Quentin Tarantinodoes a lot of things every time he makes a movie, including referencing films of old, packing screenplays full of profanity (usually), and indulging in a good deal of ultraviolence (in some movies more than others). He has other trademarks that give him a distinctive style as a filmmaker, and all add up to make him the kind of director you either love or roll your eyes at (most people seem to lean towards love, though).
To date, he’s directed nine feature films, though you can also consider 10 as the number, if you splitKill Billinto two, counting both volumes as separate movies. That will be done for present purposes,allowing the ending for every single Tarantino film to be ranked below. None are bad, so this is the sort of ranking that starts with the great and ends with the greatest.
The following article contains spoilers for every Quentin Tarantino movie.
10’Django Unchained' (2012)
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
Django lights a cigarette and stands among the ruins of the Candyland mansion
The only thing that really tanks the ending ofDjango Unchainedis the fact thatthe movie’s best, bloodiest, and most memorable scenetakes place about half an hour before the actual ending. There’s a massive shootout, two key characters get killed very abruptly, and the film kicks into a whole other gear with a massive action set piece that features obscene amounts of blood getting splashed around.
Then, the film slows down, the titular character finds himself imprisoned for a bit, and he eventually breaks free, returns to the site of the previous action sequence, and rescues the love of his life, all before blowing the place up for good. It’scathartic to see Django get what he wants, and it’s great and all that the awful characters are defeated, but that final sequence can start to feel underwhelming when you compare it to what came a little earlier.
Django Unchained
9’The Hateful Eight' (2015)
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Hopelessness pervades throughoutThe Hateful Eight, abloody Western with a confined settingthat puts a bunch of shady people inside a room together and then waits for the fireworks to go off. There’s a long fuse on these colorful explosives, though, becauseThe Hateful Eightis also about three hours long, and it takes until the final hour before most of the bodies truly start hitting the floor.
Perhaps it ends in the most predictable way it could, broadly speaking, with everyone either dead or dying, but there’s still a thrill to watching it happen. Also,The Hateful Eightdoes haveSamuel L. JacksonandWalton Gogginsplaying (comparatively) likable aholeswho eventually cooperate and take out the other (worse) aholes.The movie concludes with a scene of them bonding about a previously-read letter, coming clean about things, and – more likely than not – dying soon after.
The Hateful Eight
8’Reservoir Dogs' (1992)
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen
If you’ve ever wondered whether a heist movie can begreat without really showing the heist, thenReservoir Dogsis the film that can give you the definitive answer of “Yes, it can.” It was Quentin Tarantino’s feature film debut, and introduced traits of his life dialogue filled with pop culture references, in-your-face violence, non-chronological storytelling, and characters whoweren’t afraid to drop an F-bomb or 50.
The ending here is similar to the ending forThe Hateful Eight, because a number of characters end up inside one building, truths are revealed, and then they all shoot each other. It’s a better ending, though, because among all the death,there’s also something genuinely sad about Mr. White realizing that Mr. Orange was an undercover copthe whole time, the former crying about the whole discovery right as he’s gunned down by off-screen police officers. Cut to credits.
Reservoir Dogs
7’Kill Bill: Vol. 1' (2003)
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox
When counting the endings here, what’s focused on is the very last scene, whether that last scene lasts just a minute or two, or feels extended to several or more. As such, whileKill Bill: Vol. 1might well have the best climax or final act of any Quentin Tarantino movie, thanks to it featuring aludicrously long – and extremely bloody – action sequence, that big set piece still takes place a little before the ending.
Perhaps you could argue that the showdown with O-Ren-Ishii counts as part of the ending, thoughKill Bill: Vol. 1’s real ending is a montage showing The Bride’s remaining enemies bit by bit, all followed by an off-screen Bill informing Sofie Fatale that The Bride’s daughter is actually still alive. It’s less an ending, andmore a game-changing cliffhanger that aims to drum up excitement for the duology’s actual ending, but it works wonders for what it is, even if the film’s status aspart 1 of a two-part storycan create a mild feeling of things ending a bit suddenly.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
6’Death Proof' (2007)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson
Death Prooftends to get labeled as Quentin Tarantino’s weakest movie overall, and honestly, that’s kind of fair enough. It is still very good and ends in an especially strong way (and there’s a scene at its mid-point that’s effectively brutal and memorable), Tarantino’s other efforts are generally more satisfying. But thebig car chase that effectively concludes the movie? That’s definitely something.
After hunting down one group of young women inDeath Proof’s first half, Stuntman Mike sets his sights on a second group in the second half, but they fight back, evading him and then targeting him in a longchase scene that has some incredible stunt work. Once they make him crash, they pull him out of his car, beat the hell out of him, and then celebrate when he drops dead.The second they start celebrating, there’s a freeze-frame, and then the words “The End” pop up. It’s both awesome and hilarious, and helpsDeath Prooffinish on an undeniable high.
Death Proof
5’Jackie Brown' (1997)
Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro
“Low-key” might be the best term to use to describeJackie Brown, at least when comparing it to Quentin Tarantino’s other films. It marks the only time Tarantino adapted someone else’s work (Rum PunchbyElmore Leonard) into a film, and as such,Jackie Brownhas a mellower energy and sometimes even a meandering quality that is still compelling, just in a quieter sort of way.
There’s still humor, surprising moments, and profanity, butJackie Brownalso feels a little more maturethan one might expect from Tarantino, largely thanks to the main characters here being a little older than the main characters generally are in other Tarantino flicks. This all makes the eventually bittersweet conclusion feel satisfying and appropriate.It’s not a downer, but it’s not a completely happy ending, either. It feels real, true to the film’s characters, and, quite simply, right overall.
Jackie Brown
4’Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' (2019)
So,Jackie Browndid tell a story, but told it slowly, whereasOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood– while perhaps more optimistic – tells even less story, andfunctions even more like a (sometimesvery funny and quotable) hangout kind of film. The setting is Hollywood at the very end of the 1960s, with various characters drifting through their lives, some being up-and-comers within the film industry, while others are shown struggling with holding onto the fame they once had.
The ending has somewhat of a fairytale feel, which is, of course, alluded to by the titleOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood. It breaks from reality in a way that’s immensely cathartic, with a real-world tragedy averted, the bad guys dying violently, and the heroes recognized for what they’ve done. It’s a gutsy way to subvert expectations, and sticks out compared toso much of the rest of the film, but dammit, Tarantino somehow manages to make it actually work.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3’Kill Bill: Vol. 2' (2004)
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah
ThoughKill Bill: Vol. 2still contains some action, it has considerably fewer such scenes thanVol. 1, withthis half ofthe story being mostly focused on dialogue. That’s not a problem at all when the dialogue is so great, and it’s a testament to Tarantino’s knack for writing that the climax ofVol. 2can be little more than an extended conversation between two people, yet still make it all as riveting as two people fighting physically.
The ending ofKill Bill: Vol. 2also scores points for being so cathartic, and it has a bit of an advantage in this regard, given it wraps up two movies’ worth of story. The Bride (AKA Beatrix Kiddo)more than earns her revenge, ties up most loose ends, and gets to live the rest of her life with her child (the same one whose existence was revealed at the end ofKill Bill: Vol. 1).
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
2’Inglourious Basterds' (2009)
Inglourious Basterdsis one of themost well-written war movies ever made, and certainly not because of anything as boring as historical accuracy. Well, there is some authenticity to recreating Nazi-occupied France during World War II, but it does the same thingOnce Upon a Time in Hollywooddoes by boldly rewriting history in a manner that’s surprising, darkly funny, and quite cathartic, too.
Adolf Hitlerhimself – alongside numerous other high-ranking Nazis – is gunned down in a movie theater that goes up in flames, and thoughthe villainous Hans Landaescapes with his life, the very last scene of the movie has him getting brutally punished for his misdeeds, forever marked as a Nazi. And thenBrad Pitt’s Aldo Raine makes a reference to having justmade his masterpiece,right before the credits startand viewers see “Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino.”It’s not subtle, but sure… you could argue that this movie is his masterpiece, too.
Inglourious Basterds
1’Pulp Fiction' (1994)
Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman
Given it’s probably Quentin Tarantino’s best movie, and might wellrank among the greatest films of all time, it’s not too much of a hot take to say thatPulp Fictionhas the best ending of any Tarantino film. It’s another movie of his that’s told out of order, meaning the last scene viewers see isn’t technically the last thing that happens for the characters… but things wrapping up where they do just feels so right.
Atense situation is defused through words, rather than bullets, in a perfectly paced scenethat collides the characters seen in the opening with the two played byJohn Travoltaand Samuel L. Jackson.Pulp Fictionends on a surprisingly peaceful and even optimistic note, and it was amuch better way to end the moviethan having a bloodbath. Though, if you want a bloodbath near the climax, you could watchPulp Fictionin chronological order, because then the movie ends shortly afterBruce Willis’ character fights his way out ofthat weird sex dungeon.
