Month: June 2020

The Tarantino Influences: Lady Snowblood

Lady Snowblood is a 1973 movie that follows a young woman seeking revenge on her family’s murderers. From its female heroine to its style, setting and themes of vengeance and redemption, this movie is a clear influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

It’s obvious that Lady Snowblood was a huge influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill. The original features a female assassin out to avenge her family’s murder at the hands of an evil killer group. The idyllic snowy setting, use of animation and stylish flashbacks in Lady Snowblood are directly honored by Tarantino. You can quickly glance the following trailer and figure out which parts of the movie were Tarantino’s favorites.

The movie opens with a cryptic scene that shows Lady Snowblood’s mother struggling to give birth in a prison. We learn that her mother was raped by a group of criminals, who also murdered her husband and son a year prior. She conceives Lady Snowblood solely for her to be raised to exact vengeance. After a long struggle, the mother gives birth and then dies.

We later see a young Lady Snowblood receiving training from a priest and then becoming a dangerous assassin. She finds herself in a destitute village, where she enlists the leader of a beggar group to find the four criminals responsible for her family’s deaths. Eventually, she tracks down three of the four murderers.

Along the way, she is helped by a journalist who publishes sensational articles of Lady Snowblood’s exploits. This leads to a final showdown with Gishiro, who is the most powerful of the remaining criminals.

The film’s second scene establishes Lady Snowblood as a deadly force. She quickly defeats a local crime boss and his three henchmen – using her concealed umbrella sword. We immediately learn Lady Snowblood is coldly efficient and dispassionate. Or in other words, she’s an assassin. The setting is directly reminiscent of Tarantino’s House of Blue Leaves. It’s snowy, serene and if the scene had more time to develop, could probably be considered a beautifully meditative environment.

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The Tarantino Influences: The Great Silence

The Great Silence is a 1968 Western directed by Sergio Corbucci. Considered to be his finest work, the movie appears to have influenced Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained.

The uniqueness of a Western in a snowstorm is striking – the movie’s opening is an expansive shot of a snowy trek, which illustrates the struggle of all involved. The horse can’t find its footing and both animal and rider are defeated by the conditions. It’s a gorgeous opening not in a majestic way but rather because it signals a gritty, unpolished tone to follow. There is both a bleakness and beauty in the landscape – something that Tarantino emulates in The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained.

For a movie that’s ultimately defined by its viciousness, the opening is campy. A newly hired sheriff encounters a group of hungry bandits that have been pushed into the wilderness. The sheriff appears hopeless from the start – first in an odd one-off scene with the Governor of Utah and then as the bandit crew spares the sheriff’s life in exchange for his horse – which they solely want to eat. The bumbling, freezing sheriff is then picked up by a carriage, which carries the movie’s protagonists in Silence and Loco.

The plot’s origins are a bit convoluted as Loco and the town’s Justice of the Peace are engaged in a shady murder for bounty scheme. Silence arrives in town due to a letter sent to him by a young widow who wants to exact vengeance for her husband’s death at the hands of Loco. It’s a bit comical to see the protagonists in such close proximity and makes the movie’s first 30 minutes far-fetched. However, we know we’re headed for a showdown between the two leads.

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The Quentin Tarantino Movie Rankings

Quentin Tarantino movies have now been a part of my life for 25 years. I recently decided to take the time to rewatch and rank all nine of his movies – mainly because I wanted to see if tastes have changed and really, because why not? I’m far from a movie critic and I’m not concerned about film theory or anything like that. These are my personal rankings.

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Without Pulp Fiction, I would have never known that movies existed. Of course, I was aware of movies and sometimes went to the movies. However, movies were a passing interest – something easily detachable. Pulp Fiction changed that. I had no idea that something could be so cool, original, fun, violent, hilarious – let alone a movie.

What I later learned was that Pulp Fiction was an entry to everything that made it cool, original, fun, violent and hilarious – all the little movie, TV and pop culture references that shaped Tarantino’s vision. Because of this one movie, I discovered hundreds more and all the wormholes attached – great directors, cool actors – all the influences both great and awful. I learned movie history from Anthony Cocca 49 cent general rentals and in each one, there’s some path that leads you back to Pulp Fiction.

Naturally, I’ve followed Tarantino ever since. And naturally, the movies have changed. Tarantino is still innovative, writes killer dialogue, creates visually stunning environments and is remarkably – still cool. I’ve loved all of his movies but I would always go back to Pulp Fiction as his best work. Or at least my favorite.

Maybe nostalgia informs this ranking – there’s a comfort in the characters, the soundtrack, the moments – being in the Warren Twin Cinema and for the first time experiencing a Royale with Cheese, personality going a long way or “I shot Marvin in the face!”

But then again, maybe there’s more to nostalgia.

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