Quentin Tarantino names “the greatest hangout movie” ever made
From the moment Quentin Tarantino released his debut film, Reservoir Dogs, it was clear he would become a mainstay of American cinema. The director, who has managed to nail a specific aesthetic, no matter the genre, went on to find even more success with Pulp Fiction a few years later, quickly cementing himself as one of the most significant figures of independent filmmaking.
Tarantino continued to find acclaim in subsequent decades with hits such as Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. However, the filmmaker discovered a love for cinema as a child when his mother’s husband introduced him to films such as Deliverance. By the time he was 14, he’d written his first screenplay, Captain Peachfuzz and the Anchovy Bandit.
As a young adult, Tarantino worked in a video store, spending every waking moment consuming films in some way or another. He once explained to the BBC: “When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘No, I went to films’.” Each Tarantino movie is loaded with references to other cinematic achievements, with his oeuvre acting as one great homage to his love for cinema.
These days, he is one of the most well-known modern directors – not only because of his films but also due to his outspoken personality. Tarantino has never shied away from the chance to talk about films, from those he loves to the ones he despises. Over the years, he has given lists of his favourite movies, including titles such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Taxi Driver, Carrie, His Girl Friday and Blow Out.
Tarantino loves talking about films at any given opportunity, and he has given many interviews in which he has waxed lyrical about movies, demonstrating a profound knowledge of cinema. In a promotional interview for Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino rattled off a list of his favourite film from every year between 1992 and 2009. In doing so, the director selected one he called “the greatest hangout movie ever made”.
His choice was none other than Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. The 1993 movie, set in 1976, depicts a group of students as they experience the last day before summer at a Texan high school. From hazing rituals to trying drugs and alcohol for the first time, the ensemble cast of (mainly) loveable characters are confronted with the ups and downs of adolescence, all condensed into one night.
The film starred actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich and Parker Posey, who all went on to have incredibly successful careers. Despite being a commercial failure at the time of release, it is now a cult favourite, thanks to its quotable lines, nostalgic atmosphere, and varied collection of characters.
Dazed and Confused is undoubtedly one of the greatest hangout movies (“along with Rio Bravo,” according to Tarantino), as well as an essential entry to the coming-of-age canon. He elucidated: “Every time you watch it, every three years or four years, the characters are like your friends, and it’s just like you’re hanging out with them again, seeing your old friends.”
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