50 Tarantino Films Tarantino Didn't Direct

Reindeer Games (2000)

The Film: A hilariously hokey caper in which Ben Affleck finds himself embroiled in a plan to rob a casino while dressed as Santa.

Tarantino-Esue Elements: Ben Affleck's character is a total QT rip-off, shooting his mouth off at every opportunity and painfully trying to appear enigmatic by ordering hot chocolate and pecan pie wherever he goes.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: Affleck cheerfully admits that this one was a bit of a turkey. To be honest, he couldn't really pretend otherwise, could he?

Go (1999)

The Film: Doug Liman's breathless tale of a drug deal, as seen from three differing perspectives.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
A group of hip young things, bound together by a shady drug deal played out through a fragmented but interconnected narrative. Every character is given room to breathe, from the leads down to the most incidental scumbag. Yep, sounds like QT to us.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
A relentlessly exhilarating thrill-ride through Las Vegas, it borrows from QT but has more than enough charm to stand on its own two feet.

Amores Perros (2000)

The Film: Oft referred to as the Mexican Pulp Fiction , Amores Perros tells a trio of interrelated crime stories set in and around Mexico City.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
What with its tripartite structure and non-linear narrative style, there are very obvious parallels to be drawn with Pulp Fiction . There's even a character named The Goat to fill in for The Wolf.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: Despite the structural similarities, Amores Perros actually operates within a very different tonal space to Pulp Fiction , and is well worth investigation.

American Strays (1996)

The Film: A little-seen Pulp Fiction knock-off in which Eric Roberts, Jennifer Tilly and Luke Perry play a batch of disparate crims who come together blah blah blah…

Tarantino-Esque Elements: A killer who sells vacuum cleaners, a pair of gangsters who shoot the shit about women while a body is locked in their trunk… you know the drill.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: The kind of thing you'd expect from a film student with a QT crush.

Haywire (2011)

The Film: Steven Soderbergh's arse-kicking tale of a female assassin burned by her CIA handlers, and ploughing her way through a rip-roaring journey of revenge.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
A badass female on the hunt for revenge, taking down a stable of recognisable male oppressors in spectacularly violent fashion… it's a bit like a streamlined version of Kill Bill .

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
There's an argument that Kill Bill could have done with some streamlining, and this punchy adrenaline ride is a good case for the prosecution.

Get Shorty (1995)

The Film: Barry Sonnenfeld's enjoyably slick crime caper, starring John Travolta as wannabe movie mogul Chilli Palmer.

Tarantino-Esque Elements: Travolta's career had been handily kick-started by QT, and he plays another memorably cool character here. The dialogue is as hard-boiled and quick-witted as anything Tarantino has come up with, and once again, various story threads come together in explosive fashion.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
It's not quite as gritty as a bona fide Tarantino picture, but it's very polished entertainment nonetheless.

Get Shorty (1995)

The Film: Barry Sonnenfeld's enjoyably slick crime caper, starring John Travolta as wannabe movie mogul Chilli Palmer.

Tarantino-Esque Elements: Travolta's career had been handily kick-started by QT, and he plays another memorably cool character here. The dialogue is as hard-boiled and quick-witted as anything Tarantino has come up with, and once again, various story threads come together in explosive fashion.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink:
It's not quite as gritty as a bona fide Tarantino picture, but it's very polished entertainment nonetheless.

Snatch (2000)

The Film: Guy Ritchie returns to the mean streets of London for another cockney knees-up, albeit with a slightly international twist (hello Brad).

Tarantino-Esque Elements: A cast of colourful criminal characters cracking wise and shooting each other. The template is obvious.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: While Lock Stock felt fresh and innovative, this one is pretty derivative. Still enjoyable, though.

Snatch (2000)

The Film: Guy Ritchie returns to the mean streets of London for another cockney knees-up, albeit with a slightly international twist (hello Brad).

Tarantino-Esque Elements: A cast of colourful criminal characters cracking wise and shooting each other. The template is obvious.

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: While Lock Stock felt fresh and innovative, this one is pretty derivative. Still enjoyable, though.

Swingers (1996)

The Film: Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau shoot the shit and pick up chicks in this seminal guy's-perspective rom-com.

Tarantino-Esque Elements:
It's a very talky film, with an eminently quotable script, and there's even a direct homage to the slow-motion walking scene from Reservoir Dogs .

Mr Purple Or Mr Pink: It takes a few cues from Tarantino, but you could never accuse it of being a rip-off.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.