QT

"When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films." Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino praised and criticised in equal measure, plagiarist and auteur. Tarantino is probably the only main stream director who's releases have a must see appeal.Like Scorsese in his heyday each new movie is a much anticipated event. It is easy to see Tarantino as a copyist but which director isn't influenced by what went before. From Hitchcock to Speilberg one of the great things about movies is the key scene. Arguably Tarantino has been responsible for some of the most memorable scenes and memorable dialogue of the last two decades. In this alone his work should be appreciated. His movies have entered popular consciousness. Example;

Lou telling the other cops about his trip to Shelbyville.
Dialogue:
Lou: You know, I went to the McDonald's in Shelbyville on Friday night.
Wiggum: The McWhat?
Lou: Uh, the McDonald's restaurant. I've never heard of it either, but they have over 2,000 locations in this state alone. Eddie: Must've sprung up overnight.
Lou: You know, the funniest thing though, it's the little differences.
Wiggum: Example.
Lou: Well, at McDonald's you can buy a Krusty Burger with cheese, right? But they don't call it a Krusty Burger with cheese.
Wiggum: Get out! Well, what do they call it?
Lou: A Quarter Pounder with cheese.
Wiggum: Quarter Pounder with cheese? Well, I can picture the cheese, but, uh, do they have Krusty partially gelatinated non-dairy gum-based beverages?
Lou: Mm-hm. They call 'em, "shakes."
Eddie: Huh, shakes. You don't know what you're gettin'

He lists his top ten films as Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) (aka "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Leone), Rio Bravo (1959) (Hawks), Taxi Driver (1976) (Scorsese), His Girl Friday (1940) (Hawks), Rolling Thunder (1977) (Flynn), They All Laughed (1981) (Bogdanovich), The Great Escape (1963) (J. Sturges), Carrie (1976) (De Palma), Coffy (1973) (Hill), Dazed and Confused (1993) (Linklater), _Tian xia di yi quan (1973)_ (aka "Five Fingers of Death," Chang) and Hi Diddle Diddle (1943) (Stone).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HePWBNcugf8

memorable dialogue from Jules
Those influences can be seen in his work which has included TV episodes of CSI and ER, cameos and full blown performances in movies, script writing duties on joint work along with guest directing.His choice of music in his movies echoes Scorsese's fine ear and brings another dimension to his movies. He is also not shy to play the celebrity game but is happy to appear in American Idol and Friends as well as documentaries about serious art and yes he has made some mistakes, notably his segment in Four rooms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmBnQ4skXQQ
QT on AI

Quentin has also been able to cast his movies with great ensembles and has relaunched careers. Controversy kicked off his directing career with Reservoir dogs which has instant classic scenes and cracking dialogue, it also paved the way for the masterpiece that is Pulp fiction.His latest Inglorious Basterds has the same classic scenes and snappy dialogue and when looking back on some of the moments in his movies they are both quotable and highly memorable.He showed that he could also do a slower character study with the under rated Jackie Brown.
Above all Tarantino should be classed as one of the great directors, his talent as a writer is beyond question. Even in the hands of another director his strength on the page is clear for all to see. Example;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXjcf47y-zk

Dennis Hopper & Christopher Walken True Romance

"If I wasn't a film-maker, I'd be a film critic. It's the only thing I'd be qualified to do." Quentin Tarantino