Quentin Tarantino Names His 20 Favorite Films of the 21st Century

Quentin Tarantino has shared his personal picks for the best films of the 21st century, offering a glimpse into the movies that have inspired and impressed him over the past two decades.

Known for his deep love of cinema, Tarantino’s list spans a mix of genres, from intense dramas to thrilling action and inventive comedies. Fans and cinephiles alike are eager to see which films made the legendary director’s top 20. The list promises insight into the tastes of one of Hollywood’s most iconic filmmakers.

20. West Side Story (2021)

Tarantino praises Spielberg for showing he still has it. He felt the film revitalized the classic musical, and he was surprised to enjoy Ansel Elgort’s performance. “This is the one where Steven shows he still has it. I don’t think Scorsese has made a film this exciting [this century]. It revitalized him […] I couldn’t believe I liked the lead [Ansel Elgort] as I didn’t like him in anything else”

19. Cabin Fever (2002)

He admires Roth’s mix of humor and gore. Tarantino finds the tension and comedic payoff in the last 20 minutes genuinely effective. “There’s something so charming. Eli’s sense of humor, sense of gore — it just really, really works. People kind of forget how tense it is in the first half because it gets so genuinely funny in the last 20 minutes”

18. Moneyball (2011)

Tarantino highlights Brad Pitt’s performance, calling it one of his favorite star turns of the last 20 years for carrying the film on his own shoulders. “Brad Pitt’s performance was one of my favorite star performances of the last 20 years — where a movie star came in and reminded you why he was a movie star and just carried the movie on his shoulders.”

17. Chocolate (2008)

Tarantino is impressed by the young star’s four years of martial arts training and calls it some of the greatest kung-fu fights ever filmed. “Here’s a movie you probably never heard of […] People getting f***** up in the most spectacular of ways […] they trained this 12-year-old girl for four years to star in this movie […] this is some of the greatest kung-fu fights I’ve ever seen in a movie.”

16. The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Tarantino notes how Zombie fused Peckinpah-style Western violence with horror, creating a unique, recognizable voice in cinema. “This rough Peckinpah–cowboy–Manson thing [from Zombie] — that voice didn’t really exist before [in House of 1000 Corpses], and he refined that voice with this movie […] Peckinpah wasn’t part of horror before this. He melded it with sick hillbillies, and it’s become a thing now. You can recognize it across the street, but that didn’t exist before.”

15. The Passion of the Christ (2004)

He finds the extreme violence strangely funny and praises Gibson’s direction for immersing him in the time period. “I was laughing a lot during the movie. Not because we were trying to be perverse, laughing at Jesus getting f**** up — extreme violence is just funny to me — and when you go so far beyond extremity, it just gets funnier and funnier.”

14. The School of Rock (2003)

Tarantino enjoyed the fun, energetic performance of Jack Black combined with Linklater and Mike White’s writing. He compares it to a modern-day Bad News Bears. ““It was a really fun time at the theaters. It was a real fun, fun, fun screening. I do think this one had the explosion of Jack Black combined with Rick Linklater and Mike White — that made it special”

13. Jackass: The Movie (2002)

He calls it the funniest movie he’s seen in decades, recalling how he shared it with his Kill Bill crew and they all laughed uncontrollably. “This was the movie I laughed at the most in these last 20 years. I don’t remember laughing from beginning to end like this since Richard Pryor”

12. Big Bad Wolves (2013)

Tarantino admires its boldness and gutsy script, noting it does things American films wouldn’t dare attempt. “This has got a fantastic script and a similar storyline to Prisoners […] they handle it with guts and b**** — you know the American movie wouldn’t do that […]”

11. Battle Royale (2000)

He praises the original film for its story and creativity and criticizes the lack of recognition it gets compared to The Hunger Games. “I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn’t sue [‘Hunger Games’ author] Susan Collins for every f*** thing she owns. They just ripped off the f**** book. Stupid book critics are not going to go watch a Japanese movie called Battle Royale, so the stupid book critics never called her on it — they talked about how it was the most original f**** thing they’d ever read. As soon as the film critics saw the film, they said, ‘what the f***, this is just Battle Royale except PG!’”

10. Midnight in Paris (2011)

He admits he initially disliked Owen Wilson but grew to appreciate the performance after multiple viewings. “I really can’t stand Owen Wilson. I spent the first time watching the movie loving it and hating him. The second time I watched it, I was like ‘ah, okay, don’t be such a pr**** he’s not so bad.’ Then the third time I watched it, I found myself only watching him.”

9. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Tarantino admires its homage to Romero’s zombie universe and calls it a quotable, genuine zombie film rather than just a spoof. “My favorite directorial debut even though he did a cheapie debut movie he doesn’t like to talk about.”

8. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

He was initially skeptical but was won over by the film’s brilliance, saying Miller had all the resources to create exactly the movie he wanted. “I was actually not going to see it for the simple reason that in a world where Mel Gibson exists, and he’s not playing Max? I want Mad Mel! Weeks and weeks and weeks passed, and people kept talking about how great it was, and Fred, my editor, was saying, ‘I’m serious, you gotta do it.’ Then I saw it. The great stuff is so great, and you’re watching a truly great filmmaker; he had all the money in the world and all the time in the world to make it exactly as he wanted.”

7. Unstoppable (2010)

Tarantino loves it as one of the purest expressions of Tony Scott’s action style, calling the train a truly formidable “monster.” ““It’s one of my favorite last movies of a director. I’ve seen it four times, and every time I see it, I like it more. If you asked me years ago, I would have put ‘Man on Fire’ on the list, but ‘Unstoppable’ is one of the purest visions of Tony’s action aesthetic, the two guys are great together, and it gets better and better.”

6. Zodiac (2007)

He describes Zodiac as a mesmerizing masterwork that improved with repeated viewings, giving him a luxurious cinematic experience. “When I first watched ‘Zodiac,’ I wasn’t that into it, and then it started playing the movie channels, and first thing I knew, watching 20 minutes of it, 40 minutes of it, and I realized this is a lot more engaging than I remember it being, and it kept grabbing me in different sections, so I decided to watch this goddamn thing again, and it was a whole different experience from that point on.”

5. There Will Be Blood (2007)

Tarantino admires the film’s craftsmanship and Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance but critiques Paul Dano as a weak point in what should have been a two-hander. “Daniel Day-Lewis. The old-style craftsmanship quality to the film. It had an old Hollywood craftsmanship without trying to be like that. It was the only film he’s ever done, and I brought it up to him, that doesn’t have a set piece. The fire is the closest to a set piece. This was about dealing with the narrative, dealing with the story, and he did it f**** amazingly.”

4. Dunkirk (2017)

He didn’t like it initially but grew to appreciate Nolan’s mastery and the film’s power after several viewings. “Another film that I didn’t initially like […] What I now love about it is that I feel there’s a real mastery to it, and I came around to it watching it again and again and again. The first time, it’s not like it left me cold — it was so kind of gobsmacking, I didn’t really know what I saw, it was almost too much, and then the second time I saw it, my brain was able to take it in a little bit more, and then the third time and the fourth time, it was just like, wow, it just blew me away.”

3. Lost in Translation (2003)

Tarantino fell in love with the film’s style and Coppola herself. He appreciates how it’s a delicate, “girlie” movie executed so well. “I fell so much in love with ‘Lost in Translation’ that I fell in love with Sofia Coppola and made her my girlfriend [laughs]. I courted and wooed her, and I did it all in public; it was like it was out of a Jane Austen novel. I didn’t know her well enough to get together on my own, but I kept going to events […] I spoke to Pedro Almodóvar about this, and we both agreed it was such a girlie movie, in such a delicious way. I hadn’t seen such a girlie movie in a very long time, and I hadn’t seen such a girlie movie like that be so well done.”

2. Toy Story 3 (2010)

He calls the last five minutes emotionally devastating and praises it as almost a perfect movie and the best conclusion to a trilogy. “That last five minutes ripped my f**** heart out, and if I even try to describe the end, I’ll start crying and get choked up […] It’s just remarkable. It’s almost a perfect movie. And we don’t even get to talk about the great comedy bits, which are never-ending. I think people never nail the third film of a trilogy. I think the other one is ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ to me, and this is ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ of animated films. This is the greatest end of a trilogy.”

1. Black Hawk Down (2001)

Tarantino calls it a masterwork, noting its intense, nonstop energy and how it achieves a powerful Apocalypse Now-style experience for nearly three hours. “I liked it when I first saw it, but I actually think it was so intense that it stopped working for me, and I didn’t carry it with me the way that I should’ve […] Since then, I’ve seen it a couple of times, not a bunch of times, but I think it’s a masterwork, and one of the things I love so much about it is […] this is the only movie that actually goes completely for an ‘Apocalypse Now’ sense of purpose and visual effect and feeling, and I think it achieves it.”

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