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QT8: The First Eight
QT8: The First Eight

7.2

QT8: The First Eight

NR·2019·103m

Summary

A detailed account of the life and artistic career of legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, from his early days as a video club manager to the scandalous fall in disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. A story about how to shoot eight great movies and become an icon of modern pop culture.

Cast

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino

Self (archive footage)

Zoë Bell

Zoë Bell

Self

Louis Black

Louis Black

Self

Bruce Dern

Bruce Dern

Self

Robert Forster

Robert Forster

Self

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx

Self

Richard N. Gladstein

Richard N. Gladstein

Self

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Self

Diane Kruger

Diane Kruger

Self

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu

Self

Michael Madsen

Michael Madsen

Self

Eli Roth

Eli Roth

Self

Tim Roth

Tim Roth

Self

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell

Self

Stacey Sher

Stacey Sher

Self

Scott Spiegel

Scott Spiegel

Self

Christoph Waltz

Christoph Waltz

Self

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson

Self (uncredited)

Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi

Self (archive footage)

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

Self (archive footage)

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio

Self (archive footage)

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Self (archive footage)

Bridget Fonda

Bridget Fonda

Self (archive footage)

Pam Grier

Pam Grier

Self (archive footage)

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Self (archive footage)

James Parks

James Parks

Self (archive footage)

Michael Parks

Michael Parks

Self (archive footage)

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt

Self (archive footage)

Mira Sorvino

Mira Sorvino

Self (archive footage)

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman

Self (archive footage)

John Travolta

John Travolta

Self (archive footage)

Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken

Self (archive footage)

Bob Weinstein

Bob Weinstein

Self (archive footage)

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein

Self (archive footage)

Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis

Self (archive footage)

Rosario Dawson

Rosario Dawson

Self (archive footage)

Rose McGowan

Rose McGowan

Self (archive footage)

Ving Rhames

Ving Rhames

Self (archive footage)

Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel

Self (archive footage)

Eric Stoltz

Eric Stoltz

Self (archive footage)

Amanda Plummer

Amanda Plummer

Self (archive footage)

Rosanna Arquette

Rosanna Arquette

Self (archive footage)

Phil LaMarr

Phil LaMarr

Self (archive footage)

Frank Whaley

Frank Whaley

Self (archive footage)

Chris Penn

Chris Penn

Self (archive footage)

Lawrence Tierney

Lawrence Tierney

Self (archive footage)

Lawrence Bender

Lawrence Bender

Self (archive footage)

Kirk Baltz

Kirk Baltz

Self (archive footage)

Walton Goggins

Walton Goggins

Self (archive footage)

Demián Bichir

Demián Bichir

Self (archive footage)

Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender

Self (archive footage)

Mike Myers

Mike Myers

Self (archive footage)

Léa Seydoux

Léa Seydoux

Self (archive footage)

Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah

Self (archive footage)

Vivica A. Fox

Vivica A. Fox

Self (archive footage)

Christian Slater

Christian Slater

Self (archive footage)

Sally Menke

Sally Menke

Self (archive footage)

Denis Ménochet

Denis Ménochet

self (archive footage)

Mélanie Laurent

Mélanie Laurent

self (archive footage)

Crew

Director, Screenplay

Tara Wood

Reviews

t

tmdb28039023

August 29, 2022

1

QT8: The First Eight is the wrong title for this documentary/hagiography of Quentin Tarantino. Never mind the cacophony of of having two 'eights' (even if it is, as I suspect, a reference to the Crazy 88, it’s still pretty lame); a more accurate title would be The First Three That Actually Matter and the Six (counting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) Bloated, Masturbatory, Overrated Ego Trips that Followed.

Like it or lump it, there is a 'before and after' Jackie Brown. Tarantino’s transition from genius to raving lunatic began with Kill Bill, and reached an apex with the pointless exercises in historic revisionism that are Inglorious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Back to QT8, I would normally dismiss a documentary about a living person wherein that person is conspicuous by his absence as nothing more than a fucking waste of everybody’s time — in this case, however, I’ll file it under 'addition by subtraction.' Arguably the best thing about this movie is that Tarantino is nowhere to be seen or heard.

The second best thing about about the film are the contributions of Michael Madsen, Sam Jackson, and Christoph Waltz (and, to a lesser extent, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, and Jamie Foxx). Their interventions are entertaining and insightful, and carry the weight of credibility.

In contrast, when I hear some nobody saying "Watching [Reservoir Dogs] with enough audiences ... [Tarantino] realized that he needed to give the audience permission to laugh," I’m like, you’re not telling me what he thought; at best, you’re telling me what _you_ think _he_ though — then again, that’s par for the course in a documentary where everything, regardless of whether the source is trustworthy or not, is secondhand information.

In consequence, Tarantino is not there to explain the actions that led him to almost killing Uma Thurman and apologize for them — not that he needs to, though; since this is a Quentin lovefest, the blame somehow gets shifted to Harvey Weinstein, which is a bad move even if Weinstein is bad himself; blame the man, and rightfully so, for the crap he’s done (god knows there’s plenty of that), nor for the crap he didn’t do just, especially not just so you can get your golden boy off the hook.

At one point, to illustrate Tarantino’s infectious enthusiasm, Waltz says "It's like going to a whore house to get infected with the syphilis." I’m sure it sounded better in his head, but this ill-conceived simile unwittingly makes a good point. I’m reminded of Doctor Faustus, a novel by Waltz’s compatriot Thomas Mann, whose hero literally and willingly contracts syphilis because he equates madness with artistic genius; the ensuing progressive disease reduces him to an infantile state in which he lives out the remainder of his short life under the care of his relatives. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Tarantino doesn’t have syphilis — but then, what’s his excuse?

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$101,346.00

Keywords

movie business
pop culture
biography
director
hollywood star
rise to fame
semi-biographical
film director
famous people
famous brand
portrait of a filmmaker
documentary
true cinema
art documentary
harvey weinstein
creative director