Pulp Fiction and 10 greatest Quentin Tarantino movies of all-time

9. Django Unchained (2012)

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Don’t be fooled by Django Unchained‘s low rank on this list: this is still, by all means, an exciting, disturbing, but nonetheless satisfying genre film that makes the most out of its premise. It doesn’t live up to Tarantino’s other efforts (Jackie Brown excluded), but his voice and vision are both crystal clear and meticulously crafted into an ultimately satisfying narrative.

The story is definitely not for everyone, with its setting engulfing an alternate, yet still aesthetically accurate recreation of the Old south during Civil War times, but this is one that does not seek to trick you out in the end.

Jamie Foxx knocks it out of the park with his performance as Django, a slave who is “bought” by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz in his second Oscar-winning role in a Quentin Tarantino film) and subsequently freed and trained as an assassin and the “fastest gun in the south.” He uses these skills in an attempt to free his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from the hands of plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

From there, we travel through the Old South and plantation after plantation as Django continues to hone his skills and we get a lengthy, but vastly more satisfying and fulfilling film in the process. At this point, Tarantino is very on-point with his cinematic craft, constructing a pulpy epic filled with memorable characters, A-level acting from the game cast, and enough violence to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty Tarantino diehards.

It’s not the most essential film in his filmography, but its tributes to spaghetti westerns and its revisionist approach towards a grim time in American history makes it worth several watches regardless.