Quentin Tarantino holds a particular shot in high esteem from a film that boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Tarantino’s works, such as Pulp Fiction and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, are celebrated for their pop culture nods and dark humor, resonating well with audiences.
Despite his own remarkable collection of films, Tarantino has a selection of cherished movies he admires that he had no part in creating.
Featuring iconic actors like Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, one of Tarantino’s beloved films is hailed as a quintessential Spaghetti Western.
The film in question is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a 1968 classic directed by Sergio Leone, with an unforgettable score by Ennio Morricone.
Tarantino has often expressed that Leone was a significant influence on his desire to pursue directing, particularly noting one shot from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that he finds unparalleled.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Tarantino explained: “That’s easy. During the three-way bullring showdown at the end, the music builds to the giant orchestra crescendo, and when it gets to the first big explosion of the theme there’s a wide shot of the bullring.
“After you’ve seen all the little shots of the guys getting into position, you suddenly see the whole wideness of the bullring and all the graves around them. It’s my favourite shot in the movie, but I’ll even say it’s my favourite cut in the history of movies.”
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, accessible for streaming on Prime, holds an impressive 97 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a review for The Times, Ed Potton wrote: “Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack is widely regarded as the best of his career, with the moody, two-note flute melody… an instantly recognisable refrain that is folksy and avant-garde at the same time.”
The London Evening Standard praised the film, stating: “It still looks a treat and a bold and largely successful attempt to recast the traditions of the genre in a new, sometimes critical, almost operatic way.”
Empire Magazine noted about this cinematic classic: “Amid the endless homages and the sheer adoration meted out to Sergio Leone’s ambitious, pricier finale to his Spaghetti Western trilogy, it’s easy to forget just how damn good the film is.”