Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has named Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down the best movie of the 21st century, praising its relentless intensity and visual mastery. The revelation came during an interview on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast.
“Since seeing it again recently, my heart was racing for the entire two hours and forty-five minutes,” Tarantino said. “The feat of direction is beyond extraordinary. It never let me go.”
Tarantino’s top 10 list also includes Lee Unkrich’s ‘Toy Story 3’ (#2), Sofia Coppola’s ‘Lost in Translation’ (#3), Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ (#4), Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’ (#5), David Fincher’s ‘Zodiac’ (#6), Tony Scott’s ‘Unstoppable’ (#7), George Miller’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (#8), Edgar Wright’s ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (#9) and Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ (#10).
He described Toy Story 3 as “almost perfect,” calling its finale heart-wrenching, and admitted he initially struggled with Dunkirk, only growing to admire Nolan’s craftsmanship after multiple viewings.
Tarantino also shared his #11–20 picks, which featured Kinji Fukasaku’s ‘Battle Royale’ (#11), Richard Linklater’s ‘School of Rock’ (#14), Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (#15) and Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ (#20). He sparked discussion by pointing out striking similarities between Battle Royale and Suzanne Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’.
This is the latest in a series of Tarantino’s personal film rankings. In 2020, he named David Fincher’s ‘The Social Network’ as the best film of the 2010s, calling it “hands down” the finest of the decade.
