Quentin Tarantino loves film. Few filmmakers can boast such a wide knowledge of movies, especially the B-films and grindhouse works that have inspired his greatest cinematic accomplishments. Tarantino also loves to talk about future projects. Put those two passions together and you get a guy who often teases movies he never actually ends up making.
Of course, it’s not always talk. Many of his best movies, including Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood started as ideas that he blabbed about to anyone who would listen. But while that approach builds excitement, it also sets up fans for disappointment, such as when it was revealed that he had abandoned The Movie Critic, which for months was teased as the director’s 10th and final film.
Now including The Movie Critic, here are the most intriguing Tarantino projects that never got made.
Double V Vega
Perhaps the longest rumored unmade Tarantino,...
Of course, it’s not always talk. Many of his best movies, including Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood started as ideas that he blabbed about to anyone who would listen. But while that approach builds excitement, it also sets up fans for disappointment, such as when it was revealed that he had abandoned The Movie Critic, which for months was teased as the director’s 10th and final film.
Now including The Movie Critic, here are the most intriguing Tarantino projects that never got made.
Double V Vega
Perhaps the longest rumored unmade Tarantino,...
- 4/19/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" has remained a pop culture watermark since it blasted its way onto screens in 1992. At its core, the deconstructed crime film is about disguise and betrayal. Tim Roth's undercover cop Freddy Newandyke is pretending to be a gangster, but in a sense, all of the characters are in disguise.
The monikers they take on are supposed to protect their true identity just in case any backstabbing goes on or the police nab some of them during the jewelry heist. But those fake names are also giving them permission to play pretend, just like a group of kids playing dress up. In the planning stage, all the characters are playing their parts; when the plan fails, their personas give them a reason to become more extreme versions of themselves.
In flashbacks, we see Freddy construct his criminal self in order to infiltrate the group, suggesting...
The monikers they take on are supposed to protect their true identity just in case any backstabbing goes on or the police nab some of them during the jewelry heist. But those fake names are also giving them permission to play pretend, just like a group of kids playing dress up. In the planning stage, all the characters are playing their parts; when the plan fails, their personas give them a reason to become more extreme versions of themselves.
In flashbacks, we see Freddy construct his criminal self in order to infiltrate the group, suggesting...
- 2/23/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
Writer and director Quentin Tarantino is an avid film fan who famously pays homage to his favorite genre films in his own work, but for "Inglourious Basterds," he drew from his own filmography as well.
While "Basterds" is clearly inspired by numerous war films and Nazi exploitation movies like "Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS," Tarantino also loosely pulled from several of his previous films. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Tarantino shared that he felt like "Inglourious Basterds" shared traits with his earlier films "True Romance," "Reservoir Dogs," and "Pulp Fiction." (Tarantino wrote the screenplay for "True Romance," which was directed by Tony Scott.) It's not surprising or unusual for a creative to draw from their earlier work, and Tarantino took some of the lessons learned from his past to make "Inglourious Basterds" the best it could be.
The director's sixth film is a tone-shifting historical drama that balances...
While "Basterds" is clearly inspired by numerous war films and Nazi exploitation movies like "Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS," Tarantino also loosely pulled from several of his previous films. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Tarantino shared that he felt like "Inglourious Basterds" shared traits with his earlier films "True Romance," "Reservoir Dogs," and "Pulp Fiction." (Tarantino wrote the screenplay for "True Romance," which was directed by Tony Scott.) It's not surprising or unusual for a creative to draw from their earlier work, and Tarantino took some of the lessons learned from his past to make "Inglourious Basterds" the best it could be.
The director's sixth film is a tone-shifting historical drama that balances...
- 12/14/2022
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
28 years ago, it was hard to get a handle on exactly what Quentin Tarantino was up to with his first two movies.
I was a freshman in college when "Reservoir Dogs" wended its way through art houses and campus theaters across the United States, and, in the mostly pre-internet era of the early '90s, it was rare to see a movie acquire a devoted cult following so rapidly sans home video release. Though Tarantino wasn't the first screenwriter of the video store generation to sprinkle pop culture references throughout his dialogue (Shane Black and Daniel Waters beat him to that particular punch), his bracingly meta take on the gangster movie was the most exciting thing to happen to the genre since Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless."
Gen X Cinephiles were still gorging themselves on "Reservoir Dogs" rewatches when "Pulp Fiction" hit theaters with a seismic impact equal to that of...
I was a freshman in college when "Reservoir Dogs" wended its way through art houses and campus theaters across the United States, and, in the mostly pre-internet era of the early '90s, it was rare to see a movie acquire a devoted cult following so rapidly sans home video release. Though Tarantino wasn't the first screenwriter of the video store generation to sprinkle pop culture references throughout his dialogue (Shane Black and Daniel Waters beat him to that particular punch), his bracingly meta take on the gangster movie was the most exciting thing to happen to the genre since Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless."
Gen X Cinephiles were still gorging themselves on "Reservoir Dogs" rewatches when "Pulp Fiction" hit theaters with a seismic impact equal to that of...
- 11/30/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The untimely death this week of Jason David Frank at the age of 49 has led to an outpouring of stories about the late actor and mixed martial artist, best known for his role in over a hundred episodes of the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" TV series from 1993 to 1996. Frank played Tommy Oliver, who started out as the villainous Green Ranger before becoming the heroic team leader, the White Ranger. It was a role that carried over into "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie," which thrust Frank into the spotlight even more and gave him the chance to meet other famous actors like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michael Madsen.
In a 2019 interview with TheHipHop Lab, Frank recounted his memory of the premiere of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie." Van Damme was not in the film, but he attended the premiere, and Frank said he had been excited to meet him,...
In a 2019 interview with TheHipHop Lab, Frank recounted his memory of the premiere of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie." Van Damme was not in the film, but he attended the premiere, and Frank said he had been excited to meet him,...
- 11/22/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
The role of Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs" is one of the defining characters in the career of Michael Madsen, even if he originally wanted a different part in the movie. The character's iconic scene where he tortures a captured police officer has been parodied in everything from "The Simpsons" to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." It was one of the parts that kickstarted Madsen's film career.
The director of "Reservoir Dogs," Quentin Tarantino, is known for enjoying collaborating with the same actors over and over again, and Madsen is no exception. After his initial appearance in "Reservoir Dogs," Madsen would show up in both "Kill Bill" movies, "The Hateful Eight," and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." However, at one point, Madsen was apparently meant to show up in yet another leading role in Tarantino's filmography.
According to an interview with Madsen in the documentary, "QT8: The First Eight,...
The director of "Reservoir Dogs," Quentin Tarantino, is known for enjoying collaborating with the same actors over and over again, and Madsen is no exception. After his initial appearance in "Reservoir Dogs," Madsen would show up in both "Kill Bill" movies, "The Hateful Eight," and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." However, at one point, Madsen was apparently meant to show up in yet another leading role in Tarantino's filmography.
According to an interview with Madsen in the documentary, "QT8: The First Eight,...
- 11/8/2022
- by Matt Rainis
- Slash Film
"Reservoir Dogs" was Quentin Tarantino's arrival on the scene as an independent filmmaker, and it immediately proved that he was a director to watch. A low-budget pressure cooker of a movie that centers on the crew of would-be criminals in the aftermath of a robbery gone horribly wrong, the film was the origin of some of Tarantino's filmmaking trademarks, including witty dialogue and hyper-violence. The excellent cast helped Tarantino's debut massively, which boasted a level of acting talent leagues above what most directors can obtain for their first feature film. Actors like Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, and the legendary Harvey Keitel anchored the picture.
Of course, securing such a stellar cast was a process of its own. Luckily for Tarantino, Keitel was on board with the movie from the moment he read the script, even volunteering to produce the movie to help it get off the ground. If...
Of course, securing such a stellar cast was a process of its own. Luckily for Tarantino, Keitel was on board with the movie from the moment he read the script, even volunteering to produce the movie to help it get off the ground. If...
- 11/8/2022
- by Matt Rainis
- Slash Film
Poor Michael Madsen. Ever since cutting off that cop's ear in "Reservoir Dogs," the veteran actor has had to be content with playing the villain. Even a role in family favorite "Free Willy" couldn't change the perception of the actor as a bad guy following his turn as Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's classic. That's despite his apparent desire to play the good guy. Madsen is (almost) always the villain — which is why he must have been pretty relieved to appear as a James Bond ally in "Die Another Day"... even if it was in "Die Another Day."
While the movie itself is remembered for its campy tone and generally ending Pierce Brosnan's tenure as Bond on a low note, it isn't without its highlights. And Madsen as Nsa agent Damian Falco just happens to be one of them. Between the ice palaces and truly abject CGI, Madsen's...
While the movie itself is remembered for its campy tone and generally ending Pierce Brosnan's tenure as Bond on a low note, it isn't without its highlights. And Madsen as Nsa agent Damian Falco just happens to be one of them. Between the ice palaces and truly abject CGI, Madsen's...
- 11/8/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
From 1976 to 1981, FBI agent Joe Pistone infiltrated the Bonnano crime family as "Donnie Brasco." His time undercover was spun into a 1997 movie, named for Pistone's alias and starring Johnny Depp.
The faces "Donnie" meets while undercover in the New York underworld are played by gangster film veterans. The true star of the movie, Al Pacino as Pistone's contact Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggerio. Michael Madsen, perhaps best known as Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs," plays "Sonny Black," real name Dominick Napolitano.
Their "Donnie Brasco" characters inverts their previous parts. Lefty, played by The Godfather himself, is a lowly soldier stuck in a dead-end job. Sonny Black may be a murderer, but he's also the calm and collected boss of the family, far from an unstable psychotic like Mr. Blonde. Speaking to the Av Club in 2015, Madsen said he considers "Donnie Brasco" one of the top five films he's made: "It was a pretty damned good film,...
The faces "Donnie" meets while undercover in the New York underworld are played by gangster film veterans. The true star of the movie, Al Pacino as Pistone's contact Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggerio. Michael Madsen, perhaps best known as Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs," plays "Sonny Black," real name Dominick Napolitano.
Their "Donnie Brasco" characters inverts their previous parts. Lefty, played by The Godfather himself, is a lowly soldier stuck in a dead-end job. Sonny Black may be a murderer, but he's also the calm and collected boss of the family, far from an unstable psychotic like Mr. Blonde. Speaking to the Av Club in 2015, Madsen said he considers "Donnie Brasco" one of the top five films he's made: "It was a pretty damned good film,...
- 11/7/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Looking back from 2022, Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" is a star-studded feature. But when it premiered in 1992, the only big name in the cast was Harvey Keitel. The four main color-coded criminals, Steve Buscemi (Mr. Pink), Tim Roth (Mr. Orange), and Michael Maden (Mr. Blonde), had their fair share of film and television appearances, but were still in the minor leagues. "Reservoir Dogs" is what changed that for them, as Roth acknowledged at the 2017 Tribecca Film Festival.
Keitel, on the other hand, had appeared in Martin Scorsese classics like "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver," and just the previous year had played a major character in "Thelma and Louise". Keitel plays Mr. White, the most sympathetic of the criminals who forms a fatherly bond with Mr. Orange. Too bad for him that Orange is the rat of the group.
Getting Keitel in the movie was a goal of Tarantino's because...
Keitel, on the other hand, had appeared in Martin Scorsese classics like "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver," and just the previous year had played a major character in "Thelma and Louise". Keitel plays Mr. White, the most sympathetic of the criminals who forms a fatherly bond with Mr. Orange. Too bad for him that Orange is the rat of the group.
Getting Keitel in the movie was a goal of Tarantino's because...
- 9/17/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
When you think of Michael Madsen, what's the first image that comes to mind? Is it Reservoir Dogs' Mr. Blonde dancing to "Stuck in the Middle with You" while holding a severed ear? Maybe it's the washed-up assassin Budd burying Uma Thurman's The Bride alive? Whatever Madsen character you're seeing, there's a good chance he's not a hero. Madsen has made a career out of playing black hats and evil men.
According to Madsen, that has more to do with Hollywood typecasting than any preference to play sleazy roles (via The After Movie Diner). Before he made a name for himself by embodying quietly lethal but outwardly slick antagonists, he dreamed of portraying the good guy. But after his role in "Reservoir Dogs," every script that followed wanted to bring out the worst in Madsen. His notoriety hinges on the unsavory characters he's played -- he's even been introduced as Mr.
According to Madsen, that has more to do with Hollywood typecasting than any preference to play sleazy roles (via The After Movie Diner). Before he made a name for himself by embodying quietly lethal but outwardly slick antagonists, he dreamed of portraying the good guy. But after his role in "Reservoir Dogs," every script that followed wanted to bring out the worst in Madsen. His notoriety hinges on the unsavory characters he's played -- he's even been introduced as Mr.
- 9/14/2022
- by Steven Ward
- Slash Film
"Reservoir Dogs," Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, was indicative of his career to come. It has his trademark snappy dialogue, hyperviolence, and questionable utterance of racial slurs. All it needs is extensive shots of a woman's bare feet, and you'd have a good predictor of Tarantino's entire oeuvre.
Now, despite my snarky dressing-down of Tarantino's artistic stylings, I do thoroughly enjoy his movies, and "Reservoir Dogs" is one of his strongest films, despite being his earliest and cheapest to produce. It's perhaps the shoestring budget and simplicity of the film that gives it its charm, allowing the writing and directing to shine above all else.
Another of Tarantino's great strengths as a filmmaker is his casting. "Reservoir Dogs" is no different, with the film featuring incredible work from fantastic actors such as Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel. For Michael Madsen, who portrayed Mr. Blonde in the film, the role was his big breakout performance.
Now, despite my snarky dressing-down of Tarantino's artistic stylings, I do thoroughly enjoy his movies, and "Reservoir Dogs" is one of his strongest films, despite being his earliest and cheapest to produce. It's perhaps the shoestring budget and simplicity of the film that gives it its charm, allowing the writing and directing to shine above all else.
Another of Tarantino's great strengths as a filmmaker is his casting. "Reservoir Dogs" is no different, with the film featuring incredible work from fantastic actors such as Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel. For Michael Madsen, who portrayed Mr. Blonde in the film, the role was his big breakout performance.
- 9/8/2022
- by Matt Rainis
- Slash Film
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