If you walk up to a film nerd and ask them for a list of Quentin Tarantino movies in order 9 is the number that usually starts a fight. Most directors just make movies. They release them, we watch them, and we count them like normal human beings. But Quentin? He’s been obsessed with this "10 and done" retirement plan for years. It’s basically his version of a ticking clock in a heist movie.
Except, here’s the kicker: if you actually look at his IMDB page, the math doesn't add up. There are way more than nine or ten credits there.
Honestly, the way Tarantino counts his own filmography is as stylized as a 70s kung-fu flick. He’s not just counting movies; he’s counting "chapters" of his legacy. If he didn't write it and direct it as a standalone feature, it usually doesn't make the cut in his head.
The Official 9: How We Actually Get to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
To understand why Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is marketed as "The 9th Film from Quentin Tarantino," you have to know what he’s excluding. He ignores his early, unfinished project My Best Friend’s Birthday. He ignores the segment he directed in the anthology film Four Rooms. He ignores the "special guest director" scene he did for Robert Rodriguez in Sin City.
Most importantly, he treats the two volumes of Kill Bill as one single movie.
If you want to watch the "official" quentin tarantino movies in order 9 films deep, this is the list you’re looking for:
- Reservoir Dogs (1992) – The one where everyone has a color for a name and nobody wants to tip for breakfast.
- Pulp Fiction (1994) – The big bang of 90s independent cinema. Nonlinear, burger-obsessed, and still cooler than anything released since.
- Jackie Brown (1997) – His most "mature" film. It’s an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, and it’s the only time he didn't build the story from scratch.
- Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 (2003/2004) – He counts these as one. They were shot as one. Harvey Weinstein just made him split them so they wouldn't have a four-hour runtime that scared off casual audiences.
- Death Proof (2007) – Half of the Grindhouse double feature. It’s basically a slasher movie where the "knife" is a Chevy Nova.
- Inglourious Basterds (2009) – History gets a rewrite. This is where he really leans into the "cinema can change the world" trope.
- Django Unchained (2012) – A Southern-Western that’s as loud and violent as the history it’s tackling.
- The Hateful Eight (2015) – A snowy, claustrophobic mystery that feels like a stage play with more blood and a 70mm lens.
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) – His love letter to 1969 Los Angeles. It’s slow, it’s vibey, and it’s arguably his most personal work.
The Kill Bill Controversy: Is it 1 or 2?
You’ve probably noticed that if you count Kill Bill as two separate movies, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actually becomes his tenth. But Quentin is stubborn about this. He considers it one "work."
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Think about it like a book split into two volumes because it was too heavy for the printer. The story of Beatrix Kiddo is a singular arc. You can’t really watch Volume 1 and feel like you’ve seen a complete story—it literally ends on a cliffhanger.
Still, if you’re a completionist, this "order of 9" feels like a bit of a cheat. People paid for two tickets. They bought two DVDs. In the eyes of the Academy Awards, they were two different years of eligibility. But in the Tarantino-verse? It's film number four. Period.
Why 10 is the Magic Number (And Why He's Stopping)
Tarantino is terrified of "the old man movie." He’s talked about this in dozens of interviews, from Cinema Speculation to his chats with Joe Rogan. He believes that directors don't get better as they get older; they get out of touch. They lose the "fire."
He wants his filmography to be a perfect box set. No duds. No "well, he was 80 and just wanted to work" movies. By capping it at ten, he forces himself to make every single frame count.
Wait, so what about The Movie Critic?
For a long time, everyone thought that was going to be number ten. Then, in 2024, he just... scrapped it. He decided it wasn't the right way to go out. That’s the level of control we’re talking about here. He’d rather throw away a multi-million dollar project than have his "10th film" be anything less than a masterpiece.
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What People Get Wrong About the Order
A lot of fans try to watch the quentin tarantino movies in order 9 films by following the "Shared Universe" theory instead of release date. This is a fun rabbit hole, but it’s messy.
Basically, his movies exist in two tiers:
- The Realer-than-Real World: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, True Romance (which he wrote but didn't direct), Inglourious Basterds, and Django.
- The Movie-Movie World: These are the movies that characters in the first world go to see at the cinema. Kill Bill and From Dusk Till Dawn live here.
If you try to watch them in "chronological" order of the universe, you’d start with Django (1858), then The Hateful Eight (1877), then Inglourious Basterds (1941-1944). It's a wild ride, but you lose the evolution of his style. Watching them in release order lets you see him go from a guy with a $1.2 million budget and a dream to a guy who can literally recreate 1960s Hollywood just because he feels like it.
The Missing Pieces: True Romance and From Dusk Till Dawn
You can’t call yourself a Tarantino expert if you only watch the directed nine.
True Romance is, for many, his best script. Tony Scott directed it with a dreamy, saturated pop-art style that Tarantino probably wouldn't have used, but the dialogue is pure Quentin. Then there's From Dusk Till Dawn, directed by his buddy Robert Rodriguez. Quentin wrote it and stars in it as the unhinged Richie Gecko.
These don't count toward the "10," but they are essential DNA. They’re like the "lost tapes" that explain where his head was at during the mid-90s boom.
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Where the 9th Film Leaves Us
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood felt like a finale in many ways. It wasn't about a heist or a revenge plot. It was about the end of an era. When Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are just driving around, listening to the radio, it feels like Tarantino himself is just hanging out with us, enjoying the scenery before he finally closes the garage door.
It's a "vibe" movie. Some people hated the pacing. Others, including critics like Peter Travers and Richard Roeper, hailed it as his most mature vision. It showed that he didn't need a high body count to keep an audience engaged for nearly three hours.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you’re trying to navigate the filmography now, don't just stop at the "9." Here is how to actually digest the work of the most famous director of his generation:
- Watch the "Director's 9" in release order first. It's the only way to see his technical growth, especially how his use of music shifts from "pop songs on the radio" to curated Ennio Morricone scores.
- Read "Cinema Speculation." It’s his non-fiction book. It gives you the "why" behind his choices. You’ll understand his obsession with the 9th and 10th films way better after reading his thoughts on 70s cinema.
- Seek out the "Whole Bloody Affair." This is the four-hour cut of Kill Bill that combines both volumes into one. It’s hard to find legally, but it’s the version he actually considers his "4th film."
- Don't ignore the writing credits. Watch True Romance. It fills the gap between Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and explains how he became the "dialogue guy" in Hollywood.
The hunt for the 10th movie is still on. Whether he eventually lands on a new idea or decides that nine was enough, the "order of 9" remains the most debated list in modern film history.
Check out the "Realer-than-Real" universe connections next—like how Vic Vega (Reservoir Dogs) and Vincent Vega (Pulp Fiction) are actually brothers. That’s where the real fun begins.
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