The famous American movie director, actor, and writer Quentin Tarantino is known for his offbeat, often violent, and sleek films. A few of his most popular films include “Django Unchained“, “Kill Bill”, and “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood“. In Tarantino’s incredible catalog of films, he usually uses preexisting music instead of original scores. However, for one particular film, the talented director decided to go against that. Instead, he has said, he decided to use an original score to give one of his films something special. In fact, Tarantino delegated the task of composing the score to one famous artist. This artist is one that Tarantino has gone on to say is not only his favorite composer but also the best composer of all time.
Quentin Tarantino Said That Ennio Morricone Was the Best and His Favorite Composer Ever
In 2015, the Western thriller “The Hateful Eight” was released in theaters. The movie, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, stars Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Channing Tatum, among other prestigious talents. The film tells the story of a group of strangers comprised of criminals and bounty hunters who find themselves trapped inside a cabin during a snowstorm shortly after the end of the Civil War. Personality clashes and tensions between the group increase as time goes on, making for a hair-raising movie experience. Critics praised the film for its screenplay, cinematography, and original score. It went on to receive a plethora of Oscar nominations, BAFTA awards, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards. In all those categories, the composer of the original score, Ennio Morricone, won. And according to Tarantino, there couldn’t have been a better person suited for the job. In fact, according to the famous director, he had been an admirer of Morricone’s work for decades. His works have been featured in many other Tarantino films, including “Inglourious Basterds“. However, Tarantino had so much respect for Morricone’s work that it compelled him to ask him to compose his first-ever original score for “The Hateful Eight“.
Related
Quentin Tarantino Nearly Teamed Up With This Stand-Up Comic for a ‘Django Unchained’ Sequel
Tarantino wanted to make a ‘Django Unchained’ crossover film with ‘The Mask of Zorro.’
In 2015, Tarantino was interviewed by The Wrap and discussed how and why he got Morricone to compose the score for “The Hateful Eight.“ “I finally broke down. And it was the maestro that made me break down,” he said. “I didn’t know if it was going to work out, but I felt I owed it to myself and I owed it to him to investigate it. To explore that idea. Only to find out that he felt the same way – he wasn’t sure if it was necessarily the right thing.” Tarantino and Morricone would later meet several times as he gave the latter complete artistic control of the sound. “So then he sat down to write that theme, but he got inspired and 10 minutes of music became 30 minutes of music, and one theme became four pieces of original music,” said Tarantino, “and working with an editor that became 12 pieces of original music. And I think it’s magnificent in the film and gives it a wonderful quality.”
In 2020, Morricone passed away at the age of 91. His career, which spanned over six decades, produced some of the greatest scores for many acclaimed TV shows and films, such as “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”,”The Mission” and “Once Upon A Time in America.” In fact, The director also praised Morricone as the best and his favorite composer of all time. In an interview given to the BFI before he died, Morricone had this to say about how he approached his work. “When I compose I always have a clear idea of the tone and mood of the film. I get it from the director’s views about the story, from reading the script or treatment, sometimes from seeing images. But often I don’t get to watch any scenes before I start work.”
Quentin Tarantino Reveals What His Favorite Song Of All Time Is
Quentin Tarantino once said that, “Music is very, very important in my movies. In some ways, the most important stage, whether it ends up being in the movie or not, is just when I come up with the idea itself before I have actually sat down and started writing. What I’m looking for is the spirit of the movie, the beat that the movie will play with.” But Tarantino’s obvious love of music isn’t limited to only films, but rather it is one of his dearest passions. In fact, Tarantino has revealed on numerous occasions that he uses music as an escapism to get himself out of a creative rut. Besides Morricone being his favorite composer, the sixty-two-year-old director has other artists and songs close to his heart.
Related
15 Actors Who Appeared in the Most Quentin Tarantino Movies
These actors are Quentin’s faves.
According to Far Out Magazine, Bob Dylan is one of the legendary director’s favorite singers. Although the publication notes that he has yet to use Dylan’s large catalog of work in any of his films, he has referenced him numerous times and holds him in the highest regard. In fact, out of appreciation, Tarantino once sent the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer an advance copy of one of his movie scripts for approval. Tarantino also relayed to Uncut magazine that his favorite song of all time is Dylan’s 1975 hit song “Tangled Up in Blue.” “I know this is off Blood on the Tracks, but it’s my all-time favorite song,” said Tarantino. “It’s one of those songs where the lyrics are ambiguous you can actually write the song yourself. That’s a lot of fun – it’s like Dylan fooling around with the listener, playing on the way he or she interprets the lyrics.”
Although Tarantino has loved rockabilly and Bob Dylan music since he was a teenager, one of the first songs that ever inspired him might surprise his legion of fans. In a subsequent interview with Yesterdayland, Tarantino said “My first favorite piece of music was probably the Batman theme. When I was a little kid, it was probably, like, the music that would make me wet my pants.” The one he was referencing is the Batman theme song by Neal Hefti, which was released in 1966. For his next project, Tarantino is slated to write the screenplay for The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth, starring Brad Pitt and directed by David Fincher. While the film’s synopsis and score are currently under wraps, it has been described by various sources as a follow-up to Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood.
