Quentin Tarantino. A world renowned filmmaker with a plethora of critically acclaimed films. Known for his great dialogue, gruesome violence, and his recurring cast, he is truly one of the greats. Most famously known for writing and directing Pulp Fiction. Tarantino’s films have a distinctive style that cannot be replicated by anyone else in the film industry. A large part of this is his non-linear storytelling style and the cultural impact his films have had on society. But what truly makes him stand out is his phenomenal dialogue. His dialogue is the thing that sets him apart from all the other filmmakers out there, it enhances all the aspects of his film. It has a natural feel that he combines with depth and personality that make it very unique.

When it comes to what makes his dialogue so good there are many factors. The most important factor is the fact that his dialogue is just so realistic. His characters’ dialogue in many of his movies reflect how actual people converse with each other. Unlike many other movies where the dialogue may feel stale or basic, or where there is no life in the dialogue, no meaning to the words the characters are saying. Tarantino’s characters have all of that, there is meaning, there is life, there’s an amazing flow to his work.

Tarantino does a great job of tailoring dialogue to each character, their personalities, interests, age, gender, how they think about things, just like how as humans we all talk in different unique ways. That is what separates his works from so many other directors.

He gives life to the characters, different perspectives, certain biases, different dialects for each one. The dialogue in his films perfectly reflects our lives and how we speak, thus making them so popular and enjoyable to watch. His work is something truly special, and one should definitely take time out of their day and watch his films.

A perfect example of a character having unique dialogue is Dr. King Shultz, (played by Christoph Waltz) in the film Django Unchained directed by Tarantino. The character’s words, tone of voice and the way he speaks are so unique to him and no one else in the film could have the same lines or tone as him. They personify who he is as a character extremely well. In the film Django Unchained there are plenty of moments where a character’s dialogue stands out, one of the best examples from the film is where Dr. King Shultz and Calvin Candie (played by Lenardo DiCaprio) are talking about an event that had previously occurred:

Candie:
“You doubt he’d approve, huh?”
Shultz:
“Yes. His approval would be a dubious proposition at best.”
Candie:
“Soft-hearted Frenchie.”
Later on in the film the characters say,
Shultz:
“Mr. Candie. … Normally, I would say auf Wiedersehen. But since what auf Wiedersehen actually means is “till I see you again. And since I never wish to see you again, to you sir… I say, “goodbye.”
Candie:
“One more moment, doctor!”
Shultz:
“What?
Candie:
“It’s a custom here in the South… once a business deal is concluded that the two parties shake hands. It implies good faith.”
Shultz:
“I am not from the South.”
Candie:
“But you are… in my house, doctor. So I’m afraid I must insist.”
Shultz:
“Insist? On what? That I shake your hand? Oh, then I’m afraid I must insist in the opposite direction.”
Candie:
“You know what I think you are?”
Shultz:
“What you think I am? No, I don’t.”
Candie:
“I think you are a bad loser.”
Shultz:
“And I think you are an abysmal winner.”

This moment in the film perfectly embodies what makes Tarantino’s dialogue so unique and great. Here we see an amazing contrast between dialogues with the two characters. Schultz’s speaking is refined and thoughtful, we can clearly see that he is highly intelligent. Candie’s speech is less distinguished and we clearly see here that he is not as educated as Shultz is. The difference in speech between the two characters mirrors real life perfectly because as humans, we do not talk the same as others. We all have unique ways of talking to each other and presenting ideas. Tarantino is able to perfectly capture that in his films (especially in this sequence here). One of his best examples is from the opening sequence in another wonderful film by him, Inglorious Bastards. This scene is written so well that it could very well be its own 20 minute short film. This entire opening sequence is a masterpiece and with every minute suspense grows tremendously. Even though the first half of the scene is entirely in German, it is written so well that one does not even notice that the characters are not speaking English.

There’s plenty of random dialogue in Tarantino’s film that does not follow the plot or make any sense with the movie. That’s how conversations in life happen, you talk about a bunch of random things in life that do not always follow a certain thought process. For example, there is a scene from the movie Pulp fiction (written and directed by Quentin Tarantino), where the two hitmen, Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson), and Vincent Vega (played by John Travolta) are driving in their car on the job and talking about cheeseburgers. This seemingly random scene is actually very genius because a lot of directors do not bother to think about what life would actually be like if they were to write the screenplays as accurately to real life as they can. Tarantino can do that and does think of that. While some may not like this style, it is very interesting and it adds to the movie in a positive way.

What makes the dialogue so good in this scene? It’s the way that the character Hans Landa delivers his lines. When you have great lines and a great actor fits perfectly for the lines then it’s almost impossible to go wrong. This is a perfect example of a classic cat-and-mouse scene that Tarantino had used multiple times in his movies in the past. When there is a certain force of power entering a room playing around with whoever they are confronting knowing that they have all the control in the situation. The way that Tarentino wrote Hans Landa as a character is very interesting. Even though he is the antagonist throughout the entire movie, the way he talks is friendly and conversational, all while being manipulative at the same time. So it’s a very interesting contrast and it is so enjoyable to watch.

It’s almost as if you could take his dialogue and hear it anywhere out in the world, it’s so natural and reflects our lives perfectly. How we talk and interact with each other as humans, it reflects our emotions perfectly and it has unique diversity between every single character. That is why he is truly one of the best, if not the very best at writing dialogue, that there has ever been.