Quentin Tarantino is a master at using old TV shows and movies as references to get his point across in his dialog. Sometimes, it's wildly obscure (that's what years watching movies in a video shop will get you), but often they are unique and fun ways to refer to the things that people grew up with, especially Gen Xers. This a list of some of those references, both the obscure and the obvious, that Tarantino peppers into so many of his movies.
Green Acres - Pulp Fiction
The diner scene in Pulp Fiction has a bunch of fun references and maybe the best comes from Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) when he is explaining why he doesn't eat pork to Vincent (John Travolta). Jules calls pigs "filthy animals" and to not be, they'd have to be "ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres," referring to the old TV show.
The Lost Boys - Reservoir Dogs
While Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is rehearsing the story he's going to tell while he's undercover - to sell his character, he explains at one point that he is just trying to watch one of the best vampire movies of all time, The Lost Boys, at home.
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry - Jackie Brown
Tarantino loves to throw in obscure movies that many of us might have missed, Such is the case with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, a heist movie from 1974 starring Peter Fonda. It's shown briefly on TV as Bridget Fonda (Peter's daughter) and Robert De Niro blankly watch TV. Sneaky Quentin!
The Street Fighter - True Romance
Obviously Tarantino loves Kung Fu movies. Kill Bill is a tribute to genre, but he peppered in references to it much earlier in his career. True Romance was directed by Tarantino, but he wrote it, and he managed to get a reference to not one, but three Kung Fu movies, The Street Fighter series. In the movie, Clarence (Christian Slater) meets Alabama (Patricia Arquette) at a triple feature of the movies.
Twins - Pulp Fiction
This one is great. The legend goes that in a nod to Danny DeVito, who was a producer on Pulp Fiction, Tarantino named Travolta and Jackson's characters Vincent and Jules, respectively, as a tip of the hat to DeVito's movie Twins, where the titular twins played by DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger were named Vincent and Julius. It may or may not be true, but the possibility is too good not to include here.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Four Rooms
The film Four Rooms was a unique moment in '90s cinema when four hot directors joined forces to tell four stories over one night in a hotel. Tarantino based his story directly on an old Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode called "The Bellboy." Taratino's version gets messier, of course.
Convoy - Death Proof
Death Proof ranks pretty low on a list Tarantino's movies, though it has it's moments, and if you love old road movies from the '70s, there are lots of fun inside jokes, like referring to the classic Convoy, a movie created from a hit song that isn't the best movie, but is very memorable.
Top Of The Pops - Reservoir Dogs
In Reservoir Dogs, Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn) makes a strange reference. Instead of referring to a show like Dick Clark's American Bandstand when deriding pop music, he chooses to make mention of Top Of The Pops, a British show of the same ilk as Bandstand. It makes it clear he doesn't like pop music, however.
The Great Escape - Reservoir Dogs, Inglourious Basterds, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
It's pretty obvious that Tarantino loves the 1963 classic The Great Escape. He's made reference three times. First, in his own monologue about Madonna in Reservoir Dogs, then, in Inglourious Barterds, he cribs a famous line from The Great Escape ("We have all our rotten eggs in one basket," and finally in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood when we see Rick as starring in the Steve McQueen role.
Tora! Tora! Tora! - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Unsurprisingly, Once Upon a Time has many references, both directly and in the background. For example, the billboard for the World War II film Tora! Tora! Tora!
Kung Fu - Pulp Fiction
Many years after Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino cast David Carradine as Bill in Kill Bill. In Pulp Fiction, he made reference to Carradine's most famous role, as Caine in the '70s TV show Kung Fu when Jules takes about giving up his criminal life. It's so great that it comes around full circle.
The Green Hornet - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Kill Bill
Bruce Lee's first role that brought him prominence in the US was in The Green Hornet. Tarantino first referenced this in Kill Bill, but it made a much bigger appearance in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood when Cliff (Brad Pitt) fights Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) on the set of the '60s TV show.
Get Christie Love! - Reservoir Dogs
Get Christie Love! is a classic deep cut from Tarantino. It's mentioned a few times in Reservoir Dogs. Get Christie Love! started as an ABC movie of the week, capitalizing on the popularity of the Blaxploitation genre. It was turned into a short-lived TV show in the mid-'70s. Though it's an obscure reference, the show was notable for starring Teresa Graves as one of the first Black female leads in a network show.
BJ And The Bear - Death Proof
BJ And The Bear is one of the most ridiculous TV shows of all time since it co-stars an actual monkey as part of a truck-driving team. Its reference in Death Proof is perfect, however.
Speed Racer - Pulp Fiction
Sometimes, Tarantino's references are really subtle. In Pulp Fiction, Eric Stoltz's character wears a very cool vintage Speed Racer t-shirt. Honestly, it's a super cool shirt, and at the time, before The Wachowskis made the 2008 movie, Speed Racer was more obscure than it is today.
The Killer - Jackie Brown
There are multiple scenes in Jackie Brown where characters are watching movies, and apparently, one movie that De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson's characters watch too much is The Killer, a relatively recent movie (by Tarantino standards) released in 1989 by director John Woo.
The Mack - True Romance
Gary Oldman in True Romance is one of the greatest examples of an actor looking completely unrecognizable in a role. In that famous scene, his character is watching The Mack and Clarence makes sure that Oldman knows he'd seen it years before.
The Wizard of Oz - Reservoir Dogs
You wouldn't expect a reference to The Wizard of Oz in Res Dogs, but in the most infamous scene in the movie, when Mr. Blonde is torturing the cop, he asks, "How 'bout some fire, scarecrow?" It's a clear reference to the famous movie, and it adds a brilliant, twisted dimension to an already messed-up scene.
Rebel Without A Cause - Pulp Fiction
The restaurant scene in Pulp Fiction is full of pop culture references. Steve Buscemi makes an appearance as a waiter dressed like Buddy Holly and the emcee is an Ed Sullivan impersonator. Another waiter in the scene is clearly dressed like James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause.
TJ Hooker - True Romance
It's TJ Hooker, but it's the new TJ Hooker. Such is the show that Clarence's friend Dick Richie (Michael Rapaport) is auditioning for in True Romance. Classic Tarantino, laying in the other show William Shatner starred in.
The Bellboy - Four Rooms
1960's The Bellboy starring Jerry Lewis is a classic slapstick comedy that also marked Lewis' debut as a director. In a number of homages to the movie, Tarantino references in his part of Four Rooms, which, of course, makes perfect sense.
Hullabaloo - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
In the mid-1960s, pop music variety shows were all the rage. ABC's American Bandstand was the most popular and still the best remembered, but NBC tried to get into the game with Hullabaloo. It didn't last long, however, only airing 2 seasons as opposed to the 30 Bandstand aired on ABC. The show is referenced in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Force Five - Pulp Fiction
"Fox Force Five" is the name of the fictional TV show that Mia Wallace starred in the pilot of in Pulp Fiction. The name of the show is a reference to a very short-lived syndicated show called Force Five that, unless you grew up in New England, you've probably never heard of. Who knows how Tarantino even knew it, it was hardly on anywhere,
Bullitt - Death Proof
Bullitt is one of the best car movies ever, so referencing it in Death Proof is a no-brainer. It also features some of the best car chases in any movie, ever. That was the goal of Death Proof, too, and while it's not Tarantino's best movie, you can't say the car chases aren't great.
3:10 to Yuma (1957) - The Hateful Eight
It's hard to slip references and easter eggs of films into a movie set in the 19th Century, like The Hateful Eight. Still, Tarantino manages to slip in some, including the classic western 3:10 to Yuma from 1957. In both movies, the stagecoach is named the "Butterfield Overland Stage."
The Kid - Inglourious Basterds
There are a lot of connections between Charlie Chaplin and Hitler (that's weird to type), but not only did they share the same style in facial hair, but Chaplin also starred in The Dictator, which was a contemporary satire that took shots at Hitler before most were willing to do so. Referencing one of Chaplin's most famous movies, The Kid, in Inglourious Basterds is perfect.
Natural Born Killers - Kill Bill
Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers was originally based on a script by Quentin Tarantino. Though Tarantino was reportedly unhappy with the end product and even chose to only go with a partial credit, he made reference to the movie later in his career. In Kill Bill, Bill tells Beatrix that she's a "natural-born killer," and there's no way that's a coincidence.
Wanted: Dead Or Alive - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
In the 1950s, Hollywood loved making Western TV shows. One show, which happened to be an early role for Steve McQueen, was Wanted: Dead Or Alive. Though it's not directly mentioned, it's clear that the show within the movie that Rick is the star of, Bounty Law, is based on the McQueen hit.
Baretta - Reservoir Dogs
The 1970s show Baretta is an old network show that no one talks about much these days, but Tarantino was talking about it decades ago in Reservoir Dogs. That was before the show's star, Robert Blake, was charged with murder.
Stroker Ace - Death Proof
One of the most obscure references in Death Proof has to be Stroker Ace. It's a movie from the early '80s starring Burt Reynolds as a NASCAR driver. It was a huge bomb, but it was a staple on cable TV in the early '80s. It has its charms, but maybe the best thing about it is getting references in this Tarantino movie.
Happy Days - Pulp Fiction
The reference to Happy Days in Pulp Fiction is one of the most quoted lines in the movie. In the diner robbery at the end, Jules wants everyone to settle down and tells them that they are all going to "cool like Fonzie." Fonzie, of course, is one of the coolest characters in TV history.
A Fistful of Dollars - Kill Bill
This is one of the most subtle - just a reference to the iconic music in honor of The Bride going after her revenge.
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