Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 65 Films the Director Wants You to See
To say that few filmmakers love movies as much as Quentin Tarantino is a staggering understatement. Few people love movies as much as Quentin Tarantino, and the cinephile's tastes continue to shape Hollywood.
The video store clerk-turned-director has spent decades dazzling interviewers and fans with his unparalleled knowledge of cinema history, with tastes that range from universally acclaimed classics to more obscure and even lowbrow fare. While his love of spaghetti Westerns and exploitation flicks has always been well-documented, Tarantino isn't afraid to publicly embrace the modern or mainstream. He proudly championed 'Top Gun: Maverick' in the summer of 2022, as did so many others. Not to mention, he's a fan of rom-coms, particularly on long flights. (He once dubbed Kate Hudson 'the queen of the skies' and he's not wrong!) The man just loves cinema, and if a film entertains him, he's going to tell the world about it.
More from IndieWire
Kate Mara on Treating 'Friendship' Like a 'Dramatic' Indie and the Surprisingly 'Weird' Connection to Werner Herzog
'Renoir' Review: An 11-Year-Old Girl Ponders the Mysteries of the Universe in Chie Hayakawa's Extremely Low-Key Coming-of-Age Drama
'Highest 2 Lowest' Review: Spike Lee Returns with a Jarringly Fun and Upbeat Riff on One of Akira Kurosawa's Bleakest Films
From 'Reservoir Dogs' to 'Inglourious Basterds,' Tarantino's filmography draws directly from the movies he likes most. He's been inspired by blaxploitation (see elements of 'Jackie Brown') and samurai epics (as in the 'Kill Bill' duology). When he's not paying tribute to film history in his directing, Tarantino keeps talking about cinema in both the veins of criticism and geekery.
In 2022, the filmmaker and his 'Pulp Fiction' co-writer Roger Avary launched the Video Archives Podcast, which sees the duo revisiting many of the films they used to watch on VHS when they worked at the iconic video store together. Tarantino set out to do something similar in his book 'Cinema Speculation,' which arrived on shelves in October 2022.
Season 1 of the podcast, which released its finale episode on June 12, 2023, gave Tarantino a new outlet to share his opinions about movies and the world is richer for it. But even with a tour guide, diving into Tarantino's favorite movies is a wild journey and one that will undeniably leave you with a more well-rounded knowledge of cinema. At the very least, it's a great place to go when you're finished rewatching his old work and are once again twiddling your thumbs waiting for news of the auteur's long-fabled tenth film. Keep reading for a roundup of 64 of Quentin Tarantino's favorite movies, listed in no particular order. Then, check out a list of films he doesn't recommend.
Alison Foreman, Zack Sharf, and Christian Zilko contributed to this article. [Editor's note: The following list was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated multiple times since.]
Best of IndieWire
The 19 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal'
Martin Scorsese's Favorite Movies: 86 Films the Director Wants You to See
Christopher Nolan's Favorite Movies: 44 Films the Director Wants You to See
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland Had Planned a ‘Sunshine' Trilogy, Boyle Recalls ‘Big Blowout' with Fox Exec Over Sci-Fi Movie
Danny Boyle is giving his 'Sunshine' fans a ray of hope: The director has revealed how the 2007 science fiction film almost landed a franchise, especially since screenwriter Alex Garland had 'extraordinary' ideas about expanding the plot. Boyle, who recently announced that his other Garland-penned film '28 Years Later' is part of its own new trilogy, told Collider that two sequels were outlined to continue the 'Sunshine' storyline. 'Sunshine' starred Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, and Michelle Yeoh as astronauts tasked with reigniting the sun in the year 2057. More from IndieWire 'Oh, Hi!' Trailer: Molly Gordon Holds Logan Lerman Accountable (in Multiple Ways) in Twisted Rom-Com Big Bear Film Festival to Launch in September, Led by Former Outfest Director Damien Navarro 'Originally, when we were doing it, Alex wrote two other parts. It was supposed to be a trilogy,' Boyle said. 'He [Garland] only wrote an outline. [But] it was a planetary trilogy. It was to do with the sun itself, with two other stories.' While Boyle added that he 'can't remember [the plot] in enough detail' for the other two slated films, there was 'an extraordinary idea in one of them' that involved the concept of 'looking outside and moving.' However, the ideas were partly scrapped because 'Sunshine' underperformed at the box office. 'We might well have done it, yeah,' Boyle said, also adding that 'the movie did no business at all!' Boyle also recalled how he tangled with 20th Century Fox over creative differences on the film. 'I remember, Tom Rothman [then Fox film chief] — who is the reason you can only watch 28 minutes of '28 Years Later' today — I've had a number of fights with him over the years,' Boyle said of working with the studio executive. 'I remember him watching 'Sunshine,' and I remember him saying, 'The only hope you offer. The only hope you offer, Danny, is that little green plant shoot in that burnt-out oxygen garden. There's a little green shoot, and you think there's hope! And Michelle Yeoh sees hope! Then you kill her! In that moment, you kill her! You can't do this!' Anyway, I remember a big blowout with him about that.' As for his continued collaboration with Garland, Boyle said, 'What's interesting is Alex has a natural instinct as a storyteller to want to tell these expanding stories, and that is why '28 Years Later' wound up as a trilogy.' And 'Sunshine' will always be a bright spot in Boyle's own filmography: 'Look, I love the film. I really love the film,' he said. 'Some of that film, I just think, 'wow, did I do that?' It's like, yeah you did! My daughter watched it a few years ago. I remember watching it, I was in the kitchen, but I'm watching bits of it, and I'm like, 'oh, that's quite good.' Because you get infected… not to make a pun…But you get infected by its performance, and you think, 'oh, people didn't like it.' But then I meet people like you, and I meet a lot of people — and there are many films I've made people don't think this about — but 'Sunshine' is one they really, genuinely think about and really love the film.' Read IndieWire's interview with Boyle here. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
Bob Newhart's Los Angeles Home Hits the Market for $10.5 Million
The comedians Bob Newhart and Don Rickles—along with their wives, Ginnie Newhart and Barbara Rickles—were close friends for decades. So when the Newharts wanted to downsize from their longtime home in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, they followed the Rickleses to Century City. 'They decided they were going to move down the street from their best friends,' said the Newharts' daughter Courtney Newhart Albertini.
Vogue
2 hours ago
- Vogue
Materialists Stars Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal Debate the Virtues of Pizza vs. Pasta in the Latest Edition of Off the Cuff
The bestie behavior of Materialists stars Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal is, by now, the stuff of legend (he borrows her clothes! She encourages him to make out with various Hollywood Chrises!), but watching their rapport in Vogue's latest episode of Off the Cuff may just give you a raging case of friendship FOMO. But then again, haven't you always wanted to see these two make each other laugh to the point of tears in front of a beautiful floral arrangement? No topic is off-limits for Johnson and Pascal, from their favorite emoji (an elegant middle finger or 'full tears' for Pascal, in case you were wondering), to their secret skills (not only does Johnson make great hummus and speak Hungarian, but she can also balance things on her head!), to their tastes in reality-TV programming. (Pascal is a Couples Therapy stan, which is one in a long list of things that make him deeply relatable; and, as if that weren't enough, he loves Judy Blume, too. Be still, our hearts!) From TV recommendations—think The Studio—to discussions of extravagant fashion purchases past and joking reminiscences of the most memorable gifts they've recieved from fans ('Just a human head,' cracks Pascal), Johnson and Pascal have an answer for everything, including one of life's very biggest questions (i.e. 'pizza versus pasta?') and what they wore to specific red carpet events (cue: a classic game of Guess the Look). Watch the full video to get a vicarious sense of what it's like to spend an afternoon in the estimable company of these two jokers, whose chemistry lights up any room they're in. Director: Tom Ivin Director Of Photography: Ben Liddell Editor: Michael Suyeda Producer: Rashida Josiah Creative Production Coordinator: Anisa Kennar Prop Stylist: Darcy Norgan The Workhouse Crew 1st Assistant Director: Andy Gibbons Camera Operators: Brad Hogan, Andrew McKenzie Assistant Camera: Adrian Brauge Gaffer: Mackenzie Woods Audio: Michael O'Donoghue Production Manager: Lucy Stevens Production Assistants: Arthur Piddington, Jordan Neagle, Kevin Matadeen Production Coordinators: Tanía Jones, Ericka Gourgues-Lutran Production Manager: David Alvarez Paz Senior Production Manager: Alexandra Dawson Herren Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds Post Production Coordinator: Holly Frew Supervising Editor: Kameron Key Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Global Video Director: Lauren Mendoza Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den Broeke Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Florist: Blooming Haus
