The second trademark would have to be the presence of a “Mexican Standoff”. This trademark consists of a moment where Tarantino places his characters in a situation where all of them have their weapons pointed at each other and there is to be a fight to the death. In Inglorious Basterds, during the French bar scene, Lt. Aldo Raine directly references the situation as a “Mexican Standoff”, further cementing Tarantino’s purposeful inclusion of old western winks.

The third trademark that Tarantino has adopted would have to be the presence of that one incredibly Long and Unbroken Take. Other filmmakers do this but with Tarantino, it is special. This is mostly because it ties into the last trademark. There is a very good reason that Tarantino is careful with where and how he utilizes this trademark. Mainly due to the fact that this Take establishes the thesis of a Tarantino film. That’s right, the thesis. A Quentin Tarantino movie is an essay to his audiences and the topic of that Long and Unbroken Take is often the central focus of the film. This will lead into the last trademark which I myself have forever coined as “The Conversation”.

“The Conversation” is what I wait for in every single Tarantino movie even if I have seen it a hundred times. It is a significant piece of dialogue that supports the thesis of a Tarantino film. You can treat “The Conversation” as a primary source whenever you ask yourself, “what is this movie about?” In Reservoir Dogs, the long take in the beginning at the diner is supposed to show our audience the human nature of each character. Part of this is accomplished as Tarantino himself discusses the significance and meaning of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. Using a song that can be seen as a simple exploration or a vulgar symbol allows our characters to demonstrate their own moral compass. Mr. Brown becomes the more crude, masculine, scripted character whereas Mr. White proves himself to be the most traditional man at the table. Mr. Blonde is discovered to be maybe one of the most violent men at the table which contrasts with Mr. Orange’s more soft-spoken approach to the group of men. This scene closes with the brief discussion on tipping which provides Mr. Pink with the opportunity to express his character as a more cold and uncharitable person.

Jumping ahead a bit to the Kill Bill films we take a look at Volume 2. “The Conversation” in this film would be when Bill is explaining the differences between Spiderman and Superman. Bill maps out the purpose of Beatrix’s life in that conversation and how she can only be upset with herself on how things fell through. Beatrix left the assassin association and tried to live a normal life with normal people. But this was not who she really was and Bill uses the identities of the two aforementioned comic book superheroes to illustrate this point. Beatrix is Superman but she tried to be Spiderman. Peter Parker can easily jump out of the Spiderman suit because originally he is just a common citizen with nothing special about his life. Superman becomes Clark Kent, a depiction of the weakness that human society is in the eyes of the hero. Superman’s disguise is that weak human and Peter’s disguise is the powerful hero. Beatrix tried to be both and Bill would not allow that and by the end of his speech, she agreed that her life was a lie.

In Inglourious Basterds, “The Conversation” occurs in one of the best scenes in cinema as well as the best scene Tarantino has ever created on the screen. This is the opening scene with SS Hans Landa and Monsieur LaPadite The pain of LaPadite and the power of Landa makes this the conversation to end all conversations. The dialogue explores the nature of hatred. Hate is something we all experience and Landa breaks that emotion down to the fact that we do not know why we hate something, we just do. Landa’s cold interpretation of the Jew paints him as evil incarnate. What may be most impressive and also disturbing about Landa in this scene is that he is just doing a job and trying to get recognition. Landa has no interest in the war. He just wants to be famous for his actions during the war whether that be hunting Jews or being a critical part of the assassination of Hitler and his commanding cabinet.

All of Tarantino’s films have “The Conversation” but these three are the most powerful as the thesis of the film. It may take a few viewings to pinpoint “The Conversation". For example, The Hateful Eight, which is Tarantino’s best dialogue-driven work since Reservoir Dogs, is full of colorful and captivating speeches and exchanges makes it difficult to identify the true conversation that establishes the thesis.