Hollywood measures the success of a movie by the amount of money it makes and the amount of buzz it generates on its opening weekend. But the true measure of a movie’s success is whether or not it stands the test of time and keeps audiences coming back to it again and again.
Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaking legend because many of his movies, from The Hateful Eight, don’t warrant as many revisits.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Fittingly, Tarantino’s least rewatchable movie is also his longest. The runtime of The Hateful Eight, Tarantino’s second straightforward western, pushes three hours. The premise of The Hateful Eight is set up as a snowy Tarantino whodunit, as a bunch of western villains are trapped in a haberdashery together during a blizzard, but it’s too long for a movie about eight people talking in a room.
The Hateful Eight has the same claustrophobic story as Reservoir Dogs, but takes twice as long to tell it. There’s some great character work, but for long stretches of the movie, those characters ramble about random subjects until Tarantino is ready for the next twist reveal.
Death Proof (2007)
Tarantino’s half of the double feature Grindhouse, Death Proof, is widely regarded to be the director’s weakest film. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie, or that it’s not rewatchable.
There are long, inconsequential dialogue scenes in Death Proof, mostly lacking Tarantino’s usual flair. But there are also some breathtaking stunts and a thrilling climactic chase scene for action movie fans to revisit at least once a year.
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Tarantino considers Kill Bill to be one movie, but it was released in two parts on two separate DVDs, Blu-rays, and streaming titles, so each volume’s watchability is determined on its own . The second half of Kill Bill is far less rewatchable than the first.
Volume 2 is about half an hour longer than its predecessor. The second part has some fun homages to spaghetti westerns and exploitation movies, but it doesn’t have any action scenes to rival Volume 1’s House of Blue Leaves set-piece. The final showdown with Bill is a long, drawn-out conversation.
Django Unchained (2012)
Tarantino’s first full-blown western has a novel premise – tackling American slavery through the lens of a Leone-style spaghetti western – that makes it totally unique in the cinematic landscape. On top of that, Django Unchained is full of unforgettable characters and spectacular action sequences.
The third act drags on for about half an hour too long. After the climactic showdown at Candyland, the movie just keeps going, eventually ending up with another shootout at Candyland. But this is a minor gripe in such a wildly entertaining, deeply moving epic.
Jackie Brown (1997)
Tarantino’s one and only adaptation of another writer’s work (unless homage counts) is also his most mature film. Being beholden to Elmore Leonard’s source material made Tarantino uncharacteristically restrained.
A comeback vehicle for both Pam Grier and Robert Forster, whose performances are endlessly watchable, Jackie Brown is a heartfelt of-a-certain-age love story wrapped in a stylish crime caper.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
There are some truly spectacular moments in the hilariously inaccurate death of Adolf Hitler.
But the movie also switches between various different languages. Unless they’re fluent in several European languages, viewers have to spend a lot of Inglourious Basterds’ runtime reading. It makes for a more authentic portrayal of the war, but it also makes for a more taxing viewing experience.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Tarantino’s most recent cinematic opus, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, doesn’t have much of a plot to speak of. Instead of following a traditional narrative, Once Upon a Time follows a day in the lives of its characters.
But if anything, that makes it more rewatchable than if it moved from point A to point B to point C. Audiences can just soak in the sun and immerse themselves in Tarantino’s dazzling recreation of Los Angeles circa 1969.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Since it has a leaner runtime and it’s much more action-packed, the first volume of Kill Bill is much more rewatchable than the second one. Volume 1 also better exemplifies the movie’s greatest strength: the combination of Tarantino’s over-the-top stylization and Uma Thurman’s deeply human performance grounding the genre situations in reality.
Opening with the masterfully edited Vernita Green fight and ending with the massacre at the House of Blue Leaves, Kill Bill: Volume 1 is one of the greatest action movies ever made.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Movies with a mystery plot that builds to a twist reveal are tricky to rank in of rewatchability. If the twist doesn’t work, then the movie can’t even be enjoyed once. But if it does work, like in Tarantino’s debut feature Reservoir Dogs, then the movie becomes a complicated puzzle that can be revisited again and again.
Tarantino’s first produced screenplay is constructed around the midpoint twist that reveals which of the thieves is an undercover cop. If anything, Reservoir Dogs is even more captivating on rewatches when the twists and turns can be anticipated. Viewers can pick up on all the hints and foreshadowing before the big reveal.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino’s second film, Samuel L. Jackson’s Biblical monologue, Christopher Walken’s gold watch monologue, Royale with Cheese, the Jack Rabbit Slim’s dance contest, “Oh, man, I shot Marvin in the face!” – the list goes on.
There’s a bit of a lull in the middle with some of the Butch/Fabienne dialogue, but on the whole, Pulp Fiction is infinitely rewatchable. It has as many laugh-out-loud moments as any comedy and as many visceral thrills as any action movie.
