“My characters like to talk,” was what Quentin Tarantino had to say about dialogue in his own films during an interview with Howard Stern. Tarantino has established himself as one of the distinguished film auteurs of our time, with an unmistakable style. Amidst all the different signature elements that he includes in his movies, his distinctive dialogue is what truly sets him apart as a filmmaker.
Characters in Tarantino’s films like to talk, and they do so in a natural, conversational way that has pretty much changed cinema for the better. As viewers navigate through his odd narrative choices, it is the everyday conversations between his characters that keep them hooked. Tarantino pretty much turned the tables on what was considered the ‘meat’ of the story and brought his viewers down to the in-between moments. From one moment to the next, he would wrap us into his beautifully inconsequential banter, and then go on to shock and amaze us with larger-than-life elocution. So, here are some of the best conversations from Quentin Tarantino’s movies, ranked.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Clifford Discusses Coccotti’s Sicilian Heritage — True Romance
Tarantino didn’t exactly direct True Romance, but the dialogue in the movie belongs to him all the same as he wrote the script for it. The scene features two equally badass characters facing off against each other. Christopher Walken as Vincenzo Coccotti is interrogating Dennis Hopper’s Clifford Worley to find the whereabouts of his son. Knowing that he will never make it out of there alive, Clifford proceeds to make fun of Coccotti’s Sicilian heritage through a long, derogatory rant that leaves the man near-speechless. Tarantino felt at the time that this was the best monologue he ever wrote, and always sought to measure his later monologues up to the standards of this scene.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Warren Tells What Happened to the General’s Son — The Hateful Eight
Shiny Penny
The Hateful Eight is a fine example of a film taking place in a single location, that location being a roadside lodge in the post-Civil War America called Minnie’s Haberdashery. It is a riveting tale of suspense that chugs along solely on the basis of its dialogue. And when Samuel L Jackson’s character Major Marquis Warren tells the story of what he did to the son of General Sanford Smithers, it is one of the highlights of the movie. Jackson is known for his loud and volatile style of oratory, the best of which is seen in another Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction. As the bounty hunter Marquis Warren, however, he tells this story in a slow and menacing way to General Smithers, relishing every second of it.
5 Rick Nails a Scene as a Villain — Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
When the film was first announced, Tarantino declared Once Upon A Time In Hollywood to be his magnum opus. He also called it his most personal movie, a call-back to his formative childhood years as much as it was a wish-fulfillment to make a Western film of his own. The scene in question is that part in the movie where Tarantino actually gets to make a Western movie.
In the scene, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Rick Dalton, perfectly executes his film role as the villain in a Western movie. It takes place after Dalton has a big freakout in his trailer over not flubbing his lines. He somehow manages to come to form and delivers a gripping performance as the villain of a movie that doesn’t exist.
4 Jules and Vincent Discuss Europe — Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction was the second-ever film ever directed by Tarantino, and perfectly showcased many of the elements that became his filmmaking signature. The movie became known for the many off-hand conversations that seamlessly blended into the bigger scenes — conversations from before and after the big job or the big confrontation that most directors simply choose to cut. When John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson discuss the differences between Europe and America, the movie is just beginning. These are two henchmen on their way to commit a few murders. But on the way, they casually talk about drug laws in Amsterdam and how McDonald’s works in European countries.
3 Jules Discusses the Big Kahuna Burger — Pulp Fiction
This scene is easily one of the most famous movie monologues ever. One might call it the most iconic conversation in all of Tarantino’s movies. It is led by Jackson as the criminal henchman Jules, as he casually threatens a room full of young men. The discussion about the fictional burger joint Big Kahuna Burger is just the beginning of a nearly eight-minute-long scene in which Jackson masterfully takes charge of the room. He begins with a jovial tone as his victims look on in fearful apprehension; he even hears one of them out for a short duration. Soon enough, Jackson is reciting Ezekiel 25:17 in a way only he can, and blowing everyone to bits.
2 The Crew Debates Tipping and a Song — Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs was the very first movie directed by Tarantino, and it immediately put him on the map as a talented filmmaker with a unique style. He introduced some unusual filmmaking conventions from the very first scene, which is where the crew has a long conversation that sounds much like one we would have in real life. The scene adds nothing to the plot of the entire movie, except introducing the characters. However, it displayed Tarantino’s brilliance at crafting naturalistic dialogue.
1 Landa Interrogates a French Farmer — Inglourious Basterds
Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds could possibly be one of the best villain performances in cinema history. The role proved to be a breakout one for the Austrian-German actor, and he proved his acting chops from the very first scene in the movie. As the formidable Nazi SS officer Hans Landa, he raids the isolated abode of a French farmer in search of Jews that might be hiding on the farm. Tarantino sets this scene up with a great deal of suspense, with the performance by Denis Ménochet as the French farmer playing an equally important role in selling us the fear and inevitability. Landa slowly reveals that he’s always known that the farmer is hiding Jews, and massacres the Jew family before they can run away.
