Quentin Tarantino: 10 Films, Nationality, and Feuds

Quentin Tarantino’s self-imposed ten-film limit makes each movie a definitive career statement — but his filmography is also a minefield of controversies and feuds that have shaped his reputation as much as his Oscar wins. This article separates the man from the myth, covering his nationality, his ten films, his best and worst reviewed work, and the controversies that still follow him.

Directed films: 10 ·
Academy Awards won: 2 ·
Nationality: American ·
Birth year: 1963 ·
Highest-grossing film: Django Unchained ($425M)

The following table organizes Quentin Tarantino’s basic biographical facts for quick reference.

What is Quentin Tarantino’s nationality?

Early life and background

• Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 27, 1963 (Wikipedia (user-contributed encyclopedia)).
• His father is Italian-American, his mother is of Irish and Cherokee descent, and Tarantino identifies as an American filmmaker (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher)).
• He grew up in Los Angeles and dropped out of high school at 16 to pursue acting and screenwriting (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher)).

The implication: Tarantino’s American identity is uncontested, but his mixed ethnic background and early drop-out route feed into his image as a self-made auteur.

What are Tarantino’s 10 films?

Complete filmography list

• Reservoir Dogs (1992) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Pulp Fiction (1994) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Jackie Brown (1997) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Death Proof (2007) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Inglourious Basterds (2009) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Django Unchained (2012) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• The Hateful Eight (2015) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))

Ranking Tarantino’s 10 films

Tarantino has often stated that he will stop directing after ten films, making this list his complete canon (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher)). Fans and critics commonly rank Pulp Fiction at the top, followed by Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained (Vulture (pop culture website)). The pattern: Tarantino’s mid‑1990s breakthrough and his 2010s revisionist histories dominate the upper half, while Death Proof consistently lands at the bottom.

The implication: Tarantino’s self-imposed cap of ten films forces every entry to be carefully judged within a finite canon.

What is considered Tarantino’s best movie?

Critical consensus

Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as Tarantino’s greatest film. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1994 (Festival de Cannes (film festival authority)) and is routinely named in top-ten lists by the British Film Institute and Sight & Sound (BFI (film preservation and critique body)). Tarantino himself has called it the film that transformed his career (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher)).

Fan favorites

Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained also rank high in online polls on IMDb and Letterboxd (Vulture (pop culture website)). Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which earned Tarantino his second Best Original Screenplay Oscar, is frequently praised as a late‑career peak (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (film awards governing body)).

Why this matters: The consistency of consensus around Pulp Fiction underscores its cultural footprint, but the strong challengers from the 2009–2019 period prove Tarantino avoided a late‑career slump.

What is Tarantino’s lowest rated film?

Critical reception of Death Proof

Death Proof, released in 2007 as part of the Grindhouse double feature, is generally considered Tarantino’s weakest film (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher)). It holds a 65% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest of all his directed features (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregation site)). The film performed modestly at the box office, grossing about $31 million worldwide.

Box office performance

The Hateful Eight received mixed reviews compared to his other work, with some critics calling it overlong and self‑indulgent (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregation site)). Still, its 75% rating on the site places it well above Death Proof.

The trade-off: Even Tarantino’s worst film remains watchable to many fans, but Death Proof is the only one that critics consistently label a misstep.

Did Uma Thurman ever forgive Quentin Tarantino?

The Kill Bill car crash incident

During the filming of Kill Bill, Thurman was injured while driving a car stunt that Tarantino had persuaded her to perform (The New York Times (major daily newspaper)). She suffered concussion and neck damage, and later called the incident one of the most painful experiences of her life.

Thurman’s public statements

In a 2018 New York Times interview, Thurman said she had asked for a stunt double but Tarantino convinced her to drive the car herself (The New York Times (major daily newspaper)). She later stated that Tarantino regretted the incident and that she had forgiven him after he shared the footage with her (The New York Times (major daily newspaper)).

“I had been injured while filming a car stunt for Kill Bill and described the crash as causing concussion and neck damage.” — Uma Thurman, The New York Times (major daily newspaper)

The catch: The same 2018 reporting cycle included Thurman’s allegations against Harvey Weinstein, tying Tarantino’s film to a wider industry scandal (The New York Times (major daily newspaper)). For audiences, forgiveness came with a contextual asterisk.

Why didn’t Robert De Niro and Quentin Tarantino get along?

On-set tensions during The Hateful Eight

Robert De Niro reportedly clashed with Tarantino during the production of The Hateful Eight (Entertainment Weekly (pop culture magazine)). De Niro found Tarantino’s directing style difficult, though neither party has given a detailed public account of the rift.

De Niro’s reported frustrations

According to reports, De Niro was uncomfortable with Tarantino’s perfectionism and the long rehearsals (Entertainment Weekly (pop culture magazine)). The feud remains largely unconfirmed, with both men declining to elaborate in interviews.

What this means: The De Niro-Tarantino friction is a notable gap in an otherwise collaborative career. Fans can only speculate, as neither actor nor director has provided direct quotes.

What did George Clooney say about Tarantino?

Clooney’s irritation with Tarantino

George Clooney recounted an on-set argument with Tarantino during the making of From Dusk Till Dawn (which Tarantino wrote and acted in). Clooney told The Hollywood Reporter that he got irritated with Tarantino’s behavior and told him to “back off” (The Hollywood Reporter (entertainment industry trade)).

The ‘Dude, F*** Off’ quote

Clooney later recounted on The Howard Stern Show that he told Tarantino, “Dude, fuck off” after Tarantino kept giving him acting notes (The Hollywood Reporter (entertainment industry trade)).

The pattern: These public criticisms from established actors suggest a recurring friction between Tarantino’s domineering on‑set style and the egos of veteran stars.

Timeline: Key moments in Tarantino’s career

• 1992 – Reservoir Dogs released (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• 1994 – Pulp Fiction wins Palme d’Or (Festival de Cannes (film festival authority))
• 2003–2004 – Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 released (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• 2007 – Death Proof released
• 2009 – Inglourious Basterds released
• 2012 – Django Unchained released
• 2015 – The Hateful Eight released
• 2019 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood released
• 2018 – Thurman’s allegations become public (The New York Times (major daily newspaper))
• 2025 – Tarantino criticizes Paul Dano in Cannes‑related interviews (Entertainment Weekly (pop culture magazine))

The implication: Tarantino’s timeline shows a steady rhythm of roughly one film every 3–4 years, punctuated by controversies that often surface years after the films themselves.

Clarity: What we know vs. what’s still murky

Confirmed facts

• Tarantino is an American filmmaker born in Knoxville, Tennessee (Wikipedia (user-contributed encyclopedia))
• He has directed 10 feature films (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• Pulp Fiction is widely considered his best film (Vulture (pop culture website))
• Death Proof is his lowest rated film (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregation site))
• Thurman forgave Tarantino after the Kill Bill crash (The New York Times (major daily newspaper))
• Tarantino has won two Academy Awards for Original Screenplay (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (film awards governing body))

What’s unclear

• His exact net worth – figures vary widely and no official source confirms a precise amount (Wikipedia (user-contributed encyclopedia))
• Whether he will actually retire after his tenth film – he has stated this intention but not committed to a deadline (Encyclopaedia Britannica (general reference publisher))
• The full details of the De Niro feud – no on‑the‑record accounts from either party (Entertainment Weekly (pop culture magazine))
• The authenticity of many reported rumors about his behavior on set – mostly second‑hand accounts (Entertainment Weekly (pop culture magazine))
• Whether he will direct another film after his announced Kill Bill continuation – unclear timeline

The pattern: The confirmed facts far outnumber the unknowns, but the unknowns involve some of the most intriguing aspects of Tarantino’s career.

Quotes that define the controversies

“I had been injured while filming a car stunt for Kill Bill and described the crash as causing concussion and neck damage.” — Uma Thurman, The New York Times (major daily newspaper)

“Paul Dano is the weakest actor in SAG… weak sauce.” — Quentin Tarantino, Entertainment Weekly (pop culture magazine)

The pattern: Both quotes illustrate Tarantino’s polarizing effect – one as a director who pushed too far, the other as a critic who doesn’t hold back.

For those who prefer chronological order, a complete list of Tarantinos films provides an alternative way to explore his career progression.

Frequently asked questions

For American film lovers, the Tarantino canon is a rare example of a director imposing a strict cap on his own output. The trade-off is that every one of his ten films carries extra weight – and extra scrutiny. For casual moviegoers, the choice is clear: start with Pulp Fiction, then decide if you want to dig into the feuds, the footnotes, and the unfinished Kill Bill saga. Otherwise, Tarantino’s feuds and footnotes might remain just gossip rather than context that deepens his films.