Here's an IMDb user's list of Tarantinoesque films--it's quite ambitious:
"Best Movies Inspired by Quentin Tarantino or primarily Pulp Fiction. Similar to or Rips off or Copies Tarantino Style but Not Directed by Tarantino himself. Tarantino-esque. Tarantinoesque."
Watching 1974's THE TAKE. Vic Morrow's eccentric crime boss provides a moral about "the order of things" that wouldn't be out of place in a Tarantino film. 1998's PHOENIX has a likeminded crime boss--well played by Giancarlo Esposito--who spouts a similar philosophy.
The writer can't be bothered to get John Frankenheimer's name right.
That said, I would actually like to revisit Things to Do In Denver When You're Dead.
I already recently acquired a DVD of The Limey.
Greg Espinoza
Most of us have plenty o'time to watch Tarantino knockoff movies, so please report and review those two films--I'm a big fan of both, but don't pull any punches; I can take 'em.
As unpleasant as it is for the typical FSMer to admit, pop songs connect with the audience better than any symphonic score ever could. Vocals and instruments associated with popular music are far more visceral and emotional than symphonic scores. That the likes of Tarantino, Scorsese, Allen, and the Coen Brothers all understand this only adds to their cinematic genius.
Heck, Tarantino even employs film music cues better than other directors do--and those cues weren't even composed with Tarantino movies in mind.
I'm surprised that Bob DiMucci hasn't gone definitive with a full list of Tarantino knockoffs, but then Bob probably can't stand Tarantino, me, or my topics.
Bob's not posting here with his usual well-researched list is among my favorite "non posts."
That, and the so-called Disco Stu not posting in my Saturday Night Fever thread are FSM non-post gold!
The writer can't be bothered to get John Frankenheimer's name right.
That said, I would actually like to revisit Things to Do In Denver When You're Dead.
I already recently acquired a DVD of The Limey.
Greg Espinoza
Most of us have plenty o'time to watch Tarantino knockoff movies, so please report and review those two films--I'm a big fan of both, but don't pull any punches; I can take 'em.
You got it. However, the one thing holding me back on "Denver" is the film, (as far as I can tell) has not been reissued in an anamorphic format. Current DVDs are non-anamorphic.
Better than Tarantiny. Was just good, not dripping with smug.
Based on the few newer articles I've read, Things to Do in Denver..., along with 2 Days in the Valley, have become better regarded in recent years. I never agreed with the harsh criticism those received. I totally agree with the "Valley" filmmakers' wise decision to replace Goldsmith's hopelessly out-of-place score with the pop songs.
The better Tarantino knockoffs benefit from directors and scripts containing elements of their creators' quirks. Soderbergh has his own style and John Herzfeld of 2 Days in the Valley has a freewheeling energy that puts that film above several of its contemporaneous rivals.
"To thine own self be true" applies to these films, even if Tarantino is the template, regardless of quality.
In a 2015 interview, Tarantino discusses some of the Pulp Fiction knockoffs:
Do you have a favorite imitator?
"That was more of a thing in the ’90s, whether it was The Usual Suspects or Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag or Two Days in the Valley. The one I thought was the best was by this director who never did anything else, C. M. Talkington, who did that movie Love and a .45. And there’s a really terrific Hong Kong movie called Too Many Ways to Be No. 1."
The defunct but often-interesting Grantland site--they also had a fine piece on Phelpsian Hero Michael O'Donoghue--offered up a list of their own favorite Pulp Fiction knockoff films.
Ms. Birri and I watched "Pulp Fiction" for th he first time in eons this past weekend.
I believe that this will always be the quintessential Tarantimo film.
The film still holds up really well, but the impact of some of his schtick has been lost, now that it is commonplace. You can blame the knockoffs for this just as much as you can blame Tarantino.
Still can't believe how awful "Bad Night at the El Royale is."
Tarantino could have gotten another twenty years of relevancy had he made it a $10.00 milkshake instead of a $5.00 one.
And if he'd used Neil Diamond instead of Urge Overkill.
I used to think the same way, as I think Diamond is great. However, I don't think even Tarantino could succeed in making Neil Diamond "cool" to the masses.
Plus, Neil's version has a "sappy" string break and energy lag that probably wouldn't work for Uma's character or that film.
I do not hold these views strongly, but that is what I took away from my most recent Pulp Fiction rewatch.
