Speaker: During this scene of Inglorious Basterds, you see three Jews finally get their revenge on the Nazi regime of Germany. However, in pure Tarantino style, trapping them in a cinema and burning them down isn't enough for our protagonists. We watch as Donny and Omar stand on a balcony and shoot at the unarmed Germans below. Although from a historical view, they have every right to do this out of anger; this violence can be seen as excessive as they've killed Hitler yet they still proceeded to shoot his corpse to the point where he is unrecognisable. Yet this scene does link to the scene I showed earlier from Kill Bill Vol.1 [1] as they only German faces you see are the ones that have previously been given an identity (Hitler and the Director). All of the other Germans are shot from behind, showing the anonymity of these people and how they are seen as a collective. The individual doesn't matter in the case of "murderous retribution" [8] Unlike Kill Bill Vol.1, this scene of Inglorious Basterds doesn't use any non-diegetic music. The comedy of this violence comes purely from it's excessiveness. All the sound in the sequence is diegetic sound of the fire, the film, the guns and the Nazis screaming. Although it should make you feel bad for the people who are being forced to die, you are more compelled to feel they deserve it and almost involuntarily laugh at the sight of Hitler being shot beyond recognition as it's so excessive and fake that he looks as if he is made of rubber. The look on Donny's face as well is so difficult to take seriously because of how serious he's shown in a close up shot, that the comedy is practically unintentional. You could say that Tarantino's excessive violence encourages revenge in such a graphic way. However, Tarantino, himself, says "[his] message is: bad people should be tortured to death on screen for all to watch and enjoy" [6], which is portrayed in many of his movies; such as: Django Unchained. The repetition of his desire to get across this message through comically excessive violence could classify him as an auteur.
Projector: Django Unchained [2] (2:06:04-2:08:43)
Speaker: This scene of Django Unchained shows Django's fight to get his wife to freedom after Dr. King Schultz kills Mr. Candy. This is probably one of Tarantino's most inappropriately comical scenes of violence. Especially when you could liken the shooting of everybody but Django to that of the Stormtroopers from Star Wars and the inappropriateness of the non-diegetic music that they use over the main shoot out. Tarantino said he wanted to see people that get shot "bleeding like a pig" [5] and that's exactly what we get in this scene but so excessively to the point where peoples' blood is actually exploding in front of the camera. Although Tarantino says his one job is 'to make a character and be as true to them as possible' [4] he hasn't been very true to the background characters of this scene. Much like Kill Bill Vol. 1 [1], the men from Candy's property enter the scene and leave as quickly as they appeared. They get killed off so suddenly that their death means practically nothing to us, they are simply another dead body for Django to hide behind during his mission to save his wife. The repetition of the insignificance of the individual in this excessive violence could classify him as an auteur. However, you don't really see 'bad people......tortured to death on screen' [6] during this scene, you see bad people appear and then get their heads blown off. The music in this scene includes the most comedy to the violence shown. The fact that Tarantino chose to play hip-hop music with the quote "I like the way you die, boy" [2] just adds comedy to the 'stylised violence' [10] of the shoot out. Instead of being shocked at the deaths of at least 15 people, you're laughing at Django swaggering through the entry hall in slow motion to non-diegetic hip-hop music before he blows the heads off of another 5 men. The audience is laughing even before the music begins at the start of the violence, Django shoots two men and then launches himself backwards through a door in such a casual way that it is involuntarily comical to its audience. Although, like Inglorious Basterds [3], you could say the violence is justified after the horrors Django has been made to suffer during the slave trade; the character shows as much disregard for the deaths as the director does by even using recently deceased bodies as shields; which could again be seen as comically excessive to the violence, an aspect that I feel makes Tarantino an auteur.
Projector: Picture of Quentin Tarantino [9]
Speaker: Overall, I feel Tarantino classifies as an auteur as he uses comically excessive violence to get across his message: "bad people should be tortured to death on screen for all to watch and enjoy." [6]. In Kill Bill Vol.1, you see this violence shown through Japanese Samurai sword fighting, that Tarantino has grown up watching. In Inglorious Basterds, you see this violence through excessive overkills in a mission for revenge. In Django Unchained, you see this violence through excessive violence to inappropriate music. All of this excessive violence is comical in its own way and I feel that these "fingerprints" [15] in Tarantino's work classify him as an auteur.
