With contemporary classics like Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds and Kill Bill to his credit, Quentin Tarantino inspires an intense fandom that can be downright competitive. I’ve witnessed this competitiveness on several occasions when—upon learning I’m a blogger—his devotees have asked me on whether or not I like Tarantino’s works (overall, I do), and then challenged to an informal trivia off. Did I know that he has a cameo as a scalped Nazi in Basterds? Did I know his first production jobs were in porn or that he had a small role as an Elvis impersonator in an episode of the Golden Girls? (It’s true! See that below thanks to What Culture.)
Considering Tarantino himself is an obsessive fan of classic Hollywood cinema as well as various genres, including martial arts, grindhouse, and exploitation films, it makes sense his fans would be similarly amped up. But even the most devoted Tarantino admirer might have a hard time with the challenge I set before you now.
The Quentin Tarantino Archives has released a list of the esteemed director’s favorite films of the year so far. Personally, I was surprised by several of his picks, so I thought I’d test the rest of you to see if from the twenty films listed below you can figure out which titles are really on his top ten. Don’t cheat and click the link above, because what fun would that be?
Here are 20 releases from 2013, presented in alphabetical order with the names of their directors. Share your guess in comments on this page if you dare, then go to the next page to see which are actually on Tarantino’s list, and how many you got right.
Afternoon Delight (Jill Soloway)
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (Roman Coppola)
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Drinking Buddies (Joe Swanberg)
Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Tommy Wirkola)
Kick Ass 2 (Jeff Wadlow)
Movie 43 (Peter Farelly, Elizabeth Banks, James Gunn, etc.)
Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine)
Stoker (Park Chan-Wook)
The Canyons (Paul Schrader)
The Conjuring (James Wan)
The Heat (Paul Feig)
The Last Stand (Jee-Woon Kim)
The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski)
This Is The End (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg)
Okay, now that you’ve mulled it over and made your selections, here is the actual list in alphabetical order (Tarantino evidently hasn’t ranked them yet):
Afternoon Delight (Jill Soloway)
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Drinking Buddies (Joe Swanberg)
Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Kick Ass 2 (Jeff Wadlow)
The Conjuring (James Wan)
The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski)
This Is The End (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg)
As you should expect from a filmmaker with as many diverse influences as Tarantino, this list is all over the place. You’ve got critical darlings like Before Midnight, Blue Jasmine, Frances Ha and Gravity. Though critically loathed, Kick-Ass 2’s inclusion makes sense on some level thanks to its heaps out outlandish violence, of which Tarantino is often a fan and defender of. Then there’s some genre love to the horror hit The Conjuring. A bit surprising is the inclusion of two indie comedies that have gained little notice, Afternoon Delight and Drinking Buddies. And while I wouldn’t have guessed the hysterical This Is The End would be on his list, that too makes sense as it plays into his apparent affection for heated and hilarious dialogue between dudes. Its critique of Hollywood celebrity culture is just gravy.
Lastly there's The Lone Ranger, a movie neither critics nor audiences warmed too, making it one of this summer's biggest flops. I can’t pretend to understand what Tarantino sees in that one, but would be fascinated to hear the garrulous director go off about it. Of course, it’s only October, so this list is still fluid. Maybe when his final ranking comes out we’ll revisit this game and see how well we really know one of our favorite contemporary auteurs.
In the comments, tell us how you did on your guesses, and share what you think will appear on this list by year's end!
