Quentin Tarantino Says This Steven Spielberg Classic Is 'The Greatest Movie Ever Made'
It's no secret that Quentin Tarantino is a cinephile first and a director second. A real love for the art of moviemaking is present throughout his films; his latest film from 2019, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," is a love letter to the movies, from Italian spaghetti Westerns to campy revenge thrillers. Even if you aren't a fan of his directing style, you can't deny that he clearly doesn't love the evolution and art form of film.
This obvious love is why he often contributes his opinions on film throughout different mediums, particularly podcasts. Most recently, he appeared on the ReelBlend podcast alongside frequent collaborator Roger Avary to discuss their latest venture, The Video Archives Podcast. When asked on the ReelBlend podcast what they consider to be the best movie of all time, Tarantino gave an answer that many are sure to both agree and disagree with:
"I think Jaws is the greatest movie ever made. Maybe not the greatest film. But it's the greatest movie ever made. And then there are other movies that can get in its rarefied air. But as far as a movie, there's no making it better than Jaws. There's no 'better' than Jaws. It is the best movie ever made. And it shows how badly timed most movies made before Jaws were."
This was no boat accident
While "Jaws" is a wonderful movie and often considered one of the greatest of all time, its classification as a "movie" rather than a "film" might rub people the wrong way. After all, there doesn't really seem to be a difference between the two. However, Tarantino doesn't feel the same way, and his classification of "Jaws" as a movie and not a film shouldn't underscore how much he loves Steven Spielberg's classic.
"What I meant by that, to one degree or another, is that Spielberg and a lot of his cohorts grew up seeing those kinds of movies in the theater," Tarantino explained, referring to the acclaimed director's youth in the 1950s and 1960s. He argues that, while movies like "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Fantastic Voyage" are hallmarks of moviemaking, they certainly could've been directed better.
"They were assignments given to journeyman directors who did their best with them," he continued. "As opposed to a Spielberg, who was like, no, this is exactly the kind of movie he likes. This is exactly the kind of movie he was put on Earth to make. And he's going to make it, within an inch of his life, as effective as it possibly can be."
Well, you can't argue with that. To hear more of Tarantino and Avary's appearance on the ReelBlend podcast, look no further.