Fight to The Death is an ongoing feature where staffers and readers get to vote and explain why one film/show/franchise etc is better than the other OR whether one fictional character would be able to kill another. This month’s featured rumble is The Quentin Tarantino Tournament.
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Notes: I didn’t include Tarantino’s Four Rooms segment although I did try to make it work somehow. With the number of films he’s written and/or directed, it made sense that if there had to be one odd one out – then a short film would have to be the sacrifice this time. Also – I had to combine both volumes of Kill Bill to make the first round viable but I’m not too hung up on that either since I consider those two releases to be one massive film anyway.
There will be one battle every week until the winner is crowned – so check our TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages for LIVE UPDATES (however the tournament bracket will be updated with results every few days with commentary right here in this article on the battle progress with voter tallies and more! **Follow the action daily with the hashtag #FightToTheDeath
UPDATE FEED:
August 12th
Battle 1: Pulp Fiction VS Reservoir Dogs VS Jackie Brown
Winner: Pulp Fiction 75% of Total Votes
There was 0 love for Jackie Brown in this first round matchup and although I feel bad for the underrated Tarantino heist thriller, I do agree with the readers in their votes this time. Pulp Fiction is still my favorite Tarantino film and as great as his work has been since 1994, I don’t believe he’ll ever top this masterpiece. It’s the best movie ever made in my opinion and anything else that comes close to it — is a remarkable achievement. If you wanted to talk about “stand-out” moments in Tarantino’s filmography, then you only have to compare the amount of those featured in Pulp Fiction to that of Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown (The only part of Jackie Brown I really loved was the parking lot disagreement between Robert De Niro’s character and Bridget Fonda’s… Hilarious results.
August 20th
Battle 2: From Dusk Till Dawn VS Inglourious Basterds VS Death Proof
Winner: Inglourious Basterds 60% of Total Votes
Now, I personally would have chosen Inglourious Basterds as the best of this trio, but the battle was certainly more interesting than week one. Hell, even Death Proof WON our Twitter poll with 40 percent of the votes and although I love that, I’m still confused by it to be honest. People love those car crashes man – I mean… Although Tarantino’s half of GrindHouse doesn’t get the love it deserves, that first head-on crash sequence is one of the most brutal and incredible vehicular stunts ever filmed. I also adore From Dusk Till Dawn, but not even a foot suckin’ supporting acting performance from Quentin himself could put that little gem in the running against the mighty Christoph Waltz. THAT’S A BINGO!
August 27th
Battle 3: Kill Bill (Vol 1 & 2) VS Django Unchained VS Natural Born Killers
Winner: Django Unchained 50% of Total Votes
This was a close battle – too close. Kill Bill won our Twitter poll but Django Unchained managed to pull off one of the narrowest victories in the history of Fight To The Death. I struggled with my vote on this one – a lot. I adore Natural Born Killers and I realize that Tarantino doesn’t like it because Oliver Stone changed his script so much, but that film is special to me. Kill Bill is one of the best films ever made but Django Unchained is just…. So damn good in every way and the more I revisit it, I consider it to be one of the best in Tarantino’s library, perhaps just slightly behind either Basterds or Pulp Fiction even. I’ll leave you with one of the best scenes in any Tarantino flick though accompanied by one of the most controversial soundtrack choices of all time.
September 3rd
Battle 4: The Hateful Eight VS Once Upon a Time in Hollywood VS True Romance
Winner: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 90% of Total Votes
Quentin Tarantino’s latest opus Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — is not only my favorite film of 2019 so far, but apparently the voters hold it in high regard as well, edging out Hateful Eight and True Romance. I would have voted the same way to be honest, although True Romance would have had more of a fighting chance considering it features what I consider to be the greatest scene of Tarantino dialog ever filmed (and it wasn’t even him directing it – major props to the late great Tony Scott). It’s the best scene that Anthony Hopkins ever filmed over the course of his incredible career and it’s easily a top 5 for Christopher Walken as well, solely based on his reactions to the madness that Hopkins weaves in one of the best (and most offensive) monologues in the history of cinema.
September 10th
Battle 5: Pulp Fiction VS Inglourious Basterds
Winner: Pulp Fiction 74% of Total Votes
When I started this contest, I was pretty sure Pulp Fiction would win but that it would be fun seeing which other films came close. If anything could have topped this 1994 masterpiece it would either be Inglourious Basterds or Django Unchained, but even then it would be tough as hell. With one of those out of the way, I would be stunned if Pulp Fiction winds up losing in the final, but that is totally fine. Basterds is one of the best war films ever made and if I had to rank it today personally, then it would probably come in at second or third to the master. I still get chills every time Eli Roth comes out of that tunnel to smash a good helping of Nazi skull.
September 18th
Battle 6: Django Unchained VS Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Winner: Django Unchained 71% of Total Votes
Django Unchained has beat out some stiff competition in this tournament and advanced to the finals in what I think will be an interesting battle, but toppling Pulp Fiction is going to be one helluva fight. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino’s love letter to the city he group up in and I feel that over time, this film will become even more cherished among not only fans of the director, but every movie fan. There’s just so much to love in that film, though my main takeaway for now is that Brad Pitt deserves an Oscar for his supporting performance and that the ending to this flick may be the absolute greatest wrapup to any Tarantino film – ever. Pure mayhem and chaos the likes of which we haven’t seen before on the bigscreen.
October 2, 2019
The Finals: Pulp Fiction VS Django Unchained
Winner: Django Unchained 52% of Total Votes
I did NOT anticipate this upset, but I did say earlier in the tournament that if ANY Tarantino film could topple the mighty Pulp Fiction, then it would have to be Django Unchained. The people have spoken and they prefer Django over the 1994 seminal classic. I will always personally prefer Pulp Fiction to any other movie on the planet, but that’s because it happens to be my favorite film of all time, so I’m biased. To see the people have this much love for Django is great though because it means that Quentin is still making incredible films this long into his career and people dig them. Django is one of the best westerns ever made and it also happens to be one of Tarantino’s funniest movies ever – the KKK mask bit may very well be the most entertaining bit out of every film that Tarantino has ever written. Django Unchained – the best Tarantino film of all time. Cool.