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Acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino recently revealed his personal ranking of the 21st century’s greatest films during an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. Surprisingly, the filmmaker known for his considerable ego didn’t include any of his own works in the lineup.
Tarantino – who limited himself to one film per director – shared the first half of his list (numbers 11-20) with a rather unexpected entry: Jackass: The Movie landed at #13.
The stunt-filled comedy sits between the Israeli thriller Big Bad Wolves (#12) and Richard Linklater’s School of Rock (#14).
“I laughed the most at these last 20 years. I don’t remember laughing beginning to the end like this since Richard Pryor,” Tarantino explained. “As I was making Kill Bill I thought this movie was so f—— funny I had to show it to the crew, so we found a print, and we watched the movie and just died.”
What seemed like a lowbrow MTV spinoff in 2002 has evolved into a cultural phenomenon. The franchise’s latest installment arrived in 2022 to critical acclaim, proving its surprising staying power.
The remainder of Tarantino’s revealed selections includes Japanese cult classic Battle Royale at #11 (which he claims The Hunger Games borrowed heavily from), while Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ secured the #15 spot. Rob Zombie’s horror film The Devil’s Rejects (#16) and Thai martial arts film Chocolate (#17) represent genre entries on his list.
Bennett Miller’s baseball drama Moneyball ranked #18, with Eli Roth’s debut Cabin Fever at #19. Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story remake rounds out the bottom of Tarantino’s rankings at #20.
The Oscar-winning director’s top 10 selections will be revealed in a future podcast episode. Given Tarantino’s influence and distinctive tastes, his complete list will undoubtedly generate significant discussion throughout the film community.
