Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers have each produced a variety of quality films, amongst which lie a few classics. Although their respective styles may seem hard to compare, both directing groups have similarities which tie them together.
Let’s start with Tarantino. Quentin Tarantino started his filmmaking career in the early 1990s, making independent films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. His more recent films include Kill Bill (Volumes 1 and 2) and Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino is renowned for directing among the best Independent films. He often collaborates with Robert Rodriguez, a director of similar style.
In his films, Tarantino uses intriguing stylistic techniques, like intense visual violence and the nonlinear ordering of his stories. When watching his movies for the first time, one might interpret his style as being much too flashy; some may even call some action sequences excessively cheesy. But if one were to actually study Tarantino’s work, his cinemetographic genius becomes readily apparent.
Let’s start with Tarantino. Quentin Tarantino started his filmmaking career in the early 1990s, making independent films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. His more recent films include Kill Bill (Volumes 1 and 2) and Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino is renowned for directing among the best Independent films. He often collaborates with Robert Rodriguez, a director of similar style.
In his films, Tarantino uses intriguing stylistic techniques, like intense visual violence and the nonlinear ordering of his stories. When watching his movies for the first time, one might interpret his style as being much too flashy; some may even call some action sequences excessively cheesy. But if one were to actually study Tarantino’s work, his cinemetographic genius becomes readily apparent.
Perhaps the best example of a film that incorporates nearly all of Tarantino’s tactics is Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is presented in three interweaving stories; a prizefighting boxer who finds himself in trouble after failing to fix a match, and two hitmen who find themselves in an odyssey of separate bizarre events. Tarantino scrambles the stories out of chronological order which adds to the confused, trance-like effect the movie has on the viewer. The story itself is arranged like a Picasso masterpiece. Vincent Vega, a hitman and one of the main protagonists, is the main character in one of the three substories. In one of the scenes, Vega has to take out the wife of Marsellus Wallace, a very powerful member of the mob in Los Angeles. They go to a restaurant which seems to be set in the 1950s, with the staff of the restaurant portraying movie and music stars from that time. Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s wife compete in a dance competition, which they win spectacularly. The restaurant scene is so astonishing when examined because Tarantino managed to accurately portray a scene from the 1950s in a movie that was taking place in the 1990s. Tarantino’s screenplay and directing genius also is apparent in a second mini-story in the movie. An aging competitive boxer takes a bribe from Marsellus Wallace to throw a match. While waiting in a room just before his match, Butch, the boxer, remembers when he was a child being told that his dad had died in a POW camp in Vietnam. He also learned that his dad hid his heirloom gold watch in his rectum while dying so it could be passed down to Butch. Butch snaps back into reality, and ends up winning the match he had been paid to throw. By betting on himself, Butch gathered a considerable amount of money, given that Marsellus Wallace had invested so much money into Butch throwing the match. Butch was forced to flee directly after the fight. It becomes clear that Butch double-crossed Wallace so he and his girlfriend could run away with a considerable sum of money. However, when he realizes that he forgot his father’s watch, he feels compelled to retrieve it from his home - where Wallace’s men would certainly be waiting. Even though he was deeply involved with the gang in Los Angeles, Butch is vividly portrayed as a man with great values.
It is safe to say that not every director can display characters’ emotions and motives with such clarity. Tarantino is an outstanding director because he can accomplish this with ease.
The Coen brothers are similar to Quentin Tarantino in that they both started out making Independent films. Also similarly, the Coen brothers employ unique style in their films in order to create the best feel for the viewer.
The Coen brothers, like Tarantino, use diverse techniques both the writing and filming parts of the movie to maximize the effect on the viewer. Even though the Coen brothers use similar tactics in their films, one cannot isolate a recurring theme in their movies that obviously contributes to the overall quality of their productions. Because of this, it is easier to provide examples from different movies, rather than just one.
In their first major motion picture, the crime film Blood Simple, the Coen brothers use a mixture of long, drawn out scenes and relatively little dialogue to create an excruciating tone that adds to the thrill of the film. Although not a personal favorite, Blood Simple still left an impression on me that the Coen brothers designed.
In Fargo, a crime film tinged with dark comedy, the Coen brothers create a different feel. The movie takes place in between Fargo, North Dakota, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Coen brothers film the whole movie in the winter in order to create a more “sleepy” feel to the northern states. There are also many hilarious parts in the movie; not hilarious in the normal sense of the word, but humorous because of the sheer quirkiness of the characters themselves. The Coen brothers exaggerate the stereotypical Minnesota friendliness in all of the conversations the main character (a female state trooper from Minnesota) has with citizens. This contributes to the unusual humor of the movie, and makes the film very enjoyable to watch.
In the Coen brothers’ most successful movie, No Country for Old Men, further cinematic techniques are developed to fit the film and the audience. The film takes place in Texas, where a hunter stumbles upon a scene of a disastrous drug deal. He ends up with two million dollars in heroin money, which he takes for himself and flees the county. A psychopathic hitman named Anton Chigurh is sent to retrieve the money, and the cat-and-mouse chase begins. The Coen brothers create an uneasy feel to the movie mostly through the cast of the psychopath, Anton Chigurh. While watching the film, one feels terrified of Anton, because he has no care for any human life, and he seems unstoppable. However, his character is also intriguing because he has rules that he lives by; he seems to do nothing without a cause.
Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt one of the most talented directors in modern film. Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies of all time. However, when asked who my favorite director is, I would have to go with the Coen brothers because of their incredibly diverse style and the ease by which they apply unique styles to every one of their films. Tarantino’s style to me seems more static, while the Coen brothers adapt to everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment