Quentin Tarantino recently appeared on The Church of Tarantino podcast, and as expected, he didn’t hold back on his thoughts about his own filmography.
When asked to pick his “best” film, the director offered an answer that shows how much time he’s spent reflecting in his head on his own career.
“Inglourious Basterds” is the best film that I’ve made. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is my favorite. I think “Kill Bill” is the ‘ultimate’ Quentin movie. Like nobody else could have made it… you know, from my imagination, my ID, my love, my passion and my obsession. And so I think “Kill Bill” is the movie I was born to make. I think, “Inglourious Basterds” is my masterpiece. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is my fave.
This seems to settle a long-running theory many have had. At the end of the film, when Brad Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine says, “I think this just might be my masterpiece,” it’s more than just a line about the swastika he’s about to carve into Hans Landa’s forehead. Knowing Tarantino, it’s also cheekily self-referential: the line winks at the audience, suggesting that Inglourious Basterds might truly be the director’s “masterpiece.”
It’s a quintessential Tarantino meta-moment, a subtle pat on the back for a film that’s audacious, playful, and undeniably his own.
Notice how Tarantino lists three films he’s made in the 21st century. There’s no mention of “Pulp Fiction,” or “Reservoir Dogs.” In the interview, he admits these two films having some shots that were rookie mistakes because “I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing.”
There’s like just amateur sh*t in both those movies because I didn’t know what the fck I was doing. So, there’s amateur sht in there that I’m not proud of. I think both if those movies are fantastic, obviously, but I’m just a pro now, and I was a f*cking rookie.
Whether or not you agree with his choices, hearing Tarantino discuss his own films with this level of introspection is a rare treat.
‘Inglourious’ finished #14 on NYT’s 100 Best Films of the 21st Century. His highest ranked title. The other Tarantino’s on the list: “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” (#44) and “Kill Bill: Volume One” (#61).
Then again, if you ask me, “Pulp Fiction” remains Tarantino’s true masterpiece, the film that reinvented the language of cinema, won the Palme d’Or, and spawned countless imitators who have yet to replicate its singular impact. “Jackie Brown” is another often-overlooked jewel, a film that initially received mixed reviews but has aged like fine wine.