Formal Film Study: Tarantino

After watching Tarantino's films Reservoir Dogs, Hostel, and Django Unchained, I have noticed several tendencies used throughout each film by the director. Tarantino has an interesting style to his films. His use of gore is enough to keep certain people away from his films however somehow this excessive violence and gore somehow adds an extra flare. Personally, gore is not what interests me. However it is used often in these three films. For example, in one scene in reservoir dogs, a cop who has been kidnapped is tied to a chair and beaten excessively. Then, later his ear is cut off. The events leading up to this prepared the viewer for the moment however, the actual blood and gore cannot be prepared for. It is a stomach turning scene to watch. This scene is nothing compared to large portions of the movie Hostel. Similar to the Saw series, Hostel has scenes in which presumably a psychotic "doctor" takes people in what seems to be similar to torture chambers and does what he pleases. Tarantino does not shy from showing the viewer exactly what is happening to these pour tourists who have been lured to the chambers. In Django Unchained, scenes of intense violence occur during flashbacks of Django's to brutal whippings from plantation owners as well as a "misbehaving" slave who is torn apart by dogs. Tarantino apparently has a stomach for these sort of things, but also feels it is important in certain aspects of plot and character development. For instance the dog scene in Django is what seems to be a turning point and a point of realization for viewers of Django's personality and character changes. Without the violence the viewer would not be given the same effect. Another thing worthy of being noted is Tarantino's use of color throughout his film's. Django's blue servant outfit is a perfect example. It is explained to the viewer multiple times throughout the film that a black man riding a horse in the south at the time was not common or accepted. Django stuck out like a sore thumb just being on the horse but to add to that he chooses a bright blue outfit for his servant's uniform. Also, the use of grey throughout Reservoir Dogs added to theme of professionalism. Many times it was mentioned how the men were all supposed to be "professional" thieves yet their plan fell apart. Grey suits, grey walls and floors were all widely used throughout the film and symbolized this professionalism. The contrast of dark, ominous colors with bright red was often used in gory scenes in Hostel. This made the violence stick out even more. 

The overarching theme I discovered throughout Tarantino's films was his belief in character development. In each film there is at least one character that the viewer becomes attached to. In Reservoir Dogs, there were two. Mr. Blue is someone who is followed the entire film. He is shown to have good character even though he is a thief. He tries to help his partner who is shot and refuses to leave him in the warehouse. The viewer continues to learn more and more about him and how he got into the situation he is in. The other person whom the viewer sees develop is the man who is shot. At first he seems to be just one of the thieves and the viewer is rooting for him to live. Then later, when it is discovered that he is an undercover cop, the viewer turns against him. This seems to be the opposite of most films where the viewer is against the forces of good and is even mad that they are relatively successful. In Hostel, only one person does the viewer see develop. That is Paxton whom the viewer learns has a past experience with death. This causes him to not be able to leave the Asian woman in the chambers. He goes from being the average mid twenties tourist to a hero. In Django Unchained, Django goes from being the average slave to a brutal bounty hunter who will do anything to rescue his wife from the evil plantation owners. The viewer also sees the German bounty hunter also develop to a lesser extent. 

In the three Tarantino films mentioned, each displays a different culture. Django shows some of the brutal truth of pre civil war southern culture. It appears Tarantino felt some of the brutality that really occurred was important to show. Also, in the scene in which the masked men try to murder both Django and the bounty hinter shows how opposed southern culture was to support for anti-slavery movements and individuals. The whipping scenes show how cold hearted some of the plantation owners could be. Some of the language used about the slaves by the southern people shows how the really viewed the slaves as objects and not people. In hostel, the child gang was an interesting way to show some of the poverty that existed throughout the setting. Also, certain sights and scenery was displayed throughout the various places they travelled as well as the difference in laws.

The last thing I discovered was Trantino's reluctance to use the typical Hollywood ending. He was not afraid to get the viewer to believe that it could happen and then decisively rid of that notion with the ending of the film. the style is particularly interesting because few people are willing to do this type of ending because of the fear of negative public reaction however, clearly Tarantino does not feel that way. This is shown with the seat of everyone in Reservoir dogs to end the film as well as the suicide by the Asian woman after she has nearly escaped. These were two unpredictable and surprising endings. Overall, Tarantino did a great job with each film. He was able to keep the viewer interested while making an impact on the viewer as well.

MYST Post #4 Stand Up Guys

In this film, Walken and Pacino get together in their old age to create a new type of gangster film. This gangster film does not rely on violence to grab a viewers attention. This film is interesting because of it's plot. In Stand Up Guys, Val (Pacino) has just been  released from prison after a 28 year stint in prison. He and Doc (Walken) are the only two of their old crew that have stayed in touch over the years. Doc sent Val care packages and paintings while he was in prison. Once Val is out, he wants to get back to his old partying ways. Doc assists Val while he is on his partying
surge. Val quickly realizes that he is not the same as when he was younger. Meanwhile, Doc has orders to take out Val
from a mafia boss. Val was sent to prison because he had murdered the Mafia Boss' son accidentally during a robbery gone wrong. Doc does not want to kill Val, but has to do it on 24 hours. Val quickly realizes Doc's situation and is beginning to accept that he only has 24 hours left to live. The two try to come up with solutions while at dinner at a diner. At the diner, Val meets Doc's friend who is a waitress at the diner. Val learns that Doc is a regular customer at the diner. Later it is found out that the waitress is Doc's granddaughter but she does not know. Val and Doc meet up with some of the old crew and find a girl in the trunk of a car they stole. The girl explains she has been kidnapped by some "punks." Val and Doc decide to bring street justice to them. The enter in the guys compound where 5 men are staying. They eventually tie the men up and leave them to the women who now has a baseball bat. Afterwards, Doc and Val have bonded and there is now no way Doc can kill Val. The two decide to try to kill the mafia boss. Before the shootout, Doc leaves a letter for the waitress explaining the situation, and some money that he has left her.

I give this movie 3 out of 4 stars. The plot is interesting but the ending could have been better. Critics have a wide range of ratings on this film as well. This film is much different than typical Scorscese and Tarantino gangster films. Profanity and violence are not heavily used. The film tries to rely on plot to peak the viewers interest. I personally liked it because I am a fan of both Pacino and Walken. If you are not a fan of these two than this film would not be particularly interesting to you. I thought that as these two begin to get up in age, that is was cool that they made a movie about it but showed how they still have a roughness about them.

One scene that was particularly interesting to me, is the scene in which Walken and Pacino are picking out new suits. The two have broken into an expensive suit shop without tripping an alarm. They have all the time they need to pick out new suits. There is an irony about the situation. Pacino at this point is picking out what may be the clothes he dies in. Walken is resistant to change and is reluctant to pick out a new suit. This scene touches the emotions of the viewer because time is running out for Val. Val is beginning to become saddened by the situation and this emotion is extended to the viewer. This scene stuck out to me because there are so many things going on. Doc shows how he is still stuck in his old ways, Val begins to become sad, and then this is all twisted when two mafia henchmen arrive to finish the job they believe Doc will not be able to do. Doc and Val take care of the henchmen and officially decide it is time to take care of the mafia boss.

To me, the cinematic elements of this film are not complex. Many critics have said that the cinematic elements bring this film down. There are many things the director tries to use. For instance, in the scene mentioned earlier, the director uses a mirror to foreshadow the next action but also to amplify the gravity of the moment. There is also the use of deep space composition various times throughout the film. The camera is shot from the ground up to show the view point of Val and Doc as they shoot upwards at the mafia boss in the final scene. overall, I did not feel the job by the director was anything special in this film but was not anything to bash either.