TOP TEN TUESDAY: Tarantino’s Characters

In case you’ve literally been living under a rock, you should be aware that Quentin Tarantino’s newest masterpiece INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS opens this Friday. Being the Movie Geeks we are, we decided to devote an entire week to the modern maestro of cool cinema. Part of that week is today’s Top Ten List, which counts down the Movie Geek’s favorite characters created by tarantino himself. With INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS adding new memorable characters, we asked ourselves… Which Tarantino Characters are the most memorable of them all?

10. Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) from INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Lt. Aldo Raine, aka Aldo the Apache, from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee is a Lieutenant in the United States Army. He heads an elite group of Jewish American/German Soldiers that have been nicknamed “The Basterds”. They call him the Apache because he wants the scalps of his Nazi conquests, and those of his soldiers. He might lack social graces, but he is well known for what he does, which is killin’ Nazi’s, and he loves what he does! He will lead his unit into France, where there is a heavy Nazi presence, and take out as many Nazi’s as they possibly can. Brad Pitt does a great job in playing this All-American hero in the latest Tarantino gem “Inglorious Basterds”.

9. Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) from DEATH PROOF

Ladies, we’re gonna have some fun.

This is Stuntman Mike Mikke.  He’s a stuntman.  He’s also a psychopathic killer who stalks his victims with his decked out, 1970 Chevy Nova.  And who better to play such a killer than Snake Plissken himself.  Seriously, when it was announced a few years back that Quentin Tarantino would be making a slasher film for his part in GRINDHOUSE, horror fans around the world stood up and cheered.  It was the announcement that Kurt Russell had signed on to play the killer that really got movie fans in general frothing at the mouth to see this one.  Neither Tarantino nor Russell disappointed one bit.  Say what you will about the heavy-dialogue scenes and the few and far between kill shots.  DEATH PROOF is one badass ride, and it is made all the more badass by Russell.  But Stuntman Mike isn’t all smoky beard and sunglasses.  The guy’s got a lighter side.  Just reference the second half of the film for that.  Don’t let those cries of panic and banshee screams of pain fool you, though.  We all know that, even in those final moments, Stuntman Mike is one, cool customer.

8. O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) from KILL BILL

Lucy Liu was perfect as O-Ren Ishii, a product of three cultures (Chinese, Japanese and American) combined into one deadly and determined agent of power and beauty. O-Ren was orphaned as a child by gangsters, so it’s ironic she would become one herself. She is a business-woman, a warrior and a work of visual beauty, but she strikes fear into the hearts of those who might oppose her. That is, until she met her match in one of the coolest old school samurai showdowns in modern cinematic history when she squared off for the last time against Black mamba, aka Beatrix Kiddo, also known as The Bride. O-Ren was trained in the ways of the samurai, applied the wisdom of The Art of War to her business dealings and had no fear. O-Ren ruled her criminal kingdom with an iron fist and a steel blade, but finally succumbed to an honorable warrior’s demise at the hands of her blonde nemesis.

7. Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) from JACKIE BROWN

Tarantino had the clout in 1997 to cast anyone he wanted for JACKIE BROWN and, after PULP FICTION, most of Hollywood no doubt wanted to work with him. Ebony action icon Pam Grier was the now-mature siren of blaxploitation, the star of many 70’s urban classics such as COFFY, BLACK MAMMA WHITE MAMMA, and FOXY BROWN, films that Tarantino was a huge fan of. With her distinctive mega-fro, Grier was a statuesque, articulate ass-kicker in these films and she’s mentioned by name in Tarantino’s scripts for both RESERVOIR DOGS and TRUE ROMANCE and he’d originally considered Grier for PULP FICTION in the role ultimately played by Roseanne Arquette. Tarantino changed the lead character in Elmore Leonard’s 1993 novel “Rum Punch”, upon which JACKIE BROWN is based, from a blonde Caucasian to an African-American in order to accommodate Grier (in the novel, her name is Jackie Burke. Tarantino renamed her Brown after her character from FOXY BROWN). Pam Grier was 48 when she starred in JACKIE BROWN (though her character claims to be 44) and she gives a strong world-weary performance and is tough and believable when standing up to Samuel L. Jackson’s scary villain Ordell Robie. It’s been noted that JACKIE BROWN did not do for Grier’s career what PULP FICTION did for John Travolta but then, how many parts are there in Hollywood for black women pushing 50? Pam Grier did receive some choice roles after JACKIE BROWN and since 2004 has been costarring on TV’s “The L-Word”.

6. Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) from PULP FICTION

Chronologically, when we first see Butch Coolidge in PULP FICTION, he’s watching an episode of CLUTCH CARGO.  That, alone, puts this aging boxer into all of our “cool books.”  However, the coolness coming from Butch, and, more importantly, from Bruce Willis, doesn’t stop at the presence of Paddlefoot.  Here is a guy who has no problem beating a fellow boxer to death, has no problem filling an unarmed hitman with machine gun lead, but also has the decency to go back for a fellow man, a man who would kill Butch if given the chance, who is being violated by a couple of raping hillbillies.  Not only that, he does so with a thankfully convenient Samurai sword.  I’m sure it was probably a Hattori Hanzo if we delve much deeper.  It is only the presence of one Jules Winnfield played by the always-badass Samuel L. Jackson in this film that keeps Butch from being the coolest thing about PULP FICTION.

5. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) from RESERVOIR DOGS

Mr. Pink is the only main character in “Reservoir Dogs” that is left without much of a back story or a description. Played By Steve Buscemi, we know that he is notoriously cheap by his strong, negative feelings about tipping his waitress. He is so cheap that he won’t even leave a dollar. After the diamond heist, he reveals to Mr. White back at the rendezvous point, the warehouse, that he managed to get away with a bag of diamonds despite the shootings and the cops sudden appearance at the scene. He is also the one to figure out that there is a rat among them. Someone who told the cops what they were up to. The cops were there way to quickly if they were just responding to the alarm at the store. He is the only known surviving character of the film, and his characters fate is pretty much left to our imagination. We do hear a car engine once he leaves the warehouse, and police sirens, but nothing is known of what actually happens to him. Maybe someday we will figure it out!

4. Bill/Snake Charmer (David Carradine) from KILL BILL

David Carradine is a legend in the world of Kung Fu and I didn’t think he could be anymore badass than he was in some of his former roles. After appearing in more than 100 films, and of course the legendary ‘Kung Fu’ tv series he took on a role that was imagined from the brilliant mind of Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino took him to a whole new level of badass playing the title character in the ‘Kill Bill’ movie(s). He double crossed his once lover, The Bride, who was pregnant with his baby at the time by shooting her in the head. Unfortunately for him the shot didn’t kill her and when she woke up, it was time to…Kill…Bill.

3. The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) from KILL BILL

The Bride aka Black Mamba is really just Beatrix Kiddo, a highly trained assassin and the right hand man of Bill, leader of the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad. Played by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Beatrix and Bill soon became lovers, and she became pregnant. Once she found out, she faked her own death, fled and changed her name to Arlene Machiavelli so that her and her child could have a normal life, away from the dangers of an assassins lifestyle. She soon found love in Tommy Plymptom, and on the night of their wedding rehearsal, Bill had learned that she was still alive and hunted her down. They were civil, and he was even brought into the rehearsal after she had lied to him, making him believe that the baby was Tommy’s. The damage was already done. Members of the DVAS came in to kill everyone, and just before she was shot in the head, she admitted that it was Bill’s baby. Now a survivor, after four years in a coma, it’s time for the Bride to seek her revenge, to kill everyone involved in ruining her wedding, killing her family, and wrecking her life. Most importantly, it’s time to Kill Bill!

2. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) from RESERVOIR DOGS

Mr. Blonde is the alias of a cool cat named Vic Vega (also known as Toothpick Vic) in Tarantino’s very first film “Reservoir Dogs” played by Michael Madsen. After the heist that left one of their thieving crew dead and another missing, Mr. Blonde is suspected of being a possible rat by Mr. White and Mr. Pink. It doesn’t help his case that when he finally comes back to the warehouse, he shows his true colors. He’s cocky, soft-spoken, and utterly sadistic! He shows us just how crazy he really is by torturing a police officer by slicing his face, cutting his ear off and then dousing him with gasoline. This is all done to the cool sounds of “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealer’s Wheel. Tarantino always knows how to spice up a scene with a great soundtrack. So ask yourself one question… “Are you gonna bark all day little doggy? Or are you gonna bite?”

1. Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) from PULP FICTION

How could you possibly NOT find Jules Winnfield to be one of the baddest, coolest cats on the planet? You would certainly know the tyranny of evil men if ever caught staring down the barrel of his gun. Jules has a stare that burns holes in your forehead and if you cross him, he’ll let you know. Samuel L Jackson truly invented this role, playing off of Tarantino’s rhythmic and poetically urban dialogue, Jackson found his breakout role thanks to Tarantino. Can you imagine ANYONE else being able to pull of this role better than Samuel L. Jackson?

So many of the best lines in PULP FICTION came from the mouth of Jules Winnfield. Whether speaking of metaphysical anomalies, international drive thru cuisine or sexual relationships of an awkward nature, Jules always had something to say and it was always colorful. Jules truly is a badass mother f**ker… his wallet said so, but in the end he experiences a metamorphosis of character, choosing to leave behind his life of crime and violence for the more enlightened, unpredictable path of a peaceful traveler searching for the meaning of life. It’s a fascinating character arc that is reminiscent of David Carradine in KUNG FU (but, without the kung fu) and will not soon be forgotten as an iconic role that has infiltrated our modern culture and language.