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The first movie Quentin Tarantino remembers watching: “This is the fucking movie!”

Sun 16 July 2023 15:30, UK

Whether you’re a fan of Quentin Tarantino‘s movies or not, it’s hard to argue against the influence he has exerted over modern cinema. Beginning with his 1992 debut Reservoir Dogs, the director made waves in the industry by creating a slick, well-written crime thriller on a moderately small budget of $1.2million.

His next feature, Pulp Fiction, was released two years later, landing him an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’. Complete with an ensemble cast, including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis and Tim Roth, the movie was equally funny as it was thrilling. Several decades later, Pulp Fiction is still adored by cinephiles and casual movie-goers alike, perhaps due to the mixture of high and low-brow influences which define the movie.

Tarantino’s success as a filmmaker is built on his expansive knowledge of cinema, ranging from obscure B-movies to acclaimed classics. It’s no secret that the director values anything from westerns to sexploitations and cheesy horrors, and he often pays his respects to the movies that shaped his tastes, whether through a subtle nod or a direct homage. For example, his love of blaxploitation movies is reflected in 1997’s Jackie Brown, starring ’70s blaxploitation icon Pam Grier.

However, Tarantino’s cinematic approach has also been informed by less conscious influences, such as his earliest cinematic memories, which buried their way deep into the director’s subconscious. Talking to Italian talk show host Fabio Fazio, Tarantino revealed the first movie he ever watched when he was just five. In typical Tarantino fashion, his answer was anything but typical, selecting 1967’s Deadlier Than the Male.

With the success of the James Bond franchise, which kicked off in 1962 with Dr No, studio executives were quick to cash in on the idea of a slick, sexy spy drama. Taking the existing character of Bulldog Drummond, who first appeared in 1920 in H. C. McNeile’s book series of the same name, Deadlier Than the Male starred Richard Johnson as the titular character, who was the first choice to play 007 in Dr No.

The movie was by no means good – it simply existed as an opportunity to garner some success off the back of Bond – but it certainly left an impression on a young Tarantino. The director explained: “I remember this one scene with Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina. They kidnap this guy, and they kind of hold this guy prisoner. I remember watching it at five and being a little blown away by the sexual politics of it. I didn’t understand that at five.”

Many years later, Tarantino bought the movie at random, subsequently recognising it as one of the movies that shaped his earliest perceptions of the medium. He continued: “And so I’m screening it after I bought it. And then all of a sudden, about midway through, that scene comes on and I go: ‘Oh my God! This is the fucking movie! This is the first movie I ever fucking saw!'”

Watch the trailer for Deadlier Than the Male below.