Quentin Tarantino - 2021 - Director
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A complete list of Quentin Tarantino’s favourite movies

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After breaking through in the early 1990s, the esteemed auteur Quentin Tarantino has led a bloody and unique trail, reshaping cinema for generations to come. Known for his distinctive scriptwriting style and consummate directional command, Tarantino has consistently delivered captivating and darkly humorous narratives through a distinctive lens bound rigidly to his discerning taste.

While Tarantino’s approach is undeniably original, he frequently honours the cinematic giants on whose shoulders he stands. As a ’60s baby, he grew up during the heyday of legendary filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. These cinematic luminaries played a vital role in shaping Tarantino’s artistic sensibilities; taking the best aspects of each hero, he’s fought his way to the very top of Hollywood.

Tarantino’s forthcoming final film, The Movie Critic, will be one of his most personal and realistic creations. While promoting his book Cinema Speculation in April 2023, the filmmaker revealed that the titular critic was real, but he refused to specify their identity at this stage.

“There is a lot of speculation as to who it is based on,” Tarantino noted. “And yes, he is a real critic, but he is not known…and I am not going to tell you more.”

Some fans speculate that the character may, in part, relate to Tarantino himself. From the age of 22, he has been a voracious cinephile and, since rising to prominence, has never neglected to share his opinions in interviews. In fact, interviews are too few and far between, so the director joins Roger Avary frequently to discuss movies, good and bad, on their Video Archives podcast.

Naturally, Tarantino has labelled many movies as favourites and masterpieces through the years. Overall, however, Sergio Leone’s Clint Eastwood-starring classic of 1966, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, comes out on top as the ultimate all-time favourite.

Indeed, we have Leone to thank for Tarantino’s associative shoot-out finales. “I never felt gypped when Sergio Leone ended every Western he did with a showdown,” Tarantino told Roger Ebert regarding his violent climaxes. “That’s just the way they ended. But every single one was different.”

In a separate interview with Empire, Tarantino was asked what his favourite shot from his favourite movie was. “That’s easy,” he replied. “During the three-way bullring showdown at the end, the music builds to the giant orchestra crescendo, and when it gets to the first big explosion of the theme, there’s a wide shot of the bullring. After you’ve seen all the little shots of the guys getting into position, you suddenly see the whole wideness of the bullring and all the graves around them. It’s my favourite shot in the movie, but I’ll even say it’s my favourite cut in the history of movies.”

Below, we have listed more than 300 movies that Quentin Tarantino has described as favourites across many interviews. This should keep you busy for a few years.

Quentin Tarantino’s favourite movies:

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
  • Rio Bravo (1959)
  • Blow Out (1981)
  • Taxi Driver (1976)
  • His Girl Friday (1940)
  • Five Fingers of Death (1972)
  • Pandora’s Box (1929)
  • Carrie (1976)
  • Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
  • Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
  • Jaws (1975)
  • Black Sabbath (1963)
  • Tenebrae (1982)
  • Rolling Thunder (1977)
  • The Prowler (1981)
  • Battle Royale (2000)
  • Breathless (1960)
  • Badlands (1973)
  • Audition (1999)
  • Used Cars (1980)
  • It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
  • The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
  • Where Eagles Dare (1968)
  • The Dirty Dozen (1967)
  • Bringing Up Baby (1938)
  • The Killer (1989)
  • The Driver (1978)
  • Blood Simple (1984)
  • The Long Good Friday (1980)
  • Mona Lisa (1986)
  • The Hit (1984)
  • The Killers (1964)
  • The Killers (1946)
  • Comfort and Joy (1984)
  • Local Hero (1983)
  • The Little Soldier (1963)
  • Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
  • Bande à Part (1964)
  • Pierrot le Fou (1965)
  • Shaft (1971)
  • The Killing (1956)
  • The Asphalt Jungle (195i0)
  • Rififi (1955)
  • The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
  • City on Fire (1987)
  • Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
  • The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
  • A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  • Fandango (1985)
  • Days of Thunder (1990)
  • Night Call Nurses (1972)
  • Jules and Jim (1962)
  • A Girl in Every Port (1928)
  • The Guns of Navarone (1961)
  • Dead Poets Society (1989)
  • Frogs (1972)
  • Willard (1971)
  • Night of the Lepus (1972)
  • Dark Passage (1947)
  • The Last Boy Scout (1991)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
  • Year of the Dragon (1985)
  • Scarface (1983)
  • Topkapi (1964)
  • The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
  • Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
  • Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
  • Hi, Mom! (1970)
  • Back Street (1961)
  • Maniac Cop 2 (1990)
  • Maniac Cop (1988)
  • Intruder (1989)
  • The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West (1947)
  • Perfect (1985)
  • Mad Love (1935)
  • The Trip (II) (1967)
  • The Last Seduction (1994)
  • Ed Wood (1994)
  • Salvador (1986)
  • For a Few Dollars More (1965)
  • The Snitch (1962)
  • They Live by Night (1948)
  • The Long Goodbye (1973)
  • Magnificent Obsession (1954)
  • The Savage Seven (1968)
  • The Thing (1982)
  • Caged Heat (1974)
  • Silver Bullet (1985)
  • Kansas City Confidential (1952)
  • They All Laughed (1981)
  • The Great Escape (1963)
  • Coffy (1973)
  • Dazed and Confused (1993)
  • Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)
  • Django (1966)
  • The Mercenary (1968)
  • Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
  • A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
  • Death Rides a Horse (1967)
  • Navajo Joe (1966)
  • The Return of Ringo (1965)
  • The Big Gundown (1967)
  • A Pistol for Ringo (1965)
  • King of the West (1967)
  • The Great Silence (1968)
  • The Grand Duel (1972)
  • Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead (1971)
  • Tepepa (1969)
  • The Ugly Ones (1966)
  • Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)
  • Gatling Gun (1968)
  • The Hellbenders (1967)
  • If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death (1968)
  • God Forgives… I Don’t! (1967)
  • Compañeros (1970)
  • The Four of the Apocalypse... (1975)
  • Ace High (1968)
  • Boot Hill (1969)
  • A Fistful of Dynamite (1971)
  • Minnesota Clay (1964)
  • Arizona Colt (1966)
  • Johnny Oro (1966)
  • Adiós gringo (1965)
  • Blood for a Silver Dollar (1965)
  • The Rebel Lieutenant (1966)
  • Wanted (1967)
  • They Call Me Trinity (1970)
  • Trinity Is Still My Name (1971)
  • Long Days of Hate (1968)
  • The Deserter (1970)
  • The 5-Man Army (1969)
  • Valdez the Halfbreed (1973)
  • Requiescant (1967)
  • Red Sun (1971)
  • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
  • Dawn of the Dead (1978)
  • Night of the Living Dead (1968)
  • Halloween (1978)
  • The Mack (1973)
  • The Sexplorer (1975)
  • The Last House on the Left (1972)
  • One-Armed Boxer II (1976)
  • Murder Inferno (1973)
  • The Streetfighter (1974)
  • Return of the Street Fighter (1974)
  • The Streetfighter’s Last Revenge (1974)
  • The Psychic, Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes (1977)
  • The Lady in Red (1979)
  • Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)
  • Suspiria (1977)
  • The Chinese Boxer (1970)
  • The Pom Pom Girls (1976)
  • Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
  • The Bonnie Parker Story (1958)
  • Faster Pussycat… Kill! Kill! (1965)
  • The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1988)
  • Dead End Drive-In (1986)
  • Godzilla (1954)
  • Boogie Nights (1997)
  • Suspicion (1941)
  • Walking Tall (1973)
  • On the Old Spanish Trail (1947)
  • Adventures of Red Ryder (1940)
  • The Godfather (1972)
  • Blue Velvet (1986)
  • All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
  • Swallowtail Butterfly (1996)
  • Casualties of War (1989)
  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
  • Big Wednesday (1978)
  • The Big Sleep (1946)
  • Breathless (1983)
  • Bob the Gambler (1956)
  • Le Samouraï (1967)
  • The Rise and Rise of Casanova (1977)
  • Sex with a Smile (1976)
  • The Oldest Profession (1967)
  • Polk County Pot Plane (1977)
  • Redneck Miller (1976)
  • Hot Summer in Barefoot County (1974)
  • The Swinging Barmaids (1975)
  • The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974)
  • Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966)
  • Snake in the Monkey’s Shadow (1979)
  • Hollywood Man (1976)
  • The Dion Brothers (1974)
  • The Outfit (1973)
  • Billy Jack (1971)
  • Vanishing Point (1971)
  • The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)
  • Twisted Nerve (1968)
  • Policewomen (1974)
  • Hell Night (1981)
  • Werewolf Woman (1976)
  • Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971)
  • The Spy with My Face (1965)
  • The Venetian Affair (1966)
  • Jungle Burger (1975)
  • Psycho II (1983)
  • Psycho (1960)
  • Cries in the Night (1980)
  • Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
  • One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
  • Beyond Evil (1980)
  • Mausoleum (1983)
  • Madman (1981)
  • BMX Bandits (1983)
  • The Siege of Pinchgut (1959)
  • Dark Age (1987)
  • Cry of the Wild (1973)
  • Blue Water, White Death (1971)
  • Five for Hell (1969)
  • From Hell to Victory (1979)
  • Death Rage (1976)
  • No Way Out (1973)
  • The Sell Out (1976)
  • Sabena (1971)
  • Teenage Hitchhikers (1974)
  • Crack House (1989)
  • Fistfull of Talons (1983)
  • Day of Anger (1967)
  • The Golden Stallion (1949)
  • Gulliver’s Travels (1939)
  • The Omega Man (1971)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • Saturn 3 (1980)
  • Planet of the Vampires (1965)
  • Lifeforce (1985)
  • Duel of the Space Monsters (1965)
  • King of Beggars (1992)
  • The Blade (1995)
  • The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
  • Revolver (1973)
  • The Violent Professionals (1973)
  • Machine Gun McCain (1969)
  • Cold Blooded Beast (1971)
  • What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)
  • Loaded Guns (1975)
  • Dixie Dynamite (1976)
  • Brotherhood of Death (1976)
  • The Mercenaries (1968)
  • Eastern Condors (1987)
  • Framed (1975)
  • Fist of Fury (1972)
  • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
  • Never a Dull Moment (1968)
  • Jade Claw (1979)
  • Fists of Fury II (1977)
  • Dragon Lord (1982)
  • Let It Be (1970)
  • Shark! (1969)
  • Big Bullet (1996)
  • Shanghai Joe (1973)
  • Hammerhead (1968)
  • The Muthers (1976)
  • Destroy All Monsters (1968)
  • The Mysterians (1957)
  • Mothra (1961)
  • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
  • Gambit (1966)
  • A Man to Respect (1972)
  • Succubus (1968)
  • Shoot First, Die Later (1974)
  • Hickey & Boggs (1972)
  • Queen of the Tartars (1960)
  • The Giant of Metropolis (1961)
  • Guns for Dollars (1971)
  • Saint Jack (1979)
  • Chinese Godfather (1974)
  • Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)
  • Final Chapter: Walking Tall (1977)
  • Walking Tall Part II (1975)
  • Macon County Line (1974)
  • Pop Gear (1965)
  • The Dragon’s Snake Fist (1979)
  • Dragon vs. Needles of Death (1975)
  • Drunken Master (1978)
  • The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)
  • The Three Musketeers (1973)
  • The Four Musketeers (1974)
  • Zulu Dawn (1979)
  • Visit to a Small Planet (1960)
  • Coonskin (1974)
  • Alligator (1980)
  • The Death Collector (1976)
  • Nashville Girl (1976)
  • Little Cigars (1973)
  • The Mighty Peking Man (1977)
  • Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
  • The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
  • The Heroin Gang (1968)
  • Tick, Tick, Tick (1970)
  • Junior Bonner (1972)
  • The Stalking Moon (1968)
  • Freebie and the Bean (1974)
  • Brannigan (1975)
  • Last Man Standing (1995 Video)
  • Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
  • Black Christmas (1974)
  • Eyes of a Stranger (1981)
  • Torso (1973)
  • Evel Knievel (1971)
  • Carquake (1976)
  • Fever Pitch (1985)
  • Sitting Target (1972)
  • Bucktown (1975)
  • City of the Living Dead (1980)
  • Wonder Women (1973)
  • Sign of Aquarius (1970)
  • 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
  • Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959)
  • The Savage Seven (1968)
  • The Glory Stompers (1967)
  • Cry of the Banshee (1970)
  • Don’t Go in the House (1979)
  • The House on Sorority Row (1982)
  • The Haunted House of Horror (1969)
  • Boeing, Boeing (1965)
  • All in a Night’s Work (1961)
  • Caught with their Pants Down (1976)
  • The Nickel Ride (1974)
  • Duel of the Iron Fist (1971)
  • All Men Are Brothers (1975)
  • The Long Duel (1967)
  • March or Die (1977)
  • White Lightning (1973)
  • Jackson County Jail (1976)
  • Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)
  • Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
  • The Beyond (1981)
  • Adiós, Sabata (1970)
  • Switchblade Sisters (1975)
  • Kung Fu (1972–1975)
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