Movies

QT8: The First Eight: An ode to Quentin Tarantino but clunky Harvey Weinstein mentions are a turn off


Quentin Tarantino has helmed some of the biggest and most popular movies of the last three decades. Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs consistently rank on lists of ‘films to watch before you die’, while Kill Bill has spawned Halloween costume inspiration until the end of time, and Inglorious Basterds has become a cult classic. It seems that every single set the 56-year-old gets near instantly spawns a masterpiece.

And a new documentary, QT8: The First Eight, attempts to take us behind the camera for some of his biggest moments of his first eight films, starting the whistle-stop tour off with his 1992 directorial debut in Reservoir Dogs, before reminding us all of Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill volume one and two, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained and finishing off at The Hateful Eight.

Through QT8 we get to see another side of Quentin, a side that is almost always reserved for the actors he is directing, or those producing his vision. One scene shows him on set of Pulp Fiction, for the iconic moment John Travolta and Uma Thurman enter the dance competition at Jack Rabbit Slim’s. While most would be glued to screens, he can be seen dancing away like an excitable fan who won the golden ticket, or cackling away at another moment.

Quentin Tarantino’s career has been explored in a new documentary (Picture: Getty)
Samuel L Jackson was full of praise for the director  (Picture: Getty)

The documentary also includes chats with those who have worked with him in the past, showing that there is a long line of actors who can’t get enough of his talent, the energy he brings to set, or the experience he gives them through his films. Jamie Foxx and co rave about the freedom they are given with their characters, and how this allows them to create a kind of magic viewers have never seen from them before.

Michael Madsen revealed that, in a seminal Reservoir Dogs scene, the script simply read: ‘Mr Blonde does a maniacal dance’, which was left to him to interpret as he saw fit. Samuel L Jackson was the first to defend him over his use of the n-word, while Jamie recalled the moment he forced Leonardo DiCaprio to utter the racial slur.

By the end of it, you’re crying out for more. More information about the filmmaker and life on his sets, more titbits and gossip, more Tarantino brilliance. And, because the whole thing was filmed before his ninth film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, was released, you’re in luck. But, with his latest film already out in cinemas and gaining serious Oscars traction, it already feels a little dated.

Jamie Foxx revealed Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t want to use the racial slur (Picture: Signature Entertainment)
QT8: The First 8 is released on 13 December (Picture: Signature Entertainment)

And his complicated bond with Harvey Weinstein is touched on throughout, with Jaws-style music pouring out any time the disgraced Hollywood producer – who has been accused of sexual assault by a string of women – is mentioned. But the discussion about their relationship seems clunky, quickly shoe-horned in and swiftly brushed over, which makes you wonder why they bothered mentioning him at all.

There is also very little information gleaned about the director’s private life, and what he does when he’s not on a film set. And while a string of famous faces – including Eli Roth, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh – speak highly of him, the man himself doesn’t personally feature once throughout the 120-minute feature.

If you’re looking for a deep-dive into what makes him tick, and where he gets his biggest jolts of inspiration for, this isn’t it. This is purely a love-letter to Quentin Tarantino, by some of his biggest collaborators.

Signature Entertainment presents QT8 in cinemas, DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD on 13 December.



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