John Carpenter -- tribute or rip-off????


Is it just me or do the Hidari Brothers remind anyone of the 3 Storms from "Big Trouble in Little China"? Is this a well-deserved tribute to this spectacular samurai film or did Carpenter simply Tarantino these characters?

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"Are you the assassin known as Lone Wolf and Cub?"

"That's what they call me."

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It's a tribute. What does 'to Tarantino a character' mean ?

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"To Tarantino" means to steal something from a movie (or movies) you love, claim that you did it as a "tribute" -- i.e.; all of the so-called "homages" QT used in the Kill Bill movies.

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Joking! Joking! I love Tarantino movies & am constantly defending his work to people I know who view him simply as a "rip-off artist" or plagiarist who's made a name for himself by stealing the work of others. So what if QT borrows elements from other sources? He isn't the only one to do it -- Alexandre Aja & his film "Haute Tension" come to mind -- and he defomotely won't be the last. Besides, I don't really mind if a director/author/art ist takes the works he/she have been influenced by & reworks pieces of the material to make it his/her own, something that I honestly believe QT is the very best at. In fact, if a filmmaker can take the very best parts of great movies, mix them in with their own original material & turn the two pieces into an even greater experience than the individual parts... then I feel that makes the director/screenwrit er/ producer a rare & unique breed of artist.

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I think the worst thing isn't Tarantino's influences from Asian Cinema. It's when people watch films like The Boondock Saints or Layer Cake then claim the directors are talentless hacks ripping off an original director like Tarantino. I personality don't see any similarities between Tartantino's films and those ones but where the hell would cinema be if people weren't influenced by others. If I ever made a film I don't doubt that I'd be listing a whole string of movie/comic/book influences.

Anyway, I look at the 3 Storms as a tribute. I love John Carpenter. As for Running Man that's based on a book and I don't think Battle Royale was ripping it off.

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haha, i agree.
well said

Feed Me a Stray Cat

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kurosawas films were hugely influenced by john ford western's. and i think the film with the biggest influence on res dogs would be the killing.

in an interview i heard tarantino say that the main influences of res dogs were actually listed in the script, he didnt put kubrick or the killing because the references were too obvious. He opted to put the name of the writer of Clean break, the book on which the killing is based.

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I don't suppose there is any straight line you can draw between homage and rip off. People will defend Leone for 'tributing' films in OUATITW and then bash Tarantino for Kill Bill- check it out: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0064116/board/thread/8296029 As that shows you can talk about it forever. This is no straight line and to be honest, rip offs and homages are the same bloody thing. The excessive gore Peter Jackson used in his zombie films, is he ripping off Sam Raimi? Was Raimi ripping off Italian horror directors or was he just 'influenced'? If this was QT it would be a 100% rip off. But as The Evil Dead and Braindead are seen as such classics no-one would dare criticise them in this way.

In twenty years time people who grew up with QT will be defending him with the same smugness that people defend directors such as Leone, Jackson, Raimi or Carpenter. And there will be new directors that everyone will be bashing.

Drive George, drive! This one's got a coat hanger!

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"The excessive gore Peter Jackson used in his zombie films, is he ripping off Sam Raimi? Was Raimi ripping off Italian horror directors or was he just 'influenced'? If this was QT it would be a 100% rip off. But as The Evil Dead and Braindead are seen as such classics no-one would dare criticise them in this way."

Honestly the dumbest thing I've ever read on the IMDb.

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"kurosawas films were hugely influenced by john ford western's. and i think the film with the biggest influence on res dogs would be the killing.

in an interview i heard tarantino say that the main influences of res dogs were actually listed in the script, he didnt put kubrick or the killing because the references were too obvious. He opted to put the name of the writer of Clean break, the book on which the killing is based."

Tarantino's main influence for Reservoir Dogs was the Chow Yun Fat film "City on Fire" he has said it himself like a million times.. Other influences were "A Better Tomorrow 2" this is were he got the idea for the famous scene where the four dudes are walking side by side with the cool music playing..
As for the story though this was almost completly taken from "City on Fire" if you like Reservoir dogs then i suggest you seek out City on Fire as it is a far better film and it showcases Chow Yun Fat at his cool best!..

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Well I wouldnt say he's stealing anything because he openly goes on about it and supports the movies.

It's a tribute and a cool one at that.

And John Carpenter is one of the most iconic and greatest filmmakers of all time and Big Trouble In Little China is kick ass to the extreme.

Baron Frankenstein:
"To know death Otto, you have to *beep* life... in the gall bladder!"

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You can't be serious. Big Trouble in Little China is a 100% total homage to classic martial arts/samuraii films, as well as both a homage and parody of your traditional american movie heros(cowboys and the like).

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