Quentin Tarantino names “the greatest achievement in the history of cinema”
The cinematic achievements of Quentin Tarantino are undeniable, given that his success is widespread across the movie business.
Since his first feature, Reservoir Dogs, arrived in 1992, Tarantino’s films have been considered some of the greatest efforts of the last three decades. The director has persistently delivered quality movies with his unique and often imitated style.
Tarantino has had the opportunity to work with some of the best-ever actors, including Samuel L Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Uma Thurman, and his movies have inspired countless of his fellow filmmakers over the years. But when it comes to Tarantino’s own biggest influences, it looks like there is no match for the legendary Sergio Leone.
Leone’s works have often come up in conversation throughout the many times Tarantino discusses his favourite movies, and of the Italian director’s films, it appears that he values none of them as highly as his 1966 spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, the third part of his Dollars Trilogy.
Inspired by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Leone brought an iconic style to his western trilogy that included A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and his masterpiece, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. With the help of Ennio Morricone’s influential soundtrack, Leone crafted a film that was inextricably tied to the identity of the American West while oozing a new innovative elegance that would bring the genre into a new era.
Telling the story of two scammers who create a tense alliance whilst racing to find a fortune of gold buried in a deserted cemetery against a third hunter, the film is considered one of the greatest movies of the 1960s. Adored by masses of fans worldwide, the film’s thrilling final sequence has been viewed the most times, with filmmakers and cinephiles picking apart the masterful stand-off scene to discover the artistry beneath the breathtaking moment.
“My favourite movie of all time is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” Tarantino once said. “Why? Because it’s the greatest cinematic achievement in the history of cinema”. When asked which director Tarantino would love to be if he could be any other, he also said that he’d be Sergio Leone.
“That would be cool,” he admitted. “After you do the Dollars Trilogy, how can you ever top that? And then he topped that with Once Upon a Time in America, and it’s like, how fan can you go?” Tarantino admitted that out of all his favourite directors, it’s Leone that has been the “greatest influence” on his own work.
“At the end of the day, I think the one artist who has been the most influential to me and my work has got to be Sergio Leone,” he added. “That kind of half-assed operatic quality that he brought and the way the music takes over from the set pieces. I think he’s the filmmaker who inspired most of my work.”
But it looks like Leone’s 1966 movie is Tarantino’s favourite of all. It stars Clint Eastwood in one of his most famous roles as ‘The Man With No Name’. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is known for its excellent cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli, featuring distinctive long shots and close-ups, and Ennio Morricone’s score. It’s simply one of the greatest western movies ever made.
Check out the trailer below to see why Tarantino adores it so.
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