Today is March 27, which means Quentin Tarantino is turning 57!
Tarantino has been described by film historian Peter Bogdanovich as the “single most influential director of his generation”; hard to debate, when surveying the director’s trophy cabinet. To date QT has won two Academy awards, two Golden Globes, two BAFTA awards, and a Palme d’Or award.
Tarantino’s style blends grindhouse, pop culture, blaxploitation, spaghetti western, and wuxia influences. While the end result has been criticized for glorifying violence, trivializing the past, and leaning on excessive profanity, none argue its originality. In other words, you know you’re watching a Tarantino film in the first 5 minutes, which cannot be said of more commercial Hollywood directors like James Cameron and Christopher Nolan.
The archetypal film buff, Quentin worked during his 20s at a video store in Manhattan Beach, CA, and would regularly wow customers with his encyclopedic knowledge of film history. Attentive viewers will be rewarded by frequent references to cult classics, and a bottomless basket of cinematic easter eggs.
