And every Oscar goes to... Quentin Tarantino

With ‘Inglourious Basterds’ now in cinemas, we thought it was a good time to celebrate the best of Quentin Tarantino over the years, in true Old Hollywood fashion. The Oscars may not have been kind to QT so far – a few scattered nominations, one win ('Pulp Fiction', screenplay) – but here at Time Out’s special celebratory Oscars, it’s all Quentin, all the time.

Best Film: ‘Reservoir Dogs’

‘Pulp Fiction’ may have more ideas, ‘Jackie Brown’ more soul and ‘Kill Bill’ more flying limbs. But Tarantino’s first outing is close to perfect cinema: simple and streamlined, exhausting yet effortless, groundbreaking yet derivative, funny yet horrifying, slavishly geeky and still spectacularly cool.
Read Time Out's original review

Best Direction: ‘Kill Bill’

The script may have sprawled into unnecessary and forgettable places, but this was Quentin’s peak as an action man: that limb-lopping Crazy 88 sequence deserved every spontaneous round of applause it garnered.
Read Time Out's original review

Best Actor: Christoph Waltz, ‘Inglourious Basterds’

He’s up against stiff competition (Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Robert Forster), but Waltz’s sneering, two-faced ‘Jew Hunter’ in the new movie represents a level of moral complexity and linguistic subtlety new in Tarantino’s work.Read Time Out's review

Best Actress: Pam Grier, ‘Jackie Brown’

Uma Thurman may have cut a swathe through ‘Kill Bill’, but she was little more than a one-woman revenge festival: No such difficulties in this category: Grier’s Jackie is so far ahead of every other Tarantino female she deserves a medal. Jackie Brown is kind, conflicted, sensual, gritty and independent: all kinds of woman.Read Time Out's original review

Best Screenplay: ‘Pulp Fiction’

The Academy got this one right: ‘Pulp Fiction’ may lack the brutal discipline of ‘Reservoir Dogs’, but just edges it in terms of sheer invention. The back-and-froth structure may not be entirely new, but it adds an extra layer of unpredictability to an already potent blend of unforgettable dialogue, outrageous situations and sudden, inexplicable violence.Read Time Out's original review

Best Scene: ‘Little Green Bag’ from ‘Reservoir Dogs’

In this movie alone there are almost too many to choose from: the opening diner conversation, Tim Roth’s breathlessly rehearsed cover story, the Mexican standoff, that infamous rock ‘n’ roll ear-slicing. But the most perfect scene in Tarantino’s work has to be the opening credits: simple, iconic, toe-tapping, utterly captivating, a flawless blend of sights, sounds and sharp suits.Watch the 'Little Green Bag' scene

Best Line: The Wolf in 'Pulp Fiction'

Words which Quentin himself could perhaps do with remembering: ‘Just because you are a character doesn't mean that you have character.’Watch a great deleted scene featuring The Wolf

Best Forgotten: ‘Death Proof’

‘Grindhouse’ promised so much: a double feature of old-fashioned grime complete with trailers, in-jokes and general mayhem. In the event, it was the ultimate damp squib: a flop in the US, and cut in half over here. Quentin’s chunk, ‘Death Proof, was pitched as an epic of no-holds-barred car-crash violence. In reality, it was two 45-minute conversations about nothing, interspersed with a miniscule portion of gratuitous death. Truly tedious. Read Time Out's original review

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