Quentin Tarantino Admits ‘Death Proof’ Shook Up His Confidence as a Director

Any fans of “Death Proof”? Considered by many to be Quentin Tarantino’s worst movie, I’ve always had a soft spot for this grindhouse revenge flick.

I still stand by my original opinion that Kurt Russell's performance as Stuntman Mike is one of his very best. Also, Zoe Bell should have gotten more opportunities after making this film — she does such badass work here.

In a new interview with Spanish outlet Ara, Tarantino admits that the tepid response to 2007’s “Death Proof” brought him down to earth, so to speak.

“Death Proof” didn't do well at the box office, wasn’t well-received and that was a bit of a shock to my confidence. Then I started getting proposals from studios to direct other people’s scripts. They probably thought, "since his ego is down, now is the time to snatch him up." And there's nothing wrong with making commercial movies for Hollywood. They have always offered me interesting projects. But I preferred to reinvest in myself and made “Inglourious Basterds” two years later.

I always felt as though “Death Proof” was Tarantino’s most underrated work. Part of the ire towards this film had to do with it being part of the “Grindhouse” anthology alongside Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror.”

A director’s cut of “Death Proof” had premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, without “Planet Terror”, and I think that’s how the film should have been screened from the get-go. Not as a companion to Rodriguez’s film, but as one separate entity.

Over the years, the film has picked up some major arthouse cred, outside the US, with renowned directors such as Claire Denis, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Arnaud Desplechin, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Bertrand Bonello and Claude Lanzmann all praising the film.

“Death Proof” was a lean, mean, action film. It might have been a more minimalist approach to filmmaking, at least when compared to Tarantino’s other films, but it’s still a quintessential addition to his filmography.

The setup is great, with the Tarantino-esque dialogue and the tension being built up. It all culminates with that incredible car chase scene at the climax, thrillingly rendered with no CGI added in. It’s all brazenly realized stunt work on the part of Bell and her fellow stuntwomen.

It might look like an odd addition in Tarantino’s filmography, but it’s also his loosest and most playfully conceived film. There’s real joy in the filmmaking and it’s absolutely contagious.