OFF: Tarantino

[hijinks at UTARLG.UTA.EDU]

On Tue, 17 Nov 1998, <Nick English> wrote:
> Again, I say he is in no way the first. To me, he's just the first
> independent filmaker to pull in major mainstream success. Scores of
> others, from Romero to Raimi, Abel Ferrera, Lloyd Kaufman, John
> McNaughton, John Waters, Peter Jackson, John Woo -- probably scores of
> others that I don't know enough about fringe cinema to name -- had
> his spirit, and in some cases his style, long before he did. I think
> that his popularity is simply one of those "right place, right time"
> situations. The market was finally ready to handle this stuff on a
> larger scale, and he was the best one out there at the time.

I have to disagree (somewhat) here.  Sure, he is in no way the "first".
But I don't see how that is really relevant in terms of criteria for
evaluating the bulk of his work, which is excellent.  True Romance
(screenplay), Resevoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction are uniformly excellent
films.  And though he draws on the other people you mention, he maintains
his own style.  Second, I think we tend to forget that people don't
suddenly arrive as superstars because the hype machine is so overblown as
to make us think such stars have always been and always will.  But
Resevoir Dogs was a relatively unknown film here (at least in Texas)
that caught on by word of mouth; it was an underground sensation first.
Ditto for Pulp Fiction.  It opened in the local art house theaters first.
It didn't go truly mainstream until a month or two later, when word of
mouth and sales saw it move into wide release everywhere.

>
> I'm not totally trying to diss Tarantino. I don't hate him or his
> movies. I just think the hype is in some ways undeserved. His work,
> IMO, doesn't break any new ground...other than the fact that it
> played at your local shopping mall cinemaplex.
>
> --  Nick
>

Everyone who is hyped is bound to suffer backlash.  And no one controls
hype.  Hype transcends any one individual; I really don't think you can
blame Tarantino for it.  I'm sure he enjoys being famous and
well-recognized, but whether he realizes it or not, it was never his
decision alone that got him there.  Hate the hype, not the director --
unless the work itself demands it.  And I don't see how that is the case
here.

--thomas