{fh4000000Quentin Tarantino
{fb1000000Tarantino's films have acquired a cult following in the past, but now, as one of America's hottest directors, his works are becoming more popular by the day. Here's some info on just two of his films.

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Miramax films presents 1994 Cannes Film Festival Winner of the Palme D'Or

{fh200D0A0Pulp Fiction
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An anthology film set in and around today's Los Angeles and its attendant criminal culture, PULP FICTION features three inter-twining "slice of life" narratives. Quentin Tarantino introduces us to a pair of thick-witted hit-men, a double-crossing prizefighter on the run, his absent minded French girlfriend, the hit-men-hiring mob boss, his exotic but drug-addled wife, and a young couple contemplating a career change - namely whether to start sticking-up restaurants instead of liquor stores.

As the title implies, Quentin Tarantino's PULP FICTION takes its inspiration from the popular, and often lurid, crime fiction of the thirties and forties, fiction most associated with cheaply printed, garishly illustrated newstand publications like Black Mask. From the yellowed pages of the low rent "pulps" came brass knuckle tales of world weary PI's plagued by two-bit hoods, corrupt cops, blonde black widows and the existential void.  Here, writers like Dashiell Hammett, David Goodis, Cornell Woolrich, James M. Cain, W.R Burnett and Raymond Chandler forged a new kind of American literature: the hard boiled noir tradition of the dark city, which in turn triggered Los Angeles' film noir cycle of the forties and fifties.
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To bring his unique underworld vision to life Tarantino has assembled a power-house all-star cast including John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Maria de Medeiros, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette and Christopher Walker.

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{fh200D0A0Reservoir Dogs
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This excellent film has been out for a few years now, but is still not available on video. Reservoir Dogs was what kick-started Tarantino's fame. It involves a bank-job gone horribly wrong. Those staring include Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn, Michael Madsen, Lawrence Tierney, as well as Tarantino himself.

The film opens with the stars, all given colour code names, talking in a cafe about Madonna. The film may be set in the nineties, but the mood is of the seventies, with an excellent soundtrack to match. Next thing you know, Mr Orange (Roth) is in the back of a car, blood everywhere, with Mr White (Keitel) driving. They arrive at the rendezvous point, and everything works back from there. How the guys got together? Who let the cops know (the rat)? Should psychopathic Mr Blue (Madsen) be left with the cop?
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The plot then jumps back to the job itself, so you can find out what went wrong. Meanwhile, Blue is 'stuck in the middle' with the cop hostage. At the end, all the characters are together, including the shell-suit clad Niceguy Eddie, for a dramatic finish where all are blaming each other. It ends in the final shoot-out, but who shoots Niceguy Eddie? (a fiver says it's White)

An excellent film, that may have lots of violence, but is nowhere near as bad as has been claimed. The plot holds together well, but there are lots of little things that you may need to see the film again in order to appreciate fully. Reservoir Dogs is still showing at many cinemas up and down the country. If you don't mind the wait, then it will be shown at Christmas time this year on Channel 4 (they partly funded it). Failing that, copies on video are available from your usual underground supplier.
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