8 Iconic Directors Tarantino Has Very Publicly Dissed
When it comes to cinema, few people know more than Quentin Tarantino.
The auteur filmmaker has blown away audiences for years by showing off his encyclopedic knowledge of film history on talk shows. His ten films have won a total of 35 awards, with Pulp Fiction being named to the National Film Registry.
He's also never been shy about voicing his opinions on fellow filmmakers, positive and negative. Among them are eight iconic directors who've been nominated for a combined 45 Academy Awards with nine wins.
Oliver Stone
This one might be personal.
Tarantino wrote the original story for Stone's Natural Born Killers. The final product had massive alterations.
"I was trying to make it on the page, so when you read it, you saw the movie," Tarantino said in a 2021 interview. "And it was like, why didn't he do at least half of that?"
Jean-Luc Godard
Though he directed 70 films from 1960 to 2018, the recently deceased French director might be best-known for his directorial debut, Breathless. Massively renowned by most filmmakers, Tarantino said that he'd outgrown Godard.
"You get into him for a while and he's like your hero," he said in 2013. "You start drawing shit like him and then you outgrow."
David Lynch
Lynch has been nominated for four Oscars, but his biggest contribution to the media has been on television. He created the cult classic Twin Peaks, though Tarantino wasn't impressed. Tarantino said that Lynch "disappeared so far up his own ass," he has no desire to watch any more Lynch movies.
Orson Welles
The iconic creator of Citizen Kane was the antithesis of Tarantino; he once spoke against directors who watch too many films. Tarantino once casually called Welles' films "alright," saying he's hesitant to praise a director he sees as competition.
Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick and Tarantino share a penchant for violent portrayals in their films, though Kubrick was always adamant that his films were meant to speak out against violence.
Tarantino thinks he's full of it.
In a 2003 interview, Tarantino called Kubrick a hypocrite, saying "I know you, and your d*** was hard the entire time you were shooting those first 20 minutes [of A Clockwork Orange]."
John Ford
He holds the record for most Oscars won for Best Director, but Tarantino isn't impressed, preferring Italian Westerns to Ford's.
In a 2020 blog post, he attacked Ford's photography, saying, "I think it's pretty obvious his color films look better than his black and white films."
David Fincher
Tarantino said that he respects Fincher as a director, but he doesn't appreciate that Fincher never writes his own movies.
"He's not in the same category as me because I'm a writer-director," he said in 2009, "and that makes a difference."
Alfred Hitchcock
While it's hard not to appreciate Hitchcock's influence, Tarantino thinks his influence has surpassed his actual work.
"I've always felt that Hitchcock's acolytes took his cinematic and story ideas further," Tarantino said. "I prefer those to actual Hitchcock".