Movies to watch if you like Quentin Tarantino

Note: I wrote about 90% of this 5 months ago and forgot I had done it so now i'm posting it.

Tarantino's movies are an acquired taste but most people outside of film aficionados and cinephiles have that taste. His movies have inspired copy cats but he himself has stolen from other directors (he even stole the idea of stealing from other movies from one the below). If you have ever seen a Q&A with the man himself you will know that he loves his movies and he knows how to compose his feelings on them. So here are 10 movies that Tarantino has shared his affection for.

The Great Escape (1963, Dir. John Sturges)

Unlike most classic films that have lasted the test of time this one didn't receive much of a critical acclaim upon it's release. Starring action heavy weights such as Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson as well as Richard Attenborough, this WW2 prisoner of war camp film was one that showed the darker side to WW2 way before Saving Private Ryan.

The two-and-a-half hour run time feels about almost half of that thanks to the great editing. Like the name of the title of the movie suggest, the escape is great and one that you won't forget too soon.

Carrie/Blow Out (1976/81, Dir. Brian de Palma)

When most people choose a favourite director from the New Hollywood era, most will go with directors like Coppola, Spielberg or Scorsese. However, Tarantino's tastes don't form with the norms most of the time. His favourite from the era was in fact Brian De Palma, a film maker who is often accused of style-over-substance. While I'm not sure what Tarantino thinks of those claims, I think they are outlandish as De Palma is one of few directors to pack plenty of style in their movies but fill it with enough substance to make them re-watchable.

I knew I had to choose one of De Palma's films for this list but I couldn't choose one as on two separate occasions, he has both of these films on a top 10 of all-time list. I've covered Blow Out in a double review before with Blow-Up but Carrie I only saw recently and it deserves the following behind it. Both films have influenced Tarantino in his own films, most notably the use of split-screen in Kill Bill vol. 1.

The Man with No Name/Dollars Trilogy (1964/65/66, Dir. Sergio Leone)

The third entrance in this Trilogy is also Tarantino's favourite film of all-time. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, that is. The film is not only a great spaghetti western (probably the greatest spaghetti western) it's also a great epic and character piece film to the brim with memorable scenes and maybe the greatest score ever by Oscar winner Ennio Moricone. Few directors have been able to accomplish what Sergio Leone did here and I'm sure Tarantino would testify to that.

The first two chapters in the trilogy are also must sees. The first one, 'A Fistful of Dollars' is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo' and while I prefer the later Fistful is still an entertaining watch (and if you watch it you should then re-watch Back to the Future Parts 2 and 3. The middle part of the trilogy is probably the least memorable but like the other two is still a great watch.

Memories of Murder/The Host (2003/06, Dir. Bong Joon Ho)

Neither of these movies may be seen as the most popular among the Korean new-wave that took place in the early 2000s (and somewhat is still going on) but I'll be damned if they aren't the best. Unlike Bong Joon-Ho's peers, he can change genre seamlessly. He went from cop-drama, to monster horror, to mystery/crime and then to dystopian sci-fi. I want to concentrate on the former two, the police drama and monster horror.

When you tell a story, in ways you want your story to defy expectations and that is what Joon-Ho does so well. His movies are creative in plot but it's mainly direction where he truly succeeds. He gets creative in visual storytelling and he backs away from what makes so many American movies bland; shot|reverse shot. With the exception of two movies (of five), the YouTube channel, 'Every Frame a Painting has covered his movies and what he does so well. (If you liked Snowpiecer you should check out both Memories of Murder and The Host, and maybe Mother if you like the other two.

Dazed and Confused (1993, Dir. Richard Linklater)

Tarantino has described this as the ultimate hang-out film. I totally agree with that. It's one that you can re-visit every couple of years and it's like meeting up with old friends again. The film is filled with so many great characters like Ben Affleck's O'Bannion and Matthew McConaughey's Wooderson (which is were his catchphrase "All right, All right, All right" comes from. In 100 minutes Richard Linklater presents us with an amazing soundtrack as well as unforgettable characters but a story (or an afternoon) that makes sense in anytime period, even if it is firmly a 70s movie.

In a press confrence from Cannes in 2014, Tarantino said that he, along with a group of friends had an email chain going, in which they listed and discussed who the "top 10 exciting film makers working today were?". He clarified that when they meant exciting, that those directors, haven't made their best work yet. While I can't be sure if Tarantino had seen Boyhood by then, he did claim that Linklater (and David Fincher) made everyone's list. So if you still aren't convinced to watch Dazed and Confused, maybe you should listen to his friends.

Godard's Early Work (1960-67, Dir Jean-Luc Godard)

While I might be cheating here a bit since Godard made 15 films between 1960 and 1967, each one I have seen is an undeniable masterpiece. I have listed many of Godard's films in other lists and there is a reason. He's movies are just so damned great. Godard has influenced in way or another almost everyone since the 1960s. That includes, Wes Anderson, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and of course Tarantino. Tarantino has describe Godard as the Bob Dylan of movies.

According Tarantino, he liked the way Godard just broke the rules of cinema and he didn't care. This influence of rule breaking can be seen in all of Tarantino's work, even if he has claimed that he has grown out of Godard.

Badlands (1973, Dir. Terrence Malick)

After Citizen Kane, Badlands is easily the most important debut movie of American cinema. This Bonnie and Clyde-esque movie stars Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now and The Departed) and Sissy Spaceck (Carrie and The Straight Story) and before David Lynch ever began to show his curiosity in Americana, Malick explores that part of the USA in a way no one had done before or since.

Badlands also acts a precursor to the great films that Malick would go on to make later in his career; the emotional epics. Badlands is small in scale, even if it is a road movie. Like every other Malick film, the cinematography is great to look at and works wonders for the story at hand.

The Exorcist (1973, Dir. William Friedkin)

Not many horror movies have had an impact on pop-culture the way The Exorcist has. Unlike the Conjuring or Paranormal Activity, The Exorcist, is spin-chilling. Where the modern movies give you a jump scare, The Exorcist, gets to you on two levels. The first being scared, the story of the movie, is not something you want to happen to you and the second is something that gets to you on the emotional level. While that can be attributed to the great writing, directing and special effects, Ellen Burstyn's performance acts as a bridge between audience and movie to really give the viewer an emotional scare.

The Thing (1982, Dir. John Carpenter)

If have seen the Thing along with Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and The Hateful Eight you know why this movie is on the list and it's not only because of Kurt Russell's credits. Each of the films deal with someone lying about their true identity. The Thing features an alien, Reservoir has an undercover cop and Hateful Eight has, well you should see the film to find that one out. All deal with isolation in way or another and The Thing and The Hateful Eight just don't share a composer (who Tarantino is a big fan of) The Hateful Eight uses unused tracks from The Thing.

Battle Royale (2000, Dir. Kinji Fukasaku)

I could simply say that Tarantino claims that this is favorite movie to have been released since 1992 (when he started making films) but you might want to know a bit more. This movie inspired The Hunger Games books but it doesn't have the excess fat of the dull world building. Instead of pointing out the obvious wrong doings of the people who run the battle like The Hunger Games, it lets the story unfold on the island the battle takes place on.

It's also quite violent which shouldn't surprise you if you have seen any Tarantino movie.

So those are QT's favorites. Have you seen any of them? What are your thoughts on them?