Ridley Scott has thoughts on Tarantino crowning Black Hawk Down the 21st century’s best movie
Ridley Scott has other ideas after Quentin Tarantino anointed Black Hawk Down this century’s best — and he points to another of his own instead.
Here's one for your Monday: Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott having a lively director-to-director exchange over, of all things, Black Hawk Down. If you missed it earlier in the year, Tarantino decided to anoint Scott's war epic as the best thing cinema has coughed up in the 21st century so far. Naturally, no film conversation with these two stays uncontroversial for long.
Tarantino Throws Down the Gauntlet
A few months back, while Tarantino was busy ruffling feathers over Paul Dano, he went on record giving Black Hawk Down the highest of praise. For him, it's a rare modern movie channeling the mood and scale of Apocalypse Now, and apparently it left him breathless even on a rewatch.
Here's how Tarantino put it in a recent interview: "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. It keeps up the intensity for 2 hours 45 minutes, or whatever it is, and I watched it again recently, my heart was going through the entire runtime of the movie; it had me and never let me go, and I hadn’t seen it in a while. The feat of direction is beyond extraordinary."
Ridley Scott, Unbothered as Ever
If you imagine Scott beaming with pride after such a ringing endorsement from a fellow filmmaker, think again. The legendary director was recently out doing interviews for his new movie, The Dog Stars, and someone brought up Tarantino's big statement. Turns out, Scott isn't exactly buying into the hype:
Scott told The Sunday Times, "I wonder what he was on, because whatever it is, I want some."
Not only did he question Tarantino's taste (or possible substance intake), but when pressed on whether he agrees that Black Hawk Down deserves the crown, Scott just gave a cold 'No.' Not one for false modesty—or flattery, apparently.
He also hasn't actually spoken to Tarantino about any of this, but there is a link: Scott mentioned that his late brother, Tony Scott, and Tarantino were great admirers of each other's work. In his view, “Tony adored Quentin and, I think, Quentin adored Tony.”
Scott's New Favourite Film
Interestingly enough, Scott doesn't even view Black Hawk Down as his own personal best. He believes his just-finished project, The Dog Stars—filmed in a rapid 34 days—might be his career high point. Scott described the breakneck pace as more akin to TV than film, but he doesn't see that as a bad thing. The cast is a solid draw, with Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, and Josh Brolin all on board. For all of Scott's technical wizardry, he reckons casting is his real hidden weapon: if the right people are available, he bags them.
Every film, in Scott's words, is a process of self-discovery and decision-making—especially around actors.
- Black Hawk Down arrived in cinemas in 2001.
- The Dog Stars wrapped in just over a month—a far cry from your usual epic production timeline.
- The new film boasts an ensemble with strong indie and blockbuster credentials.
Scott wasn't done venting either—he took the usual swipe at modern films and telly, complaining about the repetitive storylines. According to him, it's all 'a murdered girl in the woods', yet another super-polished FBI agent, or the same old superhero.
He's more than ready for somebody, anybody, to try telling something different.