Quentin Tarantino is one of the greatest writer-directors ever, so it’s worth checking out the best Tarantino movies streaming on HBO Max and other platforms.
With his loquacious, snappy dialogue, impassioned homages to his cinematic influences, and masterful craftsmanship, QT is among the GOATs for sure.
The only sad thing is that he’s said he’ll retire after 10 films. His latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is considered to be his ninth movie. But maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll continue creating in other capacities. He’s hinted as much before.
No further ado — let’s get into the best Quentin Tarantino movies streaming right now.
9. The Hateful Eight, Prime and Netflix (2015)
The final act of the typical Tarantino flick — especially the more recent ones — tends to be filled with stylized violence and multiple prominent characters biting the dust. The Hateful Eight is no exception, yet other than that patented sequence, it’s one of the auteur’s quieter films.
What’s neat is Netflix has both the theatrical version of the movie and an extended version, divided into a miniseries. This longer cut runs 43 minutes longer (210 minutes versus 167 minutes).
Returning Tarantino collaborators include Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Tim Roth. The rest of the star-studded cast features Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Channing Tatum, who are both brilliant.
8. Death Proof, Prime and Tubi (2007)
Speaking of stylized violence, Death Proof is another one of Tarantino movies that shows off his imagination and talents. Tarantino films usually include oversexualized eye candy, and this is a prime example.
Of course, a slasher movie can’t simply be just a slasher movie when it’s in the hands of QT. Bringing back Kurt Russell, we watch as he targets women who target women to test out his “death proof” vehicle.
He stalks, and eventually finds an opportunity to invite them for a ride. Which usually is their last joy ride. We get the exhilarating speeds of his car, while witness the most horrific deaths, that is, until a group of girls start to fight back. It’s a horror movie unlike you’ve ever seen.
7. Django Unchained, Prime (2012)
What’s not to love about Django Unchained? It has action, an interesting plot, and all the classic Tarantinoisms fans love.
What makes Django Unchained so good is the compelling duo of Jamie Foxx (Django) and Christoph Waltz (Dr. King Schultz). This combo of A freed slave and bounty hunter, buddying up on a journey that ends in fantastic dialogue and bloody vengeance is a sight to behold.
And to top it off, Leonardo DiCaprio’s villain Calvin Candie is one to remember.
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6. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Starz and Prime (2019)
Brad Pitt won every major accolade for his role as stunt man/valet to washed-up TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Leo got a Best Actor nom as well, and they’re brilliant together.
This is Tarantino’s love letter to Hollywood, with a fascinating narrative rooted in historical fiction. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood may feature the most brilliant, hilarious, and violent payoff in recent cinema memory. Just avoid spoilers, please.
5. Jackie Brown, Prime and Tubi (1997)
Perhaps overlooked in the QT catalog, Jackie Brown stars Pam Grier as the central star of this blaxploitation film.
This marks the only time Tarantino has adapted a screenplay. It comes from the 1995 novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard. The movie’s story is about Jackie smuggling money from Mexico for her boyfriend Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson).
Jackie is caught, and a complicated plot unfolds from there. Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda, and Robert Foster are among the supporting players in this fun crime thriller.
4. Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2, Prime (2003 & 2004)
Can’t have one without the other! Uma Thurman stars as The Bride, who’s on a quest for revenge against the titular character of this two-part yarn.
Tarantino pays tribute to martial arts, samurai movies, and exploitation films across the two movies. Thurman is brilliant in all the beautifully gory action sequences.
If you’re into pure action and fight choreography, Kill Bill is for you. Add on top of that all the great ingredients Tarantino brings to the table, and you’ve got an extremely rewatchable saga.
3. Reservoir Dogs, Prime and Showtime (1992)
Finally, to round out this list of best Tarantino movies streaming, we arrive at his feature debut as a director.
An excellent ensemble populates Reservoir Dogs, which like Pulp Fiction, doesn’t adhere to a typical linear narrative structure. It’s about a group of bank robbers and a job gone bad. How do they deal with the aftermath?
Sounds simple enough. But with Tarantino’s typical dramatic flair and a game cast, this elevates to an instant classic you must see if you haven’t yet.
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2. Inglourious Basterds, Prime and Tubi (2009)
Christoph Waltz won the first of his two Oscars working with Tarantino for his role as SS Colonel Hans Landa. The multilingual, menacing villain may be QT’s greatest character creation.
This movie wouldn’t have worked without Waltz, but we can’t overlook the hammy brilliance of Brad Pitt’s performance at Lt. Aldo Raine. He leads the “basterds,” a crew that crusades to murder Nazis.
Endlessly quotable and constantly compelling with a wild, surprising finale, Inglourious Basterds is summarized best in its last line. It’s spoken by Pitt, as an analog for Tarantino: “I think this just might be my masterpiece”.
1. Pulp Fiction, Prime and Max (1994)
Pulp Fiction is the movie that confirmed Tarantino as a creative force of nature. It received seven Oscar nominations, winning Best Original Screenplay — and deservedly so.
Tarantino seamlessly assembles multiple vignettes that overlap and interconnect despite being told out of sequence.
Between the mysterious briefcase MacGuffin, John Travolta’s career-reviving role, and his incredible chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson, there’s enough on their story thread alone to make this so much fun.
However, add in the fact that Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, and Bruce Willis all crush their parts too, and Pulp Fiction becomes a mind-blowing movie experience.
Quentin Tarantino History
Beginning his career as an independent filmmaker with his release of Reservoir Dogs in 1992, Tarantino quickly earned himself a spot with up-and-coming filmmakers. Once his second film, Pulp Fiction, was released, it was quickly a major success with critics and audiences and won numerous awards.
It’s hard to believe that some of the best movies became a reality because of a 14-year-old Quentin writing one of his earliest works, a screenplay called Captain Peachfuzz and the Anchovy Bandit, based on the 1977 Smokey and the Bandit film. While he didn’t start in the industry right away, he was a big movie buff.
He began to take acting classes as James Best where he met several future collaborators, and then later co-wrote and directed My Best Friend’s Birthday (1987), however was left uncomplete.
Thankfully in the 1990s, Tarantino began to talk about his unwritten dialogue-driven heist film, which we know and love as Reservoir Dogs. With the encouragement of Lawrence Bender, the film was an immediate hit, sending Tarantino on the path to success.
What Makes Quentin Tarantino Movies Stand Out?
For many, QT is one of the greatest directors of all time. They can’t get enough of his movies. Personally, I’ve only watched a couple. Inglorious Bastards is a fav of mine, while Pulp Fiction I’d rather not think about thanks to my advanced film class in college that made me watch if about 10 times before the end of the semester.
Either way, a fan or not, you can’t really deny the impact he’s had on the filming industry. And not only that, but he does create some riveting films. But what makes them stand out?
There are several reasons. His characters are incredibly interesting and unique. The dialogue captivates viewers. And his directing style, which we’ll get to in a minute, can be recognized by movie buffs everywhere. Plus, the man is a movie nerd himself, which means you’ll often see references to other films, or he’ll mix and match genres where he pleases.
But let’s not forget some of the obvious. The vulgarity, the violence, the drugs, and while there’s no sex, there is oversexualization in his films, and all of this creates an over-the-top film, but in a good way for many.
What Is Tarantino’s Directing Style?
Quentin Taratino movies can be spotted from a mile away.
Every director has their own style, what they’re known for, and besides the stylized violence and the dialogue we see in Tarantino movies, we also see a wide variety of techniques like wide shots, extreme close ups and even crash zooms, which are shots being raced forward until they stop right at the persons eyes, face, or body.
He also uses something called the “truck technique” where he gets upclose and personal with characters to make viewers feel as if you were right there.
Is There a Common Theme Throughout All the Movies?
Is there a common theme? This question is asked a lot when talking about Tarantino. His style is so easy to pick up on, so it begs the question if he’s intentionally creating an underlying theme throughout all of his movies. Probably not, but he has a distinct style, which make it seem so.
However, there is quite a theory that all of Tarantino’s movies are actually connected, living in the same shared universe. This idea is usually associated with franchises like MCU or DCEU. Fans have found too many Easter eggs in his movies to assume anything else. And Tarantino has also mentioned that movies definitely intertwine
Why Is He Retiring After 10 Films?
Why ten? I mean, if we could Kill Bill 1 and 2 as separate films, he’d be at that point now, but let’s not think of that right now. Why would he only want to do one more? After all the movies he’s put out?
The answer is that he wants to keep his legacy. He believes that directors do not get better with age and doesn’t want to see himself producing movies that he does not believe are high quality.
That being said, we hopefully have one more to go before his inevitable retirement (unless he feels like gracing us with more). He has also mentioned that he would prefer to retire by the time he was 60, and since he just turned 60 this past March, it’s about time that he’s closing up shop.
Is There Another On the Way?
So, what will be his last movie?
Apparently, he’s already written the script for it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the last Tarantino movie is called The Movie Critic and is prepping to start directing this fall, which might be due to him trying to get his last one out before settling down.
Currently, there are no actors yet, but is hoping to shoot in California, where he started directing films. If he can start shooting this year, then there’s a chance for us to see it by 2024 or potentially the beginning of 2025, but there is currently no release date as of now.
