Even Quentin Tarantino’s worst critics will probably have to acknowledge that this man is completely committed to his profession. Since he shook up Hollywood over 30 years ago with his debut film Reservoir Dogs, the director mastermind has been philosophizing almost constantly with enthusiasm about his great love: films!
Be it a largely unknown road movie with Kevin Costner or a now completely forgotten horror western – Tarantino feels like he has seen it all and therefore has some personal favorites. But which three films could the soon-to-be-retired director definitely not live without? He provided the answer to that a long time ago.
Tarantino’s favorites are three milestones in film history
For a French report about him on the occasion of Reservoir Dogs’ VHS release at the time In April 1993, Tarantino visited his former place of work: the Video Archives video store in Los Angeles.
In the video he wanders through the shelves of his natural habitat and names the three films he “would take you to a deserted island”. This is about undisputed masterpieceseach of which was directed by well-known directors.
As the first film in his personal top 3, Tarantino names the paranoia thriller Blow out – Death deletes all traces, which he calls “one of the greatest films ever made” designated. Its director Brian De Palma is also “the most important director of his generation” and lead actor John Travolta delivers “one of the best performances of all time” Tarantino continues to rave.
You can watch the trailer for Blow Out here:
Blow Out – Trailer (English) HD
Next he stops in the Western section and presents Howard Hawks’ genre classic Rio Bravo as number 2 on his list. Here the two-time Oscar winner particularly highlights the actors Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson.
You can watch the trailer for Rio Bravo here:
Rio Bravo – Trailer (English)
Tarantino finally completes his trio of favorites with the legendary noir psychodrama Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese, whose laserdisc version (!) he holds up to the camera. He seems to be particularly impressed by Harvey Keitel’s portrayal of a pimp in the film, as he reveals in the video.
You can watch the trailer for Taxi Driver here:
Taxi Driver – 4k Release Trailer (English) HD
With today’s knowledge of the cinematic influences in Tarantino’s oeuvre, his choice of titles at the time is honestly only somewhat surprising. In the years that followed, he never made a secret of his admiration for the aforementioned directors and films. As is well known, his own directing work has always been full of reminiscences of his great role models and favorite works.
Still, it’s just fun to see the then 30-year-old Tarantino in his element, like him chats devotedly about films. A look at his interviews today shows that nothing has changed three decades later. What he himself didn’t know in 1993 (but perhaps suspected): that his own filmography would one day be peppered with great works that millions of fans couldn’t do without either.
Tarantino’s favorite films in stream: Where are the three classics available?
Of Quentin Tarantino’s personal top 3, only Taxi Driver is currently available as a flat-rate subscription, namely on Netflix and MagentaTV. You can currently rent or buy Blow out and Rio Bravo on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.