If you’re a creative soul, then you know you’ve got some real stinkers on your resume. Acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino is no different: Though he tirelessly makes his films exactly the way he alone wants them to be, there’s one entry in his otherwise stellar filmography that he’s not terribly proud of. And that film is …
… his Grindhouse entry Death Proof .
The 2007 film stars Kurt Russell as a misogynistic stunt man and serial killer who stalks groups of women in order to murder them with his “death proof” muscle car. It was filmed alongside the Robert Rodriguez-directed Planet Terror for the indie-licious Grindhouse project, a dual-picture homage to 70s exploitation B-movies.
Though most critics praised Grindhouse , it was a box-office bomb, and Tarantino’s first.
“ Death Proof has got to be the worst movie I ever made. And for a left-handed movie, that wasn’t so bad, all right? So if that’s the worst I ever get, I’m good. But I do think one of those out-of-touch, old, limp, flaccid-d**k movies costs you three good movies as far as your rating is concerned.”
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter , Tarantino also reinforced his plans to retire after his tenth film:
“I’m really well versed on a lot of directors’ careers. To me, it’s all about my filmography, and I want to go out with a terrific filmography.”
Yahoo reports that Tarantino was a bit less harsh about Death Proof when it initially underperformed:
“It was disappointing, yeah. But the movie worked with the audience. People who saw it loved it and applauded. I’m proud of my flop.”
If Death Proof is Quentin Tarantino’s worst movie, he’s got to be doing something right.
