Quentin Tarantino turns 60

According to the "Hollywood Reporter," Quentin Tarantino might just be working on his 10th and final film. The filmmaker has been quoted as saying he wanted to direct 10 films — or retire by the time he was 60. On March 27, 2023, he celebrates his 60th birthday. "Directors don’t get better as they get older," he told "Playboy" magazine back in 2012. He has already made movie history.

"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is a film-in-a-film story starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the role of a faded TV actor, and Brad Pitt, his stunt double. The two set out to achieve fame in Hollywood during the Charles Manson murders in 1969. Tarantino has often claimed that he would retire after 10 films, so this ninth work is seen as his penultimate.

in 1994, Tarantino grabbed the world's attention with his groundbreaking hit, starring Uma Thurman and John Travolta. References to pop culture and music, unexpected violence and chaotic plot twists: "Pulp Fiction" embodied what became known as the "Tarantino style" that would influence countless directors afterwards.

But "Pulp Fiction" was not the director's debut movie. After his very first film, "My Best Friend's Birthday," was partially destroyed and lost in a fire in 1987, Tarantino directed his official first feature, "Reservoir Dogs." Upon its release in 1992, the film already showed signs of Tarantino's essence: plenty of dialogue, shot through with witty humor, alongside violent scenes.

Three years after his worldwide hit "Pulp Fiction," Tarantino came back with "Jackie Brown" in 1997. The story revolves around a flight attendant (Pam Grier) who gets involved in criminal activities to make ends meet. The movie gave the impression that the director was heading into a calmer and mellower period: "Jackie Brown" is a portrait of a grown-up woman.

Tarantino's next film, the action and violence-filled "Kill Bill," was quick to change that perception. The movie was split in two volumes, released in 2003 and 2004, due to its length of more than four hours. The film featured Uma Thurman as its main protagonist, a decade after she starred in "Pulp Fiction." Tarantino has often referred to the blonde US actress as his cinematic muse.

Tarantino's next feature film was an homage to the US cult exploitation films of the 1970s. The main protagonist, a stuntman played by Kurt Russell, cruises the American countryside in his tricked-out Chevrolet, killing people in staged car accidents. This continues until he crosses paths with a gang of girls who end up being even more brutal than he imagined.

Tarantino surprised his fans with "Inglourious Basterds" in 2009, taking on a historical topic for the first time. But it still had all of Tarantino's trademarks, blending violence and humor. Set in Europe during World War II, it offers an alternate version of history with its plots to assassinate Nazi leaders. Christoph Waltz shot to stardom after his role as SS Colonel Hans Landa.

Here, Tarantino paid tribute to another cult cinematic genre: the Spaghetti Western. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx, "Django Unchained" offered another classic story of vengeance through revisionist history. As with his previous Tarantino role, Christoph Waltz won a second Oscar for his portrayal of bounty hunter King Schultz.

Tarantino's second Western after "Django Unchained" is set in the snowy mountains and forests of the US state of Wyoming. "The Hateful Eight" unfolds in full traditional Tarantino fashion: quickly paced, with extensive dialogue and a soundtrack written by Italian composer Ennio Morricone, which earned the influential Italian composer his first Academy Award.