QT8: The First Eight (2019) User Reviews

Never make the Doc about you.

[LawrenceOfAlabama · 6/10 · 22 October 2019]

It was kinda enjoyable. I loved the nostalgia and some of the cast interviews. I didn't really learn that much but it was still interesting.

The Weinstein topic felt tacked on. I get it; he's a creep. However it just felt like a VH1 special that had to have a "Drama" moment.

The closure of the doc was derailed by injecting the director into the subject matter. This part was more suited for a blue ray extra and not an actual part of QT's legacy.

Some decent anecdotes, and absurd melodrama.

[octagonproplex · 6/10 · 22 October 2019]

A religiously devout sermon from the church of Quentin Tarantino.

An opportunistic hatchet job of easy target Harvey Weinstein.

And a vanity project for its own self anointed brave female director, who feigns fighting the good fight and sticking it to the man to bring us this exciting exposé pried straight from the fangs of the big bad wolf (Weinstein).

Look, this is a fawning frivilous featurette assembly which had some interesting anecdotes from a few of its interviewees, but basically glosses over any critical analysis of its worshiped subject.

There's no mention at all of the tumultuous and contentious relationship between Tarantino and his Video Archive's colleque (and fellow Academy Award winning "Pulp Fiction" co-writer) Roger Avary who also contributed seeds to "True Romance", "Natural Born Killers", and "From Dusk Till Dawn". Much is said about Tarantino being so "original", but just one snickery quotation screen is all this film devotes to the absolute fact that Tarantino ruthlessly steals from both friends and foreigners with abandon, while deliberately neglecting to be gracious or forthright about their immense contributions to his own pastiche driven tweeks and rifts. So that's a major rock left unturned - it's maybe nudged slightly, but the dark underbelly of Quentin's ambition for validating acclaim at the expense of others is not examined with any vigor whatsoever.

I did especially appreciate that his editor Sally Menken was given due credit here. In my opinion more of such notice should have also gone to his cinemtographers - especially Robert Richardson whom is no mere technician for hire by any stretch.

But why is Tarantino's other writing and acting film work not given more attention? I'd be intersted to learn more about his relatonships to Tony Scott, Oliver Stone, and Robert Rodriguez. What about his script polishing work for "True Romance" director Tony Scott on that filmmaker's subsuquent "Crimson Tide"? Tarantino disowned and disavowed Oliver Stone's deconstruction of his "Natural Born Killers" script and refused to ever watch it. Has that changed? What about the fact that Quentin went on to commandeer Oliver Stone's long-time cinematographer/collaborator Robert Richardson (who helped much in making NBK an experimental departure from QT's script)? Or that Tarantino later co-starred in his own scripted "From Dusk Till Dawn" with "Natural Born Killers" star Juliette Lewis. For that matter Robert Rodriguez's "From Dusk Till Dawn" is barely even cited as existing, even though it is written by and co-starring Tarantino and even has "Tarantino-verse" Big Kahuna Burger/Red Apple Tobacco brands in it! And what about Tarantino's great scene stealing cameo in Rodriguez's "Desperado" - how much original writing did Tarantino contrubute to his big monologue for that scene and did he lend any other additions?

This doc doesn't say anything about Tarantino's adamant stance and ardent leadership in preservation for physical chemically processed Film negative vs digital capture - as a shooting medium (it does glance over his unenthusiastic attitude for the sterility of digital projection, however). I particularly find QT's very vocal distaste for the digital camera revolution in Cinema to be wholly appropriate and his railing against the trend of easy technological inferiority of aesthetics to be inspiring.

So, instead of delving into any of these intersting aspects of Tarantino's Cinematic impact and interplay - we get a trivial and cheesy "E! True Hollywood Story" level display of histrionics with accompanying ominous soundtrack undertones about Harvey Weinstein - who was nothing but a daddy warbucks to Quentin. Yeah, I get it - he was a big fat sweaty odious creep of no redeeming value (except for producing the best autered Cinema of the 90's) who suffered no qualms in taking advantage of the ambitions of ingenue starlets to their sub-advantage (sometimes resulting in their burgeoning careers in return). Wow, news flash - heterosexual men have sexual appetites for young beautiful vivacious women and some of those men will use whatever means at their disposal to satisfy that. It's just shocking to learn the heinous revelation that women whom profit primarily by using the fleeting allure of their ripe supple nubility upon the beguiled male-gaze to fake intimate relations in front of camera lenses for such approval, would be subjected to quid-pro-quo solicitation in exchange for opportunity - that's a totally unnatural progression of their aspirations. I for one just can't fathom why the profession of actors has always been equated with the oldest profession... Hey, but what about Tarantino's questionable liaison with his actress Uma Thurman? Wasn't QT once engaged to Mira Sorvino (who claims to have been abused by QT mentor Harvey)? How exactly does the circle curve anyway? What about QT's degenerate fetish for female feet that he indulges in many of his masterpieces? I mean, since we're going to get tawdry, why not at least stay on target? Reeks of disingenuous opportunism to divert off into an exploitively melodramatic conformation bias of a zeitgeist's preoccupation toward an ancillary's extraneous misdeeds while glossing over the proteged primary's less than always stellar professional etiquette in even equal balance. I merely must mention it here, to say that it wasn't worth more than a mention there, and to illustate the exasperatingly un-nuanced glibness with which it is handled. I think the time consuming tack-on was tact-less.

Then to fill out the feature length running time of this doc we get treated to the epic behind-the-scenes saga of its director as she pretends to have really stormed up that hill and took on the system to regain the rights to complete this lazy puff piece away from the crumbling Weinstein Company by essentially just waiting for it to all collaspe. For my tastes, this sidenote is a little too much self aggrandizing vanity from a mediocre sycophant to insert herself into the narrative and pat herself on the back about it. Whatever, guess she had an ax to grind and figured she'd sandwitch it in here, no matter how inelegantly.

So, in lieu of more interesting and pertinent material, we get unnecessary tangents that are unrelated to the actual contextual content of examining the creative factors that made Quentin Tarantino into the most iconic filmmaker of his generation.

I enjoyed much of what was presented here, I just wish it was deeper and more consistantly focused on its primary subject in earnest.

voice of his generation

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 2 December 2019]

Greetings again from the darkness. Quentin Tarantino has been praised as the cinematic "voice of his generation." His influence on other filmmakers is as obvious as those who have influenced him. This is a celebration of Tarantino the filmmaker, and also somewhat of a response to his critics. Tara Wood's documentary never hides that she's a fan, and to her credit, she hits head-on the 3 controversies associated with her subject: the use of the "N-word", Uma Thurman's stunt car accident while filming KILL BILL, and his friendship and business relationship with the despicable Harvey Weinstein.

Tarantino has publically stated that he will retire from filmmaking after directing his 10th film. Ms. Wood's film covers his first eight, from RESEVOIR DOGS in 1992 to THE HATEFUL EIGHT in 2015. Because this documentary was tied up and delayed in the Miramax quagmire, there is also a brief mention of Tarantino's 9th film ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, released this year. The film kicks off with some background information from Producer Stacey Sher, mentions of his writing for TRUE ROMANCE and NATURAL BORN KILLERS, and a fascinating tidbit involving how QT used his pay from appearing as an Elvis impersonator on "The Golden Girls" to initially fund his career in filmmaking.

Ms. Wood then divides her film into three chapters, thereby categorizing and providing insight on each. "Chapter 1 - The Revolution" includes RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION, both ground-breakers in their own way and they announced "an astonishing new voice" in movies. The best behind-the-scenes bit comes courtesy of actor and Tarantino regular Michael Madsen who initially objected to being Mr. Blonde, complaining "I didn't want to get killed by Tim Roth." Of course, it was PULP FICTION that elevated Tarantino to a new stratosphere - oh, and it also allowed for the stunning comeback of John Travolta.

"Chapter 2 - Badass Women and Genre Play" covers JACKIE BROWN, KILL BILL and DEATH PROOF. The first of those films, each which featured very strong women, was an ode to the Blaxploitation era, the second was influenced by Hong Kong cinema, and the third is described by Zoe Bell as Tarantino's 'thank you' to industry stunt people. Perhaps the most important element of this chapter was that, despite the affirmations, he refused to serve up a repeat PULP FICTION ... yet another thing that set him apart from other filmmakers.

"Chapter 3 - Justice" finishes up the catalog with INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, DJANGO UNCHAINED, and THE HATEFUL EIGHT. 'Basterds' is renowned for what may be the most fascinating opening sequence in any movie, 'Django' shows his love of westerns (especially Italian), and 'Hateful 8' stands as a 'western RESERVOIR DOGS'. With his many references to earlier cinema, Tarantino shows no hesitancy in spinning or changing history to fit his story. While many disparaged the infamous Hitler scene in 'Basterds' (and subsequently the Manson killings in his latest), Tarantino firmly believes that viewers know they are watching a movie, and can easily separate this from real life and historical fact. It's noted that this is what story telling is all about ... asking 'What if?"

Many of Tarantino's collaborators offer insight and memories. Those appearing include: Samuel L Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Diane Kruger, Lucy Liu, Bruce Dern, Jamie Foxx, the late Robert Forster, Tim Roth, Eli Roth, and Lawrence Bender. Most obvious in their absence are Uma Thurman, Pam Grier, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Travolta, and Tarantino himself. There is also a nice segment included as a tribute to the late Sally Menke, Tarantino's long-time film editor.

Quentin Tarantino has been described as an overzealous geek with the talent to back it up. In reality, he's a walking and (fast) talking encyclopedia of movie knowledge, trivia and history. He is also described as creating an exuberant infection with cinema, and his frequent scenes of ultra-violence are interpreted by Christoph Waltz as "opera". It was October 5, 2017 when the Harvey Weinstein story broke, and immediately, since many films connect them, Tarantino was part of the story. It's a blight on his record, just as it is for countless other actors, celebrities and film industry types who knew and chose to stay silent. But when it comes to making movies, few have ever done it better. There is an on-set clip where Tarantino says "One more take. Why? Because we love making movies!" It's clear from the interviews here that QT reveres making movies. He also loves watching movies - so much so that he bought and renovated the New Beverly Cinema. He's a proud film geek. Ms. Wood's film is pure pleasure for QT fans and will explain a lot for those who aren't so sure about his work.

Fair enough

[Phil_Chester · 19 April 2020]

For a purported documentary about QT, the film is very short of material of the man himself. Instead, we get lots of talking heads from many of his collaborators, but hear precious little from Tarantino. A lower rating for not having access to the auteur himself. The thematic groupings of the films was a new way of looking at the work and made it an interesting take. The Weinstein stuff felt like an easy target and wasn't particularly insightful.

QT8: The First Eight

[henry8-3 · 7/10 · 20 April 2020]

Documentary looking at Quentin Tarantino's first 8 films with contributions and insight from his usual cast and crew members.

Enjoyable enough ride, looking at each film in turn with clear fandom coming from his co-workers. Best bits are the little stories from the various locations and sets clearly showing what a fun, zany and confident guy he is and how movies shape his life completely.

Revealing an unknown fan

[kristen-71004 · 10/10 · 28 January 2020]

I didn't know I was a Tarantino fan until I watched this documentary with some friends. 21 seconds in and I was hooked. The pace and visual impact of the graphics hit you as fast and hard as the unapologetic assault of the taboo set against a backdrop of a kick ass sound track that leaves you at a strange, gripped pause when the music stops and Christoph Watlz opens with "and then there are the movies...". The clips took me through time as they visited movies that left lasting impressions on me; having never known who the director or writer was. This documentary taught me it doesn't matter that our VHS tape of Reservoir Dogs has been played more times than I can count and still sits on the shelf in the family vacation home for reunion visits; I still never saw the connection of the of the Vega brothers. My absolute love for the gratification of an alternate ending in Inglorious Bastards did nothing to show me the Red Apple pack of smokes in the soldier's pocket. I knew while watching Wood Entertainment's QT8 that I wanted to re-watch all of the previous films to catch the threads that I had been missing. I actually watched a Tarantino film in the middle of watching 21 Years Quentin Tarantino after Robert Forster describes the scene in Jackie Brown of the long walk where you're watching a man fall in love with a woman. The way director, Tara Wood, moved between Robert Forester and the Jackie Brown scene when Pam Greer is walking out of jail made me want more. I paused the documentary and watched Jackie Brown for the first time, and I know I saw it in a different way than I would have had QT8 not introduced me to these actors, their characters and their appreciation for Tarantino.

Good doc for fans

[bastos · 6/10 · 20 July 2021]

Good doc about the career and first eight movies of Quentin Tarantino. I have some issues about making it now, when it will clearly be incomplete in a couple of years (actually it already is incomplete with the release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), but other than that is a good compilation of anecdotes from the making of those movies with some very good interviews with the people involved. It does have some glaring omissions, with the likes of Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman or Harvey Weinstein (understandibly) being m.i.a. But for the fans this is obviously a treat.

Quentin is the best!

[walkers12-441-436691 · 8/10 · 10 January 2020]

I really enjoyed this documentary as it showed Quentin's passion for movies. It showed how the actors that have worked for him love doing so. His movies all are very well written and very well casted. I love the way his characters chat about nothing and he really does a good job in getting you to like his characters. This documentary left me puzzled as it seemed like a tribute to a deceased person. I would have liked Quentin to actually interview. It also seemed like a PR to divorce him from Weinstein. I did really enjoy this mostly because I Love every movie he has made. Big fan in Ohio.

VIEWS ON FILM review of QT8: The First Eight

[burlesonjesse5 · 7/10 · 6 April 2021]

In QT8: The First Eight, The "QT" refers to Quentin Tarantino while the "8" refers to his first eight films. Now I do believe Tarantino is a solid filmmaker but I would never consider him the greatest of all time. His one-two punch of Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown however, shows that at one point he has touched "greatness".

"QT8" is a Tarantino documentary that chronicles all his directorial efforts from Reservoir Dogs to The Hateful Eight (and even a sneak peak of Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood). The interviews from the people he has worked with (Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth) have no filter and the docu at times, feels kinda pasted together. Oh well. QT8: The First Eight is insightful and detailed at an elongated running time of 104 minutes. The only film of Quentin's that feels a little left out is Kill Bill Vol. 2.

"QT8" reminded me of another filmmaker documentary involving Richard Linklater (21 Years: Richard Linklater). Both flicks feature animation and an omission of the directors themselves and that aspect annoyed me. Still, I give the edge to "QT8".

With QT8: The First Eight, there's a lot of stuff I learned about Tarantino that I didn't know before. I mean I knew he was a lover of movies but I didn't know he would invite his cast members to sit down and watch a movie just for kicks. I also didn't know that he at first wanted Micheal Madsen to play the John Travolta role in Pulp Fiction. Finally, I couldn't believe that Tarantino was a huge fan of the TV show Moesha. I mean how random is that?

All in all, I plan on recommending "QT8" despite the fact that it feels like a living funeral tribute when the dude is obviously alive and well. And oh yeah, the Harvey Weinstein stuff should've probably been left out. Whatev. As Mr. Pink said, "I didn't create the situation, I'm just dealing with it!" Natch.

Great

[mikeiskorn · 8/10 · 9 June 2021]

A great documentary including interviews with the stars of the movies basically talking about the movies he's made so far. Can't help but think a documentary like this should have been made after his 10th and last film and even includes Tarantino himself. That being said, it's a great documentary which I enjoyed and am not knocking.

Stroking QT, Blaming Harvey

[bjhex1 · 6/10 · 11 August 2023]

I generally like Tarantino movies, some hits, some misses. And there's no question that he makes the same story over several times. But he has been a unique storyteller over that past few decades. I tend to lean more to Jackie Brown as being brilliant, Reservoir Dogs being sparsely masterful, Pulp Fiction being imaginatively constructed but generally overrated, and the rest somewhere between that and disappointing.

Ultimately, I guess, I don't know why we needed this film. Sycophantic as it may be, there is nothing particularly added to the legend, beside personal stories from actors of on-set hijinx. These range from the genuinely informative, Christof Waltz, Sam Jackson, Tim Roth... to the bland, Zoe Bell, Lucy Liu... to the hopelessly self-indulgent, Michael Madsen, Jamie Foxx.

It shamelessly slurps QT for his relaxed sets, creatively designed stories, and dedication to respecting and writing strong roles for women (though Uma is conspicuously absent from interview footage... relying on stock footage of the two in happier times). These are all admirable qualities but it all comes off as more of a DVD extra than an actual film (which, for all I know, it may have been).

It also tries to address accusations of Tarantino being derivative, as always, by leaning into the charge harder. It acknowledges, if fleetingly, the influence of Blaxploitation, Hong Kong martial arts (which frankly, we all know anyway), but doesn't delve much further. Myself, I was expecting a deeper dive into the influence of Sam Peckinpah, an undeniable cinematic forebear to Tarantino. But only a quick shot of his cinema house marquee showing two Peckinpah films starring Steve McQueen, "The Getaway' and 'Junior Bonner' even hint at any connection.

But the single most annoying part was the presentation of Harvey Weinstein. Obviously, he's an easy and well-deserved target of scorn. And certainly it had to be addressed. But it's done in a way that, let's say "over-eagerly" tries to cleanse QT of any connection to the man. Tarantino is portrayed as an angel of a man, and Weinstein is the devil, end of story. Okay, fair enough. But if the issue of their professional relationship is going to be broached, go deep with it. Being shown so superficially, it becomes an unnecessary distraction, glossing over QT's rather belated, and generally unsatisfying, admission of having known about the allegations and doing nothing, It's just an acceptable amount of tarnish for the filmmakers to allow into the love fest.

The perfect documentary!

[UniqueParticle · 10/10 · 22 October 2019]

So exciting, fun and hilarious in some parts! Glad I had my ticket weeks in advance Quentin Tarantino is definitely among my top favorite directors; I even danced around in diapers when I was a toddler listening to Little Green Bag from the soundtrack so I was on my way to being a fan without knowing it. A lot of great trivia and wonderful interviews - This made me appreciate his artful films even more than I already was. Quite satisfying mostly about praising Quentin Tarantino which was a heartwarming delight among other intriguing things and also letting things out on the table that needed to be said.

Great

[jilejeune · 7/10 · 6 October 2020]

Great document over the best director of his generation

Poor doc nothing new some idiotic interviews

[hecklerandjokmm · 4/10 · 19 April 2020]

Oh man I am a fan of his movies I don't dislike any of his films but this doc was a real boring, weakly made love in and unintentionally funny. You get barely nothing about his early life and what you get about his movies is fleating the director would rather focus on what their impact was on the actors and stunt people. Zoe bell saying Tarantinos Death proof is a feminist movie made me laugh as I've never seen so many hot women in provocative positions in a movie especially when it elicits the male gaze I don't think she knows anything about feminism. Half the girls are murdered brutally in close up, or their feet are licked or they are left to abusers to abuse but some girls get revenge. Kurt Russell character is not your average man he kills women with cars he's a maniac not realistic. It's an exploitation film why sell an exploitation film as social justice and its director as a fighter for women's rights it's so cringe and creepy if you look at the man. Hey remember when he chokes Diane Kruger in Inglorious? Remember when he said Roman Polanskis victim loved it and he stupidly let Uma Thurman do a stunt that left her injured? Next they say Harvey Weinstein was mean? Wow great insight anything else? Then it goes on about equality? Rich actors and famous people talking about equality of rich actors are you serious? This is half a movie featurette you get on dvds serving nothing new. If you watched the special features on reservoir dogs and onwards you pretty much know all the info already. All you get in this is buttock kissing, terrible animation and interviews that talk about social justice. It's probably a product of the times.

Outstanding!

[horizonhvac · 10/10 · 22 October 2019]

Our movie theatre had a bunch of issues and this ended up starting an hour later than it was supposed to, and everyone else left except my daughter and me. We had the entire room to ourselves, and were free to laugh loudly, cry, weep, shout, and be joyous. I learned some new stuff, which surprised me. What an excellent film, a wonderful tribute to a beautiful man.

Well-paced look at Tarantino's career

[jmcbride-59743 · 9/10 · 8 December 2019]

Saw this during its Fathom Event night, which included special footage about Director, Tara Wood, and the documentary (this was separate from the actual documentary). This is nicely paced for a documentary, and filled with entertaining interviews. It is an improvement to Wood's first documentary, "21 Years: Richard Linklater." If you're a diehard Tarantino fan, you may not learn too much from this, but it is still a joy to watch his collaborators speak about their experiences. This is focused on Tarantino's career, and not on the Harvey Weinstein scandal, because the documentary was shot before the scandal.

The greatest talent in our history of cinematography!

[darishkakoroleva · 10/10 · 5 November 2022]

This is genius. I have never seen anything more brilliant from documentaries. Here is the story of the most brilliant director / screenwriter, MAN! And the way he skillfully strained the actors, the way he communicated with the stuntmen, what words he chose. The way he loved strong female traits, and how he revered women. And these family ties in the form of family differences in absolutely all of his films are conflicting.

No one can write like he is a dialogue! He is a real professional geek. The actors and stuntmen themselves admitted that they were not doing their job when they read the scripts. After all, read from the first to the last word! I was struck by how Tarantino arrested Eli Roth for the scene in Inglorious Observations - keep a person in suspense for 5 days, both subsequent and moral, so that in the end he really survived his brutally unique illness. And the way he held the trump card in the image of Christoph Waltz is not like rehearsing common scenes with other actors, which in the end revealed the presence of the remnants of the emotions of the rest - their fear, fright and shock. Bridget Von Hammersmark, ending up sweating with nerves at the introduction of his film, relied on Quentin to actually touch each of his characters. This is Majestic! I'm looking forward to the reveal of his tenth film, and no matter how much it is a tribute to the best that has happened to cinema in the last 30 years! Quentin gave his life and energy so that we can enjoy the art of cinema! Thanks to him. A unique story may overshadow this connection to Haram Wenstein. It is unbelievably unfortunate that such a story touched a man like Quentin.

self-congratulatory love-in

[coex23 · 2/10 · 17 January 2020]

No mention of Jane Hamsher or Mike White? Still, overall, it wasn't terribly informative. If you've seen most of his films and know a little about the director, this just felt like another VH-1 kinda doc.

Kind of lame and with an agenda

[dierregi · 4/10 · 2 July 2023]

The only purpose of this documentary seems to get Tarantino a stamp of approval from a politically correct jury. He's such a nice guy, look at the big roles he gave to women! They're all strong and independent, etc... He made movies against slavery and Nazis! He rejected Weinstein... especially that...So this documentary serves the purpose to clean Tarantino's past...he associated with the "devil" but he can be forgiven because he repented.

Much as I liked his first two movies, I think it's a shame that he seems to have peaked with Pulp Fiction, and all his other movies did not fulfill the - maybe too high - expectations of the beginning. His dialogues used to be witty and quirky, but lately, his characters seem just to suffer from verbal diarrhea. I just could not face the idea of watching The Hateful Eight, because I knew the characters were stuck somewhere and free to blabber for three hours.

Yet some of the actors interviewed, even if they admit the dialogues go nowhere, say they're kind of "atmospheric". There was praise even for the disaster that Roadhouse was. Documentaries that glorify any enterprise, no matter what, are at best insincere, at worst hypocritical.

One does not get any real insight or information, apart from endless praise of QT - which I still consider a great director, but very flawed - and finally, the animated sequences that fill some of the time are really awful.

Unenlightening, Hagiographic Snorefest

[tylerwoodrownichols · 4/10 · 7 January 2024]

First off, I am a massive admirer of Tarantino's work, whether he's the director or simply the writer. Few people today are putting out cinematic experiences that are both artistic and, above all, FUN. I watch his entire filmography about once per year, and some of the individual films I watch every few months. So please don't mistake me for a "hater", my criticism of this film is not a criticism of the man himself.

So now that's out of the way, let's talk about QT8, a so-called "documentary". I have no idea what the purpose of this film is. It's more of a hagiography than anything else, consisting of little more than actors lavishing praise on him and his genius for 90 minutes straight. Documentaries are generally intended to inform the viewer, but there is very little information delivered with regard to the production of the various films, or even the man himself. In fact, he barely even appears in it aside from archival footage. It's kind of interesting hearing some of the actors talk about meeting him for the first time and how much he helped them with their careers, but that approach quickly wears out its welcome and is not enough to carry a 90-minute running time.