Quentin Tarantino says 'Kill Bill' is not his best work, but it's another film

Highlights:

• Tarantino calls Inglourious Basterds his “masterpiece” and his best screenplay.
• He says the film represents his most complete vision, balancing script and direction.
• Kill Bill he describes as the movie he was “born to make”, while Once Upon a Time in Hollywood remains his personal favourite.
• He turned down directing the upcoming Cliff Booth sequel, saying his final film must explore new ground.
• Planned 10th film The Movie Critic has been scrapped for being too similar to his earlier work.

Inglourious Basterds: Tarantino’s masterpiece

Quentin Tarantino has described his 2009 war drama Inglourious Basterds as his greatest achievement, calling it both his “masterpiece” and his best screenplay.

Speaking on The Church of Tarantino podcast, the director explained: “I think Inglourious Basterds is my best script. Every part of it came together in a way that represents the height of what I can do.”

He said the film — a revisionist take on the Second World War — stands above his other work because of its ambition, structure and execution.

How other films compare

Although he ranks Inglourious Basterds as his finest, Tarantino gave contrasting descriptions of his other acclaimed works. He called Kill Bill the movie he was “born to make”, noting how closely it drew on his imagination and obsessions. Meanwhile, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his “favourite”, though not the one he considers his best.

Tarantino also highlighted The Hateful Eight as perhaps his strongest directing effort, saying it was his best example of “servicing [his] material as a director”.

Turning down the ‘Cliff Booth’ sequel

Despite his affection for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino declined to direct the planned sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth, which will now be helmed by David Fincher for Netflix.

He said he did not want his 10th and final film to be a sequel: “This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory.”

The scrapped Movie Critic project

Tarantino confirmed that his long-rumoured 10th film, The Movie Critic, has been abandoned. He explained that the project felt too similar to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, particularly in its recreation of Los Angeles in a bygone era.

“It was too much like the last one. There was nothing to figure out,” he said.