Quentin Tarantino vs East Asian Cinema: A Comparative Study

Although not all featured in my video project, I found a large number of Asian influences on Quentin Tarantinos films through my research and own personal viewings of the films, many of them obscure flicks that highlight Tarantinos love of not only directing movies, but watching them as well. Most of Quentin Tarantinos films have at least some element that borrows from East Asian cinema The most heavily-influenced Tarantino films are Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Although Tarantino is influenced by a vast array of directors and actors, he seems particularly fond of Bruce Lee, both as a director and as an actor/martial artist The famous pseudo-Bible verse quoted by Jules in Pulp Fiction was taken almost entirely word-for-word from Karate Kiba, a 1976 film starring Sonny Chiba The biggest difference between the quotes used in each film is that in Pulp Fiction, Samuel Jackson famously declares And you will know my name is the Lord, whereas in Karate Kiba the opening sequence states And they shall know that I am Chiba the Bodyguard Both Kill Bill films featured martial arts fighting/training scenes where the characters were seen as silhouettes cast on a colored background, an element taken from the opening sequence of Samurai Fiction, a Japanese comedy released in 1998 Much of the plot of the Kill Bill films was based off of Lady Snowblood, a Japanese manga and film released in the early 1970s Lady Snowblood features fights in the snow at the beginning and the end of the film, and Kill Bill: Vol. 1s famous final sword fight takes place in a very similar snowy setting Both films portray the main protagonist lying in the snow, seemingly defeated, only to slowly pick themselves up from the ground Lady Snowblood has a scene where the antagonists are looking down on their victim filmed from an extreme low angle, and an almost identical scene is featured in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 Tarantinos use of excessive, caricatured violence is on full display in the Kill Bill films, where the ultra-violent Sanjuro, a 1962 Japanese film, played a prominent role

Sanjuro became well-known for its excessive blood sprays and severed limbs, a trait that is carried over many, many times in the Kill Bill films Tarantinos most scrutinized film (arguably) is Reservoir Dogs, which borrows many, many elements from Ringo Lams 1987 film City on Fire City on Fires plot is more complex than that of Reservoir Dogs, although both are centered around an undercover cop who infiltrates a jewel heist and becomes friends with one of the thieves City on Fire brings a girlfriend (who is becoming impatient with the protagonists reluctance to get married) into the mix, whereas Reservoir Dogs is much more focused on backstory and character interaction Both films also feature a Mexican standoff between the thieves towards the conclusion of the story While the plot is heavily influenced by City on Fire, the costume design of Reservoir Dogs was inspired by the 1987 John Woo film A Better Tomorrow II, where Tarantino got the idea for the iconic suits in Reservoir Dogs Similarly, the famous yellow and black tracksuit of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 was based off of the yellow tracksuit Bruce Lee wore in Game of Death, which was filmed in 1973 but was unfinished when Bruce Lee died (a version of the film was later released in 1978 with stand-ins taking the place of Lee) Game of Death similarly features Bruce Lee riding a motorcycle in his tracksuit, similar to The Bride in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 Kill Bill: Vol. 1s famous fight against the Crazy 88 is very similar to a huge number of similar scenes in martial arts films, but Tarantinos scene was most likely influenced mainly by the aforementioned Sanjuro and Fist of Fury (a.k.a. The Chinese Connection), a martial arts film starring Bruce Lee In Sanjuro the protagonist fights through a mob of a couple dozen or so men in order to get through a gate theyre blocking, whereas in Fist of Fury Bruce Lees character fights off an entire dojo full of black belts What makes Fist of Fury a very likely candidate for influencing Tarantinos scene with the Crazy 88 is the fact that in Fist of Fury the closing circle of enemies jumps back and gasps when Bruce Lees character raises his fists (who can blame them?), and in Kill Bill: Vol. 1s fight a similarly closing circle of enemies steps back when The Bride raises her sword

The scene in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 that shows the plane that The Bride is on flying through a strange orange sky is a direct homage to the bizarre 1968 Japanese science fiction/horror film Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell, which has an almost identical sequence in the beginning of the film Kill Bill features identical sword and axe throwing sound effects to those found in the 1978 martial arts film Five Deadly Venoms Although not an influence of Asian cinema, it is interesting to note that the infamous Wilhelm scream is used twice in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 during the fight at the House of Blue Leaves

Essay Questions
For years Quentin Tarantino has been accused of plagiarism and lack of creativity by many of his critics. They cite his heavy use of plots, scenes, characters, and costume design that were inspired by other cinema, including the Asian films mentioned in this write-up. Others argue that the vast array of outside influences on his films only exemplify his creativity. In your opinion, does Quentin Tarantinos long list of influences, many of them foreign, demonstrate a lack or an abundance of creativity? Do they make him more a plagiarist or a collagist? Since he burst onto the scene with Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino has been one of the most criticized directors in the world. One of the most debated topics with his films is in regards to the extreme violence and gore that is often portrayed on-screen, especially in the Kill Bill films. However, given the fact that Kill Bill was heavily influenced by decades of Asian films, do you find that the criticism is unjust, as the film simply reflects cinema that has gone largely uncriticized for years, or should he be held responsible for bringing such extreme violence to a stage as large as that of Hollywood?

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