Tarantino's Film Inspirations Ranked From Worst to Best
From grindhouse cinema to Japanese samurai films, discover the surprising sources behind every Quentin Tarantino masterpiece and how they shaped his legendary career.
Quentin Tarantino has built his reputation on nine films that blend violence, dialogue, and pure cinematic swagger. The director draws from an eclectic mix of sources, transforming everything from exploitation flicks to foreign art house cinema into his signature style.
Most of Tarantino's scripts come from his own pen, except for Jackie Brown. Each project reveals different influences that shaped his storytelling approach. Here's how his inspirations stack up across his filmography.
Bottom Tier: When Homage Meets Mixed Results
Death Proof sits at the bottom, despite Tarantino's clear vision for recreating 1970s grindhouse theater experiences. The 2007 film follows Stuntman Mike, played by Kurt Russell, who hunts women using his reinforced vehicle. Tarantino deliberately damaged the film stock and added unnatural cuts to mimic old theater prints.
The director pulled from Dario Argento's The Bird With the Crystal Plumage and classic car chase sequences. Yet the final product feels more like an exercise than entertainment. Death Proof earned $31 million worldwide and holds a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Hateful Eight ranks eighth, drawing from Rio Bravo, Bonanza, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Tarantino created what he called a full-circle moment, returning to the Reservoir Dogs formula of suspicious characters trapped together. The 2015 western earned $155 million but remains divisive among fans.
Middle Ground: Adaptations and Tributes
Jackie Brown stands as Tarantino's only adaptation, based on Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch. The film showcased Pam Grier in a tribute to 1970s Blaxploitation cinema. Tarantino slowed his usual pace, creating a character-driven story that traded stylistic violence for mature romance.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood mourned the end of the 1960s while celebrating cinema itself. Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton character drew inspiration from Sergio Corbucci's career and Spaghetti Western films. The movie used the Manson murders as backdrop while referencing Alias Smith and Jones, Lancer, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Kill Bill volumes showcase Tarantino's love for Japanese cinema most clearly. He borrowed Akira Kurosawa's blood-geyser technique and Tokyo Drifter's vibrant colors. The duel between The Bride and O'Ren Ishii directly references Lady Snowblood. Street Fighter, Shogun Assassin, and Battle Royale also influenced the revenge saga's structure.
Top Tier: Masterful Source Blending
Django Unchained combines Sergio Leone's Western Spaghetti with the original 1966 Django film. Tarantino also drew from Mandingo, a 1975 film exploring slavery's harsh realities. Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz's partnership drives this tale of liberation that earned $425 million worldwide.
Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino's debut, openly borrowed from Stanley Kubrick's The Killing. "I didn't go out of my way to do a rip-off of The Killing, but I did think of it as my Killing, my take on that kind of heist," Tarantino explained. Ringo Lam's City on Fire provided the undercover cop infiltrating criminals plot.
Inglourious Basterds emerged after Death Proof's failure taught Tarantino that audiences watch movies, not directors. He drew from Hangmen Also Die! and O.S.S., plus The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly for the opening scene. Operation Amsterdam, The Saint, and International Lady also influenced this World War II alternate history.
Pulp Fiction tops the list by modernizing Black Mask magazine's gritty stories through Jean-Luc Godard's French New Wave techniques. The 1960s movement broke tradition with handheld cameras, jump cuts, and non-linear narratives. Kiss Me Deadly and Hammett, along with Spaghetti Westerns and B-movies, rounded out the influences for this $213 million masterpiece.