The two Robert Altman movies Quentin Tarantino hates most: “Terrible, boring, and pointless”
As one of the most notable cinephiles in the industry, Quentin Tarantino can – and has, on countless occasions – waxed lyrical on the merits of countless movies. On the other hand, when he doesn’t enjoy something, the director makes his opinion every bit as clear.
Robert Altman might have helmed a slew of certifiable cinematic classics including M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Nashville, The Player, and Gosford Park to name just a small few – notching seven Academy Award nominations before being bestowed with the ‘Academy Honorary Award’ just months prior to his death in November of 2006 – but Tarantino was never a fan.
As he succinctly put it when hosting a masterclass at the Lumière Festival when he begrudgingly acknowledged M*A*S*H as one of the selections: “He didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him,” he said. However, it’s two of Altman’s lesser-known works that took a particular pounding under the scathing eye of Tarantino’s withering assessment.
In his book Cinema Speculation, the filmmaker was found reflecting on an Altman double-feature that he attended with his parents, uncle, and babysitter, where he wasn’t in the mood for holding back: “The evening was not a success,” he said. “Not only did they not like the two movies, my stepfather and uncle proceeded to bitch about them for days after”.
Tarantino added: “Brewster McCloud is one of the worst movies to ever carry a studio logo, and that’s fully acknowledging Altman also made Quintet for a studio as well. Quintet is just terrible, boring, and pointless.”
Altman’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi Quintet is one of his most notable failures, proving to be a disaster at the box office and leaving critics feeling every bit as cold as the frozen wasteland in which it takes place. That being said, it was made crystal clear in no uncertain terms which of the two Tarantino held in the lesser regard.
Black comedy Brewster McCloud follows the title character, who lives in a nuclear fallout shelter and sets about crafting a set of wings that would allow him to fly. It may have fared better review-wise than Quintet, but Tarantino nonetheless described it as “the cinematic equivalent of a bird shitting on your head.” Again tying it to his viewing experience, he found it “kind of amusing” to imagine his parents, uncle, and teenage babysitter “buying a ticket to Brewster McCloud and expecting to see a real movie.”
Regardless of what he may have thought of Tarantino’s filmography, Altman never felt compelled to air his grievances with his contemporary’s work in such a public forum. Then again, Tarantino has never exactly been regarded as a shrinking violent, with countless movies hailing from some of Hollywood’s true titans finding themselves coming under fire over the years.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.