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Quentin Tarantino has never shied away from bold statements about cinema — his own films included. Now, the two-time Academy Award winner has offered rare insight into how he views his body of work, ranking his movies not just by personal affection, but by artistic achievement and creative fulfillment.
Speaking during an expansive appearance on The Church of Tarantino podcast, the director drew sharp distinctions between what he considers his favorite film, his best film, and the one he was destined to make.
“‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is my favorite, ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my best,” Tarantino said. “But I think ‘Kill Bill’ is the ultimate Quentin movie, like nobody else could’ve made it. Every aspect about it is so particularly ripped, like with tentacles and bloody tissue, from my imagination and my id and my loves and my passion and my obsession. So I think ‘Kill Bill’ is the movie I was born to make, I think ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my masterpiece, but ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is my favorite.”
The distinction matters. For Tarantino, “favorite” does not necessarily mean “best.” While he holds a deep personal connection to his 2019 love letter to late-1960s Hollywood, it is Inglourious Basterds (2009) that he elevates as his artistic high point — a revisionist war epic blending pulp spectacle with historical audacity. And when it comes to Kill Bill, his two-part martial arts revenge saga, he frames it as the most quintessential expression of his sensibilities, the film only he could have created.
Tarantino extended the conversation beyond his films to his screenplays. “I think ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my best script, and I think ‘Hateful Eight’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ are right behind,” he explained. He also singled out The Hateful Eight (2015) as possibly his most accomplished directing effort, noting how it required him to “service the material” with precision rather than reinvent it during production.
Despite his affection for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino confirmed he would not return to its world for the upcoming Netflix sequel, The Adventures of Cliff Booth. That project, centered on Brad Pitt’s stuntman character, will instead be directed by David Fincher. Tarantino said he passed because the idea of his final film being a sequel “unenthused” him. “This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory.”
As for his much-discussed 10th and final feature, The Movie Critic, Tarantino admitted the project has been scrapped. He explained that it ultimately felt too close in execution to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, particularly in recreating vintage Los Angeles. “It was too much like the last one,” he said.
Whether or not Tarantino ultimately returns to direct one more film, his comments reaffirm what fans already know: each movie in his filmography is not just a project, but a statement. For Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds may be his masterpiece, but the story of his legacy is still waiting for its final chapter.
