Seminal director Quentin Tarantino is no fan of the modern era of movies. And he hates the 1980s and 1950s too. The filmmaker, who is known for such classics as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Django Unchained, made this declaration during a recent episode of his and Roger Avary’s The Video Archives Podcast, with Tarantino stating passionately that today’s movies are nothing less than the worst “in Hollywood history.” Ouch.
“Even though the ‘80s was the time that I probably saw more movies in my life than ever–at least as far as going out to the movies was concerned–I do feel that ‘80s cinema is, along with the ‘50s, the worst era in Hollywood history. Matched only by now, matched only by the current era!”
Many will take issue with Tarantino’s dismissal of these decades of cinema, with the 1980s in particular including plenty of iconic movies, many of which are now being revisited and brought back for legacy sequels. Of course, there will also be those who couldn’t agree more with Tarantino’s criticisms, especially in the modern era. Saturated with superhero movies, Tarantino is not the first well-respected director to question how movies are made today.
“You have to be a hired hand to do those things,” Tarantino said previously when asked if he would ever helm an installment in either the Marvel Cinematic Universe of the DC Universe. "I’m not a hired hand. I’m not looking for a job.”
Of course, this is not to say that Tarantino dismisses all modern movies, with the director saying that, in some ways, market saturation allows the better stuff to stand out. “The ones that don’t conform, the ones that stand out from the pack,” he added.
Quentin Tarantino Did Like at Least One Movie This Year
Thankfully, Tarantino did like at least one movie this year. The director recently heaped praise on the Tom Cruise legacy sequel, Top Gun: Maverick saying, "I don't want to do that. But in this case, I f*****g loved Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters... That and [Steven] Spielberg's West Side Story both provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I'd almost thought that I wasn't going to see anymore. It was fantastic."
The director even loved the sequences that could be accused of cheap nostalgia, applauding the scene in which Cruise’s Maverick comes face-to-face with his old rival, Val Kilmer’s Iceman. "[It] was almost too cheap, but it absolutely works,” Tarantino said. “It's a bit like Charlie Chaplin dying on stage for the last scene of Limelight... but it f*****g works. You're waiting for it and the f*****g scene delivers."
While Tarantino seemingly adored Top Gun: Maverick, the first Top Gun landed in theaters in 1986. So, we can only assume that he did not feel the same about the first outing.
The last audiences saw of Tarantino was in 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was met with critical acclaim and went on to be nominated for ten awards at the 92nd Academy Awards, winning two.