1/11/2017 – Ray Vann. Most of us love a good Quentin Tarantino flick, but how many of you guys actually knew that all of those movies were connected? Fan speculation was pretty wild about the prospect of an interconnected Tarantino universe, but last year the director himself weighed in on the conversation confirming the facts himself. Let’s take a look at how things fall into place with some of his most memorable characters.
The Vega Brothers
This is the one that was a the first red flag for most avid Tarantino fans, who quickly realized that Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega and Reservoir Dogs Vic Vega (also known as Mr. Blonde), share the same last name. Tarantino confirmed that these two are in fact brothers, and mentioned in an interview there was even some consideration about giving the two their own prequel movie. That idea never really got off the ground, unfortunately.
The Vega brothers also lead to a connection to another pair of brothers in the Tarantino universe: the Scagnettis. Remember that scene in Reservoir Dogs when Mr. Blonde is talking about his parole officer, Seymour Scagnetti? Well it turns out old Seymour’s brother is Jack Scagnetti, the ruthless detective who tracked down Mickey and Mallory Knox in Natural Born Killers.
True Romance
Mr. Blonde isn’t the only Reservoir Dog who was connected to the rest of the Tarantino universe. During Mr. White’s (Harvey Keitel) flashback scene when he is speaking with Joe in his office, Joe asks about an old partner, “Alabama”, who was apparently a “hell of a woman, good little thief”. Well, it turns out that this is the very same Alabama who takes center stage in True Romance.
For any of those True Romance fans out there, here is something you might have missed; remember that cocaine addicted producer Lee Donowitz? Well, as it turns out, Donowitz is actually the son of legendary World War II hero Sgt. Donny Donowitz, better known as the “Bear Jew” of Inglorious Basterds fame.
The Universe within a Universe
Some may be asking how some other Tarantino classics, such as Kill Bill or From Dusk til Dawn fit into this universe. Well, as it turns out, these are all movies that the characters of True Romance or Reservoir dogs might go see too, albeit it under different names.
The Tarantino Universe is a deep, spiraling, often extremely dark place, but it is the favorite of many film fans to escape to when they just want to settle down with a good film. And the connections seem endless too. These are just a few of the ones that might stand out the most, but a dedicated sleuth can spend hours of research, digging into the world and uncovering more. Feel free to post in the comments some of your own connections between the Tarantino films, I’d love to see what you find out!
It’s a bit deeper than that, Hun.
When Tarnantino casts a role he considers their entire body of work. So if you are nameless, that’s why you are cast. But for example in Hell Ride when he casts the guy from lock stock and two smoking barrels it’s because it’s a heist movie.
Or in Sin City where the Gilmore girl gets her neck bitten off for eating the money, well it’s because every feminist in the world was like ‘really, you took the money?!’
So maybe you wanna try again on this article. I love it, because Quentin is like Stephen King who operates in a universe of his own creation. Or The Lady who wrote Harry Potter (which by the way is a critique of racism)… if you don’t create your own universe in writing you are a shit writer. Ask Ursula K Leguin or Toni Morrison.
I want to comment, but you can do better than quoting two movies, Coz I like your article, but really?! A good argument is three COMPELETE paragraphs. Try again.
The moral of the story is we only fall in love with the being who is telling us the truth. It’s the re-occurring theme: LOVE
I want all the Jewish Mom’s in NYC to say “now why can’t you marry a shiksa like that?!”
Hey Lola, thanks for your input there. I was actually planning a part deux to follow up with a few more movies, make a little running series of different Tarantino connections if you will. There are plenty more to bring in, of course. Stay tuned for part 2, hopefully you’ll like that one a bit better!