If audiences missed “Reservoir Dogs,” it was impossible to ignore Tarantino after the explosion of “Pulp Fiction.” With its all-star cast, shifting timelines, high stakes, profane dialogue, and toe-tapping soundtrack, the movie was a sensation at the box office and on the award circuit. The movie won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. It became so successful, it kicked off a string of knock-offs in the ’90s.

On its face, the film is the story of two hitmen sent to retrieve a precious suitcase with an unseen treasure inside. But that’s really just an excuse for great characters to relay quirky dialogue and get themselves in trouble. By resurrecting John Travolta’s career, Tarantino became the go-to director for old superstars who’d fallen out of favor.

Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis

Key scene: A washed-up boxer finds himself trapped in a basement with the mob boss who wants him dead, and the two men face a mutual captor with a terrifying agenda.

After a pregnant woman is brutally attacked on her wedding day, she vows to hunt down the team of assassins responsible. Uma Thurman leads the way as the unstoppable fighter hellbent on revenge.

Cast: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Sonny Chiba

Key scene: The Bride wields her blade against an army of martial arts assassins.

Austin’s hottest DJ, Jungle Julia, sets out into the night to unwind with her two friends Shanna and Arlene. Covertly tracking their moves is Stuntman Mike, a scarred rebel leering from behind the wheel of his muscle car, revving just feet away. This film was originally released as half of “Grindhouse,” a double-bill with Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror.”

Cast: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoë Bell

Key scene: Stuntman Mike meets his match with a character who shows an uncanny knack for hanging onto the hood of a car.

A bounty-hunting dentist frees a slave to help find the men he’s hunting. The slave - Django - then begins his own quest for revenge, trying to find his long-lost wife.

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

Key scene: Django and Dr. Schultz finally find Django’s wife and engage in a tense negotiation to buy her freedom from the hideous Calvin Candie.

Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino

Key scene: Booth takes a hitchhiker to a ranch, but he grows suspicious when the ranch’s owner is nowhere to be found.