Paul Newman’s three worst movies, according to Quentin Tarantino: “I’d rather saw my fingers off than sit through that again”
Quentin Tarantino has always had a fascination that bordered on obsession with Steve McQueen, but it gradually became clear that he didn’t feel the same way about the actor who became a career-long nemesis for the ‘King of Cool’, Paul Newman.
The filmmaker always felt that McQueen was “under-acknowledged as an actor,” and even though he wouldn’t hesitate to criticise the star’s movies when they weren’t up to scratch, describing the self-indulgent Le Mans as “very pretentious and very boring,” that didn’t diminish his fandom.
After all, the two-time Academy Award winner once screened a five-film tribute to The Great Escape frontman at this New Beverly Cinema, showcasing pristine prints of The Getaway, Papillon, Bullitt, An Enemy of the People, The Great Escape, and Junior Bonner, and a stone-cold cinephile like Tarantino isn’t going to dedicate that much time and resources to someone he doesn’t really like.
However, even though the Pulp Fiction mastermind knows almost everything there is to know about 1960s and 1970s American cinema, he’s never seemed too high on Newman, who was one of the era’s biggest stars and best actors. He did consider him for Jackie Brown‘s Max Cherry, but that’s about it.
This being one of the industry’s most outspoken filmic voices, though, he’s happy to shit all over the Newman flicks he can’t stand. In his defence, his issues with Robert Altman’s post-apocalyptic dud, Quintet, had more to do with the director than the leading man, but he loathed the picture either way.
He branded it as “terrible, boring, and pointless,” which isn’t too wide of the mark, but he was definitely wrong about The Towering Inferno, which, of course, co-starred McQueen. It’s one of the greatest disaster movies ever made, and it was a critical, commercial, and awards season force to be reckoned with, not that Tarantino agrees.
In fact, he was incredulous that it was recognised by the Oscars. “It’s shocking how awful that movie is,” he offered. “And it got nominated for ‘Best Picture!'” Regardless of who takes top billing, it would appear that the writer and director isn’t sold on the highly niche subgenre of actors who race cars in their spare time making films about racing cars.
Tarantino didn’t care for McQueen’s Le Mans, and he hated Newman’s Winning even more, calling it “even worse” and saying, “I’d rather saw my fingers off than sit through that again.” Suffice to say, he won’t be giving it a rewatch to see if it holds up better on a second viewing, and it sounds like he barely made it through the first time.
Newman delivered countless memorable performances and played a key part in some of the most acclaimed and highest-grossing movies of the ’60s and ’70s, but you couldn’t pay Tarantino to watch Winning, The Towering Inferno, or Quintet again.
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