Quentin Tarantino's Techniques In Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino- Film Analysis

Quentin Tarantino is a brilliant producer who has some characteristics that just allows viewers to identify his films. His techniques he uses such as shots from the back, in hallways and opening and closing doors make Quentin Tarantino a well known name. In his films Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill 1 (2003), and a co produced film Planet Terror (2007) which he did along with Robert Rodriguez, he uses his techniques to give the viewers eyes a wonderful ride. Pulp Fiction is a film which includes multiple stories that all connect at some point during the film. Kill Bill is a story about a bride seeking revenge on a handful of people who once tried to kill her. Planet Terror is a film about infected people turning into zombie like creatures while a few uninfected people try to get themselves to safety.
Each of Tarantino’s films includes similarities with each other and has its differences.
In all three films Tarantino loves to keep his viewers uncomfortable and always on their toes. The way he achieves that is the dark lighting which never allows the viewer to see everything clearly and the awkward music and sounds. In each fight scene of Kill Bill the camera is never steady. It is always moving from shot to shot, angle to angle. All the camera movements while filming the action suggest that so much is happening never letting the viewer to settle until the scene has come to an end. The same technique is used in Planet Terror. The camera is always moving to a different shot always showing something new. When the man “who never misses” who is played by Freddie Rodriguez shoots at the infected people, it is shown at multiple
angles. Quentin Tarantino loves to add many things in his scenes so that there is so much is going on. In Pulp Fiction Tarantino has multiple stories going on at the same time which he then emphasizes more on the dialogue. The dialogue is what allows this film to be followed. If one is not listening to what the actors and actresses has to say he/she may fall behind. Tarantino has Samuel Jackson a main character in Pulp Fiction say a quote from the bible before killing another which contradicts his action. “There's this passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is The Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee”. This is ironic because the bible says to not kill and Samuel Jackson says a quote from the bible then kills. While Tarantino loves to shoot multiple stories, multiple angles, and many of the same characters reused in previous films, he likes adding scenes that explain each other. Pulp Fiction begins with a couple discussing their idea to rob some place then right away takes off to another story. By the end of the film we are in another characters perspective viewing the couple robbing the place they discussed in the beginning of the film. Tarantino emphasizes on the idea that we live in a very small world. The lighting in each film differs from each other. While most of Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction are shot with normal light displayed, Planet Terror was without a doubt shot with dark lenses purposely to provide the unsafe feeling and evil. The dark sky, the smoke flowing through the air, the big full moon, all suggest something bad is about to happen and with darkness all throughout the film suggest that there will never be a safe feeling and evil will always be there. In Kill Bill Tarantino chooses to shoot some scenes in color, some in black and white, and even some in animation. It seems as though he chooses to switch to black and white when there is about to be a bloody scene. In a lot of his movies he loves to add blood gushing out and over flowing. The technique to switch to black and white or to animation keeps his blood gushing scenes leveled and never going too far. In all three films he always films his characters from the back and when following a character it is always from the back. The camera always stays at eye level. When one falls to the ground the camera will also film from the ground staying at eye level showing point of views from the characters. Dialogue between characters is felt as though the viewer is the character. During the dialogue in Kill Bill between the bride “Black Mamba” and Vernita Green’s daughter the camera angle would switch point of views while one is talking. When the daughter is talking the camera angle is looking up. When the Black Mamba is talking the camera angle is looking down. Tarantino emphasizes on his characters movements by zooming in and out and close up shots. The movement of a character putting a key into a lock would be zoomed in on which is also done when a character opens a door, steps on the car pedal, or picks something up. It makes the viewer feel like they are seeing everything which can easily be taken away by techniques Tarantino uses. Kill Bill has many voice over’s that explain a certain part of the movie. Voice over’s often connected with flash backs in Tarantino’s Kill Bill. The scene where Black Mamba begins to explain O-Ren Ishii’s past, a flash back occurs while narration explains what is going on. Tarantino makes suspenseful moments last as long as possible by delaying whenever he can. Whenever something expected is about to happen Tarantino will try to slow down the shot or add more angle shots to keep the suspense going. In Tarantino’s scene in Pulp Fiction where Vincent counts to three before injecting a needle to save a life actually becomes ten to fifteen seconds before the injection really occurs. Between each second counted multiple angles are shown just to create more of a thrill. Tarantino adds more suspense in Planet terror by zooming in and out many times while the camera is shaking. Planet Terror was edited and added shaky movements in the camera and lines going down the screen to suggest that the film was shot with an old camera which creates the old fashion mood. In Planet Terror whenever there is a zoom, it foreshadows an upcoming death which creates suspense. Whenever there is a zoom the viewer is waiting for the next death. Quentin Tarantino likes to create scenes that include him in many of his movies. In Pulp Fiction he was a drug dealer, and in Planet Terror he was one of the crazy infected people. Other than including himself in his movies he also likes to reuse actors and actresses from his previous films and use them in his new films often connecting their part with the part they had in previous movies. Many actors and actresses are in at least two Quentin Tarantino films such as Michael Bacall, Michael Bowen, Steve Buscemi, Omar Doom, and Julie Dreyfus who are some of the many characters that had a role in at least two Tarantino movies. Samuel Jackson was part of four which is so far the most. Quentin Tarantino is an exciting producer who always makes unexpected ideas. He likes to start action right away with his film moving at a fast tempo. His techniques keep people on their toes and never allow the viewer to know what will happen next. His multiple camera angles from every possible angle create exciting action that keeps his movies alive. The music he chooses for specific scenes are unusual songs that will only be in a Tarantino film. There are many things going on at a time in his films. There is no such thing as a simple Tarantino film. His unusual selected cast makes his films standout such as in Planet Terror. There many different types protagonist characters.