If there is one thing Quentin Tarantino best known as a filmmaker, it is most likely his penchant for making films about violence. However, if there can be a second thing Quentin Tarantino is best known for as a director, it’s probably his penchant for profanity in his films. Few works contain as many expletives as Tarantino’s, and there are nearly 1,000 F-words in his filmography.
Mathematically breaking down his 10 films (here Kill Bill halved, given that it was released in two volumes) results in an average of almost 100 F-words per film, which is an impressively consistent amount of profanity. These films are ranked below in ascending order from least to most F-bombs, given that the word is the most common expletive in Tarantino’s filmography.
10 “Kill Bill Vol. 1′ (2003) – 16 F-words
Bye Kill Bill Vol. 1 may be Tarantino’s least blasphemous film, at least it’s considered the bloodiest. It’s almost definitely a Tarantino movie that required the most fake blood to be used during production, and its climactic battle, featuring The Bride fighting a small army of gangsters, was especially gruesome.
It’s the more action-packed half of this revenge epic, and as such it easily contains the most action, as well as less dialogue, than its more deliberate pace in the subsequent volume. It’s likely that the characters simply have less opportunity to swear in this film, given that so many of them are so often involved in complex action scenes.
9 Inglourious Basterds (2009) – 22 F-words
Inglourious Basterds Set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, it features several different storylines that converge towards the end of the film. In essence, however, all the characters in the film are in their own way rebelling against the Nazi forces, and so, naturally, a lot of violence is committed against the Nazi Party.
Maybe it’s right there with Kill Bill Vol. 1 for the level of violence, and while it may not be as gory, it has more on-screen deaths. This makes it strange that, like that first volume Kill Billit also has quite a few swear words (at least by Tarantino’s standards), with only 22 F-bombs.
8 “Kill Bill Vol. 2′ (2004) – 26 F-words
Slow down the violence to the point that it’s actually one of Tarantino’s least lethal films. Kill Bill Vol. 2 serves as a satisfying second part of the overall story Kill Bill. The bride has already overcome two goals on her list of five. Volume. 2 including her tracking of the last three, including the titular Bill as her latest target.
It also takes time to flash back to the first volume, leading to an entertaining scene in which The Bride (aka Beatrix) learns her fighting skills with a nice practice montage. The reduced emphasis on action scenes and the increased amount of time spent on training scenes and dialogue thus means that it’s natural to have a few F words more than in the first volume, although not by much considering these are just the tops. Volume. 1 by 10.
7 The Hateful Eight (2015) – 28 F-words
Anyway, you can expect the same hated characters as in Hateful Eight swear a little more than they do. After all, the movie is rife with dialogue and mostly consists of one setting: an isolated cabin where all the characters don’t trust each other and bicker among themselves for a while before everything explodes into inevitable violence.
There are other examples of offensive language used in Hateful Eight, but as far as F-words are concerned, there aren’t that many. They end up with just under 30, which means they’re surprisingly rare when you consider the fact that this western is about three hours long.
6 Django Unchained (2012) – 31 F-words
After years spent referencing old westerns, Django Unchained marked the first time Tarantino fully embraced the genre and made his own film in it. It’s about how anyone expects to see a brutal, Tarantino-style postmodern western.
It also depicted a story about revenge, which Tarantino explored to some extent in his work. Inglourious Basterds and to a large extent in both volumes Kill Bill. The heightened emotion that accompanies a high-stakes revenge story naturally leads to overly harsh language, allowing Django Unchained to score a decent – though not exactly gigantic – F-word count of 31.
5 “Death Proof” (2007) – 59 F-words
When it comes to ranking all Tarantino films by amount of profanity, death proof marks a significant step forward as it passed the 50 F-bomb milestone. This is half of the 2007 double film. Grindhouse (other half possibly higher planetary terror), and follows a bloodthirsty stuntman who targets groups of women with his boosted car.
Much of the film involves characters chattering about seemingly unimportant things, punctuated by a large-scale carnage scene about halfway through, and then a memorable car chase that serves as the film’s climax. The characters are generally not afraid to swear by sailors, but even so, their efforts pale in comparison to characters from several Tarantino films who are even more obscene.
4 “Jackie Brown” (1997) – 114 F-words
Quentin Tarantino’s earliest films tended to be filled with foul language: all of his 1990s releases had over 100 F-words. Jackie Brown is one of them, with this complex crime spree about a flight attendant involved in a money smuggling and arms dealing operation with a total of 114 F-bombs.
Having Samuel L. Jackson in a movie isn’t always a guarantee that a film will be filled with profanity, but few actors are as legendary at swearing as he is. He undoubtedly does most of the hard work when it comes to profanity in Jackie Brownbut it should be noted that other actors do not miss the mark.
3 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) – 115 F-words
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood marked a departure from Tarantino’s usual style. It was more laid-back and less story-focused, and less violent than most of his other films. However, at the very end, he crept in a bit of trademark graphic violence, and he retained his characteristic fast-paced, bawdy dialogue.
His characters may not have been in danger as often as most of Tarantino’s, but they still managed to stir up a storm. This is another Tarantino film that managed to rack up over 100 F-bombs during its run, showing that even if life seemed more laid-back in the late 1960s, people also loved to swear.
2 Pulp Fiction (1994) – 265 F-words
A dark comedy crime film that tells three stories at once in a non-chronological manner. Pulp Fiction One of Quentin Tarantino’s best films. It’s undeniably trendy and stylish, still retains its cool nearly 30 years after its release, and despite having influenced a lot of up-and-coming filmmakers, no one has yet been able to match or replicate it.
It also ranks among the heaviest films of the 1990s, or even of all time. It misses out on top spot when it comes to profanity in Tarantino films with just a few uses, but don’t underestimate how much profanity it still manages to be, averaging around two F-words per minute.
1 Reservoir Dogs (1992) – 269 F-words
Quentin Tarantino’s first feature film and also his most obscene film. Mad Dogs This is a classic film in both the crime and swearing pantheon. It tells the story of the jewel theft without actually showing the jewel theft, instead focusing on the planning stages of the crime and then on its dramatic aftermath, following how things happened on the day of the theft.
This is a film where the characters are exceptionally irritable and angry at each other for most of the runtime, which naturally leads to tons of profanity (often screaming) being heard throughout. Running time is just over 90 minutes. Mad Dogs comes close to showing an average of three F-words every minute, which even those who don’t like hearing profanity in movies have to admit is impressive.
Source: Collider
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