10 Tarantino favorites on BluRay & DVD [Vol. 3]

by Sebastian · November 14, 2024

We thought it was about time to continue this series (which has a spin-out series at Nischenkino.de if you can read German). Some years have passed, more Tarantino interviews could be scoured, a new movie came out, so once more we find ourselves in the fortunate situation to help you out just a bit at broadening your cinematic horizon. What follows are ten movies that are available on home video (some only recently) that in one way or another count among movies that Quentin Tarantino counts among favorites, has mentioned in favorable terms, etc. Click here to read Vol. 1, click here to read Vol. 2 (in terms of home video these may be a bit outdated by now).

The Ambassador

Here’s an interesting, rare, Globus flick by J Lee Thompson that doesn’t get enough credit. The Ambassador even has Rock Hudson and Ellen Burstyn, talk about a cast! It’s well-told, has some action to boot and just a hint of the late Thompson sleazery, really just a hint, not Kinjite-sleazy. Also, if you’re a fan of the the later day Robert Mitchum, like the excellent protagonist he is in the excellent The Yakuza, this one is for you as well. I first learned about this listening to QT and also his friend Edgar Wright doing a podcast, where they confided what Thompson fans they are. There are decent BluRays of this, fairly recently in France but also elsewhere. Recommended.

From Amazon.com (2017) | From Amazon.de | From Amazon.fr (2021)

The Man from Hong Kong

As far as Lazenby-Wang collaborations go, or even as far as Lazenby movies or Wang movies go, The Man from Hong Kong one is as insane as it gets, and cool as fuck. If you’ve never seen this one, you’re in for a treat. It has everything a good spy action movie needs, and more. Martial Arts, babes, super villains, crazy stunts, exotic locations. This one has received some notable BluRay releases and upgrades: a regular and limited edition disc by Twilight Time in the US, an older and a newer limited edition release from Umbrella in Australia, and a more definitive one came out in Germany with a superior transfer, even in 4K. The previous ones are more than okay but can’t quite compete with the latest German disc quality wise.

The Chinese Boxer

Also known as “Hammer of God” (ranking #18 on Q’s list of favorite grindhouse movies), this is another balls to the wall martial arts flick. Pre-dating the Bruce Lee movies, it stars Jimmy Wang-Yu (see above) and Shawbrothers vet Lo Lieh and supposedly this is “the first true open hand kung fu film that was made in Hong Kong”. The tricks are mad, the wigs are too, the action is insane and so is the dialogue. It is a must!

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.co.uk

Battles without Honor and Humanity

Battles without Honor and Humanity is probably most famous outside of Japan or cinephile circles for its thundering main theme that’s used in Kill Bill, this Japanese gangster epic spawned a whole franchise and counts as the Japanese The Godfather. It’s cool, it’s bitter, it’s detailed, it’s sprawling, and violent. A must see for fans of Japanese cinema. Kinji Fukasaku also made Battle Royale, also a Tarantino favorite.

As for home video, the Arrow releases are the way to go. If you’re late to the party lime me, the first run limited editions might be out of print and pricey, but they have been re-issued, both the individual movies as well as the box set with all of them, and the “New battles…” series as well (that’s how successful these were).

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr

Winter Kills

William Richtert’s Winter Kills was brought back to theaters last year in a restored version, QT of course presenting the theatrical re-run and screening it at his New Beverly Theater for a while. The conspiracy thriller has a stacked cast (Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Sterling Hayden, Ralph Meeker, Eli Wallach, Tomas Milian, Anthony Perkins, Elizabeth Taylor, Toshiro Mifune and – can you believe it – the list goes on!), and the new BluRay releases have tons of extras to shine a new light on this underseen classic.

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr

The Bride Wore Black

Another major Kill Bill reference and Tarantino influence is this classic French thriller. I am not a huge fan of Truffaut, but this has cult film written all over it. A female revenge flick like few others, with an artsy touch and quite the crazy bunch of twists and turns, it’s a pleasure to watch and a must know.

As far as home video goes, there’s an excellent new release by Radiance Films in the UK, and if you can live without bonus features the German disc is also okay. The US disc is from last year and also bona fide. For some puzzling reason there seems to be no French BluRay disc release of this classic yet.

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Inglorious Bastards

It’s not the only film in the genre Q dubbed “Macaroni Combat”, but certainly the one that left the biggest mark on his work. Enzo G. Castellari‘s WW2 adventure plays almost like a Wild Bunch-esque western more so than a men on a mission film, but any which way, it’s chock full of action, cool lines, wild characters, nudity and violence. Inglorious Bastards is as good as it gets. It took only a few years after Q’s Inglourious Basterds came out for this one to arrive on restored BluRays, and most of them also have the interviews with Q and Enzo among the special features. Click here to learn more about the film at the GCDb.

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

The Street Fighter

Remember when you first saw True Romance and Clarence and Alabama sort of kick-off a blind date to watch a Sonny Chiba triple feature? While she’s spilling popcorn all over him, you see Chiba on the screen doing his thing (a version with the English dub). It took me years to see The Street Fighter and it’s been only in the last few years or so that decent restorations of the film arrived in the UK, the USA and other countries, including the Japanese original audio and decent subtitles. It’s a marvellous film that spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs. You can get the trilogy in the USA from Shout Factory and there’s one in the UK from Arrow Video (pictured). #13 on Q’s list of favorite grindhouse movies. Learn more about the film at the GCDb.

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

The Grand Duel

Quite a cult classic, this one is number 15 on Q’s favorite spaghetti westerns list. Parts of the soundtrack appear on Kill Bill, and honestly, I find The Grand Duel vastly underrated. It is a stellar revenge western with some interesting twists. Lee van Cleef shows his age but gets a very anachronistic, almost hippie-esque sidekick in Alberto Dentice. It packs most of what we all like about spaghetti westerns, with minor tweaks and excellent excution. As far as home video is concerned, Arrow has a great disc of this one with tons of interesting extras that will help appreciate this one a lot more even. Highly recommended. Click here to learn more about the movie at the SWDb.

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Machine Gun Killers

And another spaghetti western, and this one is number 20 on Q’s favorite spaghetti westerns list. This title is a bit of a misnomer, the better title is Gatling Gun (because that’s what the movie is about), or That Damned Hot Day of Fire, a translation of the film’s original title. Machine Gun Killers boasts John Ireland, Robert Woods, Ida Galli, Gerard Herter and some other genre regulars in an actually intriguing and well-told western adventure. Click here to learn more about the movie at the SWDb. The US double feature BluRay is a decent enough release, until something better comes along.

From Amazon.com | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk