Quentin Tarantino is an infamous director known for his violent films, awesome soundtracks, and cool characters. Whether they’re hitmen, criminals, Nazis, or slaves, we can’t help but think ‘Man, I wish I was that cool!’ But just who is the coolest of them all?
It’s been a struggle, but I’ve managed to whittle down the top 8 coolest Quentin Tarantino characters of all time.
8. Shosanna Dreyfus (Inglourious Basterds)
The only Jew to survive Landa’s slaughter at the LaPadite household, Shosanna Dreyfus is arguably one of Tarantino’s strongest female characters. Creating an alias for herself to escape being tracked down by the Nazis, Shosanna’s ‘inherited’ cinema becomes the location for Joseph Goebbel’s latest propaganda flick – and she pretty much single handedly ends the Third Reich (as you probably know Tarantino’s films aren’t always historically accurate) by burning the cinema to the ground and trapping all the Nazis inside as it burns.
Anyone who can assist in the death of Hitler is pretty cool in my books.
7. O-Ren Ishii (Kill Bill, Vol. 1)
Tarantino really knows how to write badass women. Born on an American military base in Tokyo, O-ren Ishii aka Cottonmouth is the leader of a fierce crime organization named ‘The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad’. She saw the murder of both her parents when she was just 9 years of age, and eventually took her revenge at the age of 11, driving a sword deep into the gut of her parents killer. This, along with her status as one of the top female assassins in the world, makes O-Ren one cool woman, and not someone you’d want to mess with.
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14 Comments
While this is all a matter of opinion, IMO no one has EVER been cooler than Jules from Pulp Fiction.
And why do many of these Tarantino lists largely ignore True Romance? From Dusk Til Dawn is referenced frequently but True Romance, a far superior movie, is often not mentioned. The scene between Chris Walken and Dennis Hopper is truly iconic. There’s no scene in FDTD that can be described that way.
SMH
Hmm.. Hate to nitpick, but o-ren isnt the leader of the DVAS, it was the crazy 88.
Nice list btw.
I’m kind of stunned that NO ONE from Reservoir Dogs made the list.
The list is very meh, too many characters from Inglorious Basterds. Where is The Bride? Stuntman Mike? Bill?! The list is okay, but flawed. I agree with Deac in regards to True Romance; ten times the film than From Dusk Til Dawn is, with cooler characters to boot. You wanna talk about cool? What about when we first see Django in the frilly blue number. Don’t get much cooler than that…
Decent list. I’d assume though that the writer is someone who didn’t grow up with Tarantino films. The nod to Jules almost seems forced to appease the readers. Robert DeNiro in Jackie Brown, and Micheal Mann from Resevoir dogs would of definitely made my list.
*Madsen, not the guy who made Heat
Uhh mr.pink , the bride and julies should be no.1
Having three characters from Inglorious Bastards is too much. IMO Aldo Raine was a terrible character and it was a terrible performance by Brad Pitt. Fassbender’s Archie was much better than him and Hugo. I would replace them with Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde or Bill.
This is my first article and it’s just my own personal opinion. I’m a budding Tarantino fan and I’m still finding my feet writing! Thank you for the constructive criticisms.
Um, Jules + Honey Bunny + Pumpkin? Three little fonzies. A three-fer.
Winston Wolf? He was fantastic.
But let’s be honest, 8 just isn’t enough to talk about truly iconic Tarantino characters. Factor in Calvin Candy, Mr Pink, Vincent Vega, not Bill….hated the guy, loved his own voice far too much.
I was actually typing “the guy who made The Bride’s Hattori Hanzo sword”, then the penny dropped. D’oh.
BAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!! (so proud!!!!) x
What? Of course there’s no way Landa deserves #1 and Jules #2! LOL. Fun list though. I agree that there are too many from Inglourious Basterds on here (even though I love them all). It’s really impossible to narrow Tarantino characters to a Top 8. But if you’re gonna try, lol, you almost have to put Jules at #1.
And…The Wolf has to be somewhere…and Jackie Brown…
I have to modify my last comment and say there’s no way Landa deserves number 1 IF you’re talking about COOLEST Tarantino characters (which is what this article says). I’ve heard Tarantino say that Landa may be the best character he’s written, or at least he felt that way after he wrote it and was trying to cast it (Landa being a linguistic genius and all). But if we’re talking about COOLEST, it’d have to be Jules and a couple others first. =)