7 Perfect Movies According To Quentin Tarantino
Very few filmmakers still working today can say they’ve had as much impact on the world of cinema as Quentin Tarantino.
For that reason, we should probably listen to what he has to say when he recommends the most perfect movies ever made, especially as there are apparently very few being released nowadays that he cares for. The man is responsible for some of the most influential and popular films of the past 30 years: From his groundbreaking debut Reservoir Dogs to cult classics like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, right through to his more recent efforts like Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, you’re likely to find traces of Tarantino in any list of the best films of the modern era.
It’s safe to say he’s pretty good at making movies. But that’s a craft he thinks is nigh on impossible to master, as he revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that there are only seven perfect movies in existence.
This is one of two horror movies Tarantino included in his personal hall of fame, and to be fair to him, he’s absolutely right about this one. The original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is super unsettling and full of creepy moments, but it also looks so damn gorgeous at times that it’s hard not to have really strange, conflicting feelings about the whole experience – and I mean that in the best way.
This is one of the original slasher movies, with director Tobe Hooper nailing both the portrayal of teenage protagonists and inadvertently creating the Final Girl trope, influencing so many that have come after it. The director also puts together some of the most terrifying sequences in film, but the beauty is they don’t rely on jump scares at all – just pure, unadulterated dread. Check it out on Shudder now, if you dare.
If slashers aren’t your thing, how about a classic story of supernatural possession? The Exorcist is a real slow-burn horror that begins with a constant, foreboding feel to it before the whole thing descends into absolute chaos as the demon taking hold of little Regan really starts to show its true colours. With crazy practical effects, intense moments of violence and profanity, and some of the most creative cinematography ever put to film.
This movie was so scary and visceral that audiences back in 1973 were quite literally vomiting and fainting in the cinema. Obviously, in the 50-plus years since then, we’ve become slightly desensitised to this kind of horror. But if it weren’t for The Exorcist, the genre itself would not be what it is today. You can see what all the hype is about by watching it on Now TV Cinema.
There is a real pattern to Quentin Tarantino’s picks for the most perfect films of all time. For a start, the majority of them were made in the ‘70s. More importantly, these are all films that really redefined and set the standard for their specific subgenre, and Annie Hall is no different. What this Woody Allen movie did for the rom-com, in terms of having an unorthodox narrative structure and technical creativity, cannot be understated.
If you like fourth-wall-breaking comedy and a very authentic, honest approach to romance, then this’ll be your cup of tea. Everyone’s sense of humour has changed over the last 50 years, so you’ll need to be appreciative of the comedy style of the past to really fall in love with this one. However, it’s likely that films such as La La Land would not exist without Annie Hall, and for that, we should be eternally grateful. You’ll need MGM+ to watch this, but it’s a genuine all-timer that you really should tick off your watchlist.
Comedy meets gothic horror in this brilliant Mel Brooks movie, which riffs on the classic Mary Shelley story to bring us the tale of Young Frankenstein. The late, great Gene Wilder stars here as the descendant of Dr Frankenstein, a man so determined to reject his family’s legacy but who ends up falling foul of curiosity nonetheless.
Not only does this film look absolutely sublime, with a striking monochromatic palette, but it also delivers fantastic musical numbers and a sharp script littered with witty, memorable quotes. Parody movies get a bad rep these days, but Young Frankenstein is a film without cynicism, and it doesn’t rely on clichés at all. Very much along the lines of Dr Strangelove, thanks to its wonderful blend of silly comedy and deep-rooted satire, it’s one of the most charming films of its kind.
In my opinion, this is the best film on this list. In fact, Jaws is the best film on pretty much any list. It captures everything you would want from a monster movie, from incredible sequences of sheer dread and big, destructive set-pieces, to glorious, highly satisfying moments of the heroes working towards their mission of vanquishing the beast.
However, the real success of Jaws is how it so adeptly builds the world and the characters at the heart of the plot to make this a story we genuinely care about and feel invested in. A simple movie about a killer shark would not be half as engrossing were it not for the suspense and expertly crafted narrative structure – but that’s the magic of Steven Spielberg, I suppose. You can watch Jaws on Now TV Cinema for free, or rent it for £3.49 from Apple TV. One way or another, you simply have to find a way to tick this one off your list.
What’s this? It seems Tarantino does know that films beyond the 1970s exist, after all. And, to be fair to him, he’s added an absolute cult classic to his list of perfect movies. Back to the Future is one of the most downright fun, playful sci-fi comedies ever made, with terrific chemistry between the two leads, Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, and a time travel story that somehow still feels fresh and unique to this day.
If you’re looking for an epic adventure movie to watch with the kids – and one that’ll give them a genuine cultural education, too – then you really can’t beat Back to the Future. Personally, it’s not a film that I’d rank among my absolute favourites, but its quality is undeniable, and I still have a blast any time I watch it. You can find this one easily on Disney+, along with its two sequels, too.
Admittedly, Tarantino quickly retracts the ‘perfect’ status from The Wild Bunch, but the very fact he mentions it in the same breath as the other movies means it deserves some level of recognition from us. I’m sure we’ve all seen our fair share of films where a band of heroes come together to save the day, but it’s arguably far more interesting to see a story centred around a group of bad guys looking to cause havoc instead.
This Sam Peckinpah classic does just that, benefiting from some of the most stylish camera and editing work that you’re likely to find on the other side of the Millennium. The way Peckinpah and his cinematographer, Lucien Ballard, capture the visual beauty and moral ambiguity of the American frontier is quite wonderful, but, as you’d hope, it’s the characters that elevate this from your standard Western into something truly revolutionary and special.
