Christopher Nolan’s favourite Quentin Tarantino movie: “What an incredible thing”
For the first 15 years of his directorial career, the films of Quentin Tarantino were almost entirely restricted to the realm of the twisting crime thriller that had seen him explode out of the blocks in the 1990s with the classic one-two punch of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. When he decided to explore other genre avenues, though, one of his features ended up leaving Christopher Nolan seriously impressed.
Inglourious Basterds marked Tarantino’s first full-blown dive into history, even if he heavily rewrote it to suit his own creative agenda before he finally tackled one of his favourite genres through gun-toting revenge western Django Unchained. Deciding to stick with the format for his subsequent movie, the filmmaker turned everything on its head with The Hateful Eight.
Although it occupies the same medium as Django, the two couldn’t be more different. An intense, atmospheric, and slow-burning mystery thriller, its increasing sense of paranoia and snow-capped setting even saw Tarantino admit during a Director’s Guild of America interview that The Hateful Eight was directly indebted to John Carpenter’s The Thing, particularly the underlying notion that “one of them fellas is not what he says it is”.
Beyond its narrative merits, it’s easy to see why lifelong cinephile and staunch proponent of celluloid Nolan would find himself so won over by Tarantino’s throwback western. Arranging for 100 cinemas around the world to be retrofitted with anamorphic 70mm projectors and given a limited release as a roadshow presentation, the ode to a forgotten viewing experience captured the Dunkirk and Inception creator’s imagination immediately.
In a Q&A session held between the two, Nolan was effusive in his admiration following a 70mm screening of The Hateful Eight: “Well, that’s a hell of a movie, isn’t it? What an incredible thing and an incredible way to bring back the atmosphere and the beauty of seeing a film in a theatre,” he said.
Adding: “Watching this film, it felt like it had an increased level of formalism. There is a real calm and thought for where the camera is always. It’s also in the music. There is a great sense of the history of cinema in it.”
Elaborating on his preference for film over digital, Nolan admitted, “I love what Quentin Tarantino is doing with The Hateful Eight, putting 70mm projectors in cinemas in North America for the original run of his film.” Although he did note that “he said it’s difficult”, he was steadfast in the opinion that “it’s worth it”.
The unfortunate downside is that The Hateful Eight earned less money at the global box office than any Tarantino film since Jackie Brown – the Grindhouse double feature and limited solo release of Death Proof notwithstanding – but earning such high praise from Nolan isn’t an easy thing to come by as it applies to modern Hollywood.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.