Quentin Tarantino’s Short List of ‘Perfect’ Movies Is Making the Rounds Again, and It’s Full of Surprises

Quentin Tarantino has never been shy about sharing his opinions on cinema, but he’s surprisingly careful with the word “perfect”; despite decades of talking passionately about films, he has only ever given that label to a small handful of movies. That’s why his list of perfect movies keeps getting passed around by film fans.

The list goes back to the promotion of his book ‘Cinema Speculation’, which has been described as part memoir, part Hollywood history and part film theory. In it, Tarantino wrote that there are very few perfect movies, but that ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ is one of them. That claim led to a follow-up question about what else makes the cut.

Tarantino answered it during an appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live‘, and his picks are now circulating online once again. Beyond Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror classic, he named ‘Jaws’, ‘The Exorcist’, ‘Annie Hall’, ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Back to the Future’, with ‘The Wild Bunch’ mentioned as a final, slightly complicated addition, for a total of 7.

When Kimmel asked him to name his perfect films, Tarantino explained that there aren’t many of them, which he said shows how hard the art form is. He added that while everyone has their own taste, a truly perfect movie crosses all aesthetics to some degree.

Quentin Tarantino says there are 7 perfect movies • Jaws • Annie Hall • The Exorcist • The Wild Bunch • Back to the Future • Young Frankenstein • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre https://t.co/KT9hEoQfp5

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His choices span a wide range of genres. The list includes Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster ‘Jaws’, William Friedkin’s groundbreaking horror film ‘The Exorcist’, Woody Allen’s ‘Annie Hall’ and Mel Brooks’s monster movie spoof ‘Young Frankenstein’. It’s rounded out by Robert Zemeckis’s feel-good sci-fi comedy ‘Back to the Future’.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – Original Trailer (4K) https://t.co/k06xxsdD2U

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Tarantino’s handling of Sam Peckinpah’s 1969 Western was the most interesting moment of the conversation. He brought it up, then immediately second-guessed it, explaining that the film’s imperfections are part of its glory. Even so, he considered it so unassailable that it deserved a place in the conversation.

That hesitation echoes a famous idea in film criticism. World of Reel recalled Pauline Kael’s view that great movies are rarely perfect ones, which seems to capture exactly what Tarantino was wrestling with.

He also hedged slightly on ‘Young Frankenstein’, saying it was a pick he could understand some people making. Meanwhile, the only one of his own films he has ever called perfect, according to Far Out Magazine, is ‘Reservoir Dogs’.

Some writers have noticed a pattern in the picks. Looper pointed out that the movies Tarantino considers perfect were all released within a relatively short window, from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, with ‘The Wild Bunch’ as the exception.

The Exorcist – Rare Trailer (1973) https://t.co/2TEI8EO0AI

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InsideHook took that observation further, suggesting the list is mostly made up of movies that came out when Tarantino was young. The outlet also called the list relatively uncontroversial and anything but obscure, especially compared to some of the wilder picks on his year-end lists.

Not everyone agrees with every choice, of course. ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ in particular tends to divide viewers, with World of Reel admitting it wasn’t sure about that pick.

JustWatch argued that the films share something important, since each one redefined and set the standard for its own subgenre. Whether you agree or not, the list remains a fascinating window into how one of cinema’s most famous film obsessives thinks about the movies he loves most.

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