Going through my drafts, I found a critics’ poll I had started in 2024 that has been left dormant since. It was not even half done, with only 50 lists submitted — the goal is always 150-200 — but I now vow to complete it before the year is out.
The survey asked critics to name Quentin Tarantino’s best film, his “masterpiece,” and when I left off, the results were tied for first place between two films. Since the poll isn’t finished yet, I won’t reveal which two, but it’s fun to guess.
It was supposed to be published shortly after Tarantino appeared on “The Church of Tarantino” podcast, where the hosts asked him to pick his “best” film. His answer shows how much time he’s spent reflecting 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 — somewhat —settle a long-running theory many have had. At the end of “Inglourious Basterds,” 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. It’s also cheekily self-referential: the line winks at the audience, suggesting that Tarantino believes he might have truly made his “masterpiece.”
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 that both films have 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.
‘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 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.
Side note: scrolling through his filmography, Tarantino has directed ten films (if, unlike him, you count both “Kill Bill” movies as separate entities), and in my personal opinion, he has not released a bad film in his entire career. I even really like “Death Proof,” the film Tarantino himself has called the worst he’s ever made. That final car chase, with Zoë Bell strapped to the hood, is as pure a jolt of practical filmmaking as anything he’s shot. And “The Hateful Eight,” dismissed by some as bloated and mean, has only grown on me: a snowbound chamber piece that harks back to the films Tarantino made in the ’90s, with a dose of John Carpenter and Sergio Leone mixed in.
Now it’s your turn. Which Tarantino film is his masterpiece? Cast your vote, and take a guess at which two films are currently tied atop the poll. The final results drop before the year is out.
Quentin Tarantino has released ten films, but which one is his masterpiece? A critics’ poll I started back in 2024, and left sitting in my drafts ever since, is currently deadlocked between two films.