Quentin Tarantino shares his one favourite tense moment from all his films
Quentin Tarantino doesn't exactly shy away from intensity in his movies, but after his decades in the film industry there are some scenes that stand out more than others.
When you think of Tarantino, what springs to mind? A glorious, graphic spray of blood? How about a close-up of a foot?
Either of these options could be used to refer to almost any of the director's movies, but for many, the thing that will spring to mind is the suspense.
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Throughout the course of his career, Tarantino has become known for producing long sequences that keep the viewer on their toes, building ever-increasing tension before exploding into a dramatic outburst.
Fans have come to recognise this, with one describing his 2015 film The Hateful Eight as 'a masterclass in suspense', while another tweet praises Inglourious Basterds as a 'crash course in writing suspense'.
Of the nine movies Tarantino has written and directed so far - Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - each has its own hook for the viewer.
But which has Tarantino named for his 'favourite tense moment'? He revealed the answer during a recent interview with El País, while promoting his new book, Cinema Speculation.
Tarantino said: "In my movies? The one from the farm at the beginning of Inglourious Basterds. With the Nazi officer Hans Landa talking to the owner of the farm, who is hiding Jews in his cellar..."
Released in 2009, the movie starred Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger, and took place in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
That's a setting for a tense moment if I've ever heard one, but Tarantino took the opportunity and ran with it in the early scenes, which showed SS officer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), questioning diary farmer Monsieur LaPadite (Denis Ménochet) about whereabouts of a Jewish family.
About halfway through the scene, it's revealed that the family is right under the floorboards - and the farmer isn't the only one who knows it.
Knowing he's good at what he does, Tarantino continued: "I don’t know how to explain it. I have a talent for it. It’s easy for me to create those situations where the characters start talking and things fall into place and there’s a climax. You throw a ball to the actors and they catch it."
With one film still to come from Tarantino, he's sure to go out with a bang.
Topics: Quentin Tarantino, TV and Film
Emily Brown