The director Quentin Tarantino called the “perfect filmmaker”
Since his directional debut with Reservoir Dogs in 1992, celebrated filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has shaped a cinematic career like no other. His distinctive script-writing style and directional grasp make for a familiar experience in each film. His nine movies so far have followed a distinct lineage of dark comedy, sensationalised violence and a reel of recurring A-listers who bring top-flight entertainment to any story, from 1800s vengeance stories to satirical studies of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Though Tarantino’s approach to filmmaking is entirely unique – or at least it was before he inspired a new generation of filmmakers – he learned his core talents from a wide spread of directors on whose shoulders he proudly stands. Born in 1963, Tarantino was lucky enough to grow up through the milestone zeniths of all-time greats such as Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
Fortunately for us film buffs, Tarantino has never shied from discussing his crucial influences in the business. In a late 1990s interview with Charlie Rose, conducted while Spielberg was hard at work on Saving Private Ryan, Tarantino was asked to name any living directors from whom he could learn a thing or two.
“Steven Spielberg,” Tarantino started enthusiastically. “He’s just such a perfect filmmaker as far as, like, you know, when he comes up with the taking of Shanghai sequence, for instance, in Empire of the Sun. And I talked to him about [Saving] Private Ryan, and he goes, ‘Oh, we’re gonna create the greatest taking of Omaha Beach ever.’ And I have no doubt he will. He’s just a master movie maker.”
“This one’s [Saving Private Ryan] coming out, and I’m sure he’s gonna do the greatest taking of Omaha Beach ever captured in cinema,” he added. “That kind of filmmaking language, I think I’ve got it too, but in a different way. But I can learn something from him.”
Tarantino’s assumptions about Saving Private Ryan were confirmed in 1999, when Spielberg won the Academy Award for ‘Best Director’, chiefly for the unprecedented $12million opening scene on Omaha Beach. The movie won four further Academy Awards.
After revealing his admiration for Spielberg, Tarantino also revealed to Rose that he could learn a lot from Martin Scorsese, but in a different way.
“I can learn from Scorsese, but how I can learn from Scorsese is not like how he does anything, you know what I mean? Because how he does it is how he does it, and how I do it is how I do it,” he explained, identifying a difference in styles. “Scorsese is so much film and love of film. I might be a better director if I just had dinner at his house every week and we just talked, not about filmmaking, per se.”
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.