Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Movies of 2019 Will Surprise You
Quentin Tarantino might be one of the most popular and revered filmmakers working today. But he’s also one of the biggest cinephiles out there. It’s why his films are so chockful of references and homages.
Because Tarantino is such a student of cinema, fans tend to lean in whenever he has anything to say about the art form. Thanks to his work in the 1990s and beyond, the director has helped shape modern movies. Now we’ve learned a bit more about which 2019 films he loved.
Quentin Tarantino loved one of the year’s sleeper hits
Tarantino has a well-documented love of horror films. He’s even considering making one himself. So it felt appropriate in November when he said Crawl was among his favorite movies of 2019.
Set during a category-5 Florida hurricane, that film — directed by Alexandre Aja — is a mix of horror and disaster film. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of thrill ride which is right up Tarantino’s alley.
Crawl wasn’t a runaway smash hit, but it did make a decent impact on the box office. The film earned $91 million worldwide against a $13.5 million budget. That’s solid for a non-franchise movie with no big-name stars, especially in the current cinematic landscape.
But he has a new favorite movie of 2019
Crawl might have temporarily clawed its way to the top of Tarantino’s best-of list. But two newer releases have knocked it out of the number one spot. That’s right, folks: we’ve just learned Tarantino’s three favorite films of 2019.
Erick Weber of Awards Ace recently spoke with Tarantino at an event and tweeted about the director’s picks for the year’s best films. Crawl is still rounding out the top three. However, The Irishman and Doctor Sleep currently sit at numbers one and two, respectively.
The Irishman feels like a natural choice for Tarantino, seeing as it is an Oscar frontrunner and serves as a thematic callback to Martin Scorsese’s influential filmography. Likewise, Doctor Sleep neatly fits Tarantino’s proclivity for horror films. The Mike Flanagan-directed sequel to The Shining, unfortunately, didn’t connect at the box office though.
Quentin Tarantino’s own film will top lists
Notably, Tarantino’s list of 2019 favorites has one big difference from that of many other moviegoers. After all, the director’s own Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is already popping up on many year-end best-of lists. Moreover, the film — Tarantino’s ninth — will likely go head to head with The Irishman at next year’s Oscars.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, of course, headline Hollywood as a washed-up movie star and his stunt double, respectively. But the film feels more like a love letter to the film industry in the 1960s than anything else. Fittingly, Tarantino’s latest captures not only his own storytelling prowess but the awe he retains when it comes to pure movie magic.
Hopefully, word of Tarantino’s 2019 favorites will get a few more people to seek out Doctor Sleep and Crawl. Both films were somewhat under-seen considering the strong reviews and talent involved, especially the former. As for The Irishman, fans need only fire up their Netflix accounts to take in Scorsese’s 209-minute epic.
