Quentin Tarantino, the mastermind behind cinematic masterpieces such as Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and Reservoir Dogs, is also an avid movie buff himself.
The Hollywood filmmaker, from Knoxville, Tennessee, US, delighted fans by revealing his top three film picks he’d take on a desert island in an unearthed video that has taken the internet by storm with more than 68,000 views.
In the trending clip being shared on X, we see Tarantino in a nostalgic video store setting, pondering: “If I was going to be trapped on a dessert island and I could go to video archives before I was going to get trapped on a dessert island… what three movies would I take with me?”
Tarantino then beelines for the drama aisle and discloses: “One of the movies would be Brian De Palma’s Blow Out.”
He regards this choice highly, stating: “I think it’s one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s Brian De Palma’s finest films, which means it’s one of the greatest movies ever made because as we all know, Brian De Palma this greatest director of his generation.”
He also heaps praise on John Travolta’s performance as Jack Terry in Blow Out, adding: “John Travolta by the way… it’s one of the best performances of all time in this movie.”
In the 1981 mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma, Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician hailing from Philadelphia is seen unintentionally recording an assassination that involves a presidential candidate while gathering sounds for a low-budget horror flick.
Moving on to his second favourite pick, Tarantino chooses the classic Howard Hawks 1959 American Western film ‘Rio Bravo’ starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond.
The plot follows John Wayne as a Texan sheriff who arrests a murderer only to find himself facing the might of a local ranching empire. Standing with him are three unlikely allies – an old man, a drunk, and a hotshot young gunfighter – as they wait for federal support.
Tarantino didn’t hold back his admiration, saying: “This is, as far as I’m concerned, one of the best movies ever made. Ricky Nelson is so cool in this movie and Dean Martin gives one of the greatest performances ever too. Performances are a big thing of mine.”
Rounding out his top picks, Tarantino ventured into the LaserDisc section to grab the criterion edition of Martin Scorsese’s transformative 1976 feature ‘Taxi Driver’.
The stark American neo-noir psychological drama, shadowed by the aftereffects of the Vietnam War, catapulted Robert De Niro into film history with his portrayal of Travis Bickle, an unhinged Marine turned cabbie whose sanity spirals as he confronts the nocturnal underbelly of New York City.
Tarantino lauds Harvey Keitel’s portrayal of Matthew ‘Sport’ Higgins in the film as one of the “finest performances” ever seen.
While his selections sparked interest among fans, not all were entirely convinced. One viewer commented: “Agree with Taxi Driver. Not the other two.”
Reflecting on the nostalgic video store clip, another individual remarked: “Young people today will never appreciate the joy of browsing through a video store and discovering movies this way!”.