The only Quentin Tarantino movie Quentin Tarantino has never seen
Quentin Tarantino is one of the most self-assured directors in the business, with a level of confidence that has allowed him to discuss his own work as though he was the creator of cinema itself. After gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of film after working in a video store, the director began pooling together pots of money to make his own work, eventually leading to his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs.
Through his twist on the crime genre and iconic pairing with Harvey Keitel, Tarantino made his mark in Hollywood and shortly became the face of independent filmmaking through Pulp Fiction, which remains as one of his most loved and influential films. His frequent use of sprawling storylines and ensemble casts has defined the remainder of his work, with a huge cult following that obsess over his every move and study his many creative trademarks.
From films like Django Unchained, Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the director has become known for his enthusiastic love of cinema and littering of reference across his work, paying homage to the directors that have most inspired him. However, there is perhaps no-one that Tarantino finds more inspirational than himself, with the director revelling in the love he has for his own work and often rewatching his films. However, while he revisits his own genius on a regular basis and enjoys giving himself a good old pat on the back, the director admitted that there is one film he worked on that he never watched, breaking his streak of staggering self-confidence.
Oliver Stone is one of the most controversial directors in the business, often creating films that revolve around socio-political issues, highlighting our obsession with violence and those in positions of power who exploit and suppress the voices of other people. Through films like Snowden, JFK and Platoon, he has established his voice as one of the most divisive filmmakers in Hollywood, operating on a marmite basis with each of his projects.
You might imagine that this tone would pair well with Tarantino, who has had a similar effect on audiences through his extreme use of violence and derogatory language, but the directors famously clashed after collaborating on the 1994 film Natural Born Killers, which remains as the only film of Tarantino’s that he hasn’t watched from start to finish.
In the past, Tarantino has proudly proclaimed his love for all his films and his joy at revisiting them, but Natural Born Killers did not make the cut, with the director butting heads with Oliver Stone when penning the screenplay for the film. Tarantino famously wrote the script, which was then heavily edited without Tarantino’s consent.
When discussing this, Tarantino said, “Well, I’ve never see it from beginning to end. Because he rewrote the script and like you just can’t do that to me. I got really pissed off. The thing about it was, I said, ‘I’m never going to see this damn thing, I’m not going to see it’. And then I ended up hanging out with Juliette Lewis and we decided, lets go see it. So we just went to the movie theatres and paid to see it. And we’re 20 minutes into the movie and I’m getting pissed off and she goes, ‘Let’s just get the fuck out of here’”.
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