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.